10 Three-Mana Mana Rocks You Should Be Playing, Actually

Three mana Mana Rocks have a bad rap in Commander. We think they’re excellent, so here are 10 of the best three mana rocks that you should be playing.

Mana in Commander is important. Usually the one who spends the most of it wins the game. Curving out is important too, but being able to boost your mana and land those more expensive spells sooner is a tried and tested tactic. While the likes of Sol Ring and Arcane Signet are staple-tier, and two mana rocks are always popular, three mana rocks are often a lot more deck-dependent. 

THREE MANA ROCKS

One of the most popular three mana rocks is Chromatic Lantern. Lantern is often touted as unneeded by those with the privilege of a perfect manabase, but its usage statistics say otherwise. It’s in just under 10% of all decks, with only Commander’s Sphere being more popular (and that’s probably because of all the precon lists on there). More players play Lantern than Jeweled Lotus. It’s a fantastic rock, allowing everyone to play pip-heavy spells. 

Other powerful three mana rocks can be more narrow. Strixhaven Stadium is very much a known entity at this point. It’s an alternate win condition, and if you’re playing a tokens deck, you probably want to be playing it. Outside of a deck that can reliably go wide, though, it’s less good.

Before I get into the 10 rocks I feel warrant more consideration, I’d like to point out an honorable mention.

HONORABLE MENTION

The Celestus is strong. It adds one mana of any color, and it allows you to loot when night changes to day or vice versa, netting you 1 life as icing on the cake. Why is it an honorable mention? Well, mostly because nobody can be bothered to track night and day. If you can, then you should consider this, as it’s one of the better three mana rocks available. 

10. JADE ORB OF DRAGONKIND

Any dragon deck in green should be playing this, and there’s something wrong when it isn’t on the utility artifacts section of Top Cards for Dragons on EDHRec. “Well, Kristen,” you might say. “Surely that’s because a lot of Dragons decks don’t have green.”

Any dragon deck in green should be playing this, and there’s something wrong when 42% of Dragon decks are running Rhythm of the Wild, but only 34% of decks are running this one.

Jade Orb of Dragonkind gives your big crazy beaters hexproof until your next turn, and buffs them. What a busted little mana rock. 

9. PATRIAR’S SEAL

Lots of popular Commanders have a tap ability. Emry, Selvala, Feldon, Krenko, Lathril… the list goes on. And that’s not to mention some of the great legendaries you might put in your 99 that you might want to untap. It also doesn’t cover having big beaters like Ghalta, or a voltron creature that you want to give “vigilance”. Patriar’s Seal can do a lot.

8. LASER SCREWDRIVER

The Doctor Who cards might have gone under the radar for you if you aren’t the biggest fan. They’re not all barnstomping staples in the making, but there are some nice little upgrades available, like Laser Screwdriver. It’s a Manalith that can do some weird stuff. The reason I like it more than Sonic Screwdriver is that it has the ability to Goad, repeatedly. That’s a very powerful ability in Casual Commander.

7. RELIC OF LEGENDS

Relic of Legends “combos” with Magda, Brazen Outlaw, so if you’re doing treasure or playing red, you might already be doing this. This rock has consistently performed for me, and though the ceiling is no doubt Legends-matters decks where it’s potentially a mana doubler, it can do a lot of work elsewhere. I like having it in a Voltron deck as a way to tap my Commander and cast protection. 

6. GLITTERING STOCKPILE

Glittering Stockpile is a treasure. The reason this is of note is that it’ll get you double the mana from an effect like Goldspan Dragon when you tap it, for instance. That extra bit of typeline can be really sweet in the right deck, plus it can give you a nice burst of mana to recast a Commander in the late game.

5. PROGENITOR’S ICON

This one’s new, coming in the Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander decks. Progenitor’s Icon is a slam dunk in creature type decks. Even if it’s not as uber powerful and broad as Roaming Throne, it’s still a handy tool to have, especially for creatures that rarely have Flash, like Dragons and Angels. 

4. CURSED MIRROR

I’ve never cast a bad Cursed Mirror, because even at its worst, it’s still a three mana rock. The rest is pure upside, and I love it a lot. There are no limits to the number of wild and interesting plays you can make with this rock, and it’s worth running just for the stories you’ll be able to tell. I have had this enter as Nyxbloom Ancient and then blown up the opponent’s copy of Nyxbloom Ancient on the same turn more than once.

3. MISLEADING SIGNPOST

I always had a soft spot for Portal Mage, but finding a spot in the deck for it was difficult. Not so for Misleading Signpost, a fantastic bit of utility on a mana rock. Get some virtual card advantage by holding up mana, and ramp in someone else’s turn.

2. STAFF OF COMPLEATION

I think the reason you don’t see this one very often is mainly the cost to entry. That said, it’ll probably just trend up in price as time goes on, so I wouldn’t be waiting forever to grab one. Staff of Compleation kinda does a bit of everything, and what’s most exciting about it is the synergies with life loss/gain decks and the ability to proliferate. Proliferating ain’t just for Planeswalkers!

1. HERALDIC BANNER

Is this just a slam dunk in any aggressive deck where a majority of creatures – whether cards or tokens — are the same color? I think so, and I don’t see this card nearly often enough across the table. Whether you’re in mono white, or playing Faeries, or anything in between, the extra +1/+0 across the board can sometimes be what you need to force trades while blocking – or to win the game via combat.

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What’s your favorite three mana rock? Did we mention it? Let us know on X.