Top 10 Worst Mana Dorks

[@KeroTheInvincible]

I wanna give a shout-out to Adarkar Unicorn, from all the way back in Ice Age. It's a 3 mana 2/2 White creature that can tap for either Blue, or both Blue and a Colourless (likely because mana burn was still a thing). Sounds like quite a decent card, until you get to the caveat. "This mana can only be used to pay for cumulative upkeep", which is hands down, one of the most restrictive conditions generated mana could possibly have. A 3 mana dork whose only possible modern use would be getting an extra turn or two out of Mystic Remora.

[@Seydaschu]

I imagine if Lotus Guardian gave 3 mana of one color, like its name would suggest... it'd still be way bad.

[@啊啊啊啊-m4s]

Chromatic Orrery for the same amount of 7 mana gives you 5 mana of any color combination that can be spent immediately and sees no play.

[@Seydaschu]

​@@啊啊啊啊-m4s I was also thinking "It's Gilded Lotus with more downsides and costs more." Geez, even if the printed version cost 4, it'd still be competing with the other 4s on this list. I suppose it'd be a better attacker, and it's colorless.

[@CompassRoseGaming]

​@@啊啊啊啊-m4sNot to mention, Chromatic Orrery gives you the ability to spend mana as any color

[@Terry-cb5kr]

Only thing I could see Guardian being played in, is a VERY casual artifact-centric deck that runs enough effects to make it cost zero

[@targetdreamer257]

"What engine?" "Witch Engine." "Which engine are you you talking about? "It's Witch Engine!"

[@phyrexian_dude4645]

In defense of Warden of Geometries, it covers all the angles.

[@Asageun]

Yooo, I run one in my eldrazi deck

[@zeketestorman4981]

Haha 😂 Good one.

[@bigtimetimmyjim6486]

I don't know, I have always found its usefulness a bit obtuse.

[@arronomus8026]

Top 10 cards that are bad in 1v1 but great in EDH?

[@Darkusflame]

He's already made a list of staples bad in commander

[@ameliaward7429]

No format can save Lotus Guardian.

[@vDeadbolt]

10. Command Tower 9. Arcane Signet 8. Command Beacon 7. Commander's Plate 6. Fierce Guardianship 5. Deflecting Swat 4. Deadly Rollick 3. Flawless Maneuver 2. Jeweled Lotus 1. Yuriko

[@jamesygamesy5124]

​@@vDeadboltjeweled lotus is still a zero cost artifact so its not the worst

[@vDeadbolt]

@@jamesygamesy5124 it saw niche play in vintage, but that's it. Almost anything can see niche play in vintage.

[@jettblade]

I do think the Embercat is alright and a bit more playable. During Lorwyn I had a mono-red elemental deck that would have loved that Embercat. I recently merged that Lorwyn deck with my tribal Chandra deck into a commander deck and that Embercat is strong. I don't consider niche cards as strong or weak just either narrow or extremely narrow. Embercat is narrow. Also the Oasis Ritualist works extremely well with Quest of Renewal for letting you have a middling blocker with no downside to the extra mana, it could even open it up for some counter-play options.

[@AkaAkoVT]

I remember trying to use Embercat sooo much in standard. Was right when I was getting back into Magic and had a "this weird card must be good, I must just not know how to use it" mindset

[@MisterJackTheAttack]

Whereas my ass is like "Oh this card is kinda bad. I am going to try to make it good."

[@AkaAkoVT]

@@MisterJackTheAttack Heh, I have that too. Pretty much any TCG I play, I like trying to use the "bad strategies" just to see if I can :3

[@dojopar6574]

I do wanna say that in its time in standard, Chandra's embercat was played in the omnath elementals deck, and while they did have some other mana dorks it just helped to fill out their curve and added consistency to the deck.

[@floppyslot]

I built an all-chandra deck with the embercat. It's not really that great but if you have 4 or 5 Chandra Planeswalkers out it's hard to lose.

[@somejerk5662]

Oops, All Chandra decks are silly

[@Alecations]

Kozilek's Channeler did see a little bit of play during Eldrazi Winter when the decks were so dominant that draft chaff was more playable than lightning bolt.

[@themantyf1116]

Drone had a theoretical upside toward green dorks, which was adding colorless mana, since the set introduced cards that required colorless mana specifically ilike it was colored mana, so it was supposed to fill that role, but getting colorless mana never proved difficult enough to make it necessary over faster and more efficient dorks.

[@DrJambonius]

Nice video, but I think you forgot Riven tornbull and Princess lucresia fron Legends, at respectively 7 and 6 mana cost for 1 mana given, theirs ratio are hard to beat )

[@TheQueue841]

Especially Riven. It's the same rate as Lotus Guardian, but worse in just about every way.

