The 44 Best Colorless and Artifact Ramp Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on July 22, 2023

Black Lotus (Ultra Rare Cards) | Illustration by Steven Belledin

Mana ramp is an important aspect of most Magic decks. You need enough mana to play the cards in your hand or activate the abilities you have on the field if you want to win the game, and ramp will help you get there more quickly.

There are some great ramp spells that are unfortunately restricted to certain color identities. For example, green is known for having good ramp cards. But there’s a good number of colorless mana ramp that can be slotted into decks of any color. These cards are often staples in formats like Commander where color identity restricts what cards can be played in a deck.

While there’s plenty of colorless ramp to choose from, it’s important to know which works best for your deck. Let’s take a look at the best options out there!

What Is Colorless and Artifact Ramp in MTG?

Dreamstone Hedron | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

Colorless and artifact ramp refers to cards in Magic that don’t belong to a color identity and can help you accelerate your mana production. You can typically only play one land per turn. Ramp cards either allow you to produce more mana or gain access to extra lands. Some of these cards are colorless lands that tap for more than one mana, while others are artifacts that can produce mana.

#44. Eldrazi Temple

Eldrazi Temple is a great source of ramp in an Eldrazi deck. It’s too narrow to get a higher spot on this list, but it’s an auto-include for any Eldrazi tribal build.

#43. Temple of the False God

Temple of the False God can be a great land for later in the game in Commander. It can help pay for increasing commander tax or just allow you to play a bomb a turn early.

Though it’s legal in other eternal formats, the Temple is a bit too slow to be competitive. It can also be a slight risk in Commander since it does nothing if drawn in the early game.

#42. Lotus Blossom

Lotus Blossom has the ability to create a lot of extra mana. But it won’t produce any mana right away. This makes it a much better early-game draw than later in the game.

#41. Walking Atlas

Walking Atlas is a nice early-game play to help with ramp. It drops multiple lands on your turn, helping you get more resources than your opponent(s).

It’s also nice that its ability can be activated at instant speed, so you can use Walking Atlas as a chump blocker and then use its ability before it dies.

#40. Dreamstone Hedron

Mana rocks like Dreamstone Hedron that tap for three or more mana open you up to a variety of infinite combos. That said, the Hedron is one of the more expensive options to set up this type of combo.

#39. Commander’s Sphere

What makes Commander's Sphere a popular option is that it’s a mana rock that can have extra value once you no longer need it. This card can be sacrificed to help you find answers if you’re at a point in the game where you have more than enough mana but not enough cards.

#38. Sword of the Animist

It’s common to see Sword of the Animist in Commander decks that don’t include green. It’s a great way to find multiple basic lands, both thinning out your deck and helping you get access to all of your colors.

It’s also a consistent way to shuffle your deck, which pairs well with cards like Sensei's Divining Top and Sylvan Library.

#37. Coalition Relic

Coalition Relic works well in 5-color decks as a source of both ramp and mana fixing. It’s especially effective in decks that make use of the proliferate mechanic because it can end up providing three or more mana in a single turn.

#36. Wayfarer’s Bauble

A lot of Commander players enjoy running Wayfarer's Bauble for a few reasons: it’s ramp for any color, it triggers sacrifice abilities, and it’s cheap to play. This can is a good way to build up your mana base in a format that moves as slowly as casual Commander.

#35. Chromatic Lantern

Chromatic Lantern is average in terms of ramp, but it’s hard to beat in terms of mana fixing. It’s especially good if you run a lot of utility lands that tap for colorless or no mana.

#34. Thought Vessel

Thought Vessel may only be a 1-mana boost, but its static ability can be very helpful. It can also be used right away, so it only sets you back one mana on the turn you play it.

#33. Palladium Myr

Palladium Myr helps you get to your higher-cost spells more quickly. It works really well in decks running colorless bombs like Eldrazi creatures, Karn Liberated, or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon.

#32. Lotus Bloom

Lotus Bloom is basically like knowing you’ll be playing a Black Lotus in three turns. While it isn’t as immediately explosive, it will give you a great turn in the future with no immediate cost.

#31. Basalt Monolith

There are plenty of ways to make Basalt Monolith into an infinite mana-producing combo. What sets it apart from other mana rocks is its ability to infinitely untap itself. This can create a combo with Mesmeric Orb, allowing you to mill your entire deck and win with Thassa's Oracle or Laboratory Maniac.

