Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Umbral Collar Zealot + Safehold Elite

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Umbral Collar Zealot

Safehold Elite

How it works

1. Activate Umbral Collar Zealot by sacrificing Safehold Elite.
2. When Safehold Elite dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3. Resolve the Umbral Collar Zealot ability.
4. Activate Umbral Collar Zealot by sacrificing Safehold Elite.
5. When Safehold Elite dies, its undying ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
6. Resolve the Umbral Collar Zealot ability.
7. Repeat.

This clever loop relies on a brilliant mechanical interaction between Safehold Elite’s persist ability and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed's static lord effect, which grants undying to all your non-Human creatures. Because the +1/+1 counter from undying and the -1/-1 counter from persist effectively annihilate each other through state-based actions every time the creature changes zones, Safehold Elite can alternate endlessly between dying with a -1/-1 counter (triggering persist) and dying with a +1/+1 counter (triggering undying). All the while, Umbral Collar Zealot serves as the dedicated sacrifice outlet that continuously triggers this cycle, feeding you infinite death triggers and surveil depth in the process.