[@epthopper6915]

Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Easy to miss them since they’re off color lol

[@universalperson]

13:20 This is painful. Witch engines in lore were Phyrexian war weapons. 14:50 Clearly this is the result of Black Lotus trauma. I suspect it's original effect was to tap for three mana of any one color, and it was cheaper.

[@Evertide05]

"But it's certainly not a good dork" and "as early as turn 3 in magical Christmas-land scenario" made me laugh harder than they should have. After all these years, I still love your dry humor.

[@stigmaoftherose]

No Princess Lucrezia, Riven Turnbull or Sunastian Falconer?

[@ReederMG]

I remember as a kid getting Lotus Guardian in either a booster or tournament pack and thinking to myself "this is the rare card?" I thought it was so underwhelming and I tried to make it work in decks (because I was a kid with no money and had to work with the cards I had). It never worked. I felt cheated that it was the rare card I got for the pack

[@TheLuckySpades]

I actually ran the Embercat in a deck in standard between M20 and M21, the deck wasn't the best by any measure since it was mostly a gimmick deck where I tried putting a lot of the Chandras in the deck together The deck's only creatures were Elementals so that Awakened Inferno wouldn't kill them, so Embercat worked for a good deal of the deck The biggest issue with the deck is how inconsistent it was, but sometimes I'd win by swinging for 20 damage out of the blue

[@tellu5493]

I ran the same deck, it was a Chandra deck. It was inconsistent, like you said, but it had so much personality and flavor that I kept going back to it long after I'd gotten bored with playing more powerful decks.

[@cupidfaust3067]

Every time I hear you say Llanowar, I have half of an anuerism

[@Orcasgt22]

I ran 4x Embercat in an Oops all Chandra deck that made Mythic in M20 standard. Fun deck

[@Shoyro]

Circle of Elders would best thrive in Commander. A general rule for rocks and dorks in deck construction for this format is that you should get half of the mana from it for its mana value. If it's higher MV, but you get only one from it, it better have a second effect that makes it worth having. So, in Commander, it's not often you see boards be destroyed constantly, so Formidable is a bit better. This is due to board wipes being saved for when someone swarms or the field has serious threats.

[@cuckoophendula8211]

Before starting, my guess for #1 would be...lotus guardian? EDIT: Man, I was hoping it'd be some other obscure card that I haven't heard about.

[@Blackadder75]

it should be some other card, there are a dozen worse ones in old sets from 1994-1996 that the makers of this channel forgot or don;t know about google Ardarkar Unicorn

[@MSR-1701]

Request - top best/worst cards in older blocks/sets (pre-Mirrodin)

[@marcoottina654]

7:30 I had to cut Chandra's Embercat for my elemental-fueled deck (with Orthion and Gilraen for dumb combos) since it's almost useless what about non-famous mana dorks, like Wirewood Channeler? And, similarly, non-famous anything? :D (pingers, card draw on creatures / artifacts, life gain, token producers, etc) Lotus Guardian should have been a lotus: Tapping for 3 mana. Which still pales against a Gilded Lotus And being big, like a 5/7 at least. It's a rare, after all.

[@posajnejkwahb]

My boy Riven Turnbull was robbed of the no. 1 spot (yes, I did play him as my commander, thanks for asking)

[@Blackadder75]

finally somebody who appreciates and knows magic history, you could fill half this list with cards from 1994-1995 . Adarkar Unicorn Tap: ADD u SPEND this mana only to pay for cummulative upkeep.. lol

[@posajnejkwahb]

@@Blackadder75 Ohhh lol yeah Adarkar Unicorn definitely would have to be on there too xD

[@astuteanansi4935]

Riven Turnbull: dispensing "political" violence with his own two fists since 1994

[@zackkelley2940]

Hilariously red DOES have Sisters of the Flame. It costs 1 more than Embercat BUT you could use it on anything.

[@shapied]

5:56 rejuvenator is also standard legal.

[@DarkJusticeMetal]

What formats do you play?

[@nachos1162]

Witch Engine would probably be worth playing if the downside just gave it to your opponent until the end of their turn. It would essentially give you the choice of possibly losing 4 life or giving your opponent a free 4 mana next turn, in exchange for gaining 4 mana yourself that turn. Would probably be a niche but really fun card to use if that were the case.

[@charliemirus4124]

Did you do a T10 Best Mana Dorks video yet? Would love to see it!