#30. Solemn Simulacrum

Solemn Simulacrum is a popular form of ramp in Commander. It can easily slot into any deck thanks to being colorless, and it replaces itself when it dies which adds extra value.

It’s especially good in aristocrat decks or decks that seek to sacrifice artifacts like Daretti, Scrap Savant.

#29. Gilded Lotus

Gilded Lotus used to be a Commander staple, especially for decks with higher-cost commanders. It’s still a great budget option even if it’s been largely replaced by newer forms of ramp.

#28. Doubling Cube

Though Doubling Cube won’t do much for your early game, it becomes an effective way to produce extra mana later in the game. It can also be used in several combos that seek to untap it and produce infinite mana.

#27. Replicating Ring

Replicating Ring on its own might take a bit too long to actually go off, so it needs to fit into the right deck. You’ll be working with lots of mana if you can put more counters on it using an outside source.

#26. Relic of Legends

Relic of Legends may seem like an underwhelming bit of mana fixing at first glance, but its second ability can actually produce a lot of mana for you in the right decks. You can tap for a ton of mana using this card if you have a legends-matter deck or are running Leyline of Singularity.

You also don’t have to worry about summoning sickness since the tap ability is on Relic of Legends, not the creature itself.

#25. Gauntlet of Power

Gauntlet of Power can be a powerful bit of ramp for a mono-colored deck. It’s also a colorless mana doubler, which is somewhat rare. This makes it very helpful in colors like blue that can struggle with ramping on their own.

#24. Extraplanar Lens

Similar to Gauntlet of Power, Extraplanar Lens is a great tool for any color. It edges the Gauntlet out just because it costs a bit less.

#23. Mox Amber

Mox Amber is a great resource for Commander since it can tap for any color you need if your commander is on the board.

#22. Lotus Petal

Lotus Petal is basically just a Treasure, but as an actual card. It’s one of the fastest forms of ramp out there since it doesn’t cost any mana.

#21. Mind Stone

Mind Stone has great value for its cost. It only sets you back one mana the turn you play it, and it has good utility for later on. It’s an excellent Limited pick for decks running only one or two colors since it’s both ramp and possible card draw for any color deck.

#20. The Guild Signets

• Azorius Signet
• Boros Signet
• Dimir Signet
• Golgari Signet
• Gruul Signet
• Izzet Signet
• Orzhov Signet
• Rakdos Signet
• Selesnya Signet
• Simic Signet

The 2-color Signets are great mana rocks for any 2-color deck. They give you access to both of your colors while also providing more mana than you have to pump into them.

There’s one Signet for every color pair, each named after the Ravnica guild with the corresponding colors.

#19. Metalworker

Not all decks make good use of Metalworker, but it can be very powerful in artifact-heavy decks. It can also easily be used in infinite combos with the help of cards like Umbral Mantle and Staff of Domination.

#18. Everflowing Chalice

Everflowing Chalice is a versatile form of ramp. It can be cast early game for a small amount of ramp if needed, or it can be played late game as a big mana source. It can also be played for zero if you really just need an artifact for something like Daretti, Scrap Savant or Master Transmuter.

#17. Ancient Tomb

Ancient Tomb is one of the few lands that can come in and tap for two mana immediately. Two damage to yourself isn’t a huge price to pay, especially in Commander when you have so much life to play around with.

This land can really help accelerate your game early on, and you can choose not to tap it later on if you’re getting low on life.

#16. Mox Opal

Mox Opal may not produce mana early in the game, but it isn’t too hard to get two other artifacts on the field in the right deck. It also doesn’t say “other” artifacts, so Mox Opal counts toward its own metalcraft ability.

#15. The 2-Color Talismans

• Talisman of Conviction
• Talisman of Creativity
• Talisman of Curiosity
• Talisman of Dominance
• Talisman of Hierarchy
• Talisman of Impulse
• Talisman of Indulgence
• Talisman of Progress
• Talisman of Resilience
• Talisman of Unity

The 2-color Talismans are basically pain lands in mana rock form. They’re great for fixing, but can also tap for colorless if you already have all your colors.

#14. Arcane Signet

Arcane Signet is a solid addition to any multicolored Commander deck. It’s also cheap, which can make it a good way to fix your mana early in the game.

#13. Thran Dynamo

Like other mana rocks that tap for three, Thran Dynamo can be used as part of a few infinite mana combos, making it a potential win condition. Even outside of that context it’s still a solid source of ramp, especially since it can immediately tap for nearly as much as it costs.

