Stalwart Successor + Altar of Dementia + Restless Apparition

Stalwart Successor

Altar of Dementia

Restless Apparition

How it works

1. Activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Restless Apparition
2. When Restless Apparition dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3. When Restless Apparition enters, Stalwart Successor triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Restless Apparition
4. Resolve the Altar of Dementia ability.
5. Repeat.

This clever loop turns Restless Apparition into an endless cycle of sacrifice and resurrection, utilizing Altar of Dementia to mill an opponent's entire library in the process. Normally, the persist mechanic would place a -1/-1 counter on Restless Apparition that permanently stalls the loop, but Stalwart Successor cleverly steps in by triggering whenever counters are placed on a creature, putting a +1/+1 counter on it. Because state-based actions immediately cause the +1/+1 counter and the -1/-1 counter to annihilate each other, Restless Apparition returns to the battlefield with a clean slate every time, ready to be sacrificed anew.