Ozai, the Phoenix KingOzai, the Phoenix King | Art by Kekai Kotaki

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Doubling CubeDoubling Cube is the only card that interacts in quantitative fashion with mana in your mana pool?)

And just like that, Avatar: The Last Airbender rounds out a top ten of cards that let you keep your mana around.

But let's not dilly-dally. As I'm typing this, I'm sure they're printing more stuff that makes firebending a bit more abusable. So we'll tack those on as they get spoiled in the honorable mentions, but for now let's take a look at all the stuff that will let you keep all that bending mana around!

Top 10 Cards That Let You Keep Mana Through Steps and Phases

Criteria: Cards that either make it so you don't lose mana as you normally would when moving to the next phase or step of a turn, or that alter that mana in some fashion instead. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

10. Ozai, the Phoenix KingOzai, the Phoenix King

(Helms 312 Decks, Rank #2,086; 928 Inclusions, 2.31% of 40.2K Decks)

Most of thethe Fire LordsFire Lords have been pushed, but Wizards went ahead and pushed OzaiOzai to the max. He's the only one with haste, meaning that while he costs six mana, his firebending almost immediately gives four of it back.

For that two mana, then, you get a 7/7 trampler that's immediately putting that third of an opponent's commander damage total out there in the ether. The old-heads that were around for when Rorix BladewingRorix Bladewing was a legitimate threat in Commander know what I'm talking about.

Most important, however, is the reason that we're here: You don't lose the mana that Ozai, or any other firebender, makes. It just becomes red if it wasn't already. In other words, you can just keep stacking mana indefinitely.

Long story short: This card won't be staying at the bottom of our top ten list. Ozai is very good, and will probably end up close to the top, if not all the way there, soon.

9. UpwellingUpwelling

(5.21K Inclusions, 0.16% of 3.31M Decks)

It's really cute that Wizards felt that mana burn was what we were worried about when it came to this card. "You can keep mana forever! No, this doesn't kill you."

UpwellingUpwelling is an old Group Hug card that creates a lot of fun situations for the table, but that's precisely because it's a symmetrical card that will not only keep the mana from your firebenders around, but also the mana from your opponents'. So, like the (good) Group Hug decks that play this card, you'll have to build around it and make sure that you have more effects looking to keep your mana pool giant than your opponents do.

Which, at the end of the day, should probably be the idea behind most decks that are looking to abuse firebenders over more than just the combat step: Stack the mana high to use for huge spells, X-costed or otherwise.

8. Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery

(Helms 1,151 Decks, Rank #1,255; 11.9K Inclusions, 2.09% of 568K Decks)

Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery is essentially Birgi, God of StorytellingBirgi, God of Storytelling at home, but that doesn't mean it's all downside for the extra red pip.

First off, the reason he made this list and Birgi didn't is because he makes not only his mana stick around, but all the rest of your red mana as well. Sure, he won't personally add as much as Birgi will, given that he only adds mana when you cast instants or sorceries, but he makes up for a lot of that by having a FireballFireball stapled right to him to throw all that mana into.

In other words, if you want to go nuts on a storm turn, you can do it until you have a ton of mana with all the various rituals and Electro triggers, then spend enough of that mana to kill an opponent, then recast Electro from the command zone and go right on with your storm turn until you have enough mana to do it two more times.

Seems deece!

7. Fangorn, Tree ShepherdFangorn, Tree Shepherd

(Helms 1,973 Decks, Rank #915; 10.1K Inclusions, 0.30% of 3.31M Decks)

I had the idea for this list the second I saw the first firebending card spoiled, but even a few weeks into Avatar spoilers, I considered not doing it. The reason is the cards we're about to see, like Fangorn, Tree ShepherdFangorn, Tree Shepherd, that don't technically help you with keeping your firebending mana around.

Instead, they only care about green mana, meaning you'd have to find a way to make your red mana green to keep it around. In other words, if there had been more cards that didn't have this green restriction, then this would've been written off the list completely.

But there aren't, so why don't we take a look at the cards we could use to make our red mana green?

Top 10 "Filter For Any Color" Permanents

1. Three Tree MascotThree Tree Mascot
2. Pili-PalaPili-Pala
3. Energy RefractorEnergy Refractor
4. Shire ScarecrowShire Scarecrow
5. PrismitePrismite
6. Gemstone ArrayGemstone Array
7. Stonework PackbeastStonework Packbeast
8. Scarecrow GuideScarecrow Guide
9. Crossroads CandleguideCrossroads Candleguide
10. Signpost ScarecrowSignpost Scarecrow

Most of these will have you lose half of the mana you stocked up for your trouble, but nonetheless, it is possible to abuse Fangorn and the like with firebending if you happen to be in Gruul ().

I've definitely done worse.

6. Omnath, Locus of AllOmnath, Locus of All

(Helms 13,447 Decks, Rank #87; 11.3K Inclusions, 2.48% of 455K Decks)

For the low, low cost of four pips and two life, you too can have all your red mana become black and stick around!

