The 44 Best Extra Combat Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on September 6, 2026

Karlach, Fury of Avernus | Illustration by Billy Christian

Hello, planeswalkers! We as a society are always trying to get the most out of everything. Discounts, special offers, Collector boosters, and of course getting extra turns. MTG is no exception to this, and we’re all looking for the extra interactions that can take a deck to another level. Today let's get some extra combat!

Taking additional combat phases is the mid-to-end-game creature-centric smash strategy that red decks love. If you can hold the advantage on board, taking an extra combat phase may be enough to crush many opponents.

What Are Extra Combat Cards in MTG?

Lightning Runner | Illustration by Raymond Swanland

Extra combat cards are the cards that add at least one additional combat phase to your turn. These cards alter the turn structure, and cause a player to go through all five steps of a combat phase another time in the same turn.

The extra (really additional) combat effects are overwhelmingly on red cards. They have a long history and development going back to Onslaught. Because of the inherent advantage of adding additional phases to a turn, these cards are often on the higher end of a deck's curve.

#44. Swinging Ship

We might as well include an attraction card for you Unfinity fans. I won’t bore you with too many details about how attractions work; all you need to know for Swinging Ship is you need to open the attraction and roll well during your first main phase, and then you get an additional combat phase after your first one. This card is probably just for the diehard Unfinity fans.

#43. Take the Bait

Take the Bait is an interesting card for a big multiplayer game when you don’t care about keeping the peace. It has a specific timing and goads an opponent’s creatures into attacking another opponent. Why would you want to give an opponent an additional combat phase? Well, I guess it’s fine because they have to attack someone other than you.

#42. Illusionist’s Gambit

Illusionist's Gambit is one of the few non-red cards on this list. This blue instant works similarly to Take the Bait in that it doesn’t help your attacking strategies, but it protects you and makes an opponent attack a different player.

#41. Lightning Runner

Lightning Runner can use eight energy counters to create an additional combat while untapping all of your creatures. It generates 2 energy on its own when it attacks, so all you need is to create more energy counters with cards like Aetherworks Marvel and Brotherhood Scribe. 

#40. Last Night Together

The iconography and theme of Last Night Together is wonderful. You choose two of your creatures, they get a nice power bump, and only they can attack in an additional combat phase. This Gruul () sorcery isn’t as good as letting your entire board attack, but it's great if you only plan on attacking with a few monsters anyway.

#39. Fury of the Horde

Fury of the Horde is the ultimate “play-it-by-ear” kind of card. The cost is massive for a red sorcery that may not even guarantee victory or long-lasting advantage. However, if you have the right board presence, you can pitch two red cards from your hand to cast it for free. I’m not sure I’d risk this being dead weight in my hand, but it has scenarios where it can excel.

#38. Anzrag, the Quake-Mole

Anzrag, the Quake-Mole has the potential to be a great card, but with some unfortunate limitations. The goal here is to either grow it large enough that an opponent must block to survive, or just force the issue with lures to make sure it's triggering. Indestructible goes a long way whichever route you choose.

#37. Éomer, Marshal of Rohan

Éomer, Marshal of Rohan makes your opponents think twice about their blocking choices. If one of your attacking legendary creatures dies, you get an additional combat phase after this one. This puts a lot of pressure on your opponent’s decisions. That said, this human knight requires you to have legendary creatures and that they die in combat. It’s not the easiest way to get an additional combat compared to the other cards on this list.

#36. Grim Reaper’s Sprint

Grim Reaper's Sprint feels more like a combat trick than some of these other cards, though it can work fairly efficiently. If one of your creatures has died you can get an additional combat for the ridiculously cheap cost of 2 mana. This can play quite well into some Rakdos () and Gruul () decks.

#35. Breath of Fury

Here’s the ultimate question for Breath of Fury: Is it worth it to sacrifice one of your creatures to get an additional combat? It all depends on how you build your deck. If you can attach this aura to an expendable attacker, then heck yes an additional combat is worth the cost. Interestingly, Breath of Fury also jumps to another creature instead of going to the graveyard, giving more shots at extra combats and plenty of infinite combo potential.

#34. Raiyuu, Storm’s Edge

Raiyuu, Storm's Edge promotes a typal combat strategy with warriors and/or samurai. Creatures like Isshin, Two Heavens as One or Laelia, the Blade Reforged can use Raiyuu’s ability to attack your opponents relentlessly.

