Which Mana Rocks are Worth Playing? | A Guide to Mana Rocks in EDH
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- čas přidán 14. 07. 2020
- A video all about mana rocks, how to use them, and what to expect from them!
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Mana Rocks are a big part of commander, no question. They help you ramp, double spell, build up to the late game, and in some cases they can even directly help you win. But what are the best mana rocks? What are the worst mana rocks you should avoid? How should you judge a mana rock, and what should you expect from a typical rock at each converted mana cost? We are here to offer our opinions!
Music:
"Digital Lemonade"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b... - Hry
I put Gilded Lotus in virtually every deck because I have a ton of them. I think I've explained this before but here goes:
I live in Japan. MTG has a reputation here of being for hardcores, and it's well-earned. Most MTG players here are hardcore tournament grinders, and so if a card is used in a competitive format it will be very expensive. HOWEVER commander isn't terribly popular. When a new set comes out the retailers do mass box openings to crack those sought-after singles for standard/modern/etc. So, when there's a card in a standard set that is pretty much strictly for EDH, it will be DIRT cheap (especially in Japanese). Which is why I have like 15 Smothering Tithes that I got for less than a quarter apiece, and I have about a dozen Gilded Lotuses, which I paid about $1 for.
Smothering tithes is like 12 bucks a piece in the states bc of how popular cmdr is here haha
Lol would you like to sell some to a noob like me 😭😂 I can not keep up with my meta
Ive been wondering why i was able to buy the great henge for 5 bucks in hiroshima makes sense!
Bro can you Mail me a Smoothering tithe?
@@WHITEKNIGHT95 oh how your comment aged. $38 now lol
Coveted Jewel, for when I cant decided who to voltron out 1st. I've always loved a volunteer.
That actually just blew my mind.
@@EJsGameplay one of
Yeah, lets not incentivise the opponent to attack us
🤣🤣🤣 I mean, They're dead if they do so 🤷 let them try for fun's sake.
AWESOME
Another oft neglected rock is Heraldic Banner (3); choose a color; tap: get 1 of chosen color; creatures you control of chosen color get +1/+0.
Only reason for Gemstone Array is filtering infinite colorless mana into colored mana from my understanding which is useful for some combos if your deck has multiple ways of producing infinite (or even just tons of) colorless mana.
Yep that's why I run it. Also on rare occasions it can be used to store mana for next turn.
A very overlooked new alternative for filtering infinite colorless is a fairly new card called stonework packbeast. Its a very unassuming card that opponents will usually overlook when you play it
@@searchforgreatness69 Same goes for Prismite, which debuted in War of the Spark.
For some time it was the best/only way to do it
Kinnan makes the traps good lol. Go infinite colorless with Kinnan and Basalt Monolith then filter it through Gemstone Array to now have infinite of any color and infinite Kinnan activations.
coalition relic is not a may, you have to remove all the counters on your main
Liquimetal Torque has been looking very spicy for mono red decks! Lots of utility for artifact shenanigans and comes in untapped.
Also, Viashino Heretics allows you to blow up any non-land permanent AND deals damage (equal to the mana value) :D
29:29 the one (3) mana rock I really love is Cryptolith Fragment. It's a mana rock that burns, with the bonus that once the game goes into last stretch, it becomes multi-player Flame Jet.
"If Dryad of the Illysian grove weren't a creature that'd be great" *laughs in prismatic omen*
There was a rock that came out of Zendikar Rising called Skyclave Relic which is just a strict upgrade of Dark steel Ingot that allows you to kick it for 3 to make 2 token copies of itself. It is especially useful in token decks.
still, I have troubles finding home for it in a non-commander deck because it's rarely useful. Sadly.
Commanders Sphere moved up for me in the niche situation called Osgir, the Reconstructor. Like: Pay 3 to cast, tap for 1, sac to draw. Tap Osgir for 3 (theres already one flaoting) and get two Commander Spheres
Gemstone Array is strictly a combo piece. If you have a way to create infinite colorless mana or mana of 1 color, you can filter it into all colors.
You guys are definitely my favorite podcast for mtg
Nick Di Stefano you our favorite person named Nick Di Stefano
Time for me to take a bunch of mana rocks out of my decks...
Don't forget adding some too!
Gemstone Array could possibly go in a Kruphix, God of Horizons deck as a way to filter your colorless mana.
I think an underrated aspect of the monoliths is that they allow you to keep mana open for instants, and give you a place to spend it when you don't need to respond to anything.
Awesome content guys I never really payed attention to mana rocks until I started playing commander.
