Zombies and Oko, Thief of Crowns create a powerful MTG Sultai combo

Spoilers from the new Throne of Eldraine set have revealed a quick and powerful combo between Dreadhorde Invasion and Oko, Thief of Crowns.

Sultai Midrange has always performed well in the Magic: The Gathering Standard format. And with the recent Throne of Eldraine (ELD) spoiler drops, a Reddit user has found a fast and hard-hitting Sultai combo worth building in the upcoming Standard 2020 event on MTG Arena. 

Dreadhorde Invasion is an Enchantment from the War of the Spark set. During each upkeep of yours, it’ll “Amass” one. The Amass mechanic creates a 0/0 zombie creature token (if one isn’t on the board) and then adds a +1/+1 counter to it for each “Amass.”

Oko, Thief of Crowns is a new planeswalker in the Throne of Eldraine set. He has a plus-one loyalty counter that targets an artifact or creature and turns it into a 3/3 elk. Oko also has a plus-two loyalty counter that creates a Food token. Food is a new mechanic being introduced to Magic via the ELD set—it’s an artifact token that can produce three life points.

The combo between these two cards begins by playing Dreadhorde Invasion (preferably in a two-drop spot). This will create a 0/0 zombie token with a +1/+1 counter on it via your next upkeep. Then on turn three (preferably) play Oko, Thief of Crowns, using his plus-one loyalty counter to target the zombie army token. 

This creates a 4/4 elk by turn three—if both cards are available in an opening hand or early on in the match. The zombie token loses its abilities when it becomes an elk, meaning the same process can be repeated on turn four since a new zombie army token will come into effect during your turn four upkeep.

In addition to stacking the board with 4/4 elk, Oko produces Food artifact tokens that can be used to reclaim life points taken each upkeep by Dreadhorde Invasion (one life point per upkeep). 

Another option for creating Food tokens would be with the new ELD card, Bake into a Pie. This four mana black instant destroys a target creature and then creates a Food token. It also fits nicely into a Sultai Standard Constructed deck.

This deck, which is already being dubbed Sultai Food, has the potential to dominate Standard. Be sure to test out the Dreadhorde Invasion/Oko, Thief of Crowns combo on Sept. 9 through the Standard 2020 Constructed event via MTG Arena.