Easy, in order: 1. If a rock fits a decks theme or is an anagram of your name, put it in. 2. If you have a cool version of it, put it in. 3. Metalworker
@armygamelover Nikya in a proper pod is going to get killed tho. If not, you are likely going to win despite having a dead card. At least with a Sol Ring, it's going to be easier to summon Nikya or another creature after she gets inevitably destroyed.
The Celestus. mana of any color, has a loot ability that triggers whenever it changes from night to day, on the odd chance someone doesnt cast a spell on their turn it will trigger twice since most likely someone will play more than one spell but you can also pay 4 and have it change on your turn and then it will trigger again whenever it switches back to day.
2 problems: 1 Do you realy want to track day/night in a non-automated game? 2 How often does it even become night, unless YOU dont play at sorcery speed?
I've been enjoying Honored Heirloom which I feel has gone unnoticed because Crimson Vow wasn't a very well received set. It costs 3 and taps for any color but it has another ability I've found very useful especially later in games. You can pay 2 to tap it and exile a card from any graveyard. A little costly for the mana production but so many decks have some sort of graveyard recursion and having the ability to deny someone bringing back a big creature or combo piece has been clutch.
I was playing a few games of commander with some random dudes I met on a cruise when a fifth party walked over, gave everyone playing Coheed and Cambria rethemed proxies of Mana Crypt, and left without saying a word. Unfortunately, I can't fit the crypt into my Krenko deck, so I'm not entirely sure where I should put it. Thanks for the tips nerds!
I actually disagree with the chromatic lantern take. I think any 4-5 color deck has it as an auto-include just because it's so good at fixing mana that it can outright make an unplayable hand playable. If you start a game with chromatic lantern and 3 lands in hand, there is nothing that you are going to draw into or not draw into where you won't be on incredibly stable footing unless your average cmc is a 6 and if that's the case, the deck has bigger problems.
A good use for Thran dynamo: you can use its mana to foretell a card in your upkeep each turn. Very niche indeed, but almost a 2nd sol ring in Ranar or other foretell decks
"Mana vault is basically a ritual" Yep, it takes one and makes 3. It's basically a brown dark ritual. Although the nickname "Brown Ritual" may have some issues.
It's pretty clear they don't particularly like these scalable rocks that are particularly awesome in proliferate decks, which is odd since Mia said she has a poison deck where they fit quite nicely
@@xeper9458 I disagree with this. They mentioned the rock that allows you to roll the Planar Die. Everflowing Chalice would absolutely be better than that one. I think it was just an oversight.
Everflowing Chalice fits in with all the other two mana rocks, it's pretty great and scalable. We weren't sure whether to list it as zero or two or what so it just got left out by mistake
@@xeper9458 Right, I was using that as an example of a Rock they did mention but is not as good as Chalice, so it was probably an oversight… which they confirmed in this thread.
With machine god's effigy it clones the best creature with a good passive or active ability and it's not a creature anymore since it's just an artifact with the tap for a blue ability added on to it so it can dodge creature removal. I think that makes it a bit better than where you put it. Great video overall though and sorry if this isn't the most grammatically correct comment lol.
I'm not playing 0 Mana Rocks because I want to be "Mid-Powered." I'm not playing 0 Mana Rocks because I HAVE NO F**KING MONEY!! Honestly! "Hmm, should I finish my final payment for my long overdue house bill? Or get a Mana crypt?"
I had a friend try to tell me his deck isn’t Power 8+ when he runs mana crypt and mana vault. He’s like it’s only 2 cards. I have him mathematical reasons and ratios. The ignorance was real when he denied it.
@Commander_Claw your friend is right. A mana crypt and a mana vault don't magically force a deck into an "8+" range. "Mathematical reasoning and ratios" don't apply.
@@firstandlast.1254Cause Magic: the Gathering! Seriously though, I think I pretty much exposed to the world where I stand financially/what my Social Class is.
Coveted jewel comes in the Silverquil Statement precon, my favorite precon. I understand why it is considered bad, but I have had fantastic success with it. Earlier game, it makes your opponent's fight over it while you build up and control. Late game, it secures your victory.
Coveted jewel is the perfect thing to flicker with Displacer kitty. Also really like making clones of it in Mishra. Also play it in Gandalf double triggers. Also play it in Yarok…. I might just love coveted jewel.
Machine Gods effigy is actually a staple for me. The best Creature on the battlefield stapeled on an artifact that taps for Mana immediately is so good. Try it out and See for yourself.
I still swear by darksteel ingot, I dont care what you guys say. My playgroup is so disenchant and wrath-happy it still pulls its weight. I hate sitting down across from a green or white deck, and they just decide to play that 3 mana disenchant bear, and they look around the board looking for the right thing to shatter. They always end up looking over at my talismans and signets, and then I have to mind rot them.
One thing about Chromatic lantern is that it also shuts down things like bloodmoon. Granted not a lot of games run into it, but in a 5 color deck, its great on a budget to esnure you hit your colors. Its a good card, but it will be dependent on meta and budget.
the diamond cycles are some of my favorite rocks. the amount of times i see someone have an arcane signet or commander sphere and get picked on for it, but a diamond for some reason people just leave me be. yes, they are tapped, but i view them as a round 3 boost in a colored mana which i will take every single time over a 3 cost rock. they are consistent and im absolutely never sad to pull one of the diamonds out of my deck.
Glittering Stockpile! Treasure synergies. Counter synergies. Super great late game bump! The only downside is the lack of mana fixing. I run it in most of my red decks.
I don't know if you forgot it or don't count it as a mana rock, but a card I discovered recently is Inspiring Statuary. It gives non-artifact spells improvise, so it can tap itself (and any other artifact) to help pay for other spells. This can provide a lot of mana if you're in a deck that has artifacts that aren't rocks, but you're not in a heavy, all-in artifacts deck. Although that may sound specific, I think there are more and more decks that fit exactly that with all the food, clue, blood, junk, etc. tokens they are making. I play it in my Sharuum deck which has a decent amount of good artifacts that help me pay for other, Nitpicking Nerds approved cards lol. It feels so good to tap Inspiring Statuary, Sensei's Divining Top, and a black mana to surprise people with a Soul Shatter! P.S. Chromatic Orrery is fun too! Expensive but refunds most of the mana right away. Maybe works better in decks that can cheat it in, idk 🤷♂️ I also play it in that Sharuum deck where I can reanimate from graveyard. But it wasnt on the list and thought it might be worth mentioning to some!
