Shilgengar, Sire of Famine + Gravelgill Axeshark + Hardened Academic

Shilgengar, Sire of Famine

Gravelgill Axeshark

Hardened Academic

How it works

1. Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing Gravelgill Axeshark.
2. When Gravelgill Axeshark dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3. Hardened Academic triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Gravelgill Axeshark.
4. Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
5. Repeat.

This clever loop centers around Shilgengar, Sire of Famine turning your sacrifices into a steady stream of Blood tokens. When you feed Gravelgill Axeshark to Shilgengar, the Axeshark's persist ability brings it right back to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter, which is immediately canceled out by the +1/-1 counter provided by Hardened Academic whenever a card leaves your graveyard. This counter neutralization keeps Gravelgill Axeshark pristine and ready to be sacrificed over and over again, fueling an endless cycle of creature deaths, enters-the-battlefield triggers, and artifact generation.