MTG Salvation

There have been some older threads about mana dorks but they're a couple years old. I would like an updated discussion about your favorite mana dorks.

Of course theres the classics. Birds of Paradise and Llanowar Elves. Joraga Treespeaker is pretty solid too. Watching the latest standard meta, Voyaging Satyr looks really good, being able to untap Nykthos/ Cradle, and even a simple Ancient Tomb is solid.

I have an extra slot for a mana dork in my deck and I am wondering what my best options are. I am kind of leaning towards Voyaging Satyr because being able double cradle/nykthos mana late game seems huge. But, I would like to look at all of my options.

So, whats your guys' favorite mana dorks?

I only put them in decks that like having dudes in the graveyard . The only ones I run outside of those (who run most of them) are:

1- Zhur-Taa Druid. This chick does 6-12 damage EVERY time she's out. Sometimes more! That's insane considering everything else. If you're aggressive and have RG you need to run her.

2- Stone-Seeder Hierophant. She's actually amazing. When you clone her stuff gets bonkers as most ramp is free or produces mana. She's also got some amazing synergies with other cards that are good on their own. (Thawing Glaciers, Gaea's Cradle. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.)

3- Krosan Restorer. She can produce a LOT of mana. I tend to wait for someone to boardwipe my first mana dorks and then play her. She tends to pick up the slack.

4- That new one looks amazing! I can't wait for it.

I might be missing a few. I'll come back when I wake up and am not so tired.

Honestly, if you're trying to build for a more competitive mana, I've found that none of the mana dorks that cost over 1 mana are worth playing (with the banning of Rofellos). The one that comes the closest IS Voyaging Satyr, but the problem is that it requires far too much setup in an extremely fragile investment that is even more susceptible than usual to a boardwipe.

Of course, some of this is offset since you're running Yeva, but in general I haven't been impressed with Krosan Restorer/Karametra's Acolyte et al.

In competitive metas, I see very reason not to run all the 1-drop dorks that you can. Spending 1 mana on T1 to get 3 mana on T2 is absolutely insane, especially if you do get the chance to compound. You can treat them as delayed Lotus Petals that have a very real possibility of surviving and accelerating you to 5 or 6 mana on your third turn.

What it comes down to is that mana is a resource. Losing anything more than 1 mana is a huge tempo backswing, and why I generally don't recommend running dorks that cost more than 1 mana. Rofellos used to break this rule by the absurd amounts of mana he'd make as a 2-drop, but nothing comes close except for Voyaging Satyr untapping Cradle, and that's less consistent and even less powerful in the early game.

I really like Bloom Tender. Turn two Bloom Tender, turn 3 your 3 color general of choice (eg. Doran, Marath) and she immediately produces another 3 mana. I haven't tried her in any 4 or 5 color decks but I imagine she'd work just as well. Plus, the art is gorgeous.

Deathrite Shaman (No seriously, this is the best mana dork ever, it accelerates, help you gain life, remove critical creature/spell targets.)

Somberwald Sage(if you are in a creature heavy deck)

No love for Sylvan Caryatid the hexproof can be very nice and the three in the ass is the tiniest of bonuses. Worth the extra mana if you ask me.

There is Sylvan Caryatid as mentioned and if you won't mind including her older brother, Utopia Tree.

Noble Hierarch: She has exalted in addition to adding one mana in bant colors.
Deathrite Shaman: He comes with inbuilt grave hate. Not very reliable as a mana dork if fetch lands are a rare thing in your group.
Metalworker: Nuts in an artifact based deck.
Birds of Paradise: The classic mana fix.
Bloom Tender: She's good with any 3 color commanders you want to play early, especially with Derevi.
Arbor Elf: If your mana base is good enough to reliably get a green based dual into play early, he's better than Llanowar Elves

Though she usually works better as commander to fully abuse her instead of in the 99 Selvala, Explorer Returned produces insane amounts of mana really quickly, while giving you the card draw to use that mana and life gain to boot. Coupled with untap effects to repeatedly untap her, you can play the majority of your deck as early as turn 3.

I'm a big fan of Kiora's Follower and Rattleclaw Mystic.

Elvish Pioneer

Using a liberal definition of "mana dork"

Voyaging Satyr untaps Cradle, Coffers, Ancient Tomb, etc
Deathrite Shaman as mentioned is great utility
Priest of Titania gets better the more dorks you play, and counts elves you don't control too
Dryad Arbor can be found by Green Sun's Zenith X=0 turn 1
Bloom Tender is solid in any 2+ color deck
Devoted Druid can make two mana in one turn if needed, and has combo potential with Quillspike or Mikeaus the Unhallowed + a sac outlet

I run Fyndhorn Elder in my Omnath.

Quote from ElliotS »

3- Krosan Restorer. She can produce a LOT of mana. I tend to wait for someone to boardwipe my first mana dorks and then play her. She tends to pick up the slack.

There's also Argothian Elder at the midway point between Krosan Restorer and Krosan Restorer-with-threshold.

Quote from LivioC »

Depending on the elves density in your deck, there's also Priest of Titania (or the more expensive Elvish Archdruid)

Add Wirewood Channeler to that list.