One thing that has really helped my decks was to make space for rituals (Both as sorceries, based on creatures or based on sacrificed rocks) instead of the mana rocks: basically got rid of all of my mana rocks that are 3 CMC or higher (I do make an exception for Decanter of Endless Water for the no-hand-limit effect) and just ended up using a lot more mana rituals and just focus on doing what needs doing right away. So while I do have some of the very cedh fast rocks in there even without them and given decent card draw and/or graveyard recursion, playing mana rituals is something commander players should get into the habit of doing instead of this unsspoken-but-implied rule zero conversations where 'We're playing casual' translates to 'Don't use fast mana so we can build up board states' Sometimes there is something to be said about cedh and being able to just resolve a commander game inside 30-40 minutes instead of inevitably turning into 1-2 hour affairs on *average* which can get tiresome at times.
Chromatic lantern in 4 and 5 color decks that demand many different pips is fantastic. Ur dragon atraxa etc especially. Playing multiple spells late game xan sometimes be an issue with colors more often than you think
I still run Commander Sphere and Chromatic Lantern in my high power Sliver deck. There are just too many Slivers that need WUBRG mana, and it's absolutely crucial to be able to play your commander on turn 4. That means playing either of these on turn 3.
I love enigma jewel. It puts in some serious work into my Lazav, the Multifarious deck. He needs all the mana he can get for his and other's abilities. Also all of the mana rocks that deal with counters on themselves go crazy in proliferate decks.
10:16 Counterargument for green signets/talismans: You will want all the good mana rocks you can get if you're specifically playing Emiel + Abdel Adrian combo. I'd prioritize mana rocks over land ramp if the combo is in my deck.
I like Thran Turbine in a Karn, Silver Golem deck because it gives you two free pops of an artifact token on your upkeep. It's not good by any stretch, but it's funny to have a couple of treasure tokens explode due to having 0 toughness, or even hit a Mox Amber in the Jodah Superlegends deck. A note about the guild signets, since I'm EXTRA casual and don't much care for including ramp when lands should be considered good enough: when I'm on 3+ colors, I prioritize the guild signets that provide the color pairs that you need. It's not bad to have an Izzet Signet in a Grixis deck, but if you have a bunch of UB-costed spells, while all of your R spells are mono-R, then having to filter mana into an Izzet Signet over a Dimir Signet will force you to have another black source on top of the "rock." Similar note, if you have a lot of multi-pip cards, don't run colorless lands and colorless rocks together, you will eventually have that moment of frustration when despite running a mono-color deck, you could have saved yourself with the cards in hand if only you could actually make enough colored mana. It's part of my bias against Sol Ring being considered a good card, the strongest performance I've seen is using it for a turn 1 signet and then consistently missing land drops as an instant luck counterbalance. I like Chromatic Lantern simply for nostalgia. On the subject of Ravnica, MASSIVE miss on WotC for not reprinting the guild cluestones with "artifact - clue" errata in the MKM set, it might have actually given them some niche use in Investigate decks. One final shoutout to Meteorite: 5 mana for 2 damage to any target that taps for one of any color. It's bad, but when you get to pull off removal by throwing a mana rock at something, it's hilarious.
I used the Golden Throne to win a game. As a mana rock? Worthless. But that “survive with 1 health” an opponent and I both were just max swinging on me and I placed golden throne. Giving me one extra turn no matter the damage he did, I won. Do NOT underestimate that ability.
Sometimes green decks actually do want rocks. Just really depends on the direction you go with it. I just built yarus, and I use mana rocks as all the ramp sources for it. I also have a small colorless theme going and a talisman and signet actually stick to the board when flipped as a manifest with yarus while a nature's lore and three visits wouldn't.
I disagree about commander sphere. The value of drawing a card at instant speed for free later in the game is so good. But I would only play it in a 4 or 5 color deck with lots of colored mana pips.
you forgot to mention everflowing chalice in the zero mana section. I know people don't normally pay zero for it because you need to multikicker it to make it good but I think it really good.
Signets are "mid" at best in the 2 Rocks. With only 2 mana available to cast them your turn is over, the upside is filtering but that is only available later. It's the same comparison as the painlands with the bad 2-color filterlands. If they made a hybrid of Signets and Talismans where you could either get a colorless or filter a colored mana into a pair of colored I'd use them in a heartbeat (i.e. the good 2-color filterlands in the comparison).
@SaltyProductionsHD if you haven't played a land that turn, it's into play! Think of it as early game ramp, most rampant growth effects are dead on arrival late game anyway so outside of green, I think it's a solid ramp piece!
29:00 Slightly nitpicky point, but Five Hundred Year Diary will always tap for one blue since it's a Clue itself. Totally agree though that it's great in Clue heavy decks specifically and otherwise not great.
Enigma Jewel is not a bad mana rock. It's an amazing mana rock. Just an amazing mana rock for specific decks. Yes, only for activated abilities is restrictive, but much like powerstones, it is much less restrictive than you think. As examples, if your commander has an activated ability you intend to use often, or you're generating a lot of clues (which we just got a lot of support for), then Enigma Jewel being a one mana rock that makes two mana towards that thing you're gonna be doing a lot is amazing. And if you're in a deck that does either of these things, there are plenty of low opportunity cost ways to fluff up that activated ability count, like staple utility lands and the signet lands. If you turn 1 Enigma Jewel, turn 2 Will the Wise crack a clue, you are very happy. Yes, it needs a home, but that home is not very weird. I also think you undersell Staff of Compleation. The alt mode of drawing a card if you don't need the mana is very strong, even if the life cost is steep. It can be good in most non-green decks whose curve isn't particularly lean.
vintage deck idea, rate it. each card listed is 4 copies of it. then 24 total lands, 4 stomping grounds and 4 wooded foothills 8 mountains 8 forest. so here is the cards in the deck: turn things to artifact: liquimetal coating liquimetal torque(can add mana) mycosynth lattice generate or destroy mana: wall of roots(decent blocker) overgrown battlement(decent blocker) dwarven miner destroy artifacts: shattering pulse gorilla shaman steelbane hydra win condition? after destroy all permanents on the opponents side of board can chip down opponent with whatever creatures are on the board. eventually a giant steelbane hydra at some point.