Jamie Oneill they are great in vintage cube too
Excellent Mana Rock analysis guys
Would love to hear a part two with:
LavaBrink Floodgates
Heraldic Banner
Manascape Refractor
The Great Henge
Tome of the Guildpact
Firemind Vessel
Victory Chimes
There is an interesting discussion comparing Talismans and Signets.
Most of those fall under the niche category, so they're bad unless you can really build around them or they happen to fit your strategy well. The Great Henge is actually an insane magic card, and its literally so good we forgot it was technically a mana rock so count that as our actual favorite!
This guide was extremely helpful in fine tuning my urza tron edh
Love the video guys as always! Keep up the good work, and hope the streaming is going super well for you. I agree with pretty much everything but i do gotta say Gilded Lotus has always felt pretty good.. yea its 5 mana but makes 3 of any color immediately. Can cast and hold up removal / interaction still.. then next turn you are ramped x3. I am trying to think of a time where I have been disappointed with it and am having finding it difficult.
Pro tip, for mono green decks dont bother with rocks unless they do 2 things that you need more and dont have access to like draw. Mind stone is great or even Sol Ring is good for being a super good one. Other than that the pro tip is just run all the ramp, rampant growth, natures lore, kodamas reach, cultivate, explosive vegetation, route, skyclaim, migratation, nissas pilgrimage.
Well said Death Plays!
Mostly agree, but if you're in a meta/group that doesn't shy away from land hate, it could be worth it to diversify your mana sources at least a smidge.
venser's journal has a very special place in my K'rrick deck, all i have to do is play a diabolic pact, draw a good amount and im gaining life to use to play my hand
Gemstone array is better than you guys think. First, you can add a counter at any time you have priority, and can add more than one. Translation - any unspent mana you held up you can dump into the array on you opponent's end step and bank for the future. You held onto 2 mana for a counterspell? Bank it and then untap. Have an instant speed removal spell and you're aching to hold open mana so you can use it at the perfect moment? Go for it, and bank the mana if it goes unplayed. That alone is HUGE for control decks.
It also pairs nicely with braid of fire :)
o.o last, because you posted this video while I was sleeping. It was supposed to be out five hours earlier. Good job guys 👍
Tough nuts beans! We had technical difficulties!
My favorite 3 cost mana rock: chromatic lantern. 5 color decks love this card. Its saved my life more than once.
Edit: I don't ever remember posting this. While I stand by what I said, it should be stated that once I had the money to make my 5 color mana base I took out chromatic lantern and put a tutor in. Chromatic lantern is good in budget. But it's not a budget card anymore either 🤦 5/10 card
I feel like you may be undervaluing the diamond cycle. Sure, you don't want them in a 3 or more color deck, but in any non-green 1 or 2 color deck your 2 mana ramp options are limited, and they're still better than any 3 mana rock, except ones that specifically synergize with your deck, like Dragon's Hoard in a dragon deck, or something.
I would only play them in mono color and the green one is garbo because elves do it better.
@@mitrimind1027 For my Rakdos Lord of Riots deck actually ensuring you have double black double red isn’t always easy so the diamonds can help with that. But I have just splurged for a chrome mox hehe...
@@LouisKing995 I bet rakdos signet does it best though.
@@mitrimind1027 Of course but you cannot have 2 Rakdos signets lol and a good rock base is important (Yes I also have the talisman) x
I use gemstone array in my Vorel of the Hull Clade deck but I hyper focused on charge counter artifacts AND proliferate so I guess that falls under that "niche" categories you guys mentioned. Moral of the story is keep making great content!
Everflowing chalice plus the ozzilith is amazing too!
Gemstone Array is great in my Zirda artifacts deck, because for just 1 mana with Zirda's cost reducing ability, i can store and filter all my mana witch i get from my blinkmoth urn for example. But yeah for any other deck i would probably not put it in.
The Irencrag is an underrated mana rock IMO
Surprised you didn’t mention heraldic banner for aggro decks and unstable obelisk for removal in some decks
SunTitan 44 we aren’t fans of either of those cards
Heraldic banner is great in my Locust God deck.
I use Gemstone Array to store unused mana for use in subsequent turns in my Neheb, the Eternal deck
See, I have Chromatic Orrery in my Zaffai deck for a simple reason: The one turn I made 300 red mana and wanted to cast my blue spells too. My average game with him will usually involve me making an overabundance of red mana, playing everything with exclusively red in my hand/playable exiled cards and then being thankful there's not that Viashino with mana burn as his passive in play.
Being able to drop everything is a massive power boost to my deck as everything now can be used as any colour. The extra card draw is just a bonus to me.
