Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Thermopod + Obstinate Gargoyle

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Thermopod

Obstinate Gargoyle

How it works

1. Activate Thermopod by sacrificing Obstinate Gargoyle.
2. When Obstinate Gargoyle dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
3. Activate Thermopod by sacrificing Obstinate Gargoyle.
4. When Obstinate Gargoyle dies, its undying ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
5. Repeat.

This clever loop turns back-to-back returns into a perpetual engine by exploiting how counters interact on the battlefield. When you sacrifice Obstinate Gargoyle to Thermopod's mana-generating ability, its native persist triggers to bring it back with a -1/-1 counter, but Mikaeus, the Unhallowed grants it undying so that the *next* time it perishes, the undying trigger returns it with a +1/+1 counter. Because +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters actively annihilate each other through state-based actions, the Gargoyle is stripped of its counters every time it loops back, resetting both abilities and allowing you to continuously sacrifice it to Thermopod for infinite red mana and endless death triggers.