Is "Storm" a Combo?

Tough question, and one that's been brought up many times in the past trying to figure out where to draw the line for playgroups that ban combos.

Firstly, it's certainly not an infinite combo, is if that's what you're looking for, you're still in the clear.

Now we come to the hard part. A "combo" is simply any "combination" of cards.

Technically, Deadeye-Pali is just as much of a combo as Rafiq + Finest hour. These are two examples of a situation where you combine 2 cards for an effect. Technically a "combo".

Storm is hard, in that ANY spell you cast before it triggers it, making every single spell that comes before it "combine" with storm.

So, if you have a player killing cast of storm, and you drop 20 cards then cast Tendrils, for example, you just synergized 21 cards into a combination that resulted in a kill.

Does it make it a 21 card combination? Technically just due to how it's worded.

But, as far as the practical use of the word "combo" in mtg, I don't think most people classify storm as a "combo" deck. I know I don't.

I see it a lot more like Doomsday-Labman.

Having a deck with both [[Doomsday]] and [[Laboratory Maniac]] in it sets you in a good position to win. However, the two cards themselves don't "combine" to do anything. Doomsday is simply a massive top-of-deck tutor. Saying Doomsday-Labman is a "combo" in terms of MTG gameplay is like saying [[Vampiric Tutor]] + Anything is a "combo".

To me, Storm is simply a boardstate that allows a kill. You managed to create a situation in which Tendrils or Grapeshot, or whatever storm card you wish, can excel, like a very complicated "overload" effect.

tl;dr: Techincally, any two cards are a combo. In gameplay, I would say Storm isn't a combo. It's simply a line of play.

/r/EDH Thread