#12. Lion’s Eye Diamond

Players often wonder how exactly Lion's Eye Diamond can be useful if you’re forced to discard your hand. It can be helpful in activating abilities on the board, but it can also be used to cast spells if you sequence your turn correctly.

You can activate Lion's Eye Diamond in response to a tutor card. This gives you the three mana and has you discard your hand before you add the card you tutored to your hand. You can then use the mana generated from this to cast the tutored spell.

#11. Urza’s Lands

• Urza's Factory
• Urza's Fun House
• Urza's Mine
• Urza's Power Plant
• Urza's Saga
• Urza's Tower
• Urza's Workshop

Most Urza lands are a pretty good source of ramp. There are the Tron lands: Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant, and Urza's Tower. These synergize well with Urza's Workshop in artifact decks. There’s also Urza's Saga, which can be used to fetch cheap mana rocks like Sol Ring.

#10. Sol Ring

The reason Sol Ring is so powerful is that it produces more mana than it costs. This means it’s an immediate form of ramp, as well as a consistent source of extra mana on future turns.

There’s a reason why it’s in basically every Commander deck.

#9. Jeweled Lotus

Jeweled Lotus is basically a Black Lotus you can only use to play your commander. It can be very powerful, especially in decks that are looking to combo off in one of the first few turns.

This is a must-have for many cEDH decks.

#8. Mox Diamond

Mox Diamond is a lot like playing an extra land, which can be a good way to speed up your game. It can also pay off triggered abilities that care about casting artifacts, discarding cards, or lands entering the graveyard.

#7. Grim Monolith

Even though Grim Monolith doesn’t untap, it can still be a good source of ramp. It’s a positive mana rock so it can give you an extra bit of mana if you just need one more immediately, or you can wait and use it to cast a bomb on a future turn.

There are also ways around paying the full four mana to untap it, making Grim Monolith a solid option for colorless ramp.

#6. Chrome Mox

Chrome Mox is similar to Mox Diamond, with a few benefits. There’s a better chance you’ll have what you need to play Chrome Mox in your hand because you’ll likely have more spells than lands in your deck.

You can also play Chrome Mox without imprinting if you just need an artifact on the board for whatever reason, whereas you can’t play Mox Diamond without having a land.

#5. Mishra’s Workshop

Mishra's Workshop is an incredibly powerful source of ramp for any deck running artifacts. Although it’s banned in Legacy, Commander, and Vintage decks can make great use of the card.

Unfortunately it’s on the Reserved List, so getting a copy might be difficult.

#4. Mana Vault

Mana Vault nets you two mana when you cast it, which can lead to some pretty explosive turns. There are also plenty of cards that reduce the cost of artifacts by one, which can allow you to play this for free and produce three mana.

You’ll often be far enough ahead with Mana Vault that you won’t worry about the damage it does to you.

#3. Mana Crypt

Mana Crypt is basically a free Sol Ring, and we know how good that card is. It also works very well in a coin flip deck since you get to flip a coin every turn.

#2. The Original Moxen

• Mox Pearl
• Mox Sapphire
• Mox Jet
• Mox Ruby
• Mox Emerald

There are five original Moxen: Mox Pearl, Mox Sapphire, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, and Mox Emerald. They each cost zero and tap for one of the five colors.

These are basically an extra land drop on a free-to-cast artifact, making them very powerful forms of ramp.

#1. Black Lotus

Black Lotus provides you with a 3-mana boost, which can easily swing a game in your favor. While the card is incredibly powerful, it can only be played in one format and is insanely expensive money-wise.

This may be the best form of colorless ramp, but few players will ever actually get to use it.

Best Colorless and Artifact Ramp Payoffs

The best payoff for colorless ramp is a massive creature with powerful effects. Eldrazi titans like Emrakul, the Promised End and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger are popular payoffs for colorless ramp.

Blightsteel Colossus is another great finisher card since it can easily take out players with a single attack.

Apart from creatures, colorless planeswalkers like Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and Karn Liberated are also great payoffs.

Wrap Up

Gauntlet of Power | Illustration by Greg Hildebrandt

Colorless and artifact ramp are great for a variety of decks since they aren’t restricted by color identity and have less restrictive mana costs. These cards can be essential for accelerating your game and keeping pace with your opponents.

What colorless and/or artifact ramp card is your favorite? What decks do you like colorless ramp in? Let me know in the comments below or over on Draftsim’s Twitter.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time!