Resourceful Defense + Phantom Train

Resourceful Defense

Phantom Train

How it works

1. Activate Phantom Train by sacrificing the persist creature that has a +1/+1 counter on it.
2. When that creature dies, its persist ability and Resourceful Defense trigger.
3. Resolve Resourceful Defense's ability, putting at least two +1/+1 counters onto the surviving persist creature due to the counter-increasing effect.
4. If that creature had a -1/-1 counter on it, remove that and one of the +1/+1 counters from it as a state-based action.
5. Resolve the persist ability from step 2, returning the persist creature from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter.
6. Resolve the Phantom Train ability from step 1.
7. Repeat.

This clever loop uses Phantom Train as a hungry engine that sacrifices your persist creature to pile up +1/+1 counters, while Resourceful Defense catches those counters as the creature temporarily leaves the battlefield and redirects them back to keep the cycle going. Because Resourceful Defense’s trigger works alongside the creature's own persist ability, state-based actions cleanly wipe away any -1/-1 counters using the incoming +1/+1 counters. This lets you continuously feed the same persist creature into the Phantom Train over and over, generating an unbounded swarm of sacrifice, entry, and death triggers while pumping your creatures to absurd proportions.