Stalwart Successor + Thermopod + Grazing Kelpie

Stalwart Successor

Thermopod

Grazing Kelpie

How it works

1. Activate Thermopod by sacrificing Grazing Kelpie
2. When Grazing Kelpie dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3. When Grazing Kelpie enters, Stalwart Successor triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on Grazing Kelpie
4. Repeat.

This clever loop relies on Grazing Kelpie and its persist ability to repeatedly feed our engine, returning from the graveyard with a -1/-1 counter each time it dies. That persist trigger is normally a one-way street, but Stalwart Successor steps in with its triggered ability to instantly cancel out that -1/-1 counter by placing a +1/+1 counter on Grazing Kelpie the moment it enters the battlefield. This interaction resets the Kelpie's persist eligibility over and over again, allowing Thermopod to effortlessly sacrifice it for an endless supply of red mana and a torrent of creature triggers.