Nick Valentine, Private Eye + Stridehangar Automaton + Phantom Train

Nick Valentine, Private Eye

Stridehangar Automaton

Phantom Train

How it works

1. Activate Phantom Train by sacrificing another artifact creature.
2. When the creature dies, Nick Valentine triggers, creating a Clue token and a 1/1 Thopter artifact creature token.
3. Resolve the Phantom Train ability.
4. Repeat.

This ingenious loop puts Stridehangar Automaton at the center of a bustling mechanical assembly line, where its replacement effect ensures that every artifact token you create brings an extra Thopter along for the ride. You feed the machine by using Phantom Train's activation cost to sacrifice an artifact creature, growing the Train with a +1/+1 counter and turning it into a Spirit artifact creature in the process. Each time a creature hits the graveyard, Nick Valentine's triggered ability steps in to investigate, generating the Clue tokens that fuel Stridehangar Automaton's token-multiplying engine.