MtG: Best Strixhaven Combos for Standard Format

Combo decks are some of the most favorite archetypes of many Magic: The Gathering players. While many eternal formats have always had plenty of them, standard has never seen such a huge emergence of combo decks like we are seeing in the Strixhaven set.

This guide will provide you with the list of the best and most powerful Strixhaven combos in standard format. Maybe you’ve already heard about some of them, but there are sure to be a few surprises on this list.

Witherbloom Apprentice Combo

As soon as the Golgari apprentice card from Strixhaven was spoiled, players immediately knew that there would be some kind of a drain combo in standard.

Now the path of destruction is clear, and it requires the following cards:

• Witherbloom Apprentice
• Sedgemoor Witch
• Plumb the Forbidden

You can also add the Bastion of Remembrance to the equation in order to increase the drain effect.

Here’s how the Witherbloom Apprentice combo works:

1. Create a number of creature tokens
2. Play Witherbloom Apprentice and Sedgemoor Witch 
3. Use Plumb the Forbidden to sacrifice tokens
4. Drain your opponent
5. Rinse and repeat

Once the tokens die, Witherbloom Apprentice will drain your opponent and Sedgemoor Witch will create the same number of tokens you’ve scarified for another copy of Plumb the Forbidden.

This means that you can win the game with either several copies of Plumb the Forbidden or several copies of Witherbloom Apprentice.

If you have five tokens, two copies of Witherbloom Apprentice and two copies of Plumb the Forbidden will instantly drain your opponent for 20 damage and kill them. That’s the terrifying power of this card combination.

Body of Research Combo

Body of Research generated a lot of buzz when it was first revealed. It offers players a way to create the biggest creature token MtG has seen yet.

Since the token created by Body of Research can be easily disrupted with blockers and removal spells, it will need some support.

The lethal one-shot combo with Body of Research looks like this:

1. Use draw spells or Grim Tutor to get both Body of Research and Kazuul’s Fury or Fling into your hand
2. Make sure that your library has a number of cards that is more or equal to your opponent’s HP
3. Play Body of Research
4. Use Kazuul’s Fury or Fling on Body of Research to instantly kill your opponent

Use ramp spells, such as Lotus Cobra and Cultivate, to get to six mana as quickly as possible and execute your perfect combo early on.

Echoing Equation Combo

This sort of approach hasn’t traditionally been a popular mechanic among standard format players. However, something similar was introduced in the Kaldheim set last season.

With the release of Echoing Equation in Strixhaven, players can use Fynn, the Fangbearer to insta-kill their opponents.

Here is how this combo looks like:

1. Generate at least five 1/1 creature tokens
2. Play Fynn, the Fangbearer
3. Cast Echoing Equation on Fynn, the Fangbearer
4. Attack with all creatures for 10 infect damage, which is lethal

You can quickly generate the necessary amount of tokens with the help of Sedgemoor Witch, Pest Summoning, Tend the Pests, and many other similar spells.

Harness Infinity Combo

Harness Infinity is another extreme card from Strixhaven that allows you to put your entire graveyard into your hand. Such effects are usually more fitting for formats like modern or legacy, but not standard.

Fortunately, we still have access to Syr Konrad, the Grim from the Throne of Eldraine set, a card that has a perfect synergy with Harness Infinity. In short, when you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, Syr Konrad deals 1 damage to each opponent equal to the number of those creatures.

Here’s a step-by-step sequence of the combo:

1. Use a self-mill or discard ability to put 20 creatures into your graveyard
2. Play Syr Konrad, the Grim
3. Cast Harness Infinity
4. Deal damage to opponent equal to the number of creatures in your graveyard

A self-mill effect can be easily achieved with the help of such cards like Merfolk Secretkeeper, Mire Triton, Tymaret Calls the Dead, and other similar spells.

Grinning Ignus Combo

The only actual reprinted card in Strixhaven is Grinning Ignus, an elemental creature that originally appeared way back in the Future Sight set.

Today, with the help of Birgi, God of Storytelling and Terror of the Peaks, you can kill your opponent in one turn. Grinning Ignus can be played an infinite number of times using his ability and mana generated by Birgi, while Terror of the Peaks will deal 2 damage to an opponent every time Grinning Ignus comes into play.

The Grinning Ignus combo runs as follows:

1. Play Terror of the Peaks
2. Play Birgi, God of Storytelling
3. Play Grinning Ignus
4. Activate Grinning Ignus’s ability using mana generated by Birgi, God of Storytelling
5. Play Grinning Ignus as many times as needed

For example, if your opponent has 20 HP, then you need to play Grinning Ignus ten times. If more damage is needed, then just keep repeating the same pattern until you opponent is dead.

The best part about this combo is that you can play it in a simple Mono-Red shell.

Jadzi Ultimatum Combo

When most players think of casting big spells in their decks, they always turn to ramp archetypes for help. But this combo offers players something extraordinary, and the key is hidden in the new Jadzi, Oracle of Arcavios card.

It’s a very expensive card at eight mana, but when you put it on board, all of your spells can be cast for just a single colorless mana, which is impressive.

If you cast a sorcery or an instant card using Jadzi’s ability, then you can keep casting your big spells for just one mana. That’s why playing such popular finishers like Ultimatum spells usually means that the game is over for your opponent.

The combo with Jadzi, Oracle of Arcavios can be done with other spells, too, such as:

• Explosive Welcome
• Magma Opus
• Creative Outburst
• Elemental Masterpiece
• And many others

Jadzi can also be cheated into the game with the help of Gyruda, Doom of Depths. That won’t happen every time, but when it does, then it’s basically all over.

Wandering Archaic Combo

This next combo must be one of the most complicated to execute, but the result is really cool and totally worth exploring.

The return of modal double-faced cards in Strixhaven has generated a lot of positive buzz, and the new Extus, Oriq Overlord legendary creature allows players to exploit this card type to a great effect.

Wandering Archaic is a simple creature card on the front side, but the flip side is a sorcery: Explore the Vastlands. Thus, Extus, Oriq Overlord can help you bring back Wandering Archaic to your hand after casting Explore the Vastlands.

This simple loop becomes really exciting, when you manage to reduce the sorcery’s mana cost from three to zero with the help of such cards like:

• Rowan, Scholar of Sparks
• Will, Scholar of Frost
• Umori, the Collector

Once you have all the pieces in play, all you need is Quakebringer that will prevent your opponent from gaining life off of the Explore the Vastlands. When the combo goes off, you will have an infinite life gaining loop that can’t be beaten.

This combo can be played like this:

1. Play Rowan, Scholar of Sparks
2. Play Will, Scholar of Frost
3. Play Umori, the Collector (choosing sorcery)
4. Play Quakebringer
5. Play Extus, Oriq Overlord
6. Cast Explore the Vastlands
7. Return Wandering Archaic from your graveyard to your hand
8. Rinse and repeat steps 6 and 7

Just keep repeating the loop until your opponent concedes, as they will soon realize that your infinite life loop is never going to end.

Those are the best Strixhaven combos for standard in Magic: The Gathering. For more Magic: The Gathering content, card lists, and guides, head over to our MtG hub page here.