I have Chromatic Lantern in my Ur-Dragon deck because I also run all 10 fetches, all 10 shocks, ancient tomb, Sylvan Library, and the one ring so I find it nice to turn my fetches into lands that tap for mana. Do you guys think I should still cut it?
A great advice I received with Mana Rocks or Ramp in general is, to look at your curve or average mana cost. Many decks rarely can make use of untapped lands/Mana Rocks so entering untapped isn't as important as it would seem in those decks.
Dark steel ingot goes so hard in my Prince of Kroog Deck. Just create a 1/1 indestructible copy with the commanders activated ability. It ramps mana, is hard to remove, and really can be threatening with the commanders +2/+2 anthem
Glad you put respect on Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus. They've dropped in people's esteem over the years but are still good (though not as good as they once were). Darksteel Ingot and Chromatic Lantern were good back when there were much fewer options for affordable dual or tri lands (like when guild gates were almost auto includes) and fewer rocks than there are now. So I agree with you for the most part on them. However, I think you are a little wrong about Commander's Sphere. The card draw makes it a better card than many of the 2 mana rocks you list as good, at least for control players. However, I wouldn't play it in anything less than 3 color. Also, what about Sonic Screwdriver and Laser Screwdriver? I like them so far but often for the other abilities more than the mana ability. I'm addicted to Surveil so I use the Laser for that more often than mana.
I have nothing but good things to say about Throne of Eldraine. *4* colored mana for 5, plus the secondary card-draw makes this one of my favorite artifacts. Nyx Lotus coming into play tapped is rough, but I still play it in my Mono Green deck, due to how many high-pip spells I’m running. If you’re regularly tapping your Nyx Lotus for 15+ after it’s first untap, you tend to look on it as a 2nd Nykthos Shrine, rather than what it actually is. In something like Hydra Tribal, I would go as far as calling Nyx Lotus an auto-include. Ultimately, I recommend anyone playing a Monocolored deck heavy on the pips give Nyx Lotus a try for yourself. Some people will feel the explosiveness of the following turn is sufficient payment for Nyx Lotus coming in tapped, some won’t, but I really feel you have to give it a shot to know which you’re going to be.
Throne is insane in monogreen. T1 and T2 ramp, T3 Throne and you still have a 4 mana play, and now on T4 you have 10 goddamn mana to do whatever the hell you want. if your 2nd T3 play was Goreclaw, you can drop 3 big creatures on T4.
@@aimlessgun No love for the Nyx Lotus, eh? I really feel in high-devotion Mono Green the mileage can justify the admittedly brutal no-same-turn-payoff cost. Losing it to Removal is incredibly punishing, but conversely any game where you find your Nykthos and Nyx Lotus both, and it untaps? Game is basically yours to lose. Scepter of Eternal Glory is absolutely safer/more assured, but no one ever broke the bank betting Red/Black.
13:45 I have Sphere of the Suns in one deck: Zedruu. I give it away after using the counters up. 😂 17:40 Coincidentally this is also the only deck I have Staff of Compleation in. It’s a Duel Commander deck, and the win condition is Illusions of Grandeur. 😅
I only play with 3 friends fairly new to the game. But, Urtet with a Chromatic Lantern is a problem. That or Eleven Chorus is generally either a) I win, or b) I get targeted. I love lantern.
I also rarely play 3 mana rocks but my main slivers deck does play skyclave relic as it is an artifact with indestructible which is valuable because of harmonic sliver which destroys artifacts and enchantments and it’s not a “may” ability so often you’ll destroy all of them and be forced to start killing your own stuff but if you have the skyclave relic you can target that and it won’t break
@@SugarBear-m9f true I still like it in mine because if I have skyclave it’s amazing and if I don’t. My commander is overlord so I can just go get any of my slivers that let me sac my slivers and get get rid of harmonic myself Sometimes it can get annoying but it’s removal power is so high I’ve kept mine in because there are ways around the downside but few things that are that good at continuous removal
The Golden Throne is very specifically *very good* in Slimefoot and Squee - puts S&S in the graveyard and pays for almost all of the activation cost in one fell swoop!
I play chromatic lantern in every deck I own that aren't my enchantments decks, my mana base is SOLID but that's not the point, the point is every once in a while you'll draw 5 lands and they will all be the wrong color. I'd rather play chromatic lantern over all the bad dual lands
Enigma Jewel would be great in any deck with a commander or a bunch of creatures in the 99 with activated abilities. Pair it up with Training Ground and Forensic Investigator in a Memnarch deck? Oof, you’ll be unstoppable. 🤣
What do you think about Crowded Crypt in aristocrats decks? also side note: I'm glad to see someone else's passionate hate towards Cryptex, why was this card even made? there's no format for it.
5:06 I don't usually comment on videos but if we're not just talking generally. I think mox tantalite and sol talisman are great in cascade decks like yidris.
for me the card draw on coveted jewel works in mono colored, cuz you can get it back & draw3, encourage attacks away from you, 6 for 3 cards is ugh, but you instantly get 3 mana back.
Commander sphere is a better mind stone. Doesn't cost mana to activate so you can tap for mana and sac and draw a card and makes colored mana. For 1 more it's totally worth it especially if you have recursion. I love it in my Carmen the Cruel Skymarcher deck because it is just free card draw every turn if I want.
IMO making colored mana vs colorless and not needing to pay or tap it to sac for a card draw seems like big enough bonus to me. But I run both mind stone and sphere@@Rizso1
@@BurtGjryea the mana rocks really depend on your deck strategy and mana curve. For an aggro deck, mind stone is a 2 drop that adds 1 colorless on turn 2 possibly. Hit a land drop on turn 3 with mind stone you got 4 mana total. The colorless won’t have to use your specific land drop to cast spells either. But commander sphere is great for higher mana curves, colors with with needs for card draw,
I surprised y’all didn’t mention everflowing chalice in the 2 mana slot. Can be played later for more mana if it’s a slower game, and it’s insane if you are in a proliferation deck
i use "Chromatic lantern" in 5 color decks only for the mana fixing and "Decanter of endless water" in decks that are more than 2 colors and the decks have A Lot of draw.
