Today we will be analysing combo decks for the Historic and Explorer formats.

Especially for you, I’ve dug up 10 more combo decks that you can build in these older formats. They are perfect if you enjoy this style of play, feel tired of your current combo options, or simply want to try something new. Even if you don’t play such decks yourself, you can still learn how the deck that just defeated you works, or understand which opponents you might encounter. Forewarned is forearmed!

Kethis Combo (Historic)

It’s strange that I didn’t include this deck in my previous article. In fact, it’s very popular and even reached the top of Arena Championship 2. Its inclusion in the current list is supported by the fact that it has become stronger thanks to new cards: The One Ring (if it isn’t banned by the time this article is published), Delighted Halfling, and Jace, the Perfected Mind.

It’s difficult to describe the essence of the deck in a single sentence, because there are many ways to transition from the opening turns to victory. In short, with cards such as Emry, Lurker of the Loch and Kethis, the Hidden Hand, you repeatedly return Mox Amber from the graveyard and generate a large amount of mana, which you can then use with one of the two Jaces – either the one that mills your opponent, or the one that lets you win through self-mill.

This is a powerful deck that requires a high level of skill to pilot, and I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners. For those who enjoy strategy and calculated risk in other areas of gaming, it’s similar to the experience described in Stay Casino Review, where careful planning and timing can lead to big rewards.

Eggs Combo (Historic)

A funny name, and a rather difficult deck to control 🙂 I’ll tell you the ultimate goal of the deck right away: use Aetherflux Reservoir to deal 50 damage to your opponent. How do you generate the 50 life needed to activate the Reservoir? With Forsaken Monument and casting a large number of free artifacts.

At the same time, neither the Reservoir nor the Monument is usually in the main deck! It’s safer (in case of Thoughtseize) to bring them from the sideboard using Karn. How do you generate all the mana for expensive artifacts? With the help of mana-reducing effects like Semblance Anvil (-2 mana) and Cloud Key (-1 mana).

I’ve described the deck’s principle backwards, but I hope it’s clear. Some versions don’t use Karn and put the win conditions in the main deck, activating the combo with Mystic Forge — this is also a very effective method.

This deck is quite difficult to pilot, so I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners.

Abzan Lifegain (Historic)

A simple combo based on two effects: you gaining life and your opponent losing life. Dina, Soul Steeper and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose amplify each other’s effects, while Exquisite Blood is the second piece of the combo, allowing you to gain life repeatedly and create an infinite loop to defeat your opponent.

Historic Rosie Oak (Historic)

If you remember the Scurry Oak / Heliod, Sun-Crowned combo from the previous article, this is one of its variations, featuring the new card Rosie Cotton of South Lane from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set.

Rosie allows you to put +1/+1 counters on any creature whenever you create tokens, and Scurry Oak spawns squirrels from tokens. This simplifies the successful execution of the combo, especially when combined with Collected Company (CoCo) and Inquisitor Captain. With him, you’re guaranteed to find the missing piece of the combo for endless squirrels and tokens.

Izzet Belcher (Historic)

My current favourite, which I switched to from Dragonstorm, is Charbelcher (Belcher). It is more stable, less vulnerable to graveyard hate, and can even win one turn earlier — on the third instead of the fourth.

The principle is very simple: put Goblin Charbelcher onto the battlefield and activate it to deal lethal damage to your opponent. Why does Belcher’s turn kill the opponent? Because it deals damage equal to the number of cards from the top of your library until the first land is revealed. The trick is that there are zero “pure” lands in the deck. All lands are represented as modal double-faced cards, which, according to Magic rules, are not considered lands while in your hand or library — only when played onto the battlefield.

If you understand the general principle, there are two ways to win faster: Irencrag Feat and Indomitable Creativity. Feat generates 7 mana, 4 of which can be used to cast Belcher and 3 to activate it, while Creativity lets you put Belcher directly from your library onto the battlefield if you haven’t drawn him yourself. What’s more, you can combine these cards: Feat → Creativity on the treasure → Belcher activation.

