Purphoros, God of the Forge + Tainted Strike + Hornet Queen

Purphoros, God of the Forge

Tainted Strike

Hornet Queen

How it works

1. Cast Tainted Strike by paying , giving Purphoros +1/+0 and infect until end of turn.
2. Cast Hornet Queen by paying 4.
3. When Hornet Queen enters the battlefield, it and Purphoros trigger.
4. Resolve the Hornet Queen trigger, creating four 1/1 Insect creature tokens.
5. When the Insects enter the battlefield, Purphoros triggers four times.
6. Resolve all Purphoros triggers, causing each opponent to get ten poison counters.
7. Each opponent loses the game due to having ten or more poison counters.

This lethal brew transforms a swarm of stinging insects into a game-ending catastrophe by weaponizing the passive damage of Purphoros, God of the Forge. By using Tainted Strike beforehand, you grant Purphoros the infect keyword, turning its normally life-reducing triggers into poisonous devastation. When you cast Hornet Queen, its entry triggers the creation of four Insect tokens, which in turn causes Purphoros to fire off five total triggers (including the Queen itself) that deal two damage each. Thanks to the infect modifier, those ten damage instances translate directly into the ten poison counters your opponents need to instantly lose the game.