<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crackle with Power" href="#" target="_blank">Crackle with Power</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.micahepsteinart.com/">Micah Epstein</a>)</h6>
<h1>School of Rock</h1>
<p>Mana: the fuel that powers our deck. Mana is the force behind the punch and energy that flows in the veins of our favorite commanders. Including mana-producing artifacts in our decks (mana rocks, as they’re colloquially known), is one of the crucial building blocks of assembling a competent Commander deck. But which ones do we include and why? Is there a rationale behind the cost-to-performance ratio? Welcome back and to part two of this examination of mana rocks -or more specifically- the examination of three-mana value rocks and what they can tell us about the Commander format.</p>
<p>As Commander grows in popularity, deckbuilding is leaning toward efficiency. Four mana spells are eschewed for three mana spells, three mana spells for two mana spells (Except where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keruga, the Macrosage" href="#" target="_blank">Keruga, the Macrosage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> players are concerned, of course).</p>
<p><em>Wizards of the Coast</em>, to the contrary, has been saturating recent Commander releases with three-mana rocks, going against the culture of Commander deck builders and drawing our attention to what "three mana" actually means in Commander.</p>
<p>This is the second part in my examination of three mana rocks in Commander. If you haven’t read the first part, I’d highly encourage you to do so. In that article, we spoke about some of the newer and lesser-spotted options in white and in blue, and you might be surprised about what these colors can do these days. <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/preview-review-three-mana-rocks-part-one/">You can find that article right here</a>, so what are you waiting for? Okay, back? Let’s dive into part two and see if these newest offerings can convince us to leave our Signets and Talismans in the drawer.</p>
<h2>Red</h2>
<h3>One Man’s Trash</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glittering Stockpile"></div></div>
<p>Let’s kick off with red this time, where some interesting options lie. First, we’re going to look at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glittering Stockpile" href="#" target="_blank">Glittering Stockpile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a card from <em>Streets of New Capenna</em>. Before the plane was invaded by Phyrexia (you, know the second time) and halo became its most relevant commodity, the streets of New Capenna were flooded with Treasure. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glittering Stockpile" href="#" target="_blank">Glittering Stockpile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> surprisingly has the Treasure subtype (surprisingly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bootleggers&#039; Stash" href="#" target="_blank">Bootleggers&#039; Stash</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doesn’t have the Treasure subtype despite also being a big hall filled with money) which has a niche application for the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kalain, Reclusive Painter" href="#" target="_blank">Kalain, Reclusive Painter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> players, making it one of the more unique three-mana rocks.</p>
<p>What the card does is quite straightforward. You ideally play it on turn three and each time you tap it you add a stash counter on it. Later in the game (once you decide it’s worth delving into the crime family coffers) you can sacrifice the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glittering Stockpile" href="#" target="_blank">Glittering Stockpile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a huge burst of mana. Sacrificing it adds X mana of any one color, perfect for that late game <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crackle with Power" href="#" target="_blank">Crackle with Power</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It’s not hard to generate additional stash counters for our Treasure hoard. Proliferate comes to mind as the premier way of adding counters, and in RG decks, cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evolution Sage" href="#" target="_blank">Evolution Sage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will fit the bill, or in UR, cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flux Channeler" href="#" target="_blank">Flux Channeler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will do fine with a suitably high instant and sorcery count.</p>
<p>There’s always the old-fashioned way of untapping permanents too. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vizier of Tumbling Sands" href="#" target="_blank">Vizier of Tumbling Sands</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will happily do it, either each turn or when cycled drawing you an additional card. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voltaic Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Voltaic Servant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will allow you to spend the mana on your turn adding a stash counter, and untap the stockpile at the end of your turn, allowing you to hold mana up for a cheeky <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Bolt" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Bolt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glittering Stockpile"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Voltaic Servant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crackle with Power"></div></div>
<h3>Finally, I Caught That Guy Who’s Been Ruining My Life</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cursed Mirror"></div></div>
<p>Now we move on to one of the best and most recent arguments for including three-mana rocks in your Commander decks, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cursed Mirror" href="#" target="_blank">Cursed Mirror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card is so much better than it looks and it already looks great. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cursed Mirror" href="#" target="_blank">Cursed Mirror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would have been a great card if it came with the limitation that it could only come into play as a copy of one of your own creatures. The fact that this card can come into play as a copy of ANY creature on the battlefield is what truly drives it up to insane levels of usefulness.</p>
<p>At its floor, this card comes down on turn three and taps for one red mana. Now, this is ultimately the description of any mana rock; you cast it and it taps for mana. On turn three this card isn’t going to have very many targets, although you’ll always be surprised which cards can come down early in Commander (I won’t spoil one of the best targets, but it rhymes with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dockside Extortionist" href="#" target="_blank">Crockside Contortionist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>). It’s more likely that there won’t be any overwhelming targets at this stage of the game, but if you don’t need the mana this turn, it’s never a bad idea to copy the most evasive creature or Commander and attack for some early damage. So that’s the floor of the card, what exactly is the ceiling?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dockside Extortionist"></div></div>
<p>Well, it kind of doesn’t really have one. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cursed Mirror" href="#" target="_blank">Cursed Mirror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can copy anything on the battlefield, so it’s whatever you need at that time, and that’s what makes it a truly special include. While the early mana ramp is great, this is one of those cards you really want to draw in the mid or late-game where it shines best. The larger the pool of selection, the higher the ceiling... let’s think about some great applications for this card. If we’re low on cards, we can copy <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Grand Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Grand Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, potentially put eight cards in our hand, and then attack someone in the air for seven damage.If we need to put some damage to our opponents, we can copy <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Grand Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Grand Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, attack our opponent in the air for seven damage, and potentially put eight cards in our hand. If we need to gain some life... okay, you get the picture. The point is that people are playing fun and explosive cards in the format. The fact that we can sneakily get an additional copy of someone’s best enter-the-battlefield effect on what used to be (many years ago) a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Manalith" href="#" target="_blank">Manalith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>... <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cursed Mirror" href="#" target="_blank">Cursed Mirror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> rules. I am very interested in hearing your best <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cursed Mirror" href="#" target="_blank">Cursed Mirror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> stories in your games. Please let us all know in the comments below.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cursed Mirror"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Atraxa, Grand Unifier"></div></div>
