Olivia, Mobilized for War + Umbral Collar Zealot + High-Society Hunter

Olivia, Mobilized for War

Umbral Collar Zealot

High-Society Hunter

How it works

1. Activate Umbral Collar Zealot by sacrificing the persist creature.
2. When the persist creature dies, it and High-Society Hunter trigger.
3. Resolve the High-Society Hunter trigger, causing you to draw a card.
4. Resolve the persist creature's trigger, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
5. When the persist creature enters the battlefield, Olivia triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on the persist creature and causing you to discard a card.
6. Resolve the Umbral Collar Zealot ability.
7. Repeat.

This clever engine transforms a creature with persist into an endless sacrifice loop by using Olivia, Mobilized for War to neutralize its fatal flaw: whenever the persist creature re-enters the battlefield, Olivia lets you discard a card to place a +1/+1 counter on it, which immediately neutralizes the incoming -1/-1 counter through state-based actions. Meanwhile, Umbral Collar Zealot provides the repeatable sacrifice outlet that kicks off the cycle while fueling your card selection with its surveil ability. The addition of High-Society Hunter turns this churn of bodies into a devastating card-drawing machine, rewarding you with a drawn card every single time a creature dies in the loop.