Defiler of Faith + Ayara, First of Locthwain + Helm of Awakening + Whitemane Lion

Defiler of Faith

Ayara, First of Locthwain

Helm of Awakening

Whitemane Lion

How it works

1. Cast Whitemane Lion by paying 0 and 2 life due to Defiler of Faith and Helm of Awakening.
2. Defiler of Faith triggers, creating a 1/1 Soldier creature token.
3. When the Soldier enters, Ayara triggers, causing you to gain life.
4. Resolve Whitemane Lion. When it enters, it and Ayara trigger.
5. Resolve the Whitemane Lion trigger, returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
6. Resolve the Ayara trigger, causing you to gain life.
7. Repeat.

This loop turns Whitemane Lion into a zero-mana self-returning engine by leveraging Helm of Awakening to reduce its generic cost to zero and Defiler of Faith to shave away its remaining white requirement at the cost of 2 life. Every time the Lion bounces itself back to your hand, Defiler of Faith’s triggered ability replaces the loop with a fresh 1/1 Soldier creature token. As these tokens enter the battlefield, Ayara, First of Locthwain triggers to drain your opponents' life totals and pad your own life reserve—conveniently offsetting the life you pay to the Defiler along the way.