Introduction
Imagine a card in Magic: The Gathering so potent, so elegantly designed, that it unlocks the potential for virtually infinite mana and game-winning combos. This is the power of Food Chain. At its core, Food Chain offers the ability to convert creatures into mana, fueling a cascade of spells that can quickly overwhelm your opponents. This article delves into the depths of Food Chain, exploring its history, dissecting its intricate mechanics, showcasing its potent combos, and analyzing its enduring presence in the ever-evolving landscape of MTG. Whether you’re a seasoned tournament veteran or a casual Commander enthusiast, understanding Food Chain is crucial for both playing with and against this iconic card.
What is Food Chain
Behold, the embodiment of culinary chaos in cardboard form: Food Chain. This deceptively simple enchantment reads: “Exile a non-Human creature you control: Add mana of any one color equal to that creature’s mana value. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.” The brilliance lies in its recursive nature. You sacrifice a creature, gain mana, and then use that mana to cast another creature, repeating the process to potentially generate far more mana than you started with.
Breaking Down the Mechanics
Breaking it down, the key aspects are:
- Exiling a non-Human creature: This is the activation cost. You must sacrifice a creature, and that creature cannot be a Human. This limitation is crucial and balances the card’s potential.
- Mana of any one color: This gives Food Chain incredible flexibility. You can choose the color of mana that best suits your strategy, allowing you to cast a wide range of creatures.
- Creature spells only: The mana generated can only be used to cast creature spells. This is what makes Food Chain a creature-based engine, not a general mana producer.
- Mana Value Matters: The amount of mana you get is directly tied to the exiled creature’s converted mana cost, encouraging the use of efficient creatures with high mana values.
Food Chain typically costs three generic mana and one green mana to cast. It’s an enchantment, meaning it’s relatively resilient to sorcery-speed removal but vulnerable to enchantment hate. While the price fluctuates, Food Chain is typically a moderately expensive card due to its power and demand in various formats.
History and Evolution
Food Chain first saw the light of day in the Mercadian Masques set, a set not particularly known for its overall power level. Initial reactions to Food Chain were mixed. While some players recognized its potential for comboing, it wasn’t immediately seen as the format-warping powerhouse it is today. The initial understanding of Food Chain MTG focused on creature value rather than immediate combo potential.
Over time, players explored its capabilities, discovering increasingly sophisticated combos. It gradually found a home in Legacy decks, particularly those focused on creature-based strategies. Its resilience and explosive potential made it a powerful weapon in the right hands. It’s seen play in many decks from Sliver Food Chain decks to creature value decks in legacy.
The card has seen a few reprints over the years, keeping it somewhat accessible to players. One notable event in its history is the ban in Canadian Highlander. This highlights the card’s inherent combo potential and its ability to quickly end games, which isn’t always desirable in a format like Canadian Highlander.
The Core Engine: How Food Chain Combos Work
The essence of a Food Chain combo lies in its recursive nature. The basic principle is simple: Exile a non-Human creature, generating mana. Use that mana to cast another creature. Repeat the process, continuously generating more mana than you started with. Once you have “infinite” mana (or a sufficient amount), you can use it to win the game. Food Chain MTG combos rely on efficiency, card advantage, and a way to translate that infinite mana into victory.
The most effective Food Chain strategies utilize creatures that either generate card advantage or have powerful “enter the battlefield” effects. These creatures allow you to dig through your deck, find your win conditions, and ultimately overwhelm your opponent. Often, Food Chain decks will focus on ways to find Food Chain itself reliably, as it’s the crucial engine for the whole strategy. Tutors, card draw, and redundant effects are all key components.
However, Food Chain decks come with their own set of challenges. They are highly reliant on their namesake enchantment. Disruption to the graveyard or the exiled zone will halt a Food Chain deck. Cards like Rest in Peace or Grafdigger’s Cage are commonly utilized against Food Chain decks.
Key Combo Pieces and Examples
Several creatures shine in Food Chain decks, enabling devastating combos. Let’s look at a few notable examples:
Top Combo Pieces
- Misthollow Griffin & Eternal Scourge: These creatures are the poster children for Food Chain combos. Because they can be cast from exile, they can be repeatedly exiled and recast, generating infinite mana with Food Chain. These cards enable near-guaranteed loops that create insane value.
- Squee, Goblin Nabob: Squee offers a similar loop. You can exile him, generate mana, and then recast him from your graveyard, effectively generating one mana each time. While slower than Misthollow Griffin, Squee offers resilience against exile effects that might shut down the Griffin combo.
