Newbie tries Combodeck

[Vex]

Hi, I'm absolutely inexperienced with this Format.
Until now i just played T2 from Odyssey to Onslaught.
Now I'm trying to create a Combo-Highlander with some aspects of control of course. I didn't create a complete Decklist yet because I don't know enough good Combos.
Here are the Combos I already listed up:
Tooth and Nail - generic combo card
Kiki-Jiki
+ Seeker of the Skybreak
+ Intruder Alaram
+ Sky Hussar
Academy Ruins + Mindslaver
Panoptic Mirror
+ Beacon of Tomorrows
+ Capture of Jingzhou
+ Savor the Moment
+ Temporal Manipulation
+ Time Warp
+ Walk the Aeons
Isochron Scepter + Metamorphose

Do you have any combo suggestions to add?
I'm searching for combos which are at least nearly an instant win.
Thanks in advance
Vex

[pyyhttu]

I'm searching for combos which are at least nearly an instant win.

Aluren + Imperial Recruiter
Swans of Bryn Argoll + Chain of Plasma
Ad Nauseam + Angel's Grace
Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest
Stuffy Doll + Guilty Conscience
Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void

Could go on, but those are from top of my head. There are numerous more playable combo synergies which require a whole deck to support them, like High Tide and Hypergenesis.

Also the sleepers (like Doomsday piles) can be nasty.

Isochron Scepter + Metamorphose

What's with this? Orim's Chant works better.

[Nastaboi]

Two much played are Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek and Vampiric Hexmage + Dark Depths. But you should not fill your deck with too many different combos. Just pick one or two that strike your fancy and build the deck around them. Like, with Aluren you'll be playing creatures /w enters battlefield abilities, and I have a Swans deck /w many Pyroclasm effects that have synergy with Swans in play. Other things to consider is the ease or finding combo pieces. E.g. Thopter Foundry and Sword are both artifacts -> Fabricate, Tezzeret; have CC 2 -> same transmute cards; Sword can be in gy as well to start combo and so on. Pick the combo that has most synergy with the rest of the deck, or build the rest to have maximum synergy with the combo.

And somebody should play Doomsday with Shelldock Isle. 

[pyyhttu]

Also the sleepers (like Doomsday piles) can be nasty.

And somebody should play Doomsday with Shelldock Isle.

Already does, already does...

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/19413_Legacys_Allure_Introducing_Shelldock_Doomsday.html

But I haven't yet gotten all the pieces to interact so that could win on the same turn. Passing a turn after Doomsday has never been my forte...

[Sturmgott]

I'm currently trying to build something around Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Living Plane. Currently my build is GBW and works like a rock-style mid-range deck that can at some, rather late point lock the opponent out with that combo.

Anybody interested to have a thread on its own for building the deck together?

Btw, another Doomsday combo-kill you need 6 mana to win, amongst them UU:

1. Frantic Search
2. Lotus Petal
3. Obsessive Search
4. Mind's Desire
5. Beacon of Destruction

[Vex]

First I want to thank you for your help.
Here are my comments to the Combos, if i understood anything wrong, please correct me:
Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek
only as many 1/1 and Life as I got Mana

Vampiric Hexmage + Dark Depths
20/20 indestructable, flying, black, avatar

Swans of Bryn Argoll + Chain of Plasma
draw infinite cards

Aluren + Imperial Recruiter - I don't understand this Combo

Ad Nauseam + Angel's Grace
draw infinite cards set life to 1, you cannot lose this turn

Stuffy Doll + Guilty Conscience
love this combo - if I understand it right, it's an instantwin, isn't it?

Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void
remove opponents library

Doomsday + Shelldock Isle + X
suggestions for X:
a)- Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Doomsday
1. Frantic Search
2. Lotus Petal
3. Obsessive Search
4. Mind's Desire
5. Beacon of Destruction
I'll need 7 Mana right? 4UUU
U for Obsessive Search and 4UU for Mind's Desire
So it will be Lotus Petal + 4UU
Combo deals 20 damage if I understand it right.

