The term ramp is often credited to the card Rampant GrowthRampant Growth, a working class spell that takes a basic land from the library and puts it into play tapped. After that land untaps, the player can make more mana. That's great. And yet, there is a lot more to ramp than putting more lands into the battlefield.

A game effect is ramp if both of these statements are true:

1. The effect increases the amount of mana a player can spend in a turn.
2. The net value of the increase is greater than playing on curve.

Playing on curve means spending mana at a rate equivalent to playing one land per turn, and using that mana every turn cycle. Making land drops is the most reliable way to play on curve. Playing ahead of curve is faster, and ramp makes it possible.

The game of Magic is a race, and the player setting the pace often wins. Ramp accelerates the pace of the game, presenting greater threats on earlier turns. Ringing Victory ChimesVictory Chimes can be a path to victory.

Many aggressive decks ramp to overwhelm opponents' defenses. Meanwhile, including ramp in a deck can help to keep up with other fast strategies. Decks with high mana value commanders may want to ramp on early turns.

On the other hand, packing the 99 with high-cost effects is easier with a commander that ramps. Sometimes ramp is the whole point; pushing the limits of mana production might be its own reward.

Decks work better when ramp happens on the right turn. Mana values in the command zone influence which turns a deck wants ramp.

Commanders with higher mana values usually want to ramp early. Meanwhile, many low mana value commanders can capitalize on ramp options with higher casting costs. A critical deckbuilding decision is whether to include ramp that costs the same amount of mana as a commander.

If a card in the 99 and a commander occupy the same spot in the deck's mana curve, then they are competing for play on the same turn. This is problematic for ramp spells, unless the card provides additional utility.

Many ramp options have extra upsides worth overlapping with the commander in a deck's mana curve. Patchwork BannerPatchwork Banner makes any color of mana, and pumps creatures of a chosen type. While it's designed to support typal decks, it could support a commander that cares about power or toughness.

Despite both cards costing three mana, Sisay, Weatherlight CaptainSisay, Weatherlight Captain would love a Patchwork Banner.

Sisay needs the mana to pay for her activated ability, and the +1 to power increases the value of creatures she can find. Clearly, a commander's abilities influence the selection of ramp that best supports a deck. Take Rankle, Master of PranksRankle, Master of Pranks for another example:

As a commander, Rankle is looking to attack early and often. Playing on curve, most four-drop creatures don't attack until turn five. With haste, Rankle can attack on turn four. With early ramp, Rankle can attack even sooner.

Ramping for two mana, like Charcoal DiamondCharcoal Diamond, enables this prankster to attack on turn three. In contrast, Sword of the AnimistSword of the Animist provides more mana acceleration, but conflicts with sequencing Rankle to attack early.

The EDHREC Guide to Mulligans discusses the importance of sequencing a starting hand. Good sequencing starts during deckbuilding, and this is especially true for choosing ramp. While timing ramp matters, so does the type of ramp.

The next chapter of this guide explores different ramp methods in more detail.

Lands are the foundational mana source. Other card types produce mana, but lands are the most accessible. Ramp with lands is more resilient than other forms of mana acceleration because land removal is less efficient, and mass land denial is discouraged in lower