You just informed me of midnight clock. Would be a great add to Locust God....Thanks for that one.
I just added in a timeless lotus to my cromat deck, and gotta admit tapping one artifact to pay for my commander felt pretty great.
honestly prismatic lens has been my magic budget hack for many years. I've since replaced them with signet but. I posted this at the beginning of the video my heart is broken :( it fixes when you need it to and it can really save you in those situations otherwise they just produce mana when you no longer need the fixing.
It’s a solid budget option
I personally love Astral Cornucopia as a legit colored mana rock. It goes in decks that I have some utilities that involve proliferate or counter manipulation. Mostly Simic/Sultai decks, Vorel of the Hull Clade loves this rock and goes really nicely with the Ozolith too. He becomes such a huge target that they have to respond to him and you usually can run away with a game by playing other things in the meantime.
When it comes to chromatic orrey I run it in my kykar deck and kruphix deck. With kykar it becomes basically a phyrexian alter for 1 on the first turn its played then net positive every turn after that. And in kruphix it allows to to abuse the mana stored in kruphix even more.
Gemstone array goes really well in Kruphix, but not as a rock. It is used to filter your colorless mana back to colored
Not sure if this came up yet, Coalition Relic Produces 5 Mana (in the scenario you gave), with Seedborn Muse. Assuming a standard 4 player game, you play the Relic add a counter, 3 untaps occur for 3 more counters, your main phase you remove 4 counters to add 4 mana and you can tap it again if you need to for a 5th mana.
@26:52 I would consider gemstone array in decks with lots of combos that tend to produce infinite colorless mana. Converting this to any color at instant speed equals a win in those decks most of the time.
El pendón de Elspeth vence a la muerte está genial!!!!!!! Keep going guys!!!
I use Gemstone Array as a sink for infinite mana, that's pretty much it's only use in my deck but if infinite mana goes off it's super useful because it doesn't cost anything to play it or fill it up.
gemstone array - you store unused mana to have bigger turns later or filter colorless for colored that you can use later.
Chromatic Lantern is a king for fixing 7~8 power 4 and 5 color decks on a budget.
How can you guys forget one of the best mana rocks in the game? Crystalline Crawler!!! It’s an artifact. It taps for mana (sort of). It shines in 3-5 color decks. And it’s free. Put 4 mana in, and get 4 mana out right away. +1/+1 decks LOVES it. And it proliferates quite nicely.
Well we do actually like that card a lot, but we would just count it as a really good creature :P
You guys are awesome ✌
i play gemstone array on zirda firebreathing its really nice to bank mana and its a 1 to 1 conversion with zirda. it benefits from the commander and fits what the deck wants to do.
What about star compass over the diamond cycle since it can tap for any color you can produce? Seems good in my locust god deck since i need rocks to ramp up im a timely fashion and already have the signets, mind stone, sol ring, fellwar stone, and commanders sphere. Also what are your thoughts on putting key to the city in rielle since ill get a draw two off it and fuel my graveyard at the same time?
Do you think a cycle of cards that are the diamonds but come in untapped would be too much like arcane Signet and be auto includes in their colors or be a good power level?
I’m addicted to rocks. I fall into the 3 mana rock trap a lot. I like replicating ring. Also the guild stones. All my decks are mostly duel colors.
Chromatic orrey works great in my thief deck I play as I am allowed to cast things using any mana. Plus, its secondary ability allows me to use abilities of cards I may not have had the colors to use.
Honor-Worn Shaku can get 2+ mana by tapping Legendary PERMANENTS, so it works in Shrines, Planeswalkers, or Commanders that don't attack ever.
Yeah that's a solid niche one, as long as it's making more than 2 mana a turn it's doing a good job. And obviously the ceiling is much higher than that!
Gemstone Array is good with stuff like Zirda, who reduces the cost. It makes a good mana storage for when you don't need the mana at the time.
My favorite no max hand size card is Nezahal. Hes expensive and easy to remove but i love him. 😂
Question, do the Monoliths and Mana Vault untap if you have a Seedborn Muse out on field and in an opponents untap step?
Yea im going to build around gemstone array. Vorinclex doubles the charge, caged sun makes the cost more efficient. Any suggestions on an activation cost reducer for the array?
For my Esper deck, Unbender Tine does a lot of work. On turns that it isn't helping something else go off, the least it does is untap Coffers with Urborg or Lotus Field
A few months late, but one deck archetype I HIGHLY suggest Chromatic Lantern in, (Even if you're only running 1, 2, or 3 colors):
THEFT DECKS!!!!!
