Who doesn’t like going fast? In Commander, accelerating your game plan can be the difference between winning and losing (or just having more fun). Mana rocks are one of the best ways to do so. These handy artifacts give you more mana to spend every turn and help you get to your expensive top-end spells faster than playing lands alone. Of course, with the MASSIVE card pool this format offers, choosing the best mana rocks for Commander play can be a bit daunting.
The right answer will often depend on what deck you’re playing, what type of game your table wants to enjoy, and, yes, your budget. But fear not! There are mana rocks of every shape and size for players to enjoy. Today, we’re going to recap some of our favorite Commander mana rocks so you can ramp out ahead of the curve.
Note: This article is sponsored by our friends at Mana Pool. If you need to pick up some mana rocks to finish your next Commander deck, head over to Mana Pool and check out their massive selection of over seven million cards in stock!
Best Mana Rocks for Commander
Before diving in, I want to add some caveats to this list. A quick Scryfall search returns about 200 artifacts that you can tap in some form or another to add mana. That’s two Commander decks by itself! With this in mind, today’s article can’t cover them all and some (maybe even some you love) are going to get left out. If there’s a rock you think deserves to be here, let us know in the comments! It might appear in a follow-up piece down the road.
To keep things simple, this article will only touch on artifacts that let you tap them for mana with no other cost. If you have to pay mana into it, sacrifice the artifact, or otherwise enable the activation, you won’t find it here. Sorry, signets.
Another note, “best” here isn’t just referring to the most powerful mana rocks in Commander. While there are definitely some powerhouses on this list, I also want to call out some mana rocks that might not get as much attention or that are really cool for certain archetypes. Although a couple of mana rocks stand head and shoulders above the rest (looking at you, Sol Ring), almost any rock can fit perfectly into a Commander deck when the conditions are right. Maybe you’re balling on a budget, or maybe you just want a flavor win. Maybe you want to drop a month’s paycheck on a blazing-fast cEDH list. I’m not here to tell you how to game.
Commander is what you make it, and there’s a home for every mana rock, so enjoy this list of mana rocks for what it is: the “best” choices for some players and some decks.
Let’s Get These Out of the Way…
Sol Ring and Arcane Signet are basically auto-includes in any Commander deck you see floating around on the internet or being sold by WotC as a precon. The sheer power level of both of these cards, for different reasons, justifies their spots for better or worse. Though some argue that they stifle creativity or are too powerful when one player draws them, and another doesn’t, Sol Ring and Arcane Signet are Commander staples for a good reason.
A game kicked off by a turn-one Sol Ring can be over before it really begins if left unchecked. There’s a reason this card is banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. It’s just that good. That said, no one needs to hear how good Sol Ring is because we all know it and we all already know it’s getting included. So if you’re going to add it, consider spicing things up with a special variant, like the gorgeous Kaladesh Invention Sol Ring or one of the fantasy-inspired The Lord of The Rings versions.
Meanwhile, Arcane Signet gives you access to extra mana in your Commander’s color identity and is essentially singlehandedly responsible for pushing Fellwar Stone out of the format. For two mana, there is no better deal on a mana rock that produces colored mana your deck can actually use. Like Sol Ring, you can consider spicing up the Arcane Signet slot with a prettier version from a recent Secret Lair drop, like the Dan Pendergast galaxy foil or the tarot-style Rovina Cai version.
Mana Crypt
I’m going to knock this one out here as well since its power level and notoriety are right up there with Sol Ring and Arcane Signet. Mana Crypt has become one of the most sought-after pieces for cEDH decks and opens the door for some truly explosive starts. It’s also the only mana rock on this list that costs zero mana to cast. That speed does come with a “drawback,” if you can call it that, because it may deal three damage to you during your upkeep. Of course, with 40 life at your disposal, that isn’t really an issue. The bigger issue is that you’ll pay a hefty price to add this square of cardboard to your deck.
If you’re buying it anyway, you might as well go big with the glorious Special Guest treatment from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan or the borderless version from Double Masters.