- First Sliver’s Chosen: As an up-and-coming combo piece, this sliver will cascade into another creature. This enables you to cycle through your deck until you find your other combo pieces.
Example Combo
Here’s a simplified example of a Food Chain combo:
- You have Food Chain in play.
- You control a Misthollow Griffin (mana value of 3).
- Exile Misthollow Griffin with Food Chain, adding three mana of any one color to your mana pool (usable only to cast creature spells).
- Cast Misthollow Griffin from exile for three mana.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as you like, generating infinite mana.
- Now you can cast any number of creatures from your hand or find a creature with an effect that wins you the game. For example, you could cast a large creature with trample to attack for lethal damage, or you could cast a creature that deals damage to your opponent when it enters the battlefield.
Winning the Game
Common win conditions in Food Chain decks include creatures like Finale of Devastation which can grab any creature in your deck or graveyard. Alternatively, you can use the infinite mana to repeatedly cast a creature like Walking Ballista, pumping it up to deal infinite damage.
Combating Removal
Many removal spells threaten the Food Chain strategy. Graveyard removal and exile effects are the most problematic. However, Food Chain decks can play around these threats by including redundant combo pieces and cards that protect their creatures.
Food Chain in Different Formats
Food Chain has carved a niche for itself in various MTG formats.
Legacy
Food Chain is a long-standing presence in Legacy, typically as part of a dedicated combo deck. These decks aim to assemble the Food Chain engine as quickly as possible and then win the game with an infinite mana combo. Success in Legacy requires navigating a diverse field of decks, many of which are packing powerful disruption. Food Chain decks in Legacy often rely on tutors to find Food Chain quickly and protection spells to keep their combo alive.
Commander (EDH)
Food Chain can be a potent but controversial card in Commander. Infinite combos can be divisive in casual playgroups, so it’s essential to consider the social dynamics of your playgroup before including Food Chain in your Commander deck. Several Commanders synergize exceptionally well with Food Chain, such as commanders that reduce creature costs. Others are Commanders that can immediately win the game once infinite mana is generated.
Other Formats
While Food Chain is primarily a Legacy and Commander card, it occasionally sees fringe play in other formats where the right support pieces exist.
Dealing with Food Chain
Stopping a Food Chain combo requires a multifaceted approach. Here are some effective strategies:
- Counterspells: Countering Food Chain itself is the most direct way to prevent the combo from starting.
- Creature Removal: Removing key combo creatures, especially with exile effects, can disrupt the Food Chain engine.
- Stax Effects: Cards that restrict mana production or creature casting can slow down or prevent Food Chain combos.
- Hand Disruption: Removing key combo pieces from your opponent’s hand can buy you time to develop your own strategy.
- Graveyard Hate: If the Food Chain strategy relies on creatures recurring from the graveyard, graveyard hate can be devastating.
Specific cards that are effective against Food Chain include Rest in Peace, Grafdigger’s Cage, and any instant-speed removal spell that can exile a creature. Recognizing the signs of a Food Chain combo is crucial. Watch out for decks that aggressively tutor for enchantments or that include key creatures like Misthollow Griffin or Eternal Scourge.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Food Chain boasts several significant strengths:
- Fast, game-winning combos: It can quickly generate infinite mana and win the game in a single turn.
- Flexible mana generation: The ability to produce mana of any color allows for a wide range of combo possibilities.
- Resilience: Against some forms of disruption, especially if the deck is built with redundancy and protection.
However, it also has weaknesses:
- Vulnerable to hate: Specific cards like Rest in Peace can shut down the entire strategy.
- Reliance on specific creatures: The combo requires having the right creatures in play or in hand.
- Cost: Food Chain itself can be an expensive card to acquire.
- Fragility: An inexperienced pilot can easily misplay and fail to assemble the combo correctly.
Conclusion
Food Chain remains a compelling and influential card in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to unlock infinite combos and generate vast amounts of mana has made it a staple in various formats. While it has its weaknesses, its explosive potential and unique mechanics make it a card worth understanding, whether you’re playing with it or against it. Food Chain MTG has a rich history and a bright future as it continues to evolve and adapt in the ever-changing MTG landscape.
Will you take the plunge and explore the depths of Food Chain? What’s your favorite Food Chain combo, and what Commanders do you think synergize best with this potent engine? Let me know in the comments!