[@brromo]

You really want to tell me that Oasis is worse then Kozilek's Translator, Qarsi Deceiver, Mul Daya Channelers, Hope Tender, Memory of Toshiro, & all 9 of the Powerstone-ETBs

[@Interesting_Failure]

I think Qarsi Deceiver maybe deserved a look-in; it costs {1}{U}, is a 0/4, generates {C}, and can only be used to cast things face down and flip up specifically manifest/morph cards (it doesn't even work on disguise thanks to how it's worded!).

[@איתןשי]

Could Witch Engine not be used in Commander for allies?

[@TheRedneckBudha]

Top ten token generators perhaps. Idk if he has already done that.

[@GigaBoost]

If you put a +1/+1 counter on a renown creature by different means than attacking, does it still count as renowned?

[@alanevans5353]

I love these lists because for more competitive formats these cards are definitely not good, but in Commander (which I mostly play) some of these are actually insanely good. Honored Hierarch will almost always be turned on by turn 3 because you have multiple opponents, Embercat is good in elemental decks or Chandra planeswalker decks, Cultivator drone is definitely playable in non-green heavy colorless decks. Circle of Elders is super good for big creature decks (I have one in my Baru wurm deck) Witch Engine taps for a lot and is a good political piece. Lotus guardian is terrible yes but its hilarious so I play it anyway.

[@stevesmith5883]

I run both Warden of Geometries and Kozileks Channeler in my Eldrazi deck. It is 100% colorless and yes they could be replaced by better artifact rocks but where's the flavour! Not like I haven't already got a whole bunch of mana rocks too.

[@shirluban]

I play Embercat in a mono-red elemental / Chandra modern deck. I'd realy like to know what better mana dork exists for this kind of decks. Last time I checked, Risen Reef can't be played in mono red.

[@lainhikaru5657]

Smokebraider. It's modern legal. 1 incolor and 1 red. T: add 2 mana of any color commbination but can only use to cast elemental spells or pay for abilities of elementals.

[@Briannguyen604]

Top 10 phyrexian cards plz!!

[@qriist]

Ah yes, Lennar Elves.

[@jamesdavis3851]

Surprised Princess Lucrezia didn't make the list... 3UUB 5/4 taps for U. Just about as bad as Lotus Guardian.

[@Blackadder75]

You could easily fill half this list just with mana dorks from Legends and sets from that time, if I remember correctly. They loved to print high mana cost legends with a random tap to add some mana. For example Riven Turnbull is waaaaay worse than Lotus Guardian

[@MH-ss2dn]

Really stretching the definition of mana dork including 6 and 7 drops.

[@drenth27]

Every time I see these list videos, I think it wasn't that bad in limited

[@mrKreuzfeld]

Lotus guadian was quite good in limited. At the time, 4/4 flyer would murder any deck if you got it out. Manafix was not that prevelent, and you had to draft 3 colours. So, getting the missing mana was nice. However, it was mainly a "i have room dof this in my sealed deck"-card

[@louisgreen3071]

What about the mana dorks from Legends?

[@nephilimninjaofnibiru2907]

You're right they were even worse. I'd forgotten about them...lol

[@tylerneumann3460]

Kozileks channeler just got a powerboost in edh with zhulodok a 2 mana ramp eldrazi that you can cascade into in that deck is actually really good

[@cax1175]

The Eldrazi mana Dorks in Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch are really bad when you realize that Oath of the Gatewatch has Hedron Crawler, a two cmc mana dork.

[@mtgpackrat7945]

Never print a worse mana dork than Lotus Guardian? That sounds like a challenge.

[@franzise3605]

Skyshroud Troopers is a 3/3 for 3G that taps for one green... and that's literally it. Surprised it didn't make the list over some of these other 4-cost dorks, the only thing the Troopers has going for it over them is it's an Elf.

[@im2nub]

wait im confused isnt channeler generating generic mana and not colorless? or do old cards not distinguish (arena player)

[@birdofnyx376]

It generates colorless, its mostly used as generic mana, but there are affects that call for colorless mana. Mostly from second zendikar and the set after that.

[@dyne313]

The game used to use the number in a grey circle for both generic mana (for costs), and colorless mana (the actual mana produced). They changed this, so now, whenever a card generates colorless mana, it uses that symbol (on Hedron Archive in the video for example)

[@Metal_Maoist]

I don't think you can create generic mana.

[@birdofnyx376]

@@Metal_Maoist u can't. They errated all previous cards to say colorless

[@jonbrewer297]

Scorned Villager/Moonscarred Werewolf is notable for being a werewolf, meaning you're not going to want to cast spells that rapidly.

