Magic: The Gathering Arena has swept through PCs across the world, capturing fans of the game both old and new in a big way. With the release of the Mobile version of Magic: The Gathering Arena scheduled for this year, competition and combo hunting are only going to heat up even more, so for anyone who is considering getting their feet wet in the game before it reaches a wider audience, now is the time to build familiarity.

The history of Magic: The Gathering stretches back far further than Arena of course, all the way back to the 90s and the first days of collectible card games. One feature that has stayed constant throughout is something referred to by players as The Chase: the fact that those with the most cash can often afford the best cards, a feature that has been lessened, though not eliminated, by the introduction of the game to a digital format.

Many of the recent changes to Magic The Gathering: Arena have unleashed a cavalcade of new combos and meta defining plays, but not everything is different. So for players who want to get into the swing of things but do not have much cash to spend and are not sure where to begin, there is one very simple combo to get started with. It involves a Cauldron, a Cat, and an Oven, and is commonly referred to as: Cat Cooking.

Step 1: Get a Cat

The core of this strategy is a simple two card combo that revolves around constantly destroying and re-summoning a specific creature. That creature is the Cauldron Familiar: a cat that drains one life from an opponent and gives it to the cat’s summoner every time it is summoned. It can also be brought back from the grave by sacrificing a Food token, which is easy to generate with several Throne of Eldraine cards. Speaking of which…

Step 2: Get an Oven

The second card of the combo is the Witch’s Oven. It lets a player sacrifice a creature to generate a Food token, or two if the creature was beefy enough. The combo is easy to see: sacrifice the cat for the Food, then use the Food to revive the cat. Both cards are Uncommon, which means it is far easier to chase them than some of the more expensive cards of the new Theros set.

Step 3: Repeat Ad Nauseum

The combo may not seem like much, especially since it only drains one life each time the cat is revived. However, since the combo is a completely self sustaining, mana-free loop, it will continue to be viable and useful throughout the entire match unless interrupted. That much life can really add up quickly, and remember, every point drained is added to the cat’s owner.

Step 4: Build it Up

The Cat Cooking combo is a great starter and a good core for a deck, especially since it can be built up in so many different ways. Several of the different draft Archetypes found in Arena right now can either be built outward from Cat Cooking as a base, or incorporate it no problem.

It is self sustaining, easy to get, and easy to build off of, a great starting point for players new to Magic in general, to Arena, or just to the current sets. Just about the only thing it can’t do is be featured in the upcoming Magic: The Gathering manga.

Magic: The Gathering Arena is available now for PC.

Source: PC Gamer