Brine Elemental + Vesuvan Shapeshifter

Brine Elemental

Vesuvan Shapeshifter

How it works

1. Turn Vesuvan Shapeshifter face-up for 1.
2. As it turns face up, have it copy Brine Elemental, triggering Brine Elemental's face-up ability.
3. Resolve the ability; each opponent skips their next untap step.
4. Pass the turn; on your upkeep, turn Vesuvan Shapeshifter face down.
5. Repeat infinitely.

This legendary lock relies on a clever recursion loop between Brine Elemental and Vesuvan Shapeshifter to trap your opponents in a perpetual state of untapped denial. By turning Vesuvan Shapeshifter face up for its cheap morph cost and having it copy Brine Elemental as it does so, you trigger the elemental's ability to force each opponent to skip their next untap step. Then, Vesuvan Shapeshifter's own copied text handles the reset by letting you turn it face down during your upkeep, setting you up to repeat the entire process on your next turn and completely starving the table of resources.