Szarel, Genesis Shepherd + Puppeteer Clique + Thermopod

Szarel, Genesis Shepherd

Puppeteer Clique

Thermopod

How it works

1. Activate Thermopod by sacrificing Puppeteer Clique.
2. When Puppeteer Clique dies, its persist ability and Szarel trigger.
3. Resolve the persist trigger, returning Puppeteer Clique from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
4. When Puppeteer Clique enters, it triggers, putting a creature card from an opponent's graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
5. Resolve the Szarel trigger, putting a number of +1/+1 counters on another creature you control.
6. Activate Thermopod by sacrificing the creature returned in step 4.
7. When the creature dies, Szarel triggers, putting a number of +1/+1 counters on Puppeteer Clique.
8. Repeat.

This clever loop relies on Thermopod to act as both a sacrifice outlet for red mana and a way to feed the engine, allowing you to endlessly recycle Puppeteer Clique from your graveyard. Each time Puppeteer Clique enters the battlefield, it steals a creature from an opponent's graveyard to help churn the machine, while its persist ability ensures it keeps coming back despite accumulating -1/-1 counters. Meanwhile, Szarel, Genesis Shepherd plays a pivotal role by watching these sacrifices unfold on your turn and channeling that power into distributing massive piles of +1/+1 counters to your creatures—counters that conveniently offset the persist drawback on Puppeteer Clique and keep the whole mechanism running smoothly.