@@firstandlast.1254 I don’t think it’s that bad. I play it in a dimir aristocrats deck and a zombie deck and in both cases I’m never disappointed to see it.
Coveted Jewel works great for Sheoldred. I literally won a game because they attacked me i gave them the jewel and they drew 3 cards and took 6 damage to lose the game cuz they didnt realize they would take damage from attacking me.
Manalith ($0.05) The Celestus ($0.75) Altar of the Pantheon ($0.07) Bonder's Ornament ($0.06) Commander's Sphere ($0.10) Coalition Relic ($0.41) Darksteel Ingot ($0.19) Fountain of Ichor ($0.07) Honored Heirloom ($0.07) Lantern of Revealing ($0.07) Letter of Acceptance ($0.03) Mana Geode ($0.14) Network Terminal ($0.05) Phyrexian Atlas ($0.04) Replicating Ring ($0.31) Skyclave Relic ($0.77) Vessel of Endless Rest ($0.12) All budget, all better than the obelisk cycle, all have the ability to add some weird sort of synergy. Took about 5 minutes to find. I purposely left out artifact creatures. Just no reason whatsoever to play obelisks.
I just don't agree at all about Chromatic lantern. Do you know how much time you save by not having a mana puzzle when trying to pick out the correct sequence of colors to use? I just don't agree
But it’s powerful for mana fixing. You know how many times you need a specific color combo or extra color of one to cast the spell or activate an ability. They’re flexible.
I think for every time you tap out for a signet and can't follow up with a one-mana play, there's times where you turn a colorless mana into two colored mana and cast an extra spell
I struggle with mana rocks for mono decks as a lot of the ones I'd normally play like talisman and signet you can't do it's then what do I replace that with
What about Phial of Galadriel? I use it in a deck with Mt Doom and it lets me activate the ult quite often but I feel as the actual mana and abilities it's kind of mid.
Kinda hoped you guys would mention the new bobbleheads from the fallout set. I guess they all line up as bad/mid tho because they are basically mana sinks mostly.
Beezy, be careful pushing through a sore throat! It’s easy to do damage to your voice if you’re using a numbing agent. Take care of yourself, we can wait a day!
Easy, in order:
1. If a rock fits a decks theme or is an anagram of your name, put it in.
2. If you have a cool version of it, put it in.
3. Metalworker
28:57 It should be noted that Five Hundred Year Diary is a clue, itself. It should always tap for at least one mana.
Came to the comments to say the above. Great for clue decks.
is it great? im debating it. I have a morska deck and a bjorna and wergna deck@@DashhTheOutrider
@@robertthomas-ps1nn with that, Urza lord high artificer, & Jaheira friend of the forest mana is a non issue in my deep clue sea deck
Throw in an academy manufactor and ways to generate food or treasure tokens and FHYD scales pretty fast
Bloomburrow added a 3 mana rock, Patchwork banner. Choose a creature type and they get +1/+1. Great for kindred decks.
No love for Grim Monolith in the 2 mana section😢
I love it because it’s mana positive on its own but also combos so easily with a number of cards.
Probably because it's not budget friendly over 99% cards mentioned.
As someone with a Nikya of the Old Ways deck...none of them
I don’t have a Nikya deck but I run it in my Affinimar deck. 35 Lands, 64 Creatures, 1 Commander.
My Wort the Raidmother and Riku of the two Reflections (slivers) decks agree
@@steamh4mmer264 but if you draw it later, it's a dead card until your commander is killed. It also isn't buffed by her ability.
As someone with a Kinnan deck... all of them.
@armygamelover Nikya in a proper pod is going to get killed tho. If not, you are likely going to win despite having a dead card. At least with a Sol Ring, it's going to be easier to summon Nikya or another creature after she gets inevitably destroyed.
2 years watching Nitpicking Nerds and found out today the sign changes 😮
I mean, it says so right on the sign!
The Celestus. mana of any color, has a loot ability that triggers whenever it changes from night to day, on the odd chance someone doesnt cast a spell on their turn it will trigger twice since most likely someone will play more than one spell but you can also pay 4 and have it change on your turn and then it will trigger again whenever it switches back to day.
2 problems:
1 Do you realy want to track day/night in a non-automated game?
2 How often does it even become night, unless YOU dont play at sorcery speed?
The Celestus has been really good for me in my Celestine deck. I think it’s nifty!
I've been enjoying Honored Heirloom which I feel has gone unnoticed because Crimson Vow wasn't a very well received set. It costs 3 and taps for any color but it has another ability I've found very useful especially later in games. You can pay 2 to tap it and exile a card from any graveyard. A little costly for the mana production but so many decks have some sort of graveyard recursion and having the ability to deny someone bringing back a big creature or combo piece has been clutch.
I agree, very underrated and cool looking card. The art is very nice as well
I was playing a few games of commander with some random dudes I met on a cruise when a fifth party walked over, gave everyone playing Coheed and Cambria rethemed proxies of Mana Crypt, and left without saying a word. Unfortunately, I can't fit the crypt into my Krenko deck, so I'm not entirely sure where I should put it. Thanks for the tips nerds!
I actually disagree with the chromatic lantern take. I think any 4-5 color deck has it as an auto-include just because it's so good at fixing mana that it can outright make an unplayable hand playable. If you start a game with chromatic lantern and 3 lands in hand, there is nothing that you are going to draw into or not draw into where you won't be on incredibly stable footing unless your average cmc is a 6 and if that's the case, the deck has bigger problems.
I really love my 6 bobble heads in my Nick Valentine deck. Fun 3 cost mana rocks with upside bonuses as activated abilities
Why not 7?
A good use for Thran dynamo: you can use its mana to foretell a card in your upkeep each turn. Very niche indeed, but almost a 2nd sol ring in Ranar or other foretell decks
"Mana vault is basically a ritual" Yep, it takes one and makes 3. It's basically a brown dark ritual.
