1. Llanowar Elves
The original, the classic, Llanowar Elves is the card that would define mana dorks as we know them today.
Although its 1/1 stats and simple tap for a green mana ability are underwhelming today, they’re a vital part of Magic’s history.
Although it doesn’t do anything special by contemporary standards, Llanowar Elves doesn’t need to. It’s an Elf, which is still one of the best Tribes, and it ramps too.
Llanowar Elves might be an old card, but it’s a sound card regardless. It has seen an astonishing 20 Pro Tour top 8 finishes, including two first-place decks.
Not only that, but this mana dork is one of the most popular on EDHREC – players use it in 26% of all Commander decks!
2. Deathrite Shaman
A fantastic mana dork, the green/black Deathrite Shaman, earned three Pro Tour Top 8 finishes, over 105 Grand Prix top 8 finishes.
It also sees play in 19% of all Commander decks, according to EDHREC. And here’s why.
Firstly, it costs hybrid mana. And second, Deathrite Shaman is one of the most versatile mana dorks in existence. Not only can it tap for any color of mana at the cost of exiling a land card from a graveyard, but it can gain life too. It can even drain your opponents for two life per activation.
That alone would be remarkable, but Deathrite Shaman is also a hate card. All its abilities require you to exile certain cards from graveyards, but they don’t have to be your cards.
3. Birds of Paradise
Birds of Paradise is easily one of the best mana dorks of all time since it taps for all colors of mana.
Yes, you read that right. It costs one green mana to cast, and it perfectly fixes your mana from there on out!
You can see proof of Birds of Paradise’s power in its 21 Pro Tour top 8 appearances, which includes one usage in a winning deck. Its Commander stats are similarly impressive, used in 25% of all decks listed on EDHREC.
A part of this mana dork’s success is that it isn’t to be underestimated in combat. While starting as a 0/1 is admittedly awful, players also forget that it’s a one-drop with flying, and it is green.
If you have an exalted ability or any spare equipment, Birds of Paradise can be very annoying.
4. Orcish Lumberjack
Orcish Lumberjack perfectly encapsulates the standard red playstyle – aggression.
Orcish Lumberjack taps to let you sacrifice your Forests for three mana, either red or green.
To say that this ability is powerful would be an understatement. Orcish Lumberjack turns a humble Forest into a Black Lotus every turn.
As long as you can feed it lands, Orcish Lumberjack can ramp you faster than any other one-drop mana dork out there.
Even though it’s a favorite of brewers and combo players everywhere – the Johnnys and Jennys of the Magic world – Orcish Lumberjack saw play in one Worlds Top 8 deck too.
5. Arbor Elf
While most other mana dorks tap to add mana, Arbor Elf instead taps to untap a Forest.
While this isn’t anything different at first glance, this ability is deceptively potent. Forests, after all, can be boosted by auras and mana doublers. Untapping a Forest in the right deck can give two, four, or even six mana in a single turn!
Arbor Elf’s unique design has always been among Magic’s best mana dorks. It’s seen play in over 25 top 8 Grand Prix decks, one Pro Tour Top 8, and a Commander staple.
Furthermore, like many other mana dorks, Arbor Elf is, well, an Elf. This card type means it’s a mainstay of Elf Tribal decks.
These strategies often leverage their insane ramp abilities to power out giant creatures before an opponent has time to build up a defense.
6. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Ragavan, Nible Pilferer, was one of the first legendary mana dorks. And it’s easily one of the best, whether or not you count its legendary supertype.
After all, Ragavan can allow you to store mana for future use.
Whenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, you create a Treasure token, which you can sacrifice for any color of mana.
The token doesn’t go away either, letting you stockpile mana for when you need it most. Similarly, when Ragavan connects, you also exile the top card of that player’s library. You can cast it until the end of that turn.
Not only does it have that great ability, but you can also dash with Ragavan. This way, you can keep it in play only when you’re it can deal damage and avoid removal.
Ragavan’s distinctive design has made it the 403rd most popular Commander on EDHREC, and it sees use in the 99 of 6% of all Commander decks too.
7. Priest of Titania
Priest of Titania taps to add green mana for each Elf on the battlefield. Yeah, seriously. That’s a lot of mana, even if you only have a handful of Elves in play.
With Priest of Titania, you can easily double the amount of mana you have, which lets you cast even more Elves.
It’s no surprise that Priest of Titania has seen its fair share of competitive play. As well as being a favorite of the Pauper format, Priest of Titania has also picked up a total of seven top 8 finishes in various Pro Tours and Worlds events.
Although Priest of Titania costs more than your average mana dork – it has a casting cost of two – that isn’t an issue.
Elf Tribal can easily hit three mana on turn two with other dorks, so you won’t fall behind even if Priest of Titania comes in later.
8. Noble Hierarch & Ignoble Hierarch
These two mana dorks are some of the most aggressive in Magic’s history, even though they don’t ramp faster than the standard one-drop.
Instead, Noble Hierarch and its Jund counterpart Ignoble Hierarch have exalted.
So, as well as tapping for green, white, and blue – or green, red, and black in Ignoble Hierarch’s case – these mana dorks also give a creature +1/+1 when it attacks alone. This exalted ability is highly irritating.
Multiple copies of these mana dorks can pump even the lamest creature into a genuine threat, especially if you have a creature with an evasion ability.
Together, Noble Hierarch and Ignoble Hierarch have racked up a remarkable 16 Pro Tour top 8 finishes, including two first-place decks. They’re also used in 17% and 23% of all EDHREC Commander decks.
9. Sylvan Caryatid
Sylvan Caryatid isn’t just a mana dork – it’s also a fantastic blocker.
Sylvan Caryatid’s hexproof ability and three toughness ensure it can shrug off most early attacks, creatures, or spells. This way, you’ll have a use for it even if you don’t need its mana.
Of course, if you do need mana, Sylvan Caryatid is an excellent choice. It taps for mana of any color. However, it costs two mana to cast because of its defensive capabilities.
Nevertheless, Sylvan Caryatid is one of the most competitive mana dorks in Magic. It’s seen play in sixteen Pro Tour top 8 decks.
More impressive, however, is that every top 8 deck in the 2014 World Magic Cup played at least one copy of this card.
10. Priest of Forgotten Gods
Black’s best mana dork, Priest of Forgotten Gods is a genuinely dominant card.
A mainstay of Magic’s beginnings as an ESport, it has ten top 8 finishes across the Player’s Tours and Mythic Invitational tournaments.
Priest of the Forgotten Gods saw such explosive success because of its robust design.
Not only does it tap for two black mana, but it forces your opponents to each sacrifice a creature. And if that all wasn’t good enough already, it also draws you a card.
This incredible ability comes at a cost, though, typical for black. In addition to tapping Priest of the Forgotten Gods, you need to sacrifice two other creatures of your own. But this is more than worth it for its incredible returns.
