Basalt Monolith + The Blackstaff of Waterdeep + Training Grounds

Basalt Monolith

The Blackstaff of Waterdeep

Training Grounds

How it works

1. Activate Basalt Monolith's first ability by tapping it, adding CCC.
2. Activate The Blackstaff of Waterdeep by paying 1 and tapping it, causing Basalt Monolith to become an artifact creature until end of turn.
3. Activate Basalt Monolith's second ability by paying 1, untapping it.
4. Activate Basalt Monolith's first ability by tapping it, adding CCC.
5. Repeat from step 3.

This clever loop turns Basalt Monolith into a self-contained mana engine by bypassing its usual heavy untap tax. Normally, untapping the Monolith costs three colorless mana, but Training Grounds swoops in to slash that activation cost down to just a single mana. Meanwhile, The Blackstaff of Waterdeep provides the crucial animation that transforms the Monolith into an artifact creature, allowing it to legally benefit from Training Grounds' creature-only cost reduction. By tapping the Monolith for three colorless mana and spending just one of it to untap it, you generate a net gain of two colorless mana with every iteration.