Most influential Magic cards in combo strategies

Phyrexian Altar is a central piece in countless Magic combos, enabling the generation of any colored mana from creature sacrifices. Its ability to facilitate infinite loops of ETB, LTB, mana, and sacrifice triggers makes it an indispensable tool for instant-win strategies.

Pestermite is pivotal in combo strategies due to its ability to tap or untap a permanent upon entering the battlefield, combined with Flash and Flying. This capability enables powerful interactions, such as the "Splinter Twin" combo, which generates an infinite number of hasty creatures and enters-the-battlefield effects.

Splinter Twin is pivotal in Magic's combo strategies due to its ability to create infinite loops of creatures with haste. Its interaction with cards like Pestermite or Deceiver Exarch allowed for the generation of an unstoppable army in a single turn, defining a dominant deck archetype in the Modern format.

Mishra's Bauble is instrumental in combo strategies due to its ability to provide virtual card advantage at no mana cost, allowing players to cycle through their deck and find key combo pieces more efficiently. Its capacity to "thin" the deck and offer information about the next card makes it a crucial enabler for consistency in decks aiming to assemble specific combinations.

Tendrils of Agony is a central piece in 'Storm' combo strategies due to its unique mechanic. Its 'Storm' ability allows for the generation of multiple copies of the spell, making it a lethal win condition that scales exponentially with the number of spells cast earlier in the turn.

Brainstorm is a cornerstone in countless combo strategies due to its unparalleled ability to sculpt the hand and library. It facilitates finding crucial combo pieces and removing unwanted cards, drastically increasing deck consistency. Its low cost and flexibility make it indispensable for enabling and protecting combos in formats like Legacy and Commander.

Dark Ritual provides an unparalleled mana burst for its cost, enabling players to execute devastating combos in very early turns. Its efficiency in resource generation makes it a fundamental piece for enabling infinite loops and explosive plays that can win the game immediately. The card serves as a key enabler for strategies that seek to exploit mana advantage to deploy threats or establish win conditions rapidly.

Lotus Petal is fundamental in combo strategies due to its ability to generate one mana of any color at zero cost, enabling explosive "starts" and early execution of complex combos. Its flexibility and efficiency make it an indispensable mana accelerator for activating combo sequences in the same turn, often before the opponent can react.

Scapeshift is a central card in lethal combos, allowing players to search for multiple key lands like Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and Mountains to deal massive damage. Its ability to transform the battlefield into a direct damage source makes it a cornerstone of Magic's combo strategies. It has defined deck archetypes across various formats, demonstrating its lasting influence.

Devoted Druid is a cornerstone card in Magic: The Gathering combo strategies due to its unique ability to generate infinite mana with just one additional card. Its interaction with effects that negate or leverage -1/-1 counters makes it a versatile and potent combo engine, capable of accelerating games and enabling explosive wins across multiple formats.

Vizier of Remedies is pivotal in combo strategies due to its unique ability to negate -1/-1 counters, enabling infinite mana interactions with Devoted Druid. Its impact on the Magic: The Gathering metagame has been significant, facilitating efficient and powerful combos that have defined deck archetypes.

Griselbrand is pivotal in combo strategies due to its ability to draw seven cards by paying seven life, allowing players to quickly find the necessary combo pieces to win the game. Its presence defines deck archetypes like Reanimator, where it is accelerated into play to exploit its powerful draw engine and close out games in early turns.

Walking Ballista is pivotal in combo strategies due to its ability to generate infinite damage or unlimited +1/+1 counters with the help of other cards. Its interaction with Heliod, Sun-Crowned, for instance, enables an infinite loop of damage and life gain, making it an instant win condition in many decks. Its flexibility to be cast for any amount of mana and its direct damage ability make it a central piece in countless lethal combinations.

Mindcrank is pivotal in combo strategies due to its ability to convert life loss into a card-milling effect, creating devastating synergies. Its interaction with cards like Duskmantle Guildmage enables infinite life loss and mill combos, making it a key piece for quick and decisive victories.

Duskmantle Guildmage is pivotal in combo strategies due to its synergy with mill cards like Mindcrank. Its first ability allows for lethal damage to an opponent each time a card goes to their graveyard, creating an infinite loop of life loss and milling. This interaction makes it a central piece for quick, decisive victories in the game.

Gravecrawler is a pivotal card in countless infinite combos in Magic: The Gathering, particularly when paired with Phyrexian Altar and another Zombie creature. Its ability to be repeatedly cast from the graveyard for minimal or no cost enables infinite death, enter-the-battlefield, leave-the-battlefield, and mana triggers, often leading to an instant win. This constant recursion establishes it as a key piece for optimized and high-level competitive play strategies.

Heliod, Sun-Crowned is a cornerstone in numerous combo strategies due to its synergy with lifegain and +1/+1 counters. Its ability to grant lifelink and generate counters upon gaining life enables infinite loops with cards like Walking Ballista, leading to infinite damage or life. This interaction has established it as a highly efficient and popular combo engine in formats like Commander and Pioneer, where it even led to Walking Ballista's ban.