MTG Salvation

I am looking for a comprehensive list of all the alt wincons in EDH, I have yet to find one. This includes Divine Intervention which gives you a draw, but everyone knows you just won.

Also, this thread can serve as a discussion as per the fastest ways to get to these alternate win conditions (or your favorite ways).

Final note, the challenge. I really, really want to win using Battle of Wits in EDH... How can I do it? (It is possible, kind of, probably not for tournament, but for casual)

Alternate Win Conditions:

Poison
Mill
Battle of Wits
Helix Pinnacle
Darksteel Reactor
Azor's Elocutors
Divine Intervention
Barren Glory
Biovisionary
Laboratory Maniac
Celestial Convergence
Chance Encounter
Epic Struggle
Felidar Sovereign
Hellkite Tyrant
Mayael's Aria
Maze's End
Mortal Combat
Near Death Experience
Test of Endurance

Player Loses Conditions:
Door to Nothingness
Hive Mind with Pacts
Donate Shenanigans (Forbidden Crypt, Immortal Coil, Lich, Nefarious Lich, and Transcendance)
Phage the Untouchable
Vraska the Unseen tokens

For Helix Pinnacle, I recommend Sprouting Phytohydra + Pyrohemia/Pestilence + that one card that lets you get mana per sacrificing your creatures.

Quote from Iso

For Helix Pinnacle, I recommend Sprouting Phytohydra + Pyrohemia/Pestilence + that one card that lets you get mana per sacrificing your creatures.

Tags added and Phyrexian Alter.

Quote from apocalypse31

Final note, the challenge. I really, really want to win using Battle of Wits in EDH... How can I do it? (It is possible, kind of, probably not for tournament, but for casual)

Here's how you win with Battle of Wits.

Have it on the field, as well as Opalescence. Proceed to beat face with your Battle of Wits, prefferably with Quietus Spike

My favourite right now is Mind Over Matter with Otherworld Atlas. Suddenly nothing in your hand is worth less than anything else, anything your opponents can do can be buried in the stack of your activations, you can tap everyones land, let them respond by pooling the mana, move to your next main phase so its all gone, and continue to make everyone draw their deck till the game ends. Keeping an elixir of immortality or laboratory maniac till near the end will become your wincon.

Quote from Hallow36

My favourite right now is Mind Over Matter with Otherworld Atlas. Suddenly nothing in your hand is worth less than anything else, anything your opponents can do can be buried in the stack of your activations, you can tap everyones land, let them respond by pooling the mana, move to your next main phase so its all gone, and continue to make everyone draw their deck till the game ends. Keeping an elixir of immortality or laboratory maniac till near the end will become your wincon.

Erm, that's not how you're supposed to use that combo. You're supposed to have an Eldrazi Titan or something like Guile in the deck so that once both pieces are on the board, you mill everyone immediately and at instant speed.

Quote from Dechs Kaison

Erm, that's not how you're supposed to use that combo. You're supposed to have an Eldrazi Titan or something like Guile in the deck so that once both pieces are on the board, you mill everyone immediately and at instant speed.

Well sure, but i can do it without the eldrazi or cards that don't fit my theme. Why bother?

How to win with Battle of wits:

1: cast conspiracy naming eldrazi
2: cast battle of wits
3: cast and use spawnsire of ulamog
4: get about 150 guys from your personal collection. Make sure one of those cards is barishi.
5: kill them all
6: shuffle your now 235 plus deck.
7: win

Quote from archdukeofevil

How to win with Battle of wits:

1: cast conspiracy naming eldrazi
2: cast battle of wits
3: cast and use spawnsire of ulamog
4: get about 150 guys from your personal collection. Make sure one of those cards is barishi.
5: kill them all
6: shuffle your now 235 plus deck.
7: win

I believe one of the Eldrazi Titans would suffice. No need for conspiracy.

Hrnmm I guess if you have 100 plus eldrazi laying about. I know I dont.

mortal combat
and can you use wheel of sun and moon as well as an infinite mill combo that activates instant speed to win with battle of wits?

Soul no matter how many times the library of a 100 card deck mills it still doesn't make 200 cards out of it.

I have Barren Glory as a goofy win condition in my Group Hug deck. Generally it only happens after Teferi and Omni come down.