#33. Zariel, Archduke of Avernus

The final loyalty ability of Zariel, Archduke of Avernus gives you an additional combat phase but only untaps one of your creatures. The other loyalty abilities of are great for aggressive decks, but as far as the additional combat is concerned, I think we can do better.

#32. Waves of Aggression

Waves of Aggression is quite similar to World at War, but retrace isn’t as good as rebound, and the hybrid mana on Waves locks it out of more decks in EDH. This is still a solid option that can result in multiple extra combats from just one source.

#31. Finest Hour

With the right creature and a few other exalted-like incentives, Finest Hour can absolutely carry a game. Rafiq of the Many is a very classic one-two punch from many years ago that still holds up as a baseline of how powerful this enchantment can be.

#30. Bumi, Unleashed

Bumi, Unleashed has a relatively restrictive extra combat since only land creatures can attack, but Magic’s never been shy about animating lands. Or turning lands into creatures with a card like Ashaya, Soul of the Wild, which potentially goes infinite with Bumi. It also untaps all your lands, so you practically double your mana. That’s worth playing even if you don’t do anything with the additional combat.

#29. Bloodthirster

Bloodthirster is a 6-drop that can very easily deal 18 damage per turn cycle in a 4-player game. Any sort of damage doubling makes this a lethal threat quickly, though it's the type of looming threat that'll have the whole table turn their attention towards you.

#28. Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

Najeela, the Blade-Blossom is both one of the strongest 5-color commanders and best aggro commanders in the game. For the cost of each color mana, you can give your creatures a ton of useful keywords and an additional combat phase. The activated ability is costly, but the right combination of mana dorks makes it an easy infinite, too.

#27. Hexplate Wallbreaker

Hexplate Wallbreaker is an equipment that helps your well-equipped creatures to attack again. The costs are steep all around, but the for Mirrodin! mechanic at least gives you an auto-equipped token creature to start. If you can attack several times with some well-armed creatures, you may just break through your opponent’s defenses.

#26. All-Out Assault

All-Out Assault was designed to make the most out of the mobilize mechanic to make your tokens last a little bit longer and give them +1/+1 and deathtouch. It’s a mix of an extra combat card with an anthem, and you can blink it later to get more benefits.

#25. Savage Beating

Savage Beating is an expensive red instant that if timed correctly can be absolutely devastating. A 5-, potentially 7-mana combat trick usually won’t cut it for most serious players. However, few defenses can withstand double strike and an extra combat phase on any reasonable board of creatures. Savage Beating indeed!

#24. World at War

World at War is a solid additional combat sorcery. It’s reasonably curve-friendly, it untaps all of your creatures that survived the first combat, and most importantly it has rebound for even more impact. It's squarely in the middle of very fair extra combat cards.

#23. Overpowering Attack

Overpowering Attack is your typical card in this category, except for the freerunning discount. You’ll probably play this in EDH anyway, a format where you should be dealing damage with your commander. That makes this one of the cheaper, easier ways to enable double combats.

#22. Port Razer

To get an additional combat with Port Razer, it has to deal combat damage to a player, and then it can’t attack the same player twice. It's very similar to Bloodthirster, with less damage output but lower down the curve.

#21. Akki Battle Squad

Akki Battle Squad untaps all your modified creatures and gives you an additional combat phase if you attack with at least one of them. There’s a lot to like about this goblin samurai as long as you can establish some modified creatures and hopefully avoid removal.

#20. Godo, Bandit Warlord

What’s a samurai, but a reflection of his training and equipment? Godo, Bandit Warlord is a lead for your samurai-typal and equipment-style deck. You can fetch any equipment in your deck, place it onto the battlefield, and gain additional combats for all your samurai creatures. It’s very specific, but at least the two themes work well together.

#19. Raphael, Tag Team Tough

Raphael, Tag Team Tough is far from the first chunky creature that creates an extra combat when it connects with your opponent, but it’s a fairly large one with a little evasion. It’s mostly notable as a redundant piece for commanders like Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers that want as many versions of this effect as possible.

#18. Great Train Heist

Great Train Heist just might be the best of the spree cards from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. This card's versatility is the ultimate combat trick.

Need first strike? No problem, only 3 mana. Need some Treasure tokens? No problem, only 2 mana. But, the killer is the additional combat for only 4 mana at instant speed. There are so many options for this card and that gives it a ton of value.

