Retreat to Ruin (Control Combo EDH)

Commander / EDH Control Enchantment Infinite Combo WUB (Esper)

BudgetBS

Lands (36)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Esper Panorama
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hall of Heliod's Generosity
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 7x Island
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Obscura Storefront
• 6x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 4x Swamp
• 1x Tundra
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Watery Grave

Tutors (9)

• 1x Cruel Tutor
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Grim Tutor
• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Stax (8)

• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
• 1x Karmic Justice
• 1x Leadership Vacuum
• 1x Monastery Siege
• 1x Shadow of Doubt
• 1x Smothering Tithe

Card Draw (15)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Combat Research
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Leadership Vacuum
• 1x Mesa Enchantress
• 1x Monastery Siege
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Opt
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Prophetic Prism
• 1x Shadow Rift
• 1x Shadow of Doubt
• 1x Shelter
• 1x Slip Through Space

Ramp (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Prophetic Prism
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Sol Ring

Protection (8)

• 1x Brave the Elements
• 1x Combat Research
• 1x Greater Auramancy
• 1x Karmic Justice
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Shelter
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Veil of Secrecy

COMBO (3)

• 1x Retreat to Coralhelm
• 1x Retreat to Hagra
• 1x Ruin Ghost

Commander (1)

Counters (10)

• 1x Absorb
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mana Leak
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Negate
• 1x Remand
• 1x Spell Pierce
• 1x Unwind

Synergy (10)

• 1x Argivian Find
• 1x Hall of Heliod's Generosity
• 1x Replenish
• 1x Restoration Specialist
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Shadow Rift
• 1x Slip Through Space
• 1x Starfield of Nyx
• 1x Tragic Poet
• 1x Veil of Secrecy

Board Wipes (4)

• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Fell the Mighty
• 1x Slaughter the Strong
• 1x Wave of Reckoning

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DECK STRAT AND COMBO

This deck is very very simple. There is one wincon. One goal. The following combo provides infinite damage, infinite lifegain, and infinite landfall triggers.

Retreat to Coralhelm + Retreat to Hagra + Ruin Ghost

Requirements: All permanents on the battlefield along with any one land than can tap for {W} and does not enter the battlefield tapped (i.e. Plains, Command Tower, Caves of Koilos, etc.)

Here's how it works:

• Tap Ruin Ghost and a land that produces {W} to activate Ruin Ghost's activated ability, targeting the land you just tapped.

• The land flickers, coming back onto the battlefield untapped. This triggers the landfall abilities on the Retreat cards. Retreat to Hagra pings all other players for 1 damage and Retreat to Coralhelm allows you to untap Ruin Ghost.

• With the land and Ruin Ghost both untapped, you are free to begin the process over again, infinitely flickering lands and pinging your opponents to 0.

Quick note about lands for the combo Show

You CAN use the Pain Lands (Underground River, Caves of Koilos, and Adarkar Wastes) because the landfall trigger on Retreat to Hagra gives you a life which offsets the Pain Land. But you CANNOT use the Shock Lands (Water Grave, Godless Shrine, and Hallowed Fountain) because you'll die along with your opponents.

There are many ways to search out a Plains card to use for this if need be; Esper Panorama, Evolving Wilds, Obscura Storefront, and any of the 3 Fetch Lands can all find a basic plains, while Fetch Lands can also find Pain Lands and Dual Lands.

TUTORS

Remember, Zur the Enchanter is our main tutor for the enchantments, so we really just need creature tutors, which black happens to have plenty of. Cards like:

• Demonic Tutor

• Vampiric Tutor

• Imperial Seal

• Grim Tutor

• Cruel Tutor

• Diabolic Tutor

• Recruiter of the Guard

• Muddle the Mixture - also a counter spell!

• Mystical Tutor - to tutor for a tutor spell that can find Ruin Ghost

These can all obtain Ruin Ghost and most can tutor for the other combo pieces also, so we don't _need _ Zur to win, he just makes it easy.

RAMP

The easiest way to win is with Zur the Enchanter's help, so we need to be able to get him out quick. We do run a bunch of lands, but there's also this whole slew of mana rocks and whatnot, including:

• Sol Ring

• Arcane Signet, Azorius Signet, Dimir Signet, and Orzhov Signet

• Chromatic Lantern - can be really useful for both casting Zur and mana fixing the combo w/o a Plains

• Mana Crypt

And then there's some other ramp, like:

• Smothering Tithe

• Land Tax

COUNTERS

People aren't gonna like what you're doing. They're gonna want to take your enchantment tutor on a stick away from you, so these cards are here for you to prevent that:

• Muddle the Mixture

• Mana Drain

• Spell Pierce

• Remand

• Negate

• Counterspell

• Unwind

• Mana Leak

• Arcane Denial

• Absorb

OTHER CONTROL

In a deck that doesn't utilize very many creatures, it's a good idea to have some board-wipes to keep the board state open enough for you to work with. Because the only two creatures that really matter to this deck both have a power of 1, there's a bunch of options for wiping out all creatures with more power than ours. Cards like:

• Dusk / Dawn

• Fell the Mighty

• Slaughter the Strong

• Wave of Reckoning

Beyond that, we also have some stax just to keep our opponents in check while we try to put our combo together. See cards like:

• Karmic Justice

• Blind Obedience

• Rule of Law

• Smothering Tithe

• Monologue Tax

• Authority of the Consuls

As well as some enchantment protections:

• Greater Auramancy

SYNERGY

Cards that are synergistic with this deck offer multiple options for use or are some critical redundancy. See cards like:

• Tragic Poet

• Argivian Find

But then there are others that make Zur the Enchanter unblockable, so they guarantee a free enchantment tutor.

• Rogue's Passage

• Shadow Rift

• Slip Through Space

In addition, they offer mana or card draw for cheap. Speaking of card draw...

CARD DRAW

These cards help you draw more cards!

• Phyrexian Arena

• Combat Research

Date added	1 year
Last updated	1 year
Key combos	Retreat to Coralhelm + Retreat to Hagra + Ruin Ghost
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 32 - 0 Rares 20 - 0 Uncommons 22 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.30
Tokens	Treasure