[@soarel325]

Can't see Honored Hierarch without thinking of Travis Woo and the infamous Hitler stream

[@nexusgiga]

Hiearch honestly doesn’t miss anything though. You really don’t need his renowned; it’s good to have but not needed

[@marknicklason]

Is embercat a great card, no likely not, but it is hard to say it is really bad. 2/2 for 2 is fine, if you actually had a deck that wanted to accelerate out elementals, this card could be quite good really.

[@7Alberto7]

Amazing!

[@TheKyleBrah]

Manalogs: "And at number 2, we have Witch Engine. This is a 4/4 Whore..." Me, listening to this video instead of watching: "Ayo, what?!" 😳

[@Depp0vom0Dienst]

loved lotus guardian in my Golos Anti-Goodstuff Deck which contained the old legends from legends just to name an example on what "anti-goodstuff" means lol

[@TrevorJust]

HOW do you forget Riven Turnbull. A 7 drop that can add 1 Black

[@hiygamer]

I'll admit, I was expecting to see Riven Turnbull or Princess Lucrezia on this list.

[@adamkrajco1920]

I only have like 10 mana dorks and 2 of them are on this list 😩

[@lyndsaypeters5981]

I've never seen the card circle of Elders I don't get his reasoning let's say on the first turn you play a Mana dork the second turn you play 2 cost 3/1 and a one cost 2/1 Turn 3 you can play the card. The reason he said is that it would be too late to use it when you doesn't take that long to get to 6 other power

[@MrArbaras]

Riven Turnbull not being #1 is a travesty

[@awesauce1]

I may not know about magic, but i can say that Riven is leagues better than Lotus guardian. WAY better stats for a 7 drop, it wasnt overshadowed by better alternatives in the set it came out in (to my knowledge), and since it’s costs both blue and black mana, it giving 1 black mana is way better.

[@MrArbaras]

@@awesauce1 You're right. You don't know about magic. stats don't mean a thing if it can make that swing. No evasion means it gets chumped for days. At least Lotus Guardian has flying

[@davidlundquist1979]

@@awesauce1 That is a... unique take. 5/7 with no evasion being better than a 4/4 flyer? Nope. Tapping for a black mana being better than tapping for any color? Also nope. There was an alternate draft format featured in InQuest about twenty years ago where everyone drafts the worst deck they possibly can, then everyone takes a turn playing every deck except the one they personally drafted. At the end, whoever drafted the deck with the worst record is the winner. Riven Turnbull would be fantastic for that format.

[@incredibleflameboy]

I tried very hard to make oasis ritualist work recently in pioneer. I ended up using cryptolith rite instead. Everything is a mana dork with that.

[@scourgeneo7834]

Tbf, Oasis Ritualist is nuts with Experiment Kraj and a horseshoe crab

[@andrewpeli9019]

There are definitely some more dorks worse than ember cat. Cat being in red and only a 2 drop means there are definitely homes for it

[@jasonpiedra9633]

Circle of elders' condition seems easy to achieve with tokens

[@noahhager1187]

I'm surprised that accomplished alchemist isn't on this list

[@melvinshine9841]

Would I be correct in assuming colorless mana can be substituted for any given color or am I completely off base?

[@Diamondstar1ify]

Colorless is, in itself, a colour. Some cards, like a lot of Eldrazi, need specifically colorless mana to be cast. It can be used to pay generic mana costs (the number which appears in the circle next to the coloured mana required for a spell). It cannot be used to pay costs other than that of the specific colorless pip (with the diamond shape). Hope this helps!

[@marcoottina654]

yeah you are off Colorless can be used for "generic" mana or Eldrazi stuffs mana for any given color is spelled as "mana of any [one] color"

[@yoster39]

Kozilek channeler is an eldrazi, you're supposed to play eldrazi decks with stuff that lowers the cost of eldrazi

[@DarthMetool]

O_O I want Witch Engine for my Rakdos Group Hug deck.

[@cerebralisk]

i have to be honest i don't feel like most of these are in the spirit of 'what is a mana dork' like they are in fact mostly pretty bad but most of these are more jock than dork

[@MrAskmannen]

Oasis ritualist would be kinda cool if it had haste and cost RRGG

[@davidlundquist1979]

While Lotus Guardian is far from great, Princess Lucrezia and Riven Turnbull, both from Legends, are easily worse. At least the Guardian is a flyer that any color can use. Also, your pronunciation of Llanowar Elves is... interesting. I never would have imagined that the W is supposed to be silent.

[@jonbrewer297]

I swear, Fyndhorn Elder should be the standard of "tap for two mana" dorks. Hell, Palladium Myr exists for a colorless version. You forgot Plague Myr because why am I attacking with a mana dork? Why am I using mana dorks in an infect deck? I don't know!

