Which Mana Rocks Should You Play in Commander? The Complete Guide 

28:57 It should be noted that Five Hundred Year Diary is a clue, itself. It should always tap for at least one mana.

2 years watching Nitpicking Nerds and found out today the sign changes 😮

Heraldic banner is a great mana rock. I have it in my Eowyn and Claveleno decks because it's ramp that's also an anthem for my multitude of tokens. It's effectively an anthem that pays for itself over a couple of turns. It's not fixing your mana but it is buffing your board especially in a token deck where you have a lot of creatures that fall into the same color.

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.

As someone with a Nikya of the Old Ways deck...none of them

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.

"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.

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

Great video guys! That one was a banger.

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!

What about Everflowing Chalice and Astral Cornucopia?

Watching this in October rn and I love it :)

Chromatic Lantern is needed in my mono black thief deck to be able to cast non-black spells.

I knew it!!! The sign never changes!!!!

Thank god was looking for something exactly like this

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

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'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 😅

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.

I do like the suspend mana rocks in my Osgir deck. Wouldnt play them outside of ways to discard them though.

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.

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.

The suspend rocks are fine, not great but definitely fine. And ofc you can cascade into them and get em immediately too

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?

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.

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 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

I really love my 6 bobble heads in my Nick Valentine deck. Fun 3 cost mana rocks with upside bonuses as activated abilities

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.

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

Signets do suck and so do the pay a colorless to get 2 colors lands. Spending mana to get mana just feels bad.

Thoughts on crowded crypt for an aristocrat deck such as Teysa or drivnod?

I've been moving away from signets and Talismans. Just running more land and land ramp.

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've used and seen Chromatic Launter used super well many times. Most times if it was instead a 2 mana rock in early game there is VERY little you may do with that 1 mana.

10:22 what about the clue precon that cares about artifacts i have it it has signets in it

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.

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.

Five Hundred Year Diary would produce at least one blue since it's also a clue. Great guide though! :D

Whats your opinion on the Medaillons? It does net you positive mana. But differently And in some cases more mana the more you Cast

I really like Relic of Legends in a deck with a cheap commander.

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.

Chromatic Lantern is a mainstay in my colorless Sunburst deck because color identity rules don’t like mana symbols.

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!

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.

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.

Pillar of Origins is great in multicolour tribal decks at least if your not running green . Almost a 3rd of my Edgar deck is vampire creatures so the Pillar is useful.

I play 4 mana rocks in tibalt but the whole deck is just mana.

my favorite 3 mana rck atm is stafff of completion. I run it in superfriends.

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.

Where would you place Sonic Screwdriver?

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.

What are your thoughts on Chromatic Orrery, especially in a 5 coloured deck?

I like Paradise Mantle in Rog decks.

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.

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

With Commander's Sphere it's math Cuz is comparable to mind stone You just pay 1 for the card upfront.

Heraldic Banner is a beast in my Ovika Deck

What is your take on Chromatic Orrery?

Would you find that chromatic lantern is good in at least a 5 color deck?

Sol ring, arcane signet, fellwar stone, thought vessel, mind stone, liquids metal torque, talismans, and signets in non cedh.

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.

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.

Why crowded Crypt is never taken in consideration? i think its pretty good

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.

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.

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.

Can’t you just run Thran Turbine in conjunction with filter lands/signets? I have at least 2 filter lands, and 1 signet in every deck. Seems viable.

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.

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.

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

HeyHey. Good Video. I agree either way most of it except for Chromatic Lantern. 🥴🤪

imo you forgot the 3-colour obelisks they are great if you are on a budget and do get you the colour you need.

As osgir player i really like the tantilite mox + co

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. 😅

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

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.

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

What about the medallion cycle?

What's your take on Crowded Crypt?

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

What about Chromatic Orrerry?

Honestly Scyclave Relic is great if you play in a meta with a lot of artifact wipes, and to a lesser extent Darkstell Ingot

That sign never changes

Pyramid of the Pantheon in a proliferate deck is actually pretty good.

We use chrom lantern because bloodmoon is popular in our group

Wouldn’t Pyramid of the Pantheon kinda be playable in proliferate decks?

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. 🤣

WDYT about sonic screwdriver?

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

Cromatic lantern plus the auto sac fetch lands is when is op as shit when in landfall decks

What about Grim Monolith?

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!

Where was Elementalist's Palette!?

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!

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.

No everflowing Chalice?