#17. Response // Resurgence

There’s a lot to love about Response // Resurgence. The versatility of split cards can make them wonderful additions to so many decks. Response gives you some early combat removal, but if you can wait, you’ll be greatly rewarded with Resurgence. You get great combat keywords in vigilance and first strike, an extra combat phase, and an additional main phase. This is the kind of support card that can make some midrange Boros decks nasty!

#16. Desert Were-Worm

Desert Were-Worm pushes you towards mono-red, or at least heavy red since six mountains pumps its power high enough to enable the super-ferocious ability, but I’m not sure how much that matters if paired with green beasts. This seems like a must-play for Gruul stompy decks with commanders like Xenagos, God of Revels and Halana and Alena, Partners.

#15. Scourge of the Throne

Scourge of the Throne is such an accurate name for this card. This dragon is incentivized to attack the player(s) with the most life and dethrone them, offering an extra combat for doing so. It's quite good in a 1v1 matchup, but don’t be surprised if it puts a target on you in a multiplayer game.

#14. Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals

Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals stands out for its low mana cost; extra combat creatures typically cost 4+ mana. R&L balances its low cost by only untapping a few creatures, so focus on those with impactful attack or saboteur triggers, like Otharri, Suns' Glory and Professional Face-Breaker.

#13. Full Throttle

Six mana is a lot for Full Throttle, but the two extra attack steps are very worth the admission fee. Sometimes, two attacks with your commander is all you need. Even if you don’t deal a ton of damage this way, triggering saboteur abilities twice is already strong.

#12. Hellkite Charger

You're usually playing Hellkite Charger with the intentions of taking infinite turns, whether that's alongside Old Gnawbone, Sozin's Comet, or something else that produces 7+ mana during combat. The fair use of this card is way too clunky, so expect combos if you see it from an opponent.

#11. Bruce Banner / The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk is one of the strongest extra combat commanders because it creates infinite combats so easily. Toss in cards like Caltrops, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, and Raging Regisaur and the game’s over. Even if you don’t go infinite, a lure and a combat trick is very strong.

While Bruce Banner is rarely the focal point of the deck, a stompy deck with access to blue protection like An Offer You Can't Refuse and Swan Song becomes at least twice as scary.

#10. Combat Celebrant

The cost of exerting a creature is well worth the benefit of getting an additional combat phase. Combat Celebrant is one of the cheapest cards on this list and a fairly easy way to get an additional combat phase. The obvious downside is its 1 toughness, but the speed and aggressiveness it gives can be a game-changer. Attacking twice in a single turn before your opponent can properly set up defenses could be devastating.

#9. Genji Glove

Genji Glove is an interesting card because it makes an extra combat step available to all colors, and sometimes you can get neat combos without needing red mana. It’s perfect in Voltron decks because it adds double strike, and sometimes you just want to swing twice with your 10/10 lifelinking, double striking, flying commander.

#8. Fear of Missing Out

Fear of Missing Out sees a lot of play in 60-card Constructed decks, as it’s a really solid playable even without the synergies. They stack well, and it’s nice that the card rummages to build up towards delirium easier. Formats like Standard and Pioneer are well-acquainted with this 2/3 threat.

#7. Seize the Day

Seize the Day isn’t the most powerful card on this list, but it can be quite efficient. The low mana cost and flashback give it a ton of power if you have at least one potent attacker, which makes it an ideal multi-combat spell for Voltron decks.

#6. Relentless Assault

As the name might suggest, Relentless Assault is more on the aggressive side of these rankings, but be careful with the wording here. Don’t cast it before attacking, and cards that can allow you to cast it on opponent’s turns aren’t going to help you.

#5. Aggravated Assault

Aggravated Assault is the baseline standard for these sorts of effects. This red enchantment allows you to gain an additional combat each time you pay its 5-mana activation. This of course combos with everything that already goes infinite with Hellkite Charger, and so much more beyond that.

#4. Moraug, Fury of Akoum

Let’s bring the fury with Moraug, Fury of Akoum! With its landfall ability, you can get an additional combat phase and pump up your creatures for each time they have attacked each turn. It's exceptionally powerful when paired with a card like Aftermath Analyst, though be careful about the timing here: Moag will not untap your creatures during your normal combat step, so try to trigger landfall after your first combat phase so they'll untap properly for the extra follow-up combats.

