Why Hidetsugu and Kairi Is Going To Create A Combo Deck In Multiple Formats!

Hello everyone!

With the March of the Machine debut a few days ago, we saw a huge influx of new cards coming in March of the Machine. While I spoke about the amazing reprint of Monastery Mentor, we have plenty of new cards to look at as well! Today I want to go over what’s going to be quite the combo card in multiple formats – Hidetsugu and Kairi.

Hidetsugu and Kairi is a Dimir five mana 5/4 Flier which is already a solid stat line. While you already have a decent body to work with, you also get some value from the onset as you get to Brainstorm when it comes in! Drawing a card on entry is always nice, but getting a whole Brainstorm? That’s a lot of value!

Just a big Flier with a Brainstorm attached would not be enough to see play nor enable a combo, that’s where the second trigger comes in! When Hidetsugu and Kairi dies, you get the exile the top card of your library. When you do, the opponent loses life equal to the mana value of that card, then if it’s an instant or sorcery, you get to cast it as well!

So we have a lot of abilities on this card, but how good is it and what combo is going to work with it?

VERDICT

First off, a five mana 5/4 Flier that Brainstorms on entry, deals damage on death, and then potentially gets to cast a spell as well is already quite decent. I wouldn’t say this is Invoke Despair level good, but I don’t think it’s actually that far off either believe it or not. A 5/4 can clock the opponent extremely quickly, and if you get something sizable off the trigger, this can kill out of nowhere.

That said, we still need to talk about the combo potential here! Obviously the combo is going to come from the death trigger, but what can you do with it? Enter Kamigawa bulk mythic Explosive Singularity.

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It’s no big surprise this card never took off as it’s the epitome of not great. For ten mana (with Convoke), you can deal 10 damage to any target. Well, if Stoke the Flames was good and it’s four mana convoke for four damage, why not this right? Well, if my math is correct, 10 is a lot more than 4, minimum two more than four. Getting enough creatures and mana to cast this spell is quite the feat, and even if you manage to, it doesn’t even win the game from there. However, this pretty awful card is perfect for comboing as it’s a ten mana sorcery that deals 10 damage. So, with Hidetsugu and Kairi’s ability to lose life equal to the mana value and then letting you cast the spell for free, you have yourself twenty damage for free from the trigger! How do you get Explosive Singularity on top of your deck though? The Brainstorm trigger of course! While this may be a bit annoying to set up, getting to win the game for free is pretty good, and best yet, this is a Standard legal combo! So if you manage to set up a sacrifice outlet like Liliana of the Veil or Henrika Domnathi, you can win the turn you cast this as long as you have an Explosive Singularity in hand or in the top three cards of your library!

While this would be the Standard form of this combo, I’m sure this could see play in a variety of formats as the sacrifice outlets, ways to set it up, and ways to defend it are better. Furthermore, even if you don’t want to combo, this card is likely strong enough to see play anyway!

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