1. Cast Barren Glory
2. Oblivion Ring the Barren Glory
3. Cast Worldpurge, opting to keep 0 cards in hand
4. Hope no one has 1-mana Enchant removal

Quote from trancekat

Here's how you win with Battle of Wits.

Have it on the field, as well as Opalescence. Proceed to beat face with your Battle of Wits, prefferably with Quietus Spike

This guy knows where it's at.

Also: Unless you're being super-duper casual, Spawnsire isn't good enough for BoW; you only get a 10-card sideboard, and you still can't have duplicates. (If your friends don't mind you vomiting 100+ Eldrazi onto the table, well, go for it, but that's not how the game rules are written for this format.) The same applies to Research.

10 card sideboard? Who the hell has a sideboard in EDH outside the French thing? If you read the rules on the spawnsire it says casual. EDH is casual. If you actually pulled this off in a game I'd prolly be dammed happy to lose to it, not rambling on about a 10 card sideboard.

Quote from trancekat

Here's how you win with Battle of Wits.

Have it on the field, as well as Opalescence. Proceed to beat face with your Battle of Wits, prefferably with Quietus Spike

And I found my New sig.

Probably the funniest thing to picture ever.

Quote from trancekat

Here's how you win with Battle of Wits.

Have it on the field, as well as Opalescence. Proceed to beat face with your Battle of Wits, prefferably with Quietus Spike

This is going in my Zedruu Enchantments primer as a janky win-con. I already have Opalescence and an Eldrazi Conscription to place on the BoW.

Quote from archdukeofevil

10 card sideboard? Who the hell has a sideboard in EDH outside the French thing? If you read the rules on the spawnsire it says casual. EDH is casual. If you actually pulled this off in a game I'd prolly be dammed happy to lose to it, not rambling on about a 10 card sideboard.

I would leave the playgroup if it does the 10 card sideboard rule.

Besides cards that make you auto-win, you should probably count cards that make your opponents auto-lose, like Door to Nothingness, Phage the Untouchable, or Vraska's assassin tokens.

Donate-type shenanigans with Immortal Coil or Transcendence count too.

The Battle of Wits cycle is hard, since you need it in play to trigger during your upkeep. The best bet is to use something like Vedalken Orrery or Alchemist's Refuge to play the enchantment on the person to your right's end step. Mortal Combat is probably the toughest legal card to win with, since your deck needs a really high creature and it gets thwarted with all kinds of GY hate. I got it to work in BUG dredge though. Epic Struggle is also kind of hard to win with, since usually when you untap with 20 creatures you can just attack everyone to death; the enchantment win is just extra gravy.

Haven't tried Test of Endurance (I think life gain decks are boring) or Chance Encounter yet. Chance Encounter + Frenetic Efreet seems pretty easy though.

Quote from archdukeofevil

10 card sideboard? Who the hell has a sideboard in EDH outside the French thing? If you read the rules on the spawnsire it says casual. EDH is casual. If you actually pulled this off in a game I'd prolly be dammed happy to lose to it, not rambling on about a 10 card sideboard.

French EDH actually does not permit sideboards, fyi


Sideboards are optional in the normal Commander format, so you could simply choose to not bring a sideboard and pull the Eldrazi from your actual collection.

15. Abilities which refer to other cards owned outside the game (Wishes, Spawnsire, Research, Ring of Ma'ruf) do not function in Commander unless the optional sideboard rule is in use. If sideboards are used, wishes and similar cards may retrieve sideboard cards.

Updated main list with "lose" conditions.

Ever try to Death Cloud to kill someone with the life loss? Its actually funny as most forget about that part of the card as its usually the less thought of part of what it does.

Quote from ISBPathfinder

Ever try to Death Cloud to kill someone with the life loss? Its actually funny as most forget about that part of the card as its usually the less thought of part of what it does.

I just played a game where I got a guy down to one life due to Rhox Faithmender, Sanguine Bond and Righteous Cause. While not an alternate wincon, it was a funny one.

Play and copy shahrazad with hivemind / copy spells
Wait for someone to say " but that cards banned" argue with them making things up like "na bra they unban it" continue to argue in this manner until
They scoop up Thier cards and leave.
You can also legally get a concession by just playing a deck with all counters cheap cantrips and countering every spell 1 player cast until rage mix in Azusa strip crucible for flavor !