Replacements: Mana Crypt

For $200, you can either buy a Mana Crypt or a Nintendo Switch Lite. One makes you get looked like someone who came to stomp over everyone for fun, while the other brings thousands of hours of joy pretending to be Mario or Link. Admittedly, I do own a Mana Crypt, but rarely play it because, since I mostly play casual, it can give you a stench that you are here to win and not have fun. It can create the type of atmosphere where people do not want to play with you.

Why is Mana Crypt so expensive

All of the negatives aside, Mana Crypt is absolutely one of the most broken cards in all of commander, because for 0 mana it nets you 2 extra mana each turn. Sure, the life loss can be a pain, but in a format where you start at 40 life, taking 3 extra damage per turn, in the early game, is a worthwhile tradeoff when it lets you cast your commander (and other spells ahead of curve). It is an auto-include in cEDH decks, and because it seems to be reprinted (at Mythic) every 2-3 years, there are just not enough easily attainable copies.

This week, we are going to see if we can replace Mana Crypt at a budget level! We are only going to look at cards that meet the following requirements:

• A permanent
• Taps for more mana that it cost to cast
• Repeatable mana source

The elephant in the room

The obvious answer is Sol Ring.

It will forever be a budget option because it is printed in every single commander precon and continually hovers around $1. For 1 one mana, it produces 2. If you can slam this down in the early game, you will rocket past your opponents. There is not much else to say other than "put Sol Ring in your decks!"

Tribal Mana Crypts

This category is dedicated to cards that can generate a ton of mana, but only if you have X number of a certain card type.

Priest of Titania adds mana equal to the number of elves you control.

Rosheen, Roaring Prophet lets you add 2 colorless mana for each card, in your hand, with X in its mana cost.

Faeburrow Elder adds mana for each different color pip among permanents you control, being able to tap for a maximum of 5 mana.

Sanctum Weaver adds mana for each enchantment.

Circle of Dreams Druid is Gaea's Cradle on a stick, adding green for each creature.

The upside to each of these is that they can add much more mana than Mana Crypt, but the downside is that they are dependent upon your current board state.

An extra two mana...for a cost

For a one mana investment, you can suspend a Sol Talisman, and in three turns have another Sol Ring, which has already been established as the best budget approximation of Mana Crypt. If you are in a dedicated cascade deck, this could absolutely be a Mana Crypt, as you can cascade and cast it immediately, netting you two mana the same turn.

Eladamri's Vineyard is a symmetrical, repeatable source, as it adds 2 green mana each turn. The downside here is that your opponents also get it. It often shows up in group hug decks like Phelddagrif or in decks, that bring mana burn back, helmed by Yurlock of Scorch Thrash.

The Enigma Jewel is tricky to evaluate. If your deck has a ton of activated abilities with mana costs, this is a Sol Ring for them. However, it enters tapped and the restriction on how you can use that mana is painful.

These are all cards that have decent upside, but are even more situational than the tribal mana crypts discussed previously.

Mana dorks with a catch

Fanatic of Rhonas is a fantastic new mana dork. At first blush, it does not fulfill our requirements because it only taps for 2. However, if you have a creature with 4+ power, it taps for 4.

What does that last line of text say, "eternalize?" If it is in your graveyard, you can spend 4 mana to create a copy of it that fulfills its own requirement! Maybe I am cheating on this, since you have to spend 4 to make 4, but there are plenty of commanders out there with 4+ power. I slotted Fanatic Rhonas into my Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss deck and it rocks.

If you are in a Demon, Vampire, or Cleric deck, Master of Dark Rites is a repeatable Dark Ritual.

Only good if you all 4 players are around, Rasputin, the Oneiromancer can generate 4 mana once, unless you can re-add the counters somehow through flickering or proliferation. I have struggled to find a deck where he would be good, though.

Similarly, Selvala, Explorer Returned generates mana based on the number of opponents, but the downside is that it is based off of the top of your opponents' decks.

Finally, Bighorn Rancher and Selvala, Heart of the Wilds add mana equal to the greatest power among creatures you control.

Cleanup

Nothing will ever be as good as Mana Crypt, and these cards, outside of Sol Ring, do not even come close to its power. However, in the right deck, there are plenty of budget cards that can repeatedly net you more mana, than they cost to cast, each turn.

What this article does show is that with a bit of research, you can often find cards that are decent approximations of high costed ones. Plus, fitting these cards in your deck instead of Mana Crypt will not incite the kind of groans you may get from other players at the table!