Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of Twilight + Phyrexian Altar + Geralf's Messenger

Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of Twilight

Phyrexian Altar

Geralf's Messenger

How it works

1. Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing Geralf's Messenger
2. When Geralf's Messenger dies, its undying ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
3. When Geralf's Messenger enters, it triggers, causing an opponent to lose 2 life.
4. Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing Geralf's Messenger
5. When Geralf's Messenger dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
6. When Geralf's Messenger enters, it triggers, causing an opponent to lose 2 life.
7. Repeat.

This clever loop turns the back side of Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of Twilight into an engine of endless rebirth, relying on Isilu's passive grant of persist to offset Geralf's Messenger's natural undying ability. Each time Geralf's Messenger is sacrificed to Phyrexian Altar for mana, it bounces back thanks to alternating counter types—first utilizing undying to return with a +1/+1 counter, and then, after that counter is cleared by the next cycle, utilizing the persist granted by Isilu to return with a -1/+1 counter cancellation effect. This alternating dance drains your opponents' life away through repeated enter-the-battlefield triggers while feeding an infinite stream of colored mana directly from the Altar.