How about enchantment mana sources, like Druids' Repository, Iceberg, or Mana Bloom?

Quote from Slivortal »

Honestly, if you're trying to build for a more competitive mana, I've found that none of the mana dorks that cost over 1 mana are worth playing (with the banning of Rofellos). The one that comes the closest IS Voyaging Satyr, but the problem is that it requires far too much setup in an extremely fragile investment that is even more susceptible than usual to a boardwipe.

Of course, some of this is offset since you're running Yeva, but in general I haven't been impressed with Krosan Restorer/Karametra's Acolyte et al.

In competitive metas, I see very reason not to run all the 1-drop dorks that you can. Spending 1 mana on T1 to get 3 mana on T2 is absolutely insane, especially if you do get the chance to compound. You can treat them as delayed Lotus Petals that have a very real possibility of surviving and accelerating you to 5 or 6 mana on your third turn.

What it comes down to is that mana is a resource. Losing anything more than 1 mana is a huge tempo backswing, and why I generally don't recommend running dorks that cost more than 1 mana. Rofellos used to break this rule by the absurd amounts of mana he'd make as a 2-drop, but nothing comes close except for Voyaging Satyr untapping Cradle, and that's less consistent and even less powerful in the early game.

I agree with this.

People frequently underestimate mana dorks in edh saying they'll die to wraths, which could be a real possibility. So if you are running them they should cost no more than 1, so you be fast. mana dorks start lose their worth if you're casting them later. The earlier the better. If I'm playing mana dorks at all then I'll generally try and fit as many 1cmc ones I can. I play boreal druid in Saffi, even though it's one of the worse ones. It still costs 1. I want the greatest chance to play one by turn.

Quote from razzliox »

Dryad Arbor can be found by Green Sun's Zenith X=0 turn 1

This. You're probably already running GSZ anyway, so why not include Dryad Arbor to let Zenith act as a turn 1 mana dork when you want it to be?

Quote from LivioC »

Quote from Lithl »

Quote from ElliotS »

3- Krosan Restorer. She can produce a LOT of mana. I tend to wait for someone to boardwipe my first mana dorks and then play her. She tends to pick up the slack.

There's also Argothian Elder at the midway point between Krosan Restorer and Krosan Restorer-with-threshold.

Quote from LivioC »

Depending on the elves density in your deck, there's also Priest of Titania (or the more expensive Elvish Archdruid)

Add Wirewood Channeler to that list.

Birchlore Rangers and Heritage Druid also, but they are a bit clunky in a non-tribal deck.


On the OP:
Boreal Druid: weak option for 1 cmc.
Elvish Harbinger: added bonus of being a tutor for elves, but 3 cmc.
Heart Warden: you can sac him later in the game if you don't need the mana.
Citanul Hierophants: not exactly a mana dork, but the ability is BIG.

I knew this thread would result in a hidden gem. Heart Warden looks like the perfect fit for my slot. I wanted to replace Wall of Blossoms for some ramp and looks like the Warden gives me best of both worlds!

Quote from Slivortal »

Honestly, if you're trying to build for a more competitive mana, I've found that none of the mana dorks that cost over 1 mana are worth playing (with the banning of Rofellos). The one that comes the closest IS Voyaging Satyr, but the problem is that it requires far too much setup in an extremely fragile investment that is even more susceptible than usual to a boardwipe.

Of course, some of this is offset since you're running Yeva, but in general I haven't been impressed with Krosan Restorer/Karametra's Acolyte et al.

In competitive metas, I see very reason not to run all the 1-drop dorks that you can. Spending 1 mana on T1 to get 3 mana on T2 is absolutely insane, especially if you do get the chance to compound. You can treat them as delayed Lotus Petals that have a very real possibility of surviving and accelerating you to 5 or 6 mana on your third turn.

What it comes down to is that mana is a resource. Losing anything more than 1 mana is a huge tempo backswing, and why I generally don't recommend running dorks that cost more than 1 mana. Rofellos used to break this rule by the absurd amounts of mana he'd make as a 2-drop, but nothing comes close except for Voyaging Satyr untapping Cradle, and that's less consistent and even less powerful in the early game.

I generally agree with a couple exceptions. In competitive metas, Wrath effects are less common because combo wins happen more than combat damage, so a few can sneak by. Voyaging Satyr shows up in my meta in decks with Cabal Coffers, Cradle, Nykthos (surprisingly good), etc. Kiora's Follower is a mana dork that untaps your Yisan or your Ring/Crypt. Bloom Tender, Metalworker, Priest of Titania etc are all very good.

Speaking of Bloom Tender, she's best in Derevi where she makes six mana on turn 3.

Orochi Leafcaller.

Keep brewing.

Birds of Paradise is the only one I run because my deck is bird tribal and late game it starts swinging for serious damage. That is also the advantage of elves in an elves deck they can be turned into threats. basically feel like a mana dork is only worth running if they can be turned into threats either aggro or combo pieces.

I was using Walking Atlas in my mono red deck (With a lot of lands, mana doublers and mountain based damage) but it just wasn't doing enough and I replaced it with artifact ramp

I've always had a thing for Skyshroud Elf, and love pulling it in my naya deck, because mana filtering is awesome.