If your opponent has counterspells ready, the deck also includes 4 copies of Pact of Negation.

This deck is fairly easy to learn, and you’ll grasp its essence after just 3–5 games. It is currently popular in the Bo1 format.

Abzan Samwise Gamgee Combo (Historic)

A new combo that appeared after the release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set. It relies on the synergy between Samwise Gamgee and Cauldron Familiar. If you have the ability to infinitely sacrifice Woe Strider, Sam will give you food each time, which can then be exchanged for the Cat again 🙂

The process is simplified by Collected Company (CoCo), which can be used to pull any missing pieces of the combo if you haven’t drawn them yourself. And the ever-useful The One Ring allows you to survive the turn if you don’t have enough mana or the right cards.

Golgari Yawgmoth Young Wolf Combo (Historic)

This is not a new combo, but I forgot to include it in the previous article. The combo is straightforward: using Yawgmoth, Thran Physician and two Young Wolves, you can repeatedly kill and return them from the graveyard, combining +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters that neutralise each other. Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons will generate a Snake token with each sacrifice, while Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat drain your opponent’s life continuously.

This combo is not very stable and requires skill to pilot, but it is quite fun to play.

Monoblack Sheoldred/Peer Into The Abyss Combo + Orcish Bowmasters (Historic)

Another “not new” combo that became possible with the release of the much-discussed Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. The mechanics are as simple as 2×2: play Sheoldred and force your opponent to draw cards with Peer into the Abyss.

With the release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, another card appeared that punishes opponents for drawing cards: Orcish Bowmasters, which also has Flash, so you can play them before your turn or right before casting Peer into the Abyss. If you manage to successfully play Peer with Orcish Bowmasters or Sheoldred on the battlefield, congratulations — you’ve won.

The deck is not very stable, but it’s fun 🙂 Of the rarer cards, you’ll only need to invest in Peer into the Abyss; everything else is widely available in older formats.

Griselbrand Storm Combo (Historic)

A rare combination that I’ve only encountered a couple of times in all my experience playing Historic (since its introduction to Arena). The initial stages are similar to any reanimator deck: discard cards to the graveyard until Griselbrand is there, and then find a way to return him to the battlefield (the most convenient method is Unburial Rites, cast from the graveyard). After that, things get a little more complicated 🙂

In addition to the black demon, you’ll need the “alchemical” card Oracle of the Alpha, which is only legal in Arena. When it enters the battlefield, the Oracle puts the Power Nine — the nine most powerful cards in Magic’s history — into your library. It’s important to note that we’re only interested in the Oracle entering the battlefield; what happens afterward is irrelevant. With Ephemerate, you can repeatedly duplicate its entry onto the battlefield.

Next, use Griselbrand’s draw ability to find the other pieces of the Tendrils of Agony and Weather the Storm combo in your library. With the help of the Power Nine, you can generate mana for additional spells and continue setting up your combo.

You can also fetch Tendrils of Agony and Weather the Storm from the sideboard with Mastermind’s Acquisition. Tendrils serves as the main win condition if Griselbrand cannot finish the game, while Weather the Storm allows you to gain life so you can continue the combo if attacking with the demon is not possible or if the storm count (the number of spells cast per turn) is still too low.

Archfiend Alteration (Explorer)

Probably the most primitive combo on the entire list 🙂 Play Archfiend of the Dross, cast Metamorphic Alteration on an opponent’s creature, and choose Archfiend as the target to copy. The creature becomes a copy of Archfiend of the Dross, but without tokens, and at the beginning of your opponent’s turn, it can cause them to lose the game.

The catch is that if your opponent’s deck has no creatures (control or many combo decks), there will be no target to copy. In that case, you’ll just have to hit your opponent directly with the demon 🙂 To speed things up, you can copy it with Fable of the Mirror-Breaker (the demon isn’t legendary).

Primitive? Absolutely. Effective? Definitely!

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