Commander’s Sphere
A little costlier than Arcane Signet, but with some upside, comes our friend Commander’s Sphere. This three-mana rock lets you generate mana in your commander’s color identity and also lets you sacrifice it to draw a card when you no longer need access to its mana generation. That makes it a solid play in the early game and essentially a three-mana cycler in the late game. Unlike many other mana rocks, Commander’s Sphere is never a dead draw when you need some gas.
Thought Vessel
Do you like drawing extra cards? Do you like your hand to be sore from holding a handful of cardboard all game? If so, Thought Vessel is for you. You can tap this generic two-mana rock for colorless mana to help pay for all your draw spells. Then, it helps you avoid the dreaded cleanup phase by giving you no maximum hand size. This is a great choice for decks that draw a lot of cards (cough, Izzet, cough, Mono-Black) and serves double duty to keep you ahead of your opponents.
Chromatic Lantern
Our next rock also pulls double duty, though this time, it’s focused on extra mana generation and smoothing out your colors. Chromatic Lantern does so by giving all your lands “Tap: Add one mana of any color.” Note, this doesn’t change the types for effects that care about them, but it does allow you to reliably generate any colors you need with whatever lands you put into play. This makes Chromatic Lantern a strong choice for four- and five-color decks that may otherwise have trouble finding the right lands to cast all their spells.
The Great Henge
The Great Henge stands out from many other mana rocks because it isn’t a colorless artifact. Although you’ll only be able to play this in decks whose commander has a green color identity, it is a very powerful tool for ramping out large creatures and keeping your hand full of gas. The Great Henge has a hefty mana cost at 7(G)(G), but you can cheat it into play early by getting a big creature onto the battlefield. This pairs well with cheap creatures that have disproportionate power, such as Lovestruck Beast, Egon, God of Death, Pungacious Hammerskull, Rotting Regisaur, and Shakedown Heavy.
Of course, even a slight discount gets you a long way since The Great Henge can immediately tap for two green mana and gain you 2 life. On top of this, every time a non-token creature enters the battlefield under your control, it gets a +1/+1 counter and you get to draw a card. There’s no once-per-turn clause here so you can chain creatures into one another quite effectively.
The Irencrag
We got an interesting addition from the second Eldraine set in The Irencrag. This is a generic two-mana rock that taps for colorless, but comes with some upside. When a legendary creature enters the battlefield under your control, you can turn The Irencrag into an equipment with “Equip 3, and Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and loses all other abilities.” This can be a nice buff to smaller commanders and lets you turn your legends into slightly more threatening creatures during combat. Of course, this isn’t a mind-blowing effect, but the fact that it comes as essentially a free bonus tacked onto a rock is nice.
Liquimetal Torque
Share this one to scare someone who’s played one too many times against Karn, the Great Creator. Liquimetal Torque is another two-mana rock that taps for colorless with artifact-focused upside. Of course, the benefit here isn’t so much the combo with Karn like it is in Modern, but the ability to turn any nonland permanent into an artifact for the turn. This opens the door for some combos with various artifacts-matter commanders and also lets you target problematic permanents your opponents control with “destroy artifact” effects.
Everflowing Chalice
Everflowing Chalice gives you some flexibility with its Multikicker ability. It gets a charge counter for each time you kick it and then taps to add colorless mana equal to the number of charge counters on it. Sure, this is a way to spend excess mana. But the real power here is the combo potential. There are several ways to abuse Everflowing Chalice to generate infinite mana, storm count, blood tokens, magecraft triggers, and untaps for your artifacts. Check out this list for a few of the best ones.
Mana Vault
Much like Chalice, Mana Vault has plenty of combo potential, which has turned it into one of the best mana rocks for Commander and a premier choice for many cEDH decks and high-power lists that are able to utilize abilities that untap it. At “worst,” Mana Vault gives you a quick burst of mana, netting two colorless the turn it comes down (pay one, tap for three) or three the following turn.
This “ritual” style effect is often good enough to get you ahead in the game and is usually how it’s played since it can help you power out a five-mana commander as early as turn two. However, any ability that lets you untap, blink, or bounce it lets you get even more mana out of it. Note that it is also excellent for dumping out extra mana rocks, like the Talismans, and also counts as a cheap artifact for synergy purposes.