#3. Tifa, Martial Artist

Tifa, Martial Artist is one of the most straightforward ways to get more than one extra combat step on the same turn. Tifa changes the rules a little bit: Each opponent to whom you deal damage with a 7-powered creature can give you an extra combat step, so three in a 4-player Commander pod isn’t out of the question. To max out, you'll want cards that buff your attacking creatures and that grant trample to attackers, which Naya () is pretty good at. Oldies like Overrun or Titanic Ultimatum should be game winners here.

#2. Aurelia, the Warleader

Aurelia, the Warleader is a great warleader for your creature-heavy decks. Haste is huge here: You can surprise your opponents with multiple combat phases and gain an additional combat for every turn that this legendary angel attacks. If you’re building a Boros midrange deck, then Aurelia is a solid card to use.

#1. Karlach, Fury of Avernus

Unsurprisingly, the top of these ranks are all creatures that are worth considering as a Commander. Karlach, Fury of Avernus is itself a red commander, but with the added benefit of a background as your second commander. My suggestions for background pairings are Sword Coast Sailor or Cultist of the Absolute, though Karlach is pretty open-ended and works with just about anything combat-oriented.

Best Extra Combat Payoffs

A crazy good strategy is to pair cards that give additional combat phases and cards with attacking triggers. I’m looking at cards like Otharri, Suns' Glory, Etali, Primal Storm, and Brutal Hordechief for additional triggers from additional combat phases.

Along similar lines, cards like Goro-Goro and Satoru and Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth with triggers when dealing combat damage to a player can greatly benefit from additional combat phases.

Another phrase to be on the lookout for is: “At the beginning of combat on your turn.” Crush your opponents with cards like Xenagos, God of Revels, Rionya, Fire Dancer, or Helm of the Host.

Isshin, Two Heavens as One and Wulfgar of Icewind Dale are two of the most straight-forward trigger doublers for creatures attacking, and obviously love taking extra swings each turn.

Commanders with strong tap abilities enjoy the extra combat steps cards that untap creatures during each combat step. You can engineer a situation where Krenko, Mob Boss is your commander, you make a wave of goblins, attack, and untap Krenko to do it again. A commander like Baylen, the Haymaker is built around tapping creatures, so that benefits naturally from extra untaps.

How Many Extra Combats Can You Have?

There's no limit to how many extra combats you can take. Though some cards are designed to only grant one additional combat per turn, there's no cap on how many combats you can stack in one turn. With infinite mana, you could take as many extra combats as you'd like with Aggravated Assault.

Do Extra Combats Give Another Main Phase?

Many extra combats give you an additional main phase. If the card does not specifically state that you get an additional main phase, then you don't.

Do Extra Combats Trigger Abilities?

Abilities that trigger specifically during the steps of the combat phase will trigger during extra combats the same way they would during your normal combat step each turn. Phrases like “When this creature attacks” or “At the beginning of combat” apply to all combat phases. The only exception is if an ability specifically triggers during your first combat, which will only trigger once per turn no matter how many combats you take.

Effects that trigger during combat and last until the “end of combat” only apply during that one specific combat step.

How Do Extra Combats Work in Two-Headed Giant?

This is a little bit tricky since players in Two-Headed Giant share a turn, but not resources; the short version is that both players get an additional combat, but they might not benefit from it evenly.

Let’s say your teammate uses Aurelia, the Warleader to get an extra combat with its attack trigger. Because you both share a turn, anything that causes an additional phase means your both get it, so you’ll both move to an additional combat phase. However, in 2HG, effects that say “you” aren’t shared across a team’s board, only that player. Since Aurelia only untaps “all creatures you control,” this “you” describes your teammate, so your creatures won’t actually untap. Cards like Goblin Rabblemaster will still trigger, but you don’t get the full extra combat experience in most situations.

That said, you can get around this by looking for extra combat spells that don’t specify which player’s creature they untap. For example, Full Throttle and Fury of the Horde untap “all creatures that attacked this turn,” regardless of who controlled them, so these are ideal for 2HG to let both players on a team attack.

Wrap Up

Combat Celebrant | Illustration by Chris Rallis

Well, I think I’m going to need an additional nap phase after this one. As you can see there are plenty of red and red-leaning cards if you feel like one combat per turn is just not enough. These permanents and spells can cause some real damage and are solid strategies to try and integrate into your decks.

Thank you so much for your time and for reading this article. Join in the conversation by leaving a comment below or hopping on the official Draftsim Discord channel. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

Thank you, and swing hard and often!