Source transparency: This Digest item is based primarily on reporting from MTG Rocks. TMF summarizes and interprets the news; original reporting remains credited and linked.
Abzan Amalia has a new Modern result with a Reality Fracture addition doing two jobs. MTG Rocks’ October 16 report points to ittoku1’s October 15 Magic Online League 5–0, and the linked MTGGoldfish list confirms three Liliana the Faultless alongside four Amalia Benavides Aguirre and four Wildgrowth Walker.
The core interaction is familiar. Gaining life triggers Amalia to explore; that exploration triggers Wildgrowth Walker to gain three life, starting another exploration. When Amalia’s power is exactly 20 after exploring, she destroys all other creatures, normally removing Walker and ending the chain. This is not an unconditional infinite-lifegain loop or an automatic attack win.
Liliana supplies another way to begin the process: when another creature or planeswalker you control enters, you gain one life. She also has an activated protection ability, but its costs matter. It requires one mana, tapping Liliana and discarding a card to give another target creature or planeswalker hexproof until end of turn. A newly cast Liliana generally cannot tap immediately without haste, and hexproof does not stop untargeted sweepers. Opponents can also interact before protection resolves.
The full list shows a shell built to do more than assemble the three creatures. Four Guide of Souls, four Ocelot Pride and four Haliya, Guided by Light support the lifegain board plan. Three Return to the Ranks offer a rebuilding route for cheap creatures, while a single Aetherflux Reservoir can turn accumulated life into an alternative finish if its life-payment requirements are met. Two Ajani Resolute and four Solitude provide further pressure and interaction.
Those choices help explain why Liliana is a meaningful new piece rather than just another Soul Warden substitute. She contributes to the initial trigger while potentially defending a key creature later. The source’s card composite verifies the exact costs and the Amalia–Walker text, and the complete 75 confirms this is an actual published result rather than only a hypothetical list.
The limitations remain substantial. Faster combo can outrun a creature-heavy main deck; exile removal, sweepers and well-timed interaction can undo the setup or remove the 20-power attacker. The sideboard includes Damping Sphere, Vexing Bauble, Thoughtseize and other targeted tools, but drawing the right answer is not guaranteed. One League trophy supports a current STRATEGY item, not a sustained metagame TREND or a claim that Amalia has become a top-tier Modern deck.
The core interaction is familiar. Gaining life triggers Amalia to explore; that exploration triggers Wildgrowth Walker to gain three life, starting another exploration. When Amalia’s power is exactly 20 after exploring, she destroys all other creatures, normally removing Walker and ending the chain. This is not an unconditional infinite-lifegain loop or an automatic attack win.
Liliana supplies another way to begin the process: when another creature or planeswalker you control enters, you gain one life. She also has an activated protection ability, but its costs matter. It requires one mana, tapping Liliana and discarding a card to give another target creature or planeswalker hexproof until end of turn. A newly cast Liliana generally cannot tap immediately without haste, and hexproof does not stop untargeted sweepers. Opponents can also interact before protection resolves.
The full list shows a shell built to do more than assemble the three creatures. Four Guide of Souls, four Ocelot Pride and four Haliya, Guided by Light support the lifegain board plan. Three Return to the Ranks offer a rebuilding route for cheap creatures, while a single Aetherflux Reservoir can turn accumulated life into an alternative finish if its life-payment requirements are met. Two Ajani Resolute and four Solitude provide further pressure and interaction.
Those choices help explain why Liliana is a meaningful new piece rather than just another Soul Warden substitute. She contributes to the initial trigger while potentially defending a key creature later. The source’s card composite verifies the exact costs and the Amalia–Walker text, and the complete 75 confirms this is an actual published result rather than only a hypothetical list.
The limitations remain substantial. Faster combo can outrun a creature-heavy main deck; exile removal, sweepers and well-timed interaction can undo the setup or remove the 20-power attacker. The sideboard includes Damping Sphere, Vexing Bauble, Thoughtseize and other targeted tools, but drawing the right answer is not guaranteed. One League trophy supports a current STRATEGY item, not a sustained metagame TREND or a claim that Amalia has become a top-tier Modern deck.
Original source: Banned Infinite Lifegain Combo Returns to MTG Thanks to Reality Fracture Rare ↗MTG Rocks