Linvala, Keeper of Silence + Living Plane
no mana through lands for your opponent but many 1/1 lands on both sides

Furthermore I added to the list:
Isochron Scepter
+ Orim's Chant
+ Angel's Grace

Now let's come to Isochron Scepter + Metamorphose:
I prefer this Combo because it shields itself a bit.
Orim's Chant allows your opponent to cast Instants(like Shatter, Naturalize etc.) and draw cards.
Additionally both (Iso and Meta) are CC 2 which makes it easier to find them with Transmute.
@Nastaboi: I'm collecting as many Combos as possible first. Afterwards I'll check the colors for possibilities to get these combos out and to protect these Combos if needed. I want to have as many Combos as possible in the Deck to get the following situation:
On my starthand I've got at least one combopart + tutor for the second part.
If I would insert only a few Combos and build the Deck around them, it will result in a slower Deck because in most cases I've got to tutor both Comboparts. But it's just a try, maybe you are right and a Deck full of Combos won't work...
I'll see

[Nastaboi]

Aluren + Imperial Recruiter - I don't understand this Combo

Play Aluren, play Recruiter. Fetch Man-o'-War, bounce Recruiter. Fetch Cavern Harpy, bounce everything and fetch kill condition, like Parasitic Strix.

Enchanted Stuffy Doll is an instant kill unless summoning sick. Niv-Mizzet + Curiosity is a similar one. These combos are not played that much because both combo parts are rather awful on their own.

Isle is played mostly in combination with Emrakul, but I've yet to see anyone manage it in Highlander.

Other two-carders: Saproling Burst + Pandemomium, Vesuvan Shapeshifter + Brine Elemental (aka Pickles), Illusions of Grandeur + Donate.

[Dreamer]

First I want to thank you for your help.
Here are my comments to the Combos, if i understood anything wrong, please correct me:

Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek
only as many 1/1 and Life as I got Mana

correct, 1 mana = token + 1 life at instant speed.

Vampire Hexmage + Dark Depths
20/20 indestructable, flying, black, avatar

Correct.

Swans of Bryn Argoll + Chain of Plasma
draw infinite cards

Is also instant kill because deck will include Simian Spirit Guide, Lotus Petal, Chrome Mox, etc. and Conflagrate. Discard conflagrate to Chain of Plasma, then Flashback Conflagrate for lots of damage.

Aluren + Imperial Recruiter - I don't understand this Combo

Play Recruiter for free, search for Man-o'-War. Bounce Recruiter with Man-o'War and play Recruiter again. Search for Cavern Harpy. Now you can search for as many creatures as you want and replay them again and again and again.

Ad Nauseam + Angel's Grace
draw infinite cards set life to 1, you cannot lose this turn

Correct. The deck usually includes cards like Simian Spirit Guide, Chrome Mox, Dark Ritual and so on to play lots of spells on the combo turn and then kill the opponent with Tendrils of Agony, Dragonstorm or the like.

Stuffy Doll + Guilty Conscience
love this combo - if I understand it right, it's an instantwin, isn't it?

Correct.

Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void
remove opponents library

Correct as well.

Doomsday + Shelldock Isle + X
suggestions for X:
a)- Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Pretty much that, yes. You even get the Time Walk effect because you actually cast Emrakul.

Doomsday
1. Frantic Search
2. Lotus Petal
3. Obsessive Search
4. Mind's Desire
5. Beacon of Destruction
I'll need 7 Mana right? 4UUU
U for Obsessive Search and 4UU for Mind's Desire
So it will be Lotus Petal + 4UU
Combo deals 20 damage if I understand it right.

Yep, that's the idea.

Linvala, Keeper of Silence + Living Plane
no mana through lands for your opponent but many 1/1 lands on both sides

Yep.

Furthermore I added to the list:
Isochron Scepter
+ Orim's Chant
+ Angel's Grace

Now let's come to Isochron Scepter + Metamorphose:
I prefer this Combo because it shields itself a bit.
Orim's Chant allows your opponent to cast Instants(like Shatter, Naturalize etc.) and draw cards.

Orim's Chant is the best card to put into a Scepter, pretty much bar none. No other card locks the opponent out of the game so completely.

@Nastaboi: I'm collecting as many Combos as possible first. Afterwards I'll check the colors for possibilities to get these combos out and to protect these Combos if needed. I want to have as many Combos as possible in the Deck to get the following situation:
On my starthand I've got at least one combopart + tutor for the second part.
If I would insert only a few Combos and build the Deck around them, it will result in a slower Deck because in most cases I've got to tutor both Comboparts. But it's just a try, maybe you are right and a Deck full of Combos won't work...
I'll see

You don't want a lot of combos in one deck unless they share a lot of pieces because, chances are, you'll draw parts of many combos, but not a single complete combo, and thus don't have anything substantial to do. The tutors act as wildcards and can fetch whatever card seems necessary at the cost of a small tempo loss. Also, having a ton of combos eats up a lot of deck space, and eventually you won't have room for cards that protect yourself from your opponent. You'll just draw lame cards that don't do anything substantial without their combo partner.

