The Best Mana Rocks that Aren’t Sol Ring or Arcane Signet

When you build a new Commander deck, Sol Ring and Arcane Signet are the first artifacts you reach for. When you buy a Commander Precon, they’re always included. The power of Sol Ring and Arcane Signet is undisputed – but what are the best mana rocks otherwise?

SOL RING AND ARCANE SIGNET ARE JUST THAT GOOD

Sol Ring is the mascot of Commander, and in many ways – basically all other ways – it probably deserves to be at least a gamechanger, if not banned. But that’s not the world we live in. 

Arcane Signet fixes colors like nothing else (other than the Command Tower you have in the same pile as these two rocks!). 

There are few times where I won’t take a Sol Ring and Arcane Signet. Sometimes I’ll be in a pip-heavy deck with a Commander that costs just colored mana, and Sol Ring doesn’t feel like it fits. Arcane Signet gets a little worse when you’re in a mono-color or artifacts deck. But those are edge cases at the end of the day – and at all other times, these rocks rule supreme.

Here are the best mana rocks that aren’t Sol Ring or Arcane Signet.

THE BEST MANA ROCKS FOR CEDH

Let’s get something out of the way first – the best mana rocks for cEDH. When you’re playing competitive Commander at the highest end of the bracket scale, fast mana becomes crucially important. That’s also why the card disadvantage of playing Mox Diamond, Chrome Mox or Lion’s Eye Diamond matters far less, as games are faster and end much more abruptly. It’s why you only care about the burst mana from Grim Monoloth or Mana Vault.

All of these artifacts are Gamechangers, and gated in Bracket 3 at least by the desire to play at least six turns mentality, so you’re unlikely to want (or need) them outside of Optimized or cEDH. 

THE BEST MANA ROCKS FOR CASUAL COMMANDER

When you think about the best Mana Rocks for Casual Commander, you’ll often start with two-mana rocks. These are the bread and butter of deckbuilding, and they help power out four-mana Commanders on turn three (once you pack enough of them). The most flexible option is the Talisman cycle, which have all but superceded the older Signet cycle, as being able to tap for colorless after being played helps you chain multiple spells more easily. That said, signets are still mostly fine, and playable alongside them if you really need extra rocks.

When you’re in a mono-color or two color deck, the Medallion cycle is the two mana rock that can offer the most bang for your buck. Getting cost reduction on all of your spells of a specified color is really good, and Medallions can often exceed signets and talismans in overall mana “produced”. In two color decks, you’ll often be heavier into one color, and that’s the color of your Medallion.

Fellwar Stone is another super popular option at two mana, and it’s because it’s mostly a second copy of Arcane Signet provided you are running a multicolor deck against other multicolor decks. It produces mana when it comes down – unlike a Signet – and even in a mono-color deck, it can provide extra mana as you curve out without having to feed mana into it or have it come in tapped.

Two mana rocks – like all rocks – have gotten better over time. In some instances, there are other options that can fit really well into your deck. Herd Heirloom is one that green decks love – it fixes mana for creature spells, and gives you some cheeky card draw. The Soul Stone, meanwhile, is an indestructible black source with a late game ability that’s to die for. Both of these are very attractive in the right colors.

THREE MANA ROCKS ARE STILL GOOD, CHAMP

Three mana rocks are still great, and two that you should be reaching for when building a more focused deck are Patchwork Banner and Heraldic Banner. The former is a boon to typal decks everywhere, and even decks that just make a lot of one specific type of token in the Command Zone, such as Thalisse, Reverent Medium. Heraldic Banner, meanwhile, is more about buffing your creatures of a chosen color, which makes it ideal in mono-color decks or decks that mix token types, like Soldiers and Spirits. Also, incidentally, something bound to happen in Thalisse decks.

Three mana rocks keep getting better, and oftentimes they come complete with advantages you simply can’t get lower on the curve. Bender’s Waterskin untaps during each untap step of a turn cycle netting you colored mana on each turn, which is quite the upgrade over Victory Chimes. Strixhaven Stadium gives you an alternate way to take players out of the game by fulfilling the “victory” condition on it, which can be quite easy to do. The Celestus – if you can be bothered to track night and day – gives you extra looting and incremental life gain.

That’s what you want out of your mana rocks – more than just tapping for mana.

When you look at colored rocks, you get more narrow effects that push this card advantage to the roof. Cursed Mirror is one of my favorite cards, and it’s super powerful – one you need to run in basically every red deck. Midnight Clock, on the other hand, provides a free hand refill after three turn cycles, which is about when you really want one. There are other similar mono-color rocks in this semi “cycle”, but these are the best. 

ISN’T FOUR A BIT MUCH?

While four might seem high for a mana rock, there are select ones that I still heartily recommend. 

In decks that aren’t so pip-heavy, Thran Dynamo is something of a ritual effect that leaves behind a mana rock. You’re paying four mana, sure, but you immediately get three of that back, and then subsequently get that three every turn thereout. It can be very worth it if you play it right. 

On the other hand, if you are pip-heavy, then Nyx Lotus is far better suited for your build. It’s a little slower given it comes in tapped, but when you do get to untap with it, you’re going to have a bunch of extra colored mana to play with – which is what makes Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx so good in the first place. I love this in mono-white in particular. 

Relic of Sauron is probably the best rock aimed at three color decks in specific (and there aren’t that many of those, to be fair). It adds two mana in any combination of Grixis (red, blue black) mana, and has a mode that lets you draw two and discard if you need to. This is leagues ahead of the support other color combinations get on specific artifacts, and is one to check out in Grixis.

Just like Cursed Mirror and Midnight Clock, there are color-specific rocks at four mana that I can’t neglect to mention. White Auracite is the new kid on the block, and combines the Banishing Light effect with a mana rock, which is just really good, right? In blue, you have Machine God’s Effigy, which is a clone effect that copies a creature but instead you have an artifact that still taps for blue. Red meanwhile has Lavabrink Floodgates, which taps for two red, and eventually becomes a board wipe if enough folks at the table demand one. This one definitely should see more play. 

FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER

At the top end of your curve are a few rocks which are still worth playing even for their cost.

The Great Henge often costs a lot less than nine mana, and it’s one of the most powerful rocks you can get your hands on. It combines card draw and mana and +1/+1 counters and incidental lifegain. It’s insanely good, and goes in just about every green deck.

For the more mono-color fans out there, Throne of Eldraine is more than just the name of a set. It’s a mana rock not unlike Gilded Lotus, except for being color-specific, you get an additional mana, and you also have a card draw ability to get you out of dead hands. 

Coveted Jewel is nothing like the other two rocks, but one that I and many others still love to play. It pushes games forward, encouraging people to grab those cards and that mana as soon as they can before someone else does. I’ll always advocate for playing this one more often.

At the complete other end of the scale of those big mana investments are the remaining “fast” mana options that aren’t gamechangers. Mox Amber and Mox Opal can be great, but you need to know when and where to play them. Amber needs a cheap Commander that comes down early (or a deck built around Legendaries matter). Mox Opal needs you to be all-in on artifacts (or equipment), and running artifact lands. So what about Sol Talisman? Well, it’s a great card for decks with a chunkier curve, and decks that cascade into “free” spells, as it can be cast for free off of a cascade effect. 

END STEP

These are the best mana rocks that aren’t Sol Ring or Arcane Signet – at least as of the publication of this article. I’m expecting another Infinity Stone to shoot up this list come Marvel Superheroes later this year. 

In the meantime? Maybe play more Bucknard’s Everfull Purse in your Bracket 2 decks. It’s a sweet little social-focused card that makes for some fun and interesting variety in gameplay.