Introduction
Imagine a scenario: You’re staring down a board full of your opponent’s creatures, your life total dwindling. But you have a secret weapon—a single enchantment that can generate virtually infinite mana, allowing you to cast a game-ending threat and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This is the power of Food Chain combos in Magic: The Gathering. Food Chain, on its own, might seem like a niche card, but when combined with the right creatures, it transforms into a powerhouse, capable of fueling some of the most explosive and resilient combos in various formats.
This article delves into the intricacies of Food Chain combos. We’ll break down how Food Chain works, explore its key components, highlight popular combo variations, and discuss strategies for piloting and playing against these potent decks. This guide is aimed at players with a moderate understanding of Magic, eager to elevate their game by mastering the art of the Food Chain.
Understanding Food Chain
Let’s start with the core card itself: Food Chain. This unassuming enchantment, costing three generic mana and one green mana, possesses the ability to exile a non-Human creature you control to add mana equal to that creature’s mana cost to your mana pool. There’s a catch, of course. You can only spend this mana to cast creature spells.
The full text reads as follows: “Exile a non-Human creature you control: Add mana equal to that creature’s mana cost to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.”
At first glance, the restriction seems significant. You can’t use this mana to cast instants, sorceries, or activate abilities. However, the key to unlocking Food Chain’s true potential lies in its synergy with specific creatures that can be repeatedly cast from exile, creating a loop that generates increasingly larger sums of mana. This ability to generate large amounts of mana is how food chain gets its combo potential.
Why is Food Chain so powerful? It allows you to bypass the normal limitations of mana production. Traditional mana ramp is often slow and vulnerable to disruption. Food Chain, on the other hand, can create a sudden and overwhelming surge of mana, often enough to cast a massive threat or trigger a game-winning effect.
Key Combo Pieces and Variations
The power of food chain is most apparent in its combos with the right cards. These combinations can take you from near defeat to immediate victory.
The General/Commander Element
Food Chain shines especially brightly in the Commander format. The guaranteed access to your commander provides a consistent piece to build your combo around. Many commanders synergize exceptionally well with Food Chain, becoming the engine that drives the deck to victory.
Consider Prossh, Skyraider of Kher. Prossh generates a horde of Kobold tokens when it enters the battlefield, providing fodder for Food Chain. Each exiled token adds mana, which can then be used to recast Prossh, creating an ever-increasing army.
Squee, the Immortal, another powerful choice, can be repeatedly cast from exile, allowing you to generate infinite mana. Squee’s cheap cost allows you to recast him every time.
The First Sliver cascades into other Slivers, creating a chain reaction that can quickly overwhelm opponents. Food Chain accelerates this process, allowing you to cast multiple Slivers in a single turn.
The Eternal Creature
To truly break Food Chain, you need a creature that can be repeatedly cast from exile, effectively looping and generating infinite mana. The classic example is Squee, the Immortal. Squee can be cast from exile at any time, provided you have the mana.
The interaction is simple yet devastating: Exile Squee with Food Chain, adding two generic mana to your pool. Then, use that mana to recast Squee from exile. Rinse and repeat, accumulating infinite mana.
While Squee is the most common choice, other, less conventional options might exist depending on the specific deck and format. The key is finding a creature that can reliably return from exile for a manageable cost.
The Mana Outlet
Infinite mana is useless without a way to convert it into a win. This is where the mana outlet comes in. Mana outlets come in various forms, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Creature-based outlets include End-Raze Forerunners and Craterhoof Behemoth. These creatures provide a massive boost to your entire team, overwhelming your opponents with sheer power. Torment of Hailfire, while not a creature, can be used to drain your opponents’ life totals or force them to sacrifice their permanents, effectively locking them out of the game.
Direct damage outlets, such as Walking Ballista and Comet Storm, allow you to deal lethal damage to your opponents directly. Walking Ballista can be repeatedly cast and have its counters increased, while Comet Storm can be scaled to deal massive damage to multiple targets.
Other options involve using the infinite mana to draw your entire deck and then cast a specific win condition, such as Thassa’s Oracle.
Tutor Options
Consistency is paramount in any combo deck. Tutors are essential for finding the key pieces of the Food Chain combo and assembling it quickly and reliably. Numerous tutors are available in Magic, each with its own cost and restrictions.
Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor are among the most powerful and versatile tutors in the game, allowing you to find any card in your deck for a small price. Imperial Seal offers a similar effect but requires you to wait until your next upkeep. Worldly Tutor is a green tutor that specifically finds creatures, while Green Sun’s Zenith can tutor for a green creature with a specific converted mana cost.
The more tutors you include in your deck, the more likely you are to find the necessary pieces and execute the Food Chain combo.
Sample Food Chain Combos
Let’s examine a few concrete examples of Food Chain combos to illustrate how they work in practice.
Prossh plus Food Chain plus Squee plus Impact Tremors
This combo utilizes Prossh’s token generation, Food Chain’s mana engine, Squee’s recursive ability, and Impact Tremors’ damage output. Prossh creates Kobold tokens when it enters the battlefield. You exile these tokens with Food Chain to generate mana, which you then use to recast Squee from exile. Each time Squee enters the battlefield, Impact Tremors deals one damage to each opponent. Repeat this process until your opponents are defeated.
The First Sliver plus Food Chain plus Squee plus Mana Outlet
This combo leverages The First Sliver’s cascade ability to find more Slivers and eventually a game-winning threat. Food Chain lets you exile Squee to recast The First Sliver or other Slivers, triggering the cascade ability and digging deeper into your deck. Eventually, you’ll find a mana outlet, such as Walking Ballista, and use the infinite mana to win the game.
General Tazri plus Food Chain plus Squee plus Hagra Mauling plus Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
Using the party mechanic to play all the best allies for value while looping them and using them to tutor up more powerful threats. This combo will create a battlefield of allies for massive value.
Playing With Food Chain
Building a Food Chain deck requires careful consideration of various factors.
The mana base needs to be solid, providing consistent access to the colors of mana you need. Fast mana, such as Mana Crypt and Sol Ring, can help you accelerate your game plan and cast Food Chain as early as possible.
The number of tutors you include depends on the format and your desired level of consistency. More tutors increase your chances of finding the combo pieces, but they also take up valuable deck slots.
Protection spells, such as counterspells and discard spells, are crucial for protecting your combo from disruption. Counterspells can prevent your opponents from removing Food Chain or countering your win condition, while discard spells can remove key threats from their hands.
It’s also wise to have backup plans in case the Food Chain combo is disrupted. This could involve alternative win conditions or strategies that can still win the game without relying on Food Chain.
When playing a Food Chain deck, mulligan aggressively for hands that contain Food Chain, a tutor, or early game ramp. Assess the board state and your opponents’ hands before attempting to go for the combo. Play around potential disruption by holding up counterspells or using discard spells to clear the way.
Playing Against Food Chain
Facing a Food Chain deck can be challenging, but not insurmountable. The first step is to identify the combo and understand the potential threat. Once you know what your opponent is trying to do, you can start to disrupt their plans.
Targeted removal spells, such as Assassin’s Trophy and Beast Within, can destroy Food Chain and shut down the combo. Counterspells can prevent Food Chain, Squee, or the mana outlet from resolving. Stax effects, such as Rule of Law and Drannith Magistrate, can slow down the game and make it harder for the Food Chain player to combo off. Graveyard hate, such as Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void, can prevent Squee from being cast from exile. Hand disruption spells, such as Thoughtseize and Duress, can remove key combo pieces from your opponent’s hand.
Beyond disruption, being proactive is key. Apply early pressure to force your opponent to use their resources defensively. Take advantage of windows where your opponent is vulnerable, such as when they tap out to cast Food Chain.
Conclusion
Food Chain combos represent a fascinating and powerful strategy in Magic: The Gathering. By understanding the core mechanics, key pieces, and various combo variations, you can either pilot these decks to victory or develop effective strategies for playing against them. The ability to generate infinite mana and cast game-ending threats makes Food Chain a force to be reckoned with in various formats.
Now that you understand the Food Chain combo, try building a deck around it or adapting your existing decks to better defend against it. The world of Magic is vast and ever-evolving, and there’s always more to learn. Consider exploring other combo archetypes or diving deeper into specific card interactions to further enhance your understanding of the game. Happy gaming!