[@dudono1744]

Top 10 worst mana rocks next ?

[@annayosh]

Riven Turnbull, 5/7 for 5BU. Taps to add B.

[@AT-il2ej]

So the inherent problem with these lists is they don't represent the biggest difference between yugioh and magic. Limited. Cards clearly designed for limited shouldn't be punished for being designed for that reason.

[@vincentmaisonneuve6335]

suprised theyre was no ''princess Lucresia'' in theyre but the guardian is indeed very bad in itself

[@miketate3445]

Wait wait wait... where on earth is that pronunciation of "Llanowar" coming from?

[@Andulvar]

You're thinking of Standard and Modern when you made this list. The reason why a lot of these creatures were 2/4 and 2/3 was for drafting. Something you don't talk a lot of if ever.

[@themantyf1116]

I feel Witch Engine is too high on the list. Yes, it has a HUGE downside, but compared to Elders it gives more mana, COLORED mana (which is a big upside), not locked under any condition and not in a color that has ramp as one of it's main strengths. In its decks, is more likly than Elders to be used to push for games, which makes the downside irrelevant. Not great, but more 3rd (or 4th) place than second.

[@astuteanansi4935]

At least some of them can see play in a Raggadragga EDH deck

[@MatthewSchooley94]

I'm not sure if this channel really puts UB stuff into account (doesn't seem like it, which is fair enough), but I'd say Susan from the Doctor Who set is pretty bad. Two mana for a 1/1 with an extra ability that only works if you're playing Planechase is...not great.

[@baconsir1159]

Honored Hierarch would be good in commander if it just naturally had vigilance, imo

[@MageSkeleton]

Kozolik's Channeler is a combo piece with Necrotic Ooze, though you need Ooze to have haste. All artifact creatures (and colorless creatures) including Lotus Guardian are useful and vital for mono white legacy decks in really weird ways. And it's more that Lotus Guardian is "another" mana dork than what it is and what it costs to cast.

[@BR4IN1N4J4R]

Is it weird I may try and slot Lotus Guardian into my Dragon Tribal EDH deck as a thematic pick? It's a dragon that taps for mana and I have cost reducers to make him cost 2 in "Magical Christmas Land." Sure, he's underwhelming, but dude's probably like 35¢ in primo condition

[@Hanmacx]

Embercat was good in a Chandra Tribal deck

[@CrimsonFox36]

imagine being outclassed by a common printed in Alpha.

[@awesauce1]

You know a card is bad when the first thing the narrator says is, “So, where to start?”.

[@magicianofd8434]

It's got to be a sorry state of things when Reya's being brought up as a better costed card 😂

[@robnolleemteegee9536]

playing artifacts and enchantments in your elemental decks is 100% untrue

[@MeatballSubFromDominos]

Ritualist enables a shit ton of janky pauper infinites

[@camfunme]

Most of these aren't mana dorks: "Mana dork is commonplace MTG slang for a creature with a low converted mana cost that produces mana to help a deck cast its spells more efficiently."

[@lloydlineske2642]

1 is definitely the worst, but a mention should have been Ley Druid. 1/1 for 3 that untaps a land. Ouch. So bad.

[@davidlundquist1979]

If it untaps Nykthos, Cabal Coffers, or Gaea's Cradle? Probably not so bad. It's not the single best card for the job, but it can do some fun things.

[@lloydlineske2642]

@@davidlundquist1979 Still terrible. Almost all cards have a use here and there. Guardian kills in 5 swings with evasion for instance.

[@DAsrada]

Channeler also isn't terrible in Zhulodok.

[@ThatMakesSense94]

26 seconds in and I will complain because! Honored hierarch is great in slthings like korvold.... but continue..... please

[@lukeleslie9648]

Top ten most unreliable combos?

[@marcoottina654]

Firja's Rejuvenation + Bishop of Wings + Midnight Guard + Maskwood Nexus + a small token + ETB / die effect to gain off of this stuff (BoW already nets you life)

[@marsgreekgod]

Top ten sideboard?

[@zarfax1992]

Hé forgot Riven turnbul from legends

[@randallross420]

If it costs more than 1, it's bad

[@zackkelley2940]

If you want a 7 drop that makes mana... play Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient.^^ Attack with creatures. Add mana equal to total power of those creatures and in any combination.

[@ich3730]

Klauth is unplayable in every competitive format hes allowed in tho :D

[@zackkelley2940]

I was thinking commander where he's pretty solid, but he is probably too slow for anything else. I suppose Ornithopter of Paradise or Alloy Myr would be better comparisons. Not great, but they do the same thing as Lotus Guardian for a fraction of the cmc.