[Vex]

Furthermore I added to the list:
Isochron Scepter
+ Orim's Chant
+ Angel's Grace

Now let's come to Isochron Scepter + Metamorphose:
I prefer this Combo because it shields itself a bit.
Orim's Chant allows your opponent to cast Instants(like Shatter, Naturalize etc.) and draw cards.

Orim's Chant is the best card to put into a Scepter, pretty much bar none. No other card locks the opponent out of the game so completely.

Hmm, i cannot understand this point. The big disadvantage of Orim's Chant is that your opponent is able to draw new cards and to play instants. Of course the Chant is pretty good but in my opinion in most cases the Metamorphose is much better because your opponent has to play with the cards he already has in game or hand. Of course he could draw cards if he has a spell which allows him to do so but in many cases he is completely locked and unable to remove the combo, which is more than orim's chant can do.

[Essah]

Furthermore I added to the list:
Isochron Scepter
+ Orim's Chant
+ Angel's Grace

Now let's come to Isochron Scepter + Metamorphose:
I prefer this Combo because it shields itself a bit.
Orim's Chant allows your opponent to cast Instants(like Shatter, Naturalize etc.) and draw cards.

Orim's Chant is the best card to put into a Scepter, pretty much bar none. No other card locks the opponent out of the game so completely.

Hmm, i cannot understand this point. The big disadvantage of Orim's Chant is that your opponent is able to draw new cards and to play instants. Of course the Chant is pretty good but in my opinion in most cases the Metamorphose is much better because your opponent has to play with the cards he already has in game or hand. Of course he could draw cards if he has a spell which allows him to do so but in many cases he is completely locked and unable to remove the combo, which is more than orim's chant can do.

Add Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and you have a hardlock with Scepter-Chant.

[Tabris]

Just for the record. The Thopter combo is in my opinion one of the best semi combos you can actually play in highlander. Its cheap to assemble and you get enough stuff to tutor for it. And it works great vs aggro and control. To make just 4-5 token per turn is enough to get the win. The only bad thing about are the components since both are pretty useless on their own. But the benefit is in my view good enough.

[Vex]

Furthermore I added to the list:
Isochron Scepter
+ Orim's Chant
+ Angel's Grace

Now let's come to Isochron Scepter + Metamorphose:
I prefer this Combo because it shields itself a bit.
Orim's Chant allows your opponent to cast Instants(like Shatter, Naturalize etc.) and draw cards.

Orim's Chant is the best card to put into a Scepter, pretty much bar none. No other card locks the opponent out of the game so completely.

Hmm, i cannot understand this point. The big disadvantage of Orim's Chant is that your opponent is able to draw new cards and to play instants. Of course the Chant is pretty good but in my opinion in most cases the Metamorphose is much better because your opponent has to play with the cards he already has in game or hand. Of course he could draw cards if he has a spell which allows him to do so but in many cases he is completely locked and unable to remove the combo, which is more than orim's chant can do.

Add Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and you have a hardlock with Scepter-Chant.

yeah and if the opponent has Teferi instead, it's nearly useless...
I wouldn't say that Orim's Chant is bad on Scepter but where is the real advantage compared to Iso+Meta?

[Tiggupiru]

Just for the record. The Thopter combo is in my opinion one of the best semi combos you can actually play in highlander. Its cheap to assemble and you get enough stuff to tutor for it. And it works great vs aggro and control. To make just 4-5 token per turn is enough to get the win. The only bad thing about are the components since both are pretty useless on their own. But the benefit is in my view good enough.

Well, Thopter Foundry is not that bad on it's own. I especially like the fact that you can sacrifice Sensei's Diving Top in response to the card drawing ability. I've also been able to hold the ground couple turns with Venser holding the Sword, but yeah, sword is quite miserable.

@Metamorphose + Scepter

This is a lock if, and only if, opponent has no overwhelming board position or is unable to drop some huge bombs on the table. It requires some setup and it's still possible to lose to creatures. Chant does not care if opponent has creatures or unknown cards in hand.

Since you've probably never played with Chant+Scepter, it might not be easy to see the fact that after resolved chant, you can play instant card draw at the end of that turn or spend your mana freely otherwise without fear of possible shenanigans. This makes this lock incredibly more hard to break out of, assuming you have permission and instant library manipulation.

Also Teferi.

[PuTe]

Hey, with angel's grace and ad nauseam your life becomes -xxx and not 1. You have to finish your opponent the turn u use ad nauseam. E.g. with conflagrate, petal, simian spiritguide etc.

[Vex]

yeah right, thanks for this hint. Thought Angel's Grace would prevent the lifeloss instead of the damage.