2010)

Flash back to the Rise of the Eldrazi pre-release with me for a moment if you will. My boyfriend and I were standing out in front of Pandemonium in Garden City, Michigan for a smoke between matches. He suddenly drops his cigarette and pulls out his cards, finding the copy of Training Grounds he had obtained from his card pool.

"What is that?" I ask, pointing at his card.

"The way to go infinite in Standard," was his reply.

He went on to remind me of a card from Shards of Alara I'd completely forgotten about: Filigree Sages. With one of them, a Training Grounds, and a Khalni Gem in play, you can generate infinite mana of any color. My boyfriend is a genius.

Going on that strategy, I put the following deck together:

“Thompson”
Standard-Legal; Mono-blue; 60 cards

Blue (33)
4: Training Grounds
3: Enclave Cryptologist
2: Crab Umbra
4: Mana Leak
2: Negate
4: Etherium Sculptor
4: Filigree Sages
1: Ethersworn Adjudicator
1: Tezzeret, the Seeker
4: Sphinx of Magosi
4: Mind Spring

Colorless (5)
4: Khalni Gem
1: Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Land (22)
1: Misty Rainforest
1: Scalding Tarn
20: Island

SIDEBOARD
Blue (15)
4: Spreading Seas
4: Flashfreeze
4: Into the Roil
2: Mindbreak Trap
1: Fatestitcher

The idea of this deck is simple: get the combo pieces onto the battlefield with enough mana to have at least one blue available to untap the Khalni Gem infinite times, and then use either Mind Spring or Sphinx of Magosi to draw all but a few cards from your library. You can then cast everything from your hand (which is almost your entire library), including Emrakul so you can take another turn right away. When you enter your discard phase, keep nothing but counterspells and victory is almost guaranteed to be yours.

The amazing thing about this deck is that there is the possibility of drawing the right cards to go infinite on the third turn. You have to draw into them on turns two and three (and turn one if not playing first), but it can happen. Cast Training Grounds turn one; Etherium Sculptor turn two; and two Etherium Sculptors followed by Khalni Gem and Filigree Sages turn three, and you will have one mana floating to untap the gem. Granted, if you didn't draw a Sphinx of Magosi or a Mind Spring you can't do anything yet, but the possibility exists to win right then and there if you did. Obviously, this perfect draw rarely happens.

As a combo deck, "Thompson" shares every combo deck's weakness: it can be disrupted easily. The way I get around this is holding the Filigree Sages in my hand until I'm sure I can safely go infinite. Even if a kill spell is thrown at the Sages you can respond by tapping and untapping the Khalni Gem infinite times, so if you can hold out long enough to draw Sphinx of Magosi or Mind Spring you'll be all right. Remember to draw a card and put a +1/+1 counter on the Sphinx one at a time to give your opponent appropriate time to respond, and also to give yourself a window to respond to any kill spells or counterspells thrown your way while drawing with it. Against blue or green, this usually isn't such a problem - most people don't main deck Naturalize and blue's main weapons against "Thompson's" strategy are bounce and counterspells. Both are easy to overcome with counterspells of your own and careful play timing. I usually leave between three and six cards in my library after going infinite anyways as insurance against mill and targeted draw, and to leave myself a few turns in case something goes wrong somehow (although if one of those remaining cards is Emrakul I will use the Sphinx to draw until I draw my copy of it, unless of course there is only one card left in my library). If the opponent has too many creatures to block with or enchantments that can stop you, that's where Ethersworn Adjudicator comes in handy. Emrakul's Annihilator and extra turn should prevent any other potential mishaps. If your opponent should somehow gain an insane amount of life, Tezzeret (who can also help you make your combo happen by tutoring your Khalni Gem or Filigree Sages onto the battlefield) can turn all of your artifacts into 5/5's. Simply cast him on your first infinite turn, and then use his +1 ability. On your next turn, which will hopefully be an extra turn given by Emrakul, you can use his -5 ability to aid in your ultimate attack. If you're having trouble drawing your combo pieces, Enclave Cryptologist enchanted with a Crab Umbra helps, especially with a Training Grounds on the battlefield.

Some cards I considered adding would have helped keep the deck alive but also would have detracted from the combo. If I owned a Jace, the Mind Sculptor I would have used him, of course. Master of Etherium helps make your artifact creatures, like the Sages and Sculptors, safer from burn spells and allows you to enter combat without your combo pieces. Fatestitcher can serve the same purpose as the sages when enchanted with Crab Umbra, and it can be used to lock down your opponent's side of the board in a pinch. More counterspells, more fetch lands, and more card draw really need no explanation. There really isn't a whole lot other than Counterspell, more fetch lands, and Isochron Scepter that comes to mind for non-Standard-legal builds of this deck. Propaganda, Maze of Ith, and Chill could be nice additions to the sideboard.

While I'm sure there are other ways to utilize this combo, this is the only one I've explored thus far. If I stumble upon anymore, I'll be sure to let you know. Until next time, may you explore the infinite possibilities life presents us with.

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