Although the nickname "Brown Ritual" may have some issues.
Ohhh so that’s why people have candles by their toilets, I knew “it’s to cover the smell” was a lie.
@@dapperpotatoes8473that’s their cauldron
What about Everflowing Chalice and Astral Cornucopia?
It's pretty clear they don't particularly like these scalable rocks that are particularly awesome in proliferate decks, which is odd since Mia said she has a poison deck where they fit quite nicely
@@xeper9458 I disagree with this. They mentioned the rock that allows you to roll the Planar Die. Everflowing Chalice would absolutely be better than that one.
I think it was just an oversight.
@@crawdaddy2004 the card you are referring to is fractured power stone, which is not a scalable rock like chalice and cornucopia
Everflowing Chalice fits in with all the other two mana rocks, it's pretty great and scalable. We weren't sure whether to list it as zero or two or what so it just got left out by mistake
@@xeper9458 Right, I was using that as an example of a Rock they did mention but is not as good as Chalice, so it was probably an oversight… which they confirmed in this thread.
I will say in my Abaddon deck, I really enjoy relic of Sauron purely because it both comes in untapped, and has a high enough value to cascade nicely.
With machine god's effigy it clones the best creature with a good passive or active ability and it's not a creature anymore since it's just an artifact with the tap for a blue ability added on to it so it can dodge creature removal. I think that makes it a bit better than where you put it. Great video overall though and sorry if this isn't the most grammatically correct comment lol.
Yeah I love that card, I would probably still play it even if it didn't tap for U
I'm not playing 0 Mana Rocks because I want to be "Mid-Powered."
I'm not playing 0 Mana Rocks because I HAVE NO F**KING MONEY!!
Honestly! "Hmm, should I finish my final payment for my long overdue house bill? Or get a Mana crypt?"
I had a friend try to tell me his deck isn’t Power 8+ when he runs mana crypt and mana vault. He’s like it’s only 2 cards. I have him mathematical reasons and ratios. The ignorance was real when he denied it.
If your "long overdue house bill" is $200 or less, you have bigger problems. Why aren't you paying it?
@Commander_Claw your friend is right. A mana crypt and a mana vault don't magically force a deck into an "8+" range. "Mathematical reasoning and ratios" don't apply.
@@firstandlast.1254Cause Magic: the Gathering!
Seriously though, I think I pretty much exposed to the world where I stand financially/what my Social Class is.
I'm building a deck where Altar of the Pantheon is going to be one of the best ramp sources. A rock so bad it wasn't even mentioned 😅
The suspend rocks are fine, not great but definitely fine. And ofc you can cascade into them and get em immediately too
But if you’re in a Cascade deck, why aren’t you just guaranteeing Hypergenesis or Gaea’s Will?
@@crawdaddy2004 because this aint modern or whatever. More fun to get a fair sol ring cheated in that you built around. also Zhulodok
Or you can immediately cast one for free with As Foretold
Voltaic key and others like it are good for untapping artifacts like mana vault and basalt monolith, sol ring. Blue has lots of untap permanents.
I hope it's not only for untaping mana rock because it's a waste of space.
Coveted jewel comes in the Silverquil Statement precon, my favorite precon. I understand why it is considered bad, but I have had fantastic success with it. Earlier game, it makes your opponent's fight over it while you build up and control. Late game, it secures your victory.
Coveted jewel is the perfect thing to flicker with Displacer kitty. Also really like making clones of it in Mishra. Also play it in Gandalf double triggers. Also play it in Yarok….
I might just love coveted jewel.
Machine Gods effigy is actually a staple for me. The best Creature on the battlefield stapeled on an artifact that taps for Mana immediately is so good. Try it out and See for yourself.
I still swear by darksteel ingot, I dont care what you guys say. My playgroup is so disenchant and wrath-happy it still pulls its weight. I hate sitting down across from a green or white deck, and they just decide to play that 3 mana disenchant bear, and they look around the board looking for the right thing to shatter. They always end up looking over at my talismans and signets, and then I have to mind rot them.
My non green 3 color decks really enjoy the ingot and the skuclave relic as it's color fix mana rock. they persist.
One thing about Chromatic lantern is that it also shuts down things like bloodmoon. Granted not a lot of games run into it, but in a 5 color deck, its great on a budget to esnure you hit your colors. Its a good card, but it will be dependent on meta and budget.
the diamond cycles are some of my favorite rocks. the amount of times i see someone have an arcane signet or commander sphere and get picked on for it, but a diamond for some reason people just leave me be. yes, they are tapped, but i view them as a round 3 boost in a colored mana which i will take every single time over a 3 cost rock. they are consistent and im absolutely never sad to pull one of the diamonds out of my deck.
Glittering Stockpile! Treasure synergies. Counter synergies. Super great late game bump! The only downside is the lack of mana fixing. I run it in most of my red decks.
I like Phial of Galadriel and the Sonic Screwdriver. But I acknowledge that I might be the only one.
I don't know if you forgot it or don't count it as a mana rock, but a card I discovered recently is Inspiring Statuary. It gives non-artifact spells improvise, so it can tap itself (and any other artifact) to help pay for other spells. This can provide a lot of mana if you're in a deck that has artifacts that aren't rocks, but you're not in a heavy, all-in artifacts deck. Although that may sound specific, I think there are more and more decks that fit exactly that with all the food, clue, blood, junk, etc. tokens they are making. I play it in my Sharuum deck which has a decent amount of good artifacts that help me pay for other, Nitpicking Nerds approved cards lol. It feels so good to tap Inspiring Statuary, Sensei's Divining Top, and a black mana to surprise people with a Soul Shatter!
P.S. Chromatic Orrery is fun too! Expensive but refunds most of the mana right away. Maybe works better in decks that can cheat it in, idk 🤷♂️ I also play it in that Sharuum deck where I can reanimate from graveyard. But it wasnt on the list and thought it might be worth mentioning to some!
Inspiring Statuary is so good in my Ognis deck ☺
@@go1988 omg yes! I also have an ognis deck and honestly had not considered that
It's really, really good
Yeah, it's a dope card.
