Prepare for Turn-3 Kills with this Final Fantasy Precon’s Infinite Damage Combo

Last updated on May 15, 2025

Inspiring Call | Illustration by Francesca Resta

The upcoming Counter Blitz Commander precon from Final Fantasy already looks like a load of fun, with a theme built around counter manipulation and moving various counters back and forth across different permanents. It's a bit complicated for an entry-level “Bracket 2” deck, but it's also a unique take on what could've just been a regular +1/+1 counter deck.

Oh, and it can also kill on turn 3.

Counter Blitz Infinite

Source: Bluesky

Maybe it was intentional, maybe it wasn't, but putting Walking Ballista in a Commander precon focused on counter generation is always a risky move. Literally known for going infinite with rusty spoons and cards like Heliod, Sun-Crowned, the Ballista rears its ugly… uh… cannons again by enabling an infinite damage combo in the Bant precon.

Here's the basic gist: Get your Hardened Scales into play first, ideally on turn 1. Your Walking Ballista needs at least two +1/+1 counters on it, but thanks to the enchantment, you can cast it for X=1 and pick up an extra counter from Scales. Turn 2 sounds like a great time to do this. Finally, you just need to run out newcomer Gatta and Luzzu, after which the Ballista can start pinging itself to gain counters with each activation. Gatta and Luzzu's a 3-drop by the way, so an ideal opening hand could have this deck ending the game on turn 3.

A Word on Replacement Effects

Doubling Season | Illustration by Richard Wright

There are two stopgaps that might make someone think this combo doesn't actually work as described, so let's just touch on the relevant replacement effects here and how they actually work.

First, does Hardened Scales actually make Walking Ballista enter with an additional counter?

Yes, Walking Ballista has its own self-replacement effect that modifies how it enters the battlefield: Instead of just entering the battlefield, it enters with X +1/+1 counters. Hardened Scales will see this happen, and further replace that game action by making it enter with X+1 counters instead. A good shorthand for the counter-amplifying effects is that if you ever have to physically pick up a die to denote +1/+1 counters, the Scales-like effects will modify it.

Then there's the question of multiple layering replacement effects with Scales + Gatta and Luzzu. These both modify the way +1/+1 counters are put on a permanent, so how do they interact with one another?

In MTG, if multiple replacement effects are affecting the same player, object, or event, the player being affected, or the player who controls the affected object, is the one who chooses how to apply replacement effects. In this case, if damage would be dealt to a creature the turn Gatta and Luzzu entered play, G&L will replace that damage and put +1/+1 counters on the creature instead. Hardened Scales will chime in at that point and add an additional counter; it does not “overwrite” the other replacement effect, but instead adds on to it in this case. The ordering part doesn't really matter here since G&L's ability will always take place first.

Note that the combo doesn't work if Ballista only has one counter to begin with (maybe Hardened Scales entered after an X=1 Ballista). Ballista has to remove a counter to target itself for damage, but if you remove the last counter, it'll die as a 0/0 before any of the remaining actions can take place. But if at least one counter remains on Ballista at all times, removing a counter from Ballista to ping itself will result in two more +1/+1 counters on the construct with the other replacement effects active. Even if an opponent fires off a Teferi's Protection to save them, you can just create an arbitrarily large Ballista and shoot that player down when they phase back in.

Also note that you can't cast Ballista for X=0, even with Hardened Scales in play. A creature has to actually get its first +1/+1 counter before Hardened Scales can modify it.

Bracket 2, Eh?

Walking Ballista | Illustration by Daniel Ljunggren

This is a pretty egregious combo to have floating around a Commander precon, especially given the utility of the individual pieces and the fact that this can be assembled so early in the game.

It's not the first instance of a combo in a precon, as Duskmourn‘s Simic deck featured a loop with Yedora, Grave Gardener, Sakura-Tribe Elder, and the commander, Zimone, Mystery Unraveler. But even then, that combo just pulls all the basic lands out of your deck, it doesn't just flat out win the game, and certainly doesn't do so on the same turn that other players are still floundering with Cultivates and Command Spheres.

It definitely feels like an oversight, given that Bracket 2 is kind of an anti-combo bracket at heart. Technically, it's 2-card combos that are forbidden in the Bracket, but turn-3 kills feel like they're still in the spirit of that restriction. Regardless, expect some quick games if you're playing precon vs. precon battles with Final Fantasy decks, and if you're playing a competitive precon tournament, Counter Blitz might be the deck to grab.