Midnight Clock
Here we have another colored mana rock, and one that is a personal favorite of mine. Midnight Clock taps for one blue mana. However, it’s other text works great as a source of inevitability and can help you take over the late game. At the beginning of each upkeep (not just yours) you put an hour counter on it. You can also pay 2(U) to put an hour counter on it, but in Commander games you don’t usually need to.
Then, once the twelfth hour counter is put on, you shuffle your hand and graveyard into your library and draw seven cards. Refilling your hand for free in this way is often too much for opponents to overcome. If you time this right, you can set up a very explosive turn or simply empty your hand and then use your card advantage to take over the game. Note that Midnight Clock is also quite affordable, which makes it a powerful budget option for many decks.
Relic of Legends
Relic of Legends has garnered more attention lately for its power in Standard Slogurk Legends, but it is also a powerful choice for Commander. It’s a three-mana rock that taps for any color, which is decent. However, it also lets you generate lots of extra mana by tapping legendary creatures you control for mana of any color. This works great in partner decks or any list that’s running a high number of legends.
It also works well with legends you want to tap for extra value without sending them into combat, such as Magda, Brazen Outlaw and Rona, Herald of Invasion. Relic of Legends also works beautifully with Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy decks (as many rocks do), but note that you only get one mana off the second ability. Lastly, Relic is excellent with one-mana protection spells since you can cast your commander, then keep one mana up to protect it with this card’s second ability.
Grim Monolith
If you enjoy spending too much on a single Magic card, Grim Monolith is for you! Don’t expect to nap one for less than $200, but this is a very powerful effect and is Mana Crypt’s ancestor on the Reserved List. The same tricks that make Mana Crypt great also apply here, but you don’t get to use it as a ritual with the same effectiveness.
The Celestus
If you have a deck that cares about Day/Night (looking at you, werewolves), The Celestus is a home-run inclusion. However, it also gives you occasional looting since the Day/Night cycle is bound to change frequently as the table goes around. This lets you casually filter through your deck and gain some life without having to do anything. You can also dump extra mana into it to force the cycle to change for extra loots if you need to. Keep in mind that The Celestus is also a legend, so it works well with commanders like Captain Sisay who care about that line of text. Although The Celestus isn’t the most powerful rock out there, it is a nice budget option and can generate a lot of value over the course of the game to lessen the pain of casting it as a three-mana rock.
Cursed Mirror
Unlike most rocks, you might want to hold Cursed Mirror in your hand for a bit to wait for a juicy target to hit the field. This three-mana play taps for red and lets you turn it into a copy of any creature on the battlefield (and give it haste) for a turn when it enters. We won’t tell you to play it alongside Dockside Extortionist… oh, wait, yes we will. Other than that, this card works great in cEDH Goro lists as an upgrade (or addition to) Heat Shimmer to execute the main combo.
You can also just play it generically and wait for your opponent to cast something with a powerful effect. Of course, it can even work to generate smaller value early on by copying something simple like a Solemn Simulacrum. The beauty of Cursed Mirror is that it works really well in the early or late game with a range from some value to major blowout.
Coalition Relic
Coalition Relic isn’t a newcomer to Commander, but it is a solid inclusion in decks that expect the game to last many turns. You can use it right away to add a mana of any color, or you can bide your time and tap it to add a charge counter. On a later turn, you can then remove all charge counters from it in your precombat main phase and add one mana of any color for each counter removed that way.
This lets you generate a huge burst of late-game mana to cast the big spell you’ll take over the game with. You can also use it for smaller bursts (like two mana the turn after your play it) to ramp a commander out faster. For some spice, you could pair it with Unwinding Clock to untap/tap it on every player’s turn or use abilities like Proliferate to add extra charge counters.
Talismans
Sigh. Boring. But it wouldn’t be right not to include the Talismans on this list. Though all ten see play at different rates, these two-mana rocks give you flexibility to add colorless mana for free or colored mana of one of two colors by taking a point of damage. That is barely relevant in Commander making them a strong choice for any dual- or multi-colored deck that wants two-mana ramp. ‘Nuff said.
Mana Rock Wrap-Up
Hopefully this has given you a taste of some of the best mana rocks for Commander! Remember, there are so many options to explore and the best fit for your deck might not be on this list. I encourage you to keep exploring the wide world of mana rocks and letting your creativity run wild! Cheers.
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