One thing that has really helped my decks was to make space for rituals (Both as sorceries, based on creatures or based on sacrificed rocks) instead of the mana rocks: basically got rid of all of my mana rocks that are 3 CMC or higher (I do make an exception for Decanter of Endless Water for the no-hand-limit effect) and just ended up using a lot more mana rituals and just focus on doing what needs doing right away.
So while I do have some of the very cedh fast rocks in there even without them and given decent card draw and/or graveyard recursion, playing mana rituals is something commander players should get into the habit of doing instead of this unsspoken-but-implied rule zero conversations where 'We're playing casual' translates to 'Don't use fast mana so we can build up board states' Sometimes there is something to be said about cedh and being able to just resolve a commander game inside 30-40 minutes instead of inevitably turning into 1-2 hour affairs on *average* which can get tiresome at times.
I do like the suspend mana rocks in my Osgir deck. Wouldnt play them outside of ways to discard them though.
Chromatic lantern in 4 and 5 color decks that demand many different pips is fantastic. Ur dragon atraxa etc especially. Playing multiple spells late game xan sometimes be an issue with colors more often than you think
I really like Relic of Legends in a deck with a cheap commander.
I still run Commander Sphere and Chromatic Lantern in my high power Sliver deck. There are just too many Slivers that need WUBRG mana, and it's absolutely crucial to be able to play your commander on turn 4. That means playing either of these on turn 3.
I love enigma jewel. It puts in some serious work into my Lazav, the Multifarious deck. He needs all the mana he can get for his and other's abilities.
Also all of the mana rocks that deal with counters on themselves go crazy in proliferate decks.
10:16 Counterargument for green signets/talismans: You will want all the good mana rocks you can get if you're specifically playing Emiel + Abdel Adrian combo. I'd prioritize mana rocks over land ramp if the combo is in my deck.
I like Thran Turbine in a Karn, Silver Golem deck because it gives you two free pops of an artifact token on your upkeep. It's not good by any stretch, but it's funny to have a couple of treasure tokens explode due to having 0 toughness, or even hit a Mox Amber in the Jodah Superlegends deck.
A note about the guild signets, since I'm EXTRA casual and don't much care for including ramp when lands should be considered good enough: when I'm on 3+ colors, I prioritize the guild signets that provide the color pairs that you need. It's not bad to have an Izzet Signet in a Grixis deck, but if you have a bunch of UB-costed spells, while all of your R spells are mono-R, then having to filter mana into an Izzet Signet over a Dimir Signet will force you to have another black source on top of the "rock." Similar note, if you have a lot of multi-pip cards, don't run colorless lands and colorless rocks together, you will eventually have that moment of frustration when despite running a mono-color deck, you could have saved yourself with the cards in hand if only you could actually make enough colored mana. It's part of my bias against Sol Ring being considered a good card, the strongest performance I've seen is using it for a turn 1 signet and then consistently missing land drops as an instant luck counterbalance.
I like Chromatic Lantern simply for nostalgia. On the subject of Ravnica, MASSIVE miss on WotC for not reprinting the guild cluestones with "artifact - clue" errata in the MKM set, it might have actually given them some niche use in Investigate decks.
One final shoutout to Meteorite: 5 mana for 2 damage to any target that taps for one of any color. It's bad, but when you get to pull off removal by throwing a mana rock at something, it's hilarious.
I used the Golden Throne to win a game. As a mana rock? Worthless. But that “survive with 1 health” an opponent and I both were just max swinging on me and I placed golden throne. Giving me one extra turn no matter the damage he did, I won.
Do NOT underestimate that ability.
Sometimes green decks actually do want rocks. Just really depends on the direction you go with it. I just built yarus, and I use mana rocks as all the ramp sources for it. I also have a small colorless theme going and a talisman and signet actually stick to the board when flipped as a manifest with yarus while a nature's lore and three visits wouldn't.
I disagree about commander sphere. The value of drawing a card at instant speed for free later in the game is so good. But I would only play it in a 4 or 5 color deck with lots of colored mana pips.
What about the medallion cycle?
They seemed to focus on adding mana cards rather than reducing mana cost cards.
you forgot to mention everflowing chalice in the zero mana section. I know people don't normally pay zero for it because you need to multikicker it to make it good but I think it really good.
Signets are "mid" at best in the 2 Rocks. With only 2 mana available to cast them your turn is over, the upside is filtering but that is only available later. It's the same comparison as the painlands with the bad 2-color filterlands. If they made a hybrid of Signets and Talismans where you could either get a colorless or filter a colored mana into a pair of colored I'd use them in a heartbeat (i.e. the good 2-color filterlands in the comparison).
Not a rock but an underrated card: travelers amulet. In non-green colors, its a rampant growth, i think non green players are sleeping on this.
It goes to your hand and not the battlefield. I’d rather run a basic if I don’t need the artifact synergies.
@SaltyProductionsHD if you haven't played a land that turn, it's into play! Think of it as early game ramp, most rampant growth effects are dead on arrival late game anyway so outside of green, I think it's a solid ramp piece!
29:00 Slightly nitpicky point, but Five Hundred Year Diary will always tap for one blue since it's a Clue itself.
Totally agree though that it's great in Clue heavy decks specifically and otherwise not great.
Enigma Jewel is not a bad mana rock.
It's an amazing mana rock. Just an amazing mana rock for specific decks.
Yes, only for activated abilities is restrictive, but much like powerstones, it is much less restrictive than you think. As examples, if your commander has an activated ability you intend to use often, or you're generating a lot of clues (which we just got a lot of support for), then Enigma Jewel being a one mana rock that makes two mana towards that thing you're gonna be doing a lot is amazing. And if you're in a deck that does either of these things, there are plenty of low opportunity cost ways to fluff up that activated ability count, like staple utility lands and the signet lands.
If you turn 1 Enigma Jewel, turn 2 Will the Wise crack a clue, you are very happy.
Yes, it needs a home, but that home is not very weird.