Kidding aside, I fully expect there to be a cavalcade of Firebending decks headed up by Omnath, Locus of AllOmnath, Locus of All. It'll be able to include all the firebenders of all the different colors, and will keep the mana around to be able to utilize the nonsense, all while being a powerful card in its own right.

Will that add up to the amount of Firebending decks we see with OzaiOzai, Avatar AangAvatar Aang, or even Fire Lord ZukoFire Lord Zuko and Fire Lord AzulaFire Lord Azula at the helm? Probably not. But I wouldn't say it categorically won't, either.

5. Kruphix, God of HorizonsKruphix, God of Horizons

(Helms 3,759 Decks, Rank #570; 25.3K Inclusions, 1.59% of 1.59M Decks)

And if you are running five-color firebenders? Well, then you'd be foolish not to also be running Kruphix, God of HorizonsKruphix, God of Horizons to help keep all that mana around. It's a bit pricey at five mana, but makes up for it by being indestructible and letting you keep 20 cards in hand.

That won't come up all the time, given that you're probably more of a mana deck than a card draw deck, but if you are a mana deck that's in blue, why wouldn't you be running cards like Pull from TomorrowPull from Tomorrow or Finale of RevelationFinale of Revelation?

4. Horizon StoneHorizon Stone

(30.9K Inclusions, 0.43% of 7.16M Decks)

No need to be running five-color for Horizon StoneHorizon Stone! Although without the upsides of KruphixKruphix, is five mana really worth it? My money's on no.

3. Omnath, Locus of ManaOmnath, Locus of Mana

(Helms 8,173 Decks, Rank #207; 27.6K Inclusions, 0.83% of 3.31M Decks)

My first reflex was that if you're going through all the hoops to put in the filterers to allow you to play Fangorn, Tree ShepherdFangorn, Tree Shepherd, you'd probably just want to play Omnath, Locus of ManaOmnath, Locus of Mana instead. Upon actual consideration, however, the entire idea is that you have more mana than god, so why wouldn't you go for the Treefolk that is also a firebender in it own regard?

It's better mechanically and thematically, which means that in this weird hypothetical scenario I've created that no one will act on, you go for the Tree over the Elemental. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

2. Leyline TyrantLeyline Tyrant

(37.2K Inclusions, 1.05% of 3.54M Decks)

Seeing where Leyline TyrantLeyline Tyrant is on the list compared to Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery, I'm more convinced than ever that both he and Ozai, the Phoenix KingOzai, the Phoenix King will end up at the top of this list once they've been around for a while.

For the same mana cost, you can have so much more upside with Electro, with a card that was obviously meant to shout out both BirgiBirgi and Tyrant. In other words? Leyline Tyrant is done, it just doesn't know it yet. See this old webcomic for context.

1. Ashling, Flame DancerAshling, Flame Dancer

(Helms 4,446 Decks, Rank #486; 46.6K Inclusions, 1.57% of 2.96M Decks)

The real question is whether Electro will end up being better or worse than Ashling, Flame DancerAshling, Flame Dancer. Ashling costs a mana extra but otherwise they're somewhat similar, triggering on casting an instant or sorcery. It is notable that Ashling's magecraft also triggers on copying a spell, but that's only where the similarities start.

Ashling can only add four mana in a go unless you reset her somehow, while Electro can keep on adding consistent mana all the way through a storm turn. Electro can take out individual opponents when you've hit ridiculous amounts of mana, Ashling deals chip damage to all of your opponents and their creatures on every third spell per turn.

The biggest difference is Ashling's first trigger, which rummages, an ability Electro doesn't have anything even close to mimicking. As for which is better? Only time will tell, but I bet in the long run the consistency of Electro wins out.

Honorable Mentions

With the caveat that there might be more by the time this article comes out, I was surprised that there weren't more already!

Fittingly, our last card is The Last Agni KaiThe Last Agni Kai. And if you've got a big enough creature, it can be one of the better rituals that's ever been printed, while also being a decent removal spell!

Gruul () decks are going to absolutely love this thing, and the Standard scourge that is Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier just got even better, which I'm sure folks have ...feelings... about.

Still, it's a sweet card that, one way or another, you'll be seeing a lot of soon, possibly even up to the cEDH level for a few choice decks with big commanders (probably just Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror, but maybe there's some surprises out there).

What I'm really interested in, though? The huge commander on this list that's going to want it.

Ozai, the Phoenix King Commander Deck List

If you're thinking as you look at this, "wait, isn't this just 60 ramp cards, 30 lands, and 10 X spells?" then you've more or less gotten the exact thing I'm going for.

It probably plays closer to a Bracket 2 than Bracket 3, but I wasn't going to say no to either BirgiBirgi or Grinning IgnusGrinning Ignus, so here we are.

As for what the deck wants to do, the answer is simple: number go up. Just keep adding to your ludicrous mana total until you can cast a huge X spell. That's more or less the entire game plan. And I'm not gonna lie, it's fun to just keep ticking up a die as the table wonders if you have it or not.

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

And finally, what is your favorite card that lets you keep your mana around. Does it work with firebending? Are you tinkering with Ozai, the Phoenix KingOzai, the Phoenix King?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the table with the bottomless mimosas.

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