If your opponents are over here, running activated abilities on their creatures, and you wanna gain control of all their creatures, you PROBABLY want the mana to activate those abilities too! Better make sure your Dimir or Esper deck has SOME means of tapping for Red or Green mana, and the Lantern is probably the best way to do that!
Liking the new angle guys. Just need a lil more shelf decoration imo. As I get bored easily I need more to look at. Lol
Yeah we definitely need some more trinkets, we have more art coming in the mail as well. There is definitely more on the way
Nitpicking Nerds awesomesauce!
Darn skippy! also... algorithm
The Dark Fellwar stone
Gilded Lotus has value in that it gives colored mana, as opposed to colorless...
For me gilded lotus and thran dynamo are too relevant mana rocks
Great stuff again, fellas! Question: Do ya'll think coveted jewel would fit well in a Mangara, the Diplomat deck?
That’s a great place for it! Perfect synergy
@@NitpickingNerds glad to hear! I'll be throwing my copy into the deck, thanks!
Nice tech Percival
Really love the channel guys. What do you think about Caged Sun in a mono black deck? I keep putting it in and out and can't decide what to do with it.
I always keep it in to power up your exsanguinate and torment of hailfire for a good fininsher in the deck!
@@trueno717 yeah I agree. But after listening to this channel I started to feel a little insecure about a lot of cards I play in my EDH thinking they might be traps : )
I actually play pillar of origins in my unesh deck, but that deck got like 19 artifacts were most are ramp. Its among those that give blue mana which is needed for a lot of the sphinxes so not a lot of cards that would do a better job.
I believe very particular 2-color decks can make use of chromatic lantern. Example: Niv-Mizzet, Parun. His casting cost is all colors, plus you need lots of blue available for counterspells and other instants, and half you landbase is likely going to be red and some colorless. Lantern basically takes away having to think about saving all your blue sources and gives more flexibility. THAT BEING SAID, I would run a shit ton of 2cmc rocks first before adding it!
Kill streaks in mtg confirmed. saga styled enchantments with: when a creature you control deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker this turn scry X and draw a card. When 2 creatures your opponents control leaves the battlefield during your turn, this card deals 3 damage to any target. (Just an idea)
You guys rule! I love your content. If I was not totally broke I'd buy ya'll a cup of coffee, hopefully I can pitch in someday soon. I think a video about Mana Dorks would be awesome! Also, (I'm just gonna keep bringing this up ^_^) I love Sek'Kuar Deathkeeper. When you guys reviewed him you actually did not talk about the card at all, just how disappointed you were that the tokens were Graveborn and not zombies. While I agree I would love to hear more of your opinions on Sek'Kuar. He's great with threaten effects and also replaces every non-token creature you lose. I'm building him around creature that reanimate themselves like Bloodghast and Masked Admirers . What do you think? 😁
Personally, never been too fond of Thought Vessel and other similar abilities, because the decks I build just don't take advantage of massive draw spells (draw engines tend to just replace the card that I just played, so hand size isn't really going up), and at worst just toss out the cards I don't need.
I also know I run a ton of mana rocks in my Divining Top-less Elsha, lots of mana rocks in it
I play a ton of games personally - mostly final fantasy 14 (mmo), big time sink there.. not as much lately though. Most of my daily free time is eaten up by D&D (should be familiar with that one, seeing as Wizards of the Coast also handles that IP)
Gemstone array in a Vorinclex deck is the only place I would use it, at least you get what you put in.
You got me thinking about taking out Chromatic Orrery out of my 5 color element deck. Can't do it. only lose 2 mana on the exchange. I have 7 green land ramps, a sol ring only other rock it would go it I took Orrery out maybe exchange for 2 more land ramps. What u think? Also includes 10 fetch lands and whole butch of elements and 7 counter spells. Won a round last week at the lgs with it. One player ran mill, my commander brought all my creatures back.
Everflowing Chalice goes in an Urza High Artificer deck for sure, worst case is a free mana rock that produces blue.
correct me if im wrong but isn't there a commander who says like activated effects of artifacts coast 2 less that would make gemstone array go infinite?
Could you guys do an episode on obscure ramp cards for each color? Say like Spoils of Evil, High Tide or Bubbling amuck just to name a few.
That sounds like a neat video idea, sort of ramping outside the box
I think the diamond rocks are a decent budget option. Sure they come in tapped but can still be a great turn 2 play.
We think there’s just so many better options that you don’t have to go for the diamonds, but the diamonds aren’t THAT much worse than whatever the next best rock is :)
I always also loathed the diamonds, but in reality, perhaps I should look at them as equivalent to farseek/rampant growth, as those lands will also come in tapped. 🤷 But then again, there are soo many other options that don't come in tapped.
I enjoy seeing somebody else like Coveted Jewel. I like that card better than Gilded Lotus even though it costs an extra mana.
Unstable Obelisk? I can see that being useful in mono-colour decks which need help removing some permanent types, especially if they can recur artifacts.
It's just so pricey. We think almost all decks can do better, but feel free to keep playing it if it's been doing work for you
I used to run a Yawgmoth deck with everflowing and astral cornucopia and would get sooooooo much mana off of the. I had crypt ghast, black market, huge proliferation
I’ve been convinced to add coveted jewel to my deck.
This is something I've been looking for. And First?
Glad to hear it, and I think so!
Do you have any full Scarab God Deck builds?
Gemstone Array belongs in control builds, at the last end phase before your turn you dump all your mana into it
The one thing about gemstone array, other than filtering infinite mana, is if you leave mana open for interaction and then dont need to use it you can store it in the array right before your turn comes up. Its not *great*, vedelken orrery is better for that situation in most cases, but it can be useful in like a heavy interaction deck. You can also just store any extra mana you dont need at any time, which was a bonus for Coalition relic. Its not as efficient as coalition relic of course, but it stores for multiple turns and stores from anything, not just itself.
Missed jeweled amulet, it's sort of an artifact mana dork. T2 your 3 drop commander.
Prismatic omen cries in the corner "I do exist"
I am looking to buy an arcane signet fan art to use in my deck. I am Mardu so because arcane signet is blue I refuse to put it in my Mardu deck. Any suggestions where I can find one that is like a magic card so I can play with it.
Chromatic Orrery is killer in Kenrith. If you end up getting it out and have a creature that reduces kennys abilities (like Zirda or Biomancer's Familiar) you could in theory add 12 +1/+1 counters or draw 6 cards, or bring 4 creatures back from the graveyard. That's super edge case, but it sure works great!
It's also a strong card in Golos
I use the Crystals in my 5-color cycling deck. They’re cards that cycle with upside (instead of the other way around).
Heck yeah! Solid cards in mono cycling deck
I think you're underrating the Basalt Monolith & co. power of "move my mana to next turn". Some decks need mana spikes on some turns and not a consistent mana output every turn.
Gemstone array + Ashnod's Altar = Poormans Phyrexian Altar... You can also play it with mana echoes, etc... it's not a good card, not going to lie, but some people prefer to play with what they have lying around and/or are too cheap to get the real deal... also it gives you redundancy if your win con depends on generating infinite colored mana
Coveted jewel in inniaz is great. Play it, use it then go to combat and swing with three flyers. Trigger inniaz give the coveted jewel to the player to your left and hit them to get the jewel back. So pays for itself and draws you 6 cards in a turn lol
Obviously didn't exist when this was shot, but Cursed Mirror is a very fun mana rock.
I use dreamstone hedron, and hedron archive in my glissa the traitor, and commander sphere
I have a God-Tribal Golos deck that uses Serra's Sanctum and Enchanted Evening and untappers like Kiora's Follower to produce massive amounts of white mana and Gemstone Array and cards like Crystal Quarry and Cascading Cataracts allows me to funnel it and activate Golos a lot to just unleash more crazy enchantments and gods all over the battlefield. :3
Jansen Mayfield the problem is that it is very bad by itself
@@NitpickingNerds Oh yeah. It doesn't go in every deck, it doesn't even go in 5% of all decks I bet. But it's so cool that weird, and old cards can find homes in Commander. Keep up the good work guys! ^.^
Do you think Hedron Archive is worth it in a non-competitive mono-black deck? I already have the classic rocks arcane signet, thran dynamo...
We like Hedron Archive better than Thran Dynamo in decks like yours for example, so yeah we would totally include it
Nitpicking Nerds Thanks for your answer, I’ll try it tomorrow! I’ve always disregarded hedron for no real reason tbh
With daily videos we get to watch the Nitpicking Nerds burn out in real-time!
I do chromatic orrery with Derevi and the untaps are so fun
Thats pretty good
We need a updated list because of the new throne of eldraine
Its funny, because gemstone array is for stockpiling and filtering for infinite combos...and using thran dynamo to its best effect.
Sol ring is the only mana rock I use in my elf deck to get my commander out turn 2
Yeah I have sol ring and caged sun for my elf deck.
In a casual brago deck you can make infinite mana in combat and. Gemstone array can let you bank it for a main phase