For a game that puts a great deal of focus on its colors of mana, there is something incredulity satisfying about winning games of Magic The Gathering with only using Colorless mana sources.
Colorless mana decks have been around for many years throughout Magic’s history, especially in older formats like Vintage and Legacy where colorless decks like MUD are a force to be reckoned with.
I highly recommend everyone try building a deck that uses only colorless mana sources at least once in their Magic careers, but to have the best success, there are some cards you should seriously consider playing over others. Below are some of the best MTG colorless mana sources you should think about adding to your deck.
1. Wastes
The first basic land without a type, Wastes are a unique source of colorless mana that’s quickly become a staple of Eldrazi decks.
Since its release in Oath of the Gatewatch, Wastes has picked up an impressive three Pro Tour Top 8s and sixteen Grand Prix Top 8 finishes.
Wastes are one of the best MTG colorless mana sources because it’s a basic land, meaning that there’s no limit to how many of them you can run in your deck.
This rule immediately made Wastes a must-have for the Eldrazi Tribal builds of 2016 Standard, and it’s also seen success in Bant Humans and Tron decks.
2. Ancient Tomb
A favorite of Vintage and Legacy decks, Ancient Tomb is a land unlike any other – it enters the battlefield untapped and can immediately provide two colorless mana.
Unlike other land cards that do it similarly, Ancient Tomb doesn’t force you to sacrifice your lands either. This change makes it one of the most competitive lands in MTG.
Ancient Tomb shines in artifact decks that don’t need any colorless mana, and it’s playable in Eldrazi decks too. Multiple copies of Ancient Tomb can quickly accelerate your board to victory, allowing you to cast giant threats ahead of the curve.
That is if you’re willing to pay for its drawback cost. Ancient Tomb deals two damage to you every time you tap it for mana.
3. Mishra’s Workshop
Mishra’s Workshop is a land that can add three colorless mana in a single turn – as long as you spend that mana to cast artifact spells.
That isn’t difficult, however, and the titular Shops deck has been dominant in every format which it’s legal.
Don’t let the price tag bother you, though – Mishra’s Workshop costs less than a single tix on Magic Online, which is where almost all Vintage tournaments are held. And it has dominated them.
Mishra’s Workshop has an incredible 22 top 8 finishes across various Vintage Championships and Eternal Weekends!
4. Mana Crypt
Mana Crypt is a high-risk, high-reward source of colorless mana.
It costs zero to play, and it taps for two mana – giving you more mana than any Mox – albeit at risk. If you lose its coin flip, it deals three damage to you.
Mana Crypt remains a beloved card among Vintage and Commander players despite this drawback.
You ought to include it in any deck that can risk taking a Lightning Bolt to the face every time your luck turns sour. Either that or use Mana Crypt’s insane ramp to take out your opponent first.
5. Cloudpost
The cornerstone of the infamous Twelve Post deck, Cloudpost was so dominant that it picked up bans for Modern and Pauper. And here’s why – it adds one colorless mana for each Locus land you control.
Cloudpost is a Locus, and so is Scars of Mirrodin’s Glimmerpost. Alongside the land-copying Vesuva, these cards can put out an absurd amount of mana.
The Post decks have earned eight Top Eight finishes across Pro Tours and Worlds, plus two Top 8s in Grand Prix.
Honestly, the only format they aren’t powerful in is Commander due to the one-card limit in that format.
6. Mind Stone & Hedron Archive
Although Mind Stone isn’t a high-speed colorless mana source for its cost, its versatility earns it a place on this list regardless.
At any time, you can tap it, pay one mana and sacrifice it to draw a card: that way, it’s always helpful to you, even after you’ve got enough mana.
Hedron Archive is a similar card – effectively two Mind Stones stapled together onto a single card.
Sure, it costs twice as much, but it also does twice as much too. It taps to add two colorless mana and can be sacrificed for two cards.
Together, these two sources of colorless mana have earned eleven Top 8s in Pro Tours and other professional tournaments.
7. Thran Dynamo
A classic colorless mana source, Thran Dynamo, can take you from four mana on turn four to eight mana on turn five.
And that isn’t even counting this mana rock’s absurd power if you can get it into play a turn earlier.
Thrana Dynamo costs four mana, taps to add three mana, and it has a remarkable history of pro-level use.
It has seen six Pro Tour Top 8 finishes, and players used it in the decks that won Worlds 1999 and Worlds 2000.
8. Eldrazi Temple
Eldrazi Temple is a land with a remarkable track record – twelve Top 8s across Pro Tours and Worlds – and that’s for a good reason.
It’s one of the best lands for Eldrazi Tribal, tapping for two mana as long as you spend it on colorless Eldrazi.
Unlike many other colorless mana sources on this list, Eldrazi Temple is also Modern legal. It dominated during its Standard runs.
It is an excellent alternative to the less versatile and somewhat costlier Eye of Ugin, especially if you run four of both in the same deck.
If you are looking for the best way to squeeze the most out of this colorless Eldrazi land, then check out my guide to the best Eldrazi cards in Magic The Gathering.
9. Mana Vault, Grim Monolith & Basalt Monolith
These three mana rocks all do similar things, and they do them spectacularly well.
Mana Vault, Grim Monolith, and Basalt Monolith tap to add three colorless mana. They cost one, two, and three mana, respectively. However, there’s a catch to all of them – they don’t untap during your untap step. Instead, you have to pay mana to untap them.
Nevertheless, these colorless mana sources are famously popular. Mana Vault, Grim Monolith, and Basalt Monolith are collectively played in over 126,000 EDHREC Commander decks.
They’ve picked up a total of eighteen Pro Tour Top 8s too. Their untap costs are more than worth paying, it seems.
10. Sol Ring
The best mana rock of all time, Sol Ring is a colorless mana source like no other. (READ: Best MTG Mana Rocks)
It’s a simple one mana artifact that taps two add two colorless – and it’s so strong that it’s never been printed for Modern, and it’s banned in Legacy! It’s a Vintage staple. And according to EDHREC, it’s played in 81% of all Commander decks – the most out of any nonland card.
Sol Ring is powerful because it provides a ramp without any drawback whatsoever. There’s no life penalty, no restrictive cost – mana or finance – and you don’t have to pay to untap it either.
It is one of the few cards able to take you to four mana on turn two, letting you dominate against any player without a Sol Ring of their own.