<h2>Black</h2>
<h3>Idol Master</h3>
<p>I wrote this mini-series in WUBRG order, but I kind of wish I would have started with this one. It tells a simple story, but for the new deck builder it presents a great lesson. This time we’re starting with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Idol" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Idol</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. With all my articles I like to assume a wide audience, so this one is going to cover some basic lessons to learn, and for some of us more experienced players a thing to remember.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Idol" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Idol</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> teaches you about Commander. It teaches you how to approach cards and whether you should include them in your deck or not. Here we have a three-mana rock that taps for black, or you can sacrifice it for one generic and two black mana to draw two cards and lose two life. It’s a marriage of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcane Signet" href="#" target="_blank">Arcane Signet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sign in Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Sign in Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Infernal Idol"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arcane Signet"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sign in Blood"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Idol" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Idol</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> costs one more mana than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcane Signet" href="#" target="_blank">Arcane Signet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for the same effect. It also costs one more mana than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sign in Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Sign in Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for the same effect. What we must consider here is that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Idol" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Idol</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one card, not two. Now, new players you might think if you’ve come from one of the sixty card formats that one hundred cards is a bunch. Commander players will tell you otherwise, and that they're always wrestling with their decks and trying to cut down to that magic number. What <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Idol" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Idol</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> asks you is: are you willing to pay one more mana to have both of those abilities on one card, six mana across a game rather than four? The reward is that you get to include an extra card in your deck.</p>
<p>An additional lesson is to keep an eye out for cards that can perform multiple functions in your deck. You might have plenty of card draw in your deck already, but adding a little more incidental card draw when you’re looking to increase the mana ramp of the deck is hardly going to be anything but a boon. Commander is full of little lessons, and we’re always learning. I know that if Infernal Idol was around when I started deckbuilding, I would have found the process that little bit easier.</p>
<h3>It Was a Graveyard Smash!</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crowded Crypt"></div></div>
<p>Maybe red and black aren’t so different after all; this one is called <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crowded Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Crowded Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Making its debut in <em>Innistrad Midnight Hunt Commander, </em>this artifact bears a striking resemblance to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glittering Stockpile" href="#" target="_blank">Glittering Stockpile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with a different kind of payoff.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crowded Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Crowded Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> cares about corpse counters, and let me tell you: in black these are a <strong>lot</strong> easier to acquire than stash counters are in red. In fact, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shirei, Shizo&#039;s Caretaker" href="#" target="_blank">Shirei, Shizo&#039;s Caretaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> adores this card, and can take maximum advantage of it with the saturation of sacrifice outlets and recursion you’ll find in many decks utilizing black. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crowded Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Crowded Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doesn’t care about whether the creature that died was a token either, so throw them to the fire, attack aggressively block aggressively because you might be seeing them again very soon. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crowded Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Crowded Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can represent a game-ender with its six mana-activated ability, allowing you to turn your mana rock into an army of decayed zombie tokens.</p>
<p>This army can then attack your opponents and take their lives the old-fashioned way, or you can create plenty of fodder for sacrificing and getting those sweet <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> triggers. Creating zombies is a relevant creature type for black, the color contains a plethora of Lord effects for the typal strategy. Even the token element is relevant for the new <em>Bargain</em> mechanic from <em>Wilds of Eldraine</em>, why not let one of your new zombie army <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beseech the Mirror" href="#" target="_blank">Beseech the Mirror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for you? Representing large amounts of damage is just one of the latest things mana rocks can do in Commander, so why not embrace it?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crowded Crypt"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Artist"></div></div>
<h2>Rock On</h2>
<p>I hope this second article has gotten you to consider what it means to run three mana rocks in Commander in 2023. The days of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Manalith" href="#" target="_blank">Manalith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Ingot" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Ingot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and such stones are over. It was clear cut to replace those for Talismans and Signets, but I think we’re finding that the three-mana rock space is becoming exceedingly creative. If you are enjoying this series, let me know in the comments below, and as with last time, I’m always interested to hear about your exploits with mana rocks. You can chat with me on <a href="https://twitter.com/PrinceofBielTan">Twitter</a> too if you want to show me those spicy deck brews! Join me in the next article where if the time streams aren’t crossed, we should be talking about something very special.</p>
<h3>Read more:</h3>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="glpn6cIFdm"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/preview-review-three-mana-rocks-part-one/">Preview Review - Three Mana Rocks (Part One)</a></p></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="RtGtdfI2if"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/ranking-every-mana-rock-with-edhrec-2022-edition/">Ranking Every Mana Rock with EDHREC - 2022 Edition</a></p></blockquote>
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voltaic servant

Preview Review - Three Mana Rocks (Part Two)