Unassuming Ninja Turtle Enables Infinite Life & Infinite Damage Combos

Last updated on February 24, 2026

Walking Ballista | Illustration by Daniel Ljunggren

Magic's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover is almost here: Prerelease runs February 27–March 5, 2026, and the full release is March 6, 2026 on tabletop, and March 3 for MTGA and MTGO.

And yes, MTG players are already trying to break it.

One of the cleaner early finds is a three-card infinite combo that turns +1/+1 counters into infinite ping damage. It’s built out of two established all-stars, Agatha's Soul Cauldron and Walking Ballista…

… plus the brand-new Leonardo, Cutting Edge.

Leonardo, Cutting Edge Infinite Damage Combo

Agatha's Soul Cauldron | Illustration by Jason A. Engle

To get Leo's infinite combo up and running, you need three cards.

Walking Ballista is a Commander staple, and has been breaking things with Heliod, Sun-Crowned for a very long time. The important part for our combo is the Ballista's activated ability: Remove a +1/+1 counter from it to deal 1 damage to any target. To set things up, you need Walking Ballista in the graveyard. Doesn't matter how it got there (killed, milled, discarded…).

Agatha's Soul Cauldron is the main trick. Once it has exiled a creature card from your yard, then all creatures you control with a +1/+1 counter get the exiled creatures’ activated abilities. And when it exiles a creature card, it puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control.

Leonardo, Cutting Edge is the star of the show today (after stealing Heliod's part!). Leo brings two critical things: He has lifelink, and a triggered ability that says whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Leonardo.

(And yes, he also has sneak, which matters for the “surprise, you’re dead” play lines.)

How the Leonardo, Cutting Edge Infinite Damage Combo Works 

Rules Lawyer | Illustration by Sean Murray

First, we need Agatha's Soul Cauldron on the battlefield.

Then, we need to get Walking Ballista into your graveyard. A funny shortcut: You can cast Ballista for X = 0 to die as soon as it enters, and put it straight into the graveyard (it enters with 0 counters and immediately dies.)

Third step, get Leonardo, Cutting Edge into play. Bonus points if you manage to sneak him in, since everything else in the combo works at instant speed. But casting him normally (or putting him in play by any other means) works too!

Now you activate the Cauldron: Exile Walking Ballista from the graveyard, and have the Cauldron put a +1/+1 counter on Leonardo, Cutting Edge.

Important subtlety: You just need to exile the Ballista with the Cauldron, and somehow put a +1/+1 counter on Leo. It doesn't have to be the Cauldron's counter, and you could set it up across several turns (exiling the Ballista on turn 2, then sneaking Leo on turn 3 and getting a counter on him when he deals combat damage to your opponent, for example).

Once Leo has a +1/+1 counter, he gains Walking Ballista’s activated abilities via the Cauldron. So now you activate the “Ballista” ability from Leonardo: Remove that +1/+1 counter from Leo to deal 1 damage to any target. For example, one of your opponents!

Because Leo has lifelink, that 1 damage makes you gain 1 life. Gaining life triggers Leo, putting a +1/+1 counter back on him. Repeat this process Ad Nauseam until all your foes are dead.

In other words: Unless your opponents can break the combo (by removing either Leo or the Cauldron, for example, or by Stifleing Leo's abilities), you win on the spot. 

Corner Cases

Walking Ballista | Illustration by Daniel Ljunggren

Keep in mind that the loop isn’t “automatic.” Each ping is an activation, then the lifegain trigger goes on the stack, then it resolves to add the counter back. Your opponent gets priority after each trigger, so removal still matters. Removing the Cauldron removes the problem for your opponents. If Agatha's Soul Cauldron leaves the battlefield, the “creatures with counters have the exiled abilities” text stops applying, so Leo loses the Ballista activations.

(In other words, the Cauldron doesn't give Leo the Ballista's ability forever; only for as long as the Cauldron is around).

The Ballista's ability is targeted, so a player with hexproof will ruin Leo's day. Also, if you can’t gain life, the engine stalls. Anything that says players can’t gain life, or replaces life gain with something else, stops the “+1/+1 counter comes back” part.

In a similar way, preventing the damage also breaks the loop. No damage → no lifegain → no trigger → no counter.

Wrap Up

Walking Ballista | Illustration by Bad Flip Productions, Inc.

If you like your infinite combos clean, compact, and a little rude, Leonardo, Cutting Edge + Agatha's Soul Cauldron + Walking Ballista is exactly that: one exile, one counter, and suddenly the whole table is dead unless they have interaction.

With Prerelease kicking off February 27 and the set releasing March 6, expect this to pop up fast anywhere you can play these three cards!