I also think you undersell Staff of Compleation. The alt mode of drawing a card if you don't need the mana is very strong, even if the life cost is steep. It can be good in most non-green decks whose curve isn't particularly lean.
vintage deck idea, rate it. each card listed is 4 copies of it. then 24 total lands, 4 stomping grounds and 4 wooded foothills 8 mountains 8 forest. so here is the cards in the deck:
turn things to artifact:
liquimetal coating
liquimetal torque(can add mana)
mycosynth lattice
generate or destroy mana:
wall of roots(decent blocker)
overgrown battlement(decent blocker)
dwarven miner
destroy artifacts:
shattering pulse
gorilla shaman
steelbane hydra
win condition? after destroy all permanents on the opponents side of board can chip down opponent with whatever creatures are on the board. eventually a giant steelbane hydra at some point.
I've been moving away from signets and Talismans. Just running more land and land ramp.
I feel like it’s better to do that for starting hands ratio wise, consistency, a possibly a better card for discard or looting effects, wheel effects
I have Chromatic Lantern in my Ur-Dragon deck because I also run all 10 fetches, all 10 shocks, ancient tomb, Sylvan Library, and the one ring so I find it nice to turn my fetches into lands that tap for mana. Do you guys think I should still cut it?
Yes
goddamn that sounds like an expensive deck.
Just in time. I'm not very experienced in Commander, so I was wondering what artifacts I should use for a Kaalia deck I've been putting together.
Actually watching October :) Thanks for your hard work behind these videos!
A great advice I received with Mana Rocks or Ramp in general is, to look at your curve or average mana cost. Many decks rarely can make use of untapped lands/Mana Rocks so entering untapped isn't as important as it would seem in those decks.
I play 4 mana rocks in tibalt but the whole deck is just mana.
Dark steel ingot goes so hard in my Prince of Kroog Deck. Just create a 1/1 indestructible copy with the commanders activated ability. It ramps mana, is hard to remove, and really can be threatening with the commanders +2/+2 anthem
my favorite 3 mana rck atm is stafff of completion. I run it in superfriends.
it’s also above $200 and way above the power level that this channel typically talks about
@@davidhower7095 lol i replied to the wrong person
Glad you put respect on Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus. They've dropped in people's esteem over the years but are still good (though not as good as they once were).
Darksteel Ingot and Chromatic Lantern were good back when there were much fewer options for affordable dual or tri lands (like when guild gates were almost auto includes) and fewer rocks than there are now. So I agree with you for the most part on them. However, I think you are a little wrong about Commander's Sphere. The card draw makes it a better card than many of the 2 mana rocks you list as good, at least for control players. However, I wouldn't play it in anything less than 3 color.
Also, what about Sonic Screwdriver and Laser Screwdriver? I like them so far but often for the other abilities more than the mana ability. I'm addicted to Surveil so I use the Laser for that more often than mana.
I have nothing but good things to say about Throne of Eldraine. *4* colored mana for 5, plus the secondary card-draw makes this one of my favorite artifacts.
Nyx Lotus coming into play tapped is rough, but I still play it in my Mono Green deck, due to how many high-pip spells I’m running.
If you’re regularly tapping your Nyx Lotus for 15+ after it’s first untap, you tend to look on it as a 2nd Nykthos Shrine, rather than what it actually is.
In something like Hydra Tribal, I would go as far as calling Nyx Lotus an auto-include.
Ultimately, I recommend anyone playing a Monocolored deck heavy on the pips give Nyx Lotus a try for yourself. Some people will feel the explosiveness of the following turn is sufficient payment for Nyx Lotus coming in tapped, some won’t, but I really feel you have to give it a shot to know which you’re going to be.
Throne is insane in monogreen. T1 and T2 ramp, T3 Throne and you still have a 4 mana play, and now on T4 you have 10 goddamn mana to do whatever the hell you want. if your 2nd T3 play was Goreclaw, you can drop 3 big creatures on T4.
@@aimlessgun No love for the Nyx Lotus, eh?
I really feel in high-devotion Mono Green the mileage can justify the admittedly brutal no-same-turn-payoff cost.
Losing it to Removal is incredibly punishing, but conversely any game where you find your Nykthos and Nyx Lotus both, and it untaps? Game is basically yours to lose.
Scepter of Eternal Glory is absolutely safer/more assured, but no one ever broke the bank betting Red/Black.
13:45 I have Sphere of the Suns in one deck: Zedruu. I give it away after using the counters up. 😂
17:40 Coincidentally this is also the only deck I have Staff of Compleation in. It’s a Duel Commander deck, and the win condition is Illusions of Grandeur. 😅
Five Hundred Year Diary would produce at least one blue since it's also a clue. Great guide though! :D
With Commander's Sphere it's math
Cuz is comparable to mind stone
You just pay 1 for the card upfront.
I only play with 3 friends fairly new to the game. But, Urtet with a Chromatic Lantern is a problem. That or Eleven Chorus is generally either a) I win, or b) I get targeted. I love lantern.
I also rarely play 3 mana rocks but my main slivers deck does play skyclave relic as it is an artifact with indestructible which is valuable because of harmonic sliver which destroys artifacts and enchantments and it’s not a “may” ability so often you’ll destroy all of them and be forced to start killing your own stuff but if you have the skyclave relic you can target that and it won’t break
I took Harmonic out for that exact reason, blowing up your own stuff sucks lol
@@SugarBear-m9f true I still like it in mine because if I have skyclave it’s amazing and if I don’t. My commander is overlord so I can just go get any of my slivers that let me sac my slivers and get get rid of harmonic myself
Sometimes it can get annoying but it’s removal power is so high I’ve kept mine in because there are ways around the downside but few things that are that good at continuous removal
Everflowing chalice is.great with proliferate. So is elementalist palette. These were not mentionned, but are great.
The Golden Throne is very specifically *very good* in Slimefoot and Squee - puts S&S in the graveyard and pays for almost all of the activation cost in one fell swoop!
I ran it in a group slug Prossh. I constantly sac'ed Prossh so it helped pay for the commander tax.
I knew it!!! The sign never changes!!!!
Or does it?
🤯
The thing I like about any mana rock that produces 3 or more mana is that it can fairly easily combo into infinite mana.
I play chromatic lantern in every deck I own that aren't my enchantments decks, my mana base is SOLID but that's not the point, the point is every once in a while you'll draw 5 lands and they will all be the wrong color. I'd rather play chromatic lantern over all the bad dual lands
Enigma Jewel would be great in any deck with a commander or a bunch of creatures in the 99 with activated abilities. Pair it up with Training Ground and Forensic Investigator in a Memnarch deck? Oof, you’ll be unstoppable. 🤣
What do you think about Crowded Crypt in aristocrats decks?
also side note: I'm glad to see someone else's passionate hate towards Cryptex, why was this card even made? there's no format for it.
Cryptex exists because lazy design. Crowded Crypt is great in mono black or dual colored aristocrats decks
5:06 I don't usually comment on videos but if we're not just talking generally. I think mox tantalite and sol talisman are great in cascade decks like yidris.
Arcane signet is an auto include in nearly every deck. Ramping for any mana is just so good.
for me the card draw on coveted jewel works in mono colored, cuz you can get it back & draw3, encourage attacks away from you, 6 for 3 cards is ugh, but you instantly get 3 mana back.
That classification of chromatic lantern is just straight up disrespectul...
Where was Elementalist's Palette!?
Commander sphere is a better mind stone. Doesn't cost mana to activate so you can tap for mana and sac and draw a card and makes colored mana. For 1 more it's totally worth it especially if you have recursion. I love it in my Carmen the Cruel Skymarcher deck because it is just free card draw every turn if I want.
2 mana rocks > 3 manarocks, 3 mana rocks needs a big bonus.
IMO making colored mana vs colorless and not needing to pay or tap it to sac for a card draw seems like big enough bonus to me. But I run both mind stone and sphere@@Rizso1
@@BurtGjryea the mana rocks really depend on your deck strategy and mana curve. For an aggro deck, mind stone is a 2 drop that adds 1 colorless on turn 2 possibly. Hit a land drop on turn 3 with mind stone you got 4 mana total. The colorless won’t have to use your specific land drop to cast spells either.
But commander sphere is great for higher mana curves, colors with with needs for card draw,
I agree with mot but the last one, the empowered autogenerator is pretty good in proliferate decks, I have seen it give around 8 mana on turn 5.
Sol ring, arcane signet, fellwar stone, thought vessel, mind stone, liquids metal torque, talismans, and signets in non cedh.
I surprised y’all didn’t mention everflowing chalice in the 2 mana slot. Can be played later for more mana if it’s a slower game, and it’s insane if you are in a proliferation deck
first video I saw of yours I thought "neat, I like their random facts/truths." now I think "what are they going to say this time!?" keep it up
Thank you! :D
On the 2 cmc mana rock you did miss Grim Monolith, I don't know if this was intentional, but I thought i should mention it. Lol
i use "Chromatic lantern" in 5 color decks only for the mana fixing and "Decanter of endless water" in decks that are more than 2 colors and the decks have A Lot of draw.
Did crowded crypt stop existing before this video?
No, it's just that it's terrible.
@@firstandlast.1254 I don’t think it’s that bad. I play it in a dimir aristocrats deck and a zombie deck and in both cases I’m never disappointed to see it.
For some reason i now have the song Cleveland Rocks stuck in my head except it says "Mana Rocks"
Ohio!
Honestly Scyclave Relic is great if you play in a meta with a lot of artifact wipes, and to a lesser extent Darkstell Ingot
Coveted Jewel works great for Sheoldred. I literally won a game because they attacked me i gave them the jewel and they drew 3 cards and took 6 damage to lose the game cuz they didnt realize they would take damage from attacking me.
I'd consider the Medallions as 2 mana rocks. In mono or two colored decks they're in most cases better than Mindstone
imo you forgot the 3-colour obelisks they are great if you are on a budget and do get you the colour you need.
Manalith ($0.05)
The Celestus ($0.75)
Altar of the Pantheon ($0.07)
Bonder's Ornament ($0.06)
Commander's Sphere ($0.10)
Coalition Relic ($0.41)
Darksteel Ingot ($0.19)
Fountain of Ichor ($0.07)
Honored Heirloom ($0.07)
Lantern of Revealing ($0.07)
Letter of Acceptance ($0.03)
Mana Geode ($0.14)
Network Terminal ($0.05)
Phyrexian Atlas ($0.04)
Replicating Ring ($0.31)
Skyclave Relic ($0.77)
Vessel of Endless Rest ($0.12)
All budget, all better than the obelisk cycle, all have the ability to add some weird sort of synergy. Took about 5 minutes to find. I purposely left out artifact creatures.
Just no reason whatsoever to play obelisks.
Chromatic lantern is incredibly useful in esper zombies where 99% of your pips are black but you still want blue and white.
Whats your opinion on the Medaillons? It does net you positive mana. But differently And in some cases more mana the more you Cast
Watching this in October rn and I love it :)
I just don't agree at all about Chromatic lantern. Do you know how much time you save by not having a mana puzzle when trying to pick out the correct sequence of colors to use? I just don't agree
relic of legends is great in any deck with a commander that just sits there and doesn't need to attack or otherwise tap
I wish sol ring wasn’t a part of commander but it feels wrong not putting it in a deck especially when every precon comes with one
Signets do suck and so do the pay a colorless to get 2 colors lands. Spending mana to get mana just feels bad.
But it’s powerful for mana fixing. You know how many times you need a specific color combo or extra color of one to cast the spell or activate an ability. They’re flexible.
I think for every time you tap out for a signet and can't follow up with a one-mana play, there's times where you turn a colorless mana into two colored mana and cast an extra spell
@@NitpickingNerds turning colorless Mann’s into color man’s always feels good!
Great video guys! That one was a banger.
I struggle with mana rocks for mono decks as a lot of the ones I'd normally play like talisman and signet you can't do it's then what do I replace that with
What about Phial of Galadriel? I use it in a deck with Mt Doom and it lets me activate the ult quite often but I feel as the actual mana and abilities it's kind of mid.
Thank god was looking for something exactly like this
Kinda hoped you guys would mention the new bobbleheads from the fallout set. I guess they all line up as bad/mid tho because they are basically mana sinks mostly.
We covered them pretty briefly; they are just meant as their own deck and aren't worth playing individually
Beezy, be careful pushing through a sore throat! It’s easy to do damage to your voice if you’re using a numbing agent. Take care of yourself, we can wait a day!