Infinite Combos are overrated

Have I been raped by infinite combos? Oh yes....

Have I foiled infinite combos? Of course.

The secret to beating an infinite combo is early recognition. Once everyone else realizes whats going to happen, its easy to get them to turn on the would be infinite comboer.

Example numero uno. Jace busts out Squirrel Nest and Earthcraft.

  

Cheap and easy. Fast too. There's really very little one can do to stop it.

Example number two, Time Vault and Voltaic (or Galvanic) Key.

      

Barron has been known to use this from time to time (pun intended). Infinite turns. Painfully slow in a multiplayer game, and ridiculously annoying. This would lead to the development of yet another house rule, but I digress.

Example three, Rith and his two attempts at infinite life.

Here's how it started, a four player game in which I am playing my green and black Token Deck. Rith is first play and I am last. Rith uses Wellwisher and Wirewood Channeller, both of which have Pennemin's Auras on them, to gain infinite life. This was back in the day before we added the house rule that a player must assign a number to "infinite," whether that be 20,000 or 5 million, there had to be a number.

       

Anyway, Rith has infinite life, meaning the rest of us are going to deck ourselves after thirty or so pointless turns. The guy before me goes, and at the end of his turn I hit Rith with a Diabolic Edict. Suddenly, things get interesting. Rith losses the Wellwisher. I start using my tokens with Phyrexian Plaguelord to eliminate the Channeller (it takes several as he exhausts his mana to the shroud effect on the aura). Then comes my turn. And wouldn't you know it, I draw the only card in my deck that can finish off Rian and possibly win me the game: Biorhythms.



And that my friends is one way to beat a player with infinite life. I would go on to win that game thanks to a well constructed deck (and a little top deck love).

Example four, Rith again. Using two Myr Retrievers, Ashnod's Alter, Scrapheap and Genesis Chamber, Rith gains infinite life and infinite 1/1 Myr tokens.

         

Again, I am the player before Rith. Everyone groans and gripes about Rith's cheapass infinite combos, realizing we are all done on Rith's next turn.

I'm holding an Earthquake (again using my Gravepact deck), so I figure I can buy everyone another turn, but my deck has no way to deal with the infinite life.  In what may be my luckiest Magic the Gathering moment of all time, the player before me plays Repercussion. Rith scoffs at him. My turn rolls around, and I Earthquake for 1. Rith's tokens all take 1 damage, and each of them deal 1 damage to him, infinite times (again this was before we made the choose a number for infinity rule). Rith doesn't take this lying down, arguing with me about how the Repercussion/Earthquake combo would resolve and trying in vain to figure out a way to get around it. Everyone laughs heartily and Rith dies.

I would go on to lose that game, but it was worth it.