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.
Storied Veteran gives Commander sacrifice decks a newly previewed one-mana creature that can be cast from the graveyard without a separate permission engine. October 23 coverage identifies a repeatable construction with Solemnity and Phyrexian Altar, while the exact preview text explains the restriction that normally prevents repeated use.
The black 2/1 Klingon Advisor cannot block. Its graveyard-casting permission makes it enter with a finality counter when cast that way. Under normal circumstances, that counter means sacrificing the creature will exile it instead of returning it to the graveyard, shutting off another recast.
Solemnity changes that by preventing the counter from being put on the entering creature. With Solemnity and Phyrexian Altar on the battlefield, sacrifice a counter-free Storied Veteran to the Altar for black mana, then spend that mana to cast Veteran from the graveyard. It returns without a finality counter and can be sacrificed again. Summoning sickness does not stop the sequence because the Altar’s sacrifice cost does not require tapping Veteran.
That three-card engine produces arbitrarily many creature casts, entries, deaths and sacrifices while returning to the same mana position each time. It does not generate infinite spare mana by itself. A separate payoff such as Blood Artist or Impact Tremors can turn repeated iterations into lethal damage or life loss, assuming opponents can be affected and do not disrupt the sequence. Without such a payoff, repeatedly performing the loop is not itself a win.
The pieces must be in place before the problematic finality counter appears. Playing Solemnity after Veteran has already acquired one does not remove the existing counter. Exile-based graveyard hate, countering a recast, or removing either supporting permanent can interrupt the engine. Veteran’s inability to block also matters when it is serving as ordinary early-game material rather than a combo piece.
Outside the combo, a black creature that can be discarded or milled and then cast from the graveyard offers a concrete new option for sacrifice and self-mill shells. Suggested Standard and Modern homes remain prospective: this preview establishes an interaction to test, not competitive adoption or proven results.
The black 2/1 Klingon Advisor cannot block. Its graveyard-casting permission makes it enter with a finality counter when cast that way. Under normal circumstances, that counter means sacrificing the creature will exile it instead of returning it to the graveyard, shutting off another recast.
Solemnity changes that by preventing the counter from being put on the entering creature. With Solemnity and Phyrexian Altar on the battlefield, sacrifice a counter-free Storied Veteran to the Altar for black mana, then spend that mana to cast Veteran from the graveyard. It returns without a finality counter and can be sacrificed again. Summoning sickness does not stop the sequence because the Altar’s sacrifice cost does not require tapping Veteran.
That three-card engine produces arbitrarily many creature casts, entries, deaths and sacrifices while returning to the same mana position each time. It does not generate infinite spare mana by itself. A separate payoff such as Blood Artist or Impact Tremors can turn repeated iterations into lethal damage or life loss, assuming opponents can be affected and do not disrupt the sequence. Without such a payoff, repeatedly performing the loop is not itself a win.
The pieces must be in place before the problematic finality counter appears. Playing Solemnity after Veteran has already acquired one does not remove the existing counter. Exile-based graveyard hate, countering a recast, or removing either supporting permanent can interrupt the engine. Veteran’s inability to block also matters when it is serving as ordinary early-game material rather than a combo piece.
Outside the combo, a black creature that can be discarded or milled and then cast from the graveyard offers a concrete new option for sacrifice and self-mill shells. Suggested Standard and Modern homes remain prospective: this preview establishes an interaction to test, not competitive adoption or proven results.
Original source: New MTG Star Trek Spoilers Include Multiple Infinite Combo Enablers and Powerful One-Mana Uncommons ↗MTG Rocks