Combo Watch: KCI Loop — Infinite Mana on a Budget

Welcome to another instalment of Combo Watch, the column where we break down combos piece by piece. Today we're examining one of the most iconic loops in competitive Commander, capable of generating infinite mana with just three cards totalling roughly €12.48. We're talking about the KCI Loop: Krark-Clan Ironworks, Scrap Trawler, and Myr Retriever.

How the Combo Works

The color identity of these three cards is colorless — none of them feature colored mana symbols in their text box or casting cost. This is one of the package's greatest strengths: it slots into virtually any deck.

Let's break down the pieces:

• Krark-Clan Ironworks — Artifact. Sacrifice an artifact: add .
• Scrap Trawler — Artifact Creature. Whenever an artifact you control is put into a graveyard, if its mana value is greater than another artifact card in your graveyard, you may return that second artifact to your hand.
• Myr Retriever — Artifact Creature. When it dies, return an artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.

The loop requires at least one additional sacrificeable artifact with a cost of or to correctly trigger the chain (the classic piece for this role is Junk Diver, or any other low-cost artifact in the graveyard). In practice, the canonical setup adds a fourth piece such as Junk Diver or Workshop Assistant.

Basic Sequence (with Junk Diver as the fourth piece):

1. You control Krark-Clan Ironworks, Scrap Trawler, Myr Retriever, and Junk Diver.
2. Sacrifice Myr Retriever to KCI → gain . Trawler's trigger recovers a lower-cost artifact from the graveyard.
3. Sacrifice Junk Diver → gain . Its trigger returns Myr Retriever to your hand; Trawler returns another piece.
4. Recast Myr Retriever (casting cost ), sacrifice it again — the loop closes, generating net positive mana each cycle.

Each iteration produces more mana than you spend recasting the creatures, resulting in infinite colorless mana (or near-infinite in practical terms, which you can convert into a win through an outlet).

Where to Play It — Recommended Commanders

Since all three cards are colorless, the package fits into any color identity. Here are the most synergistic commanders:

• Urza, Lord High Artificer (Blue) — Turns every artifact into an additional mana source and digs for the pieces with his activated ability. The natural number-one candidate.
• Breya, Etherium Shaper (Blue/White/Black/Red) — She herself serves as an outlet for the infinite mana: she sacrifices artifacts and regenerates them within the loop, then uses her own ability to close out the game.
• Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer (Red) — Protects the combo pieces from removal by sacrificing other artifacts, making the loop more resilient.
• Emry, Lurker of the Loch (Blue) — Recovers pieces directly from the graveyard each turn, closing the gap between "pieces scattered around" and "combo active."
• Glissa, the Traitor (Green/Black) — Automatically recovers artifacts whenever opposing creatures die, building the necessary graveyard as a natural byproduct of gameplay.

Lines of Play and Protection

The loop's Achilles' heel is its reliance on the graveyard and the simultaneous presence of all pieces on the battlefield. The main threats are graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage) and instant-speed removal aimed at your pieces just before the combo goes off.

How to protect yourself:

• Keep protection available with Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots to shield your creatures from removal in response.
• In blue, you can back the combo up with Spell Pierce or Counterspell to cover the last piece entering the battlefield.
• Consider Boseiju, Who Endures as an answer to permanent graveyard hate (it hits artifacts and enchantments).

Budget vs. Premium Versions

The good news is that the combo's core already costs less than €13:

Budget: add Junk Diver and Workshop Assistant (both under €1) as your fourth piece. Inexpensive outlets like Altar of the Brood or Grinding Station close out the game without breaking the bank.

Premium: running Urza, Lord High Artificer as your commander drives the overall deck cost up, but delivers enormous redundancy. Arcbound Ravager and Hangarback Walker add flexibility and alternative win conditions.

Verdict

The KCI Loop is an elegant, relatively accessible, and brutally effective combo at bracket 3. Its colorless identity makes it universal, the financial investment is minimal, and the learning curve is low once you understand the sequence. If you're building an artifact-themed deck and want a win condition that doesn't hinge on a single point of failure, this package deserves a spot on your list.

Execution Difficulty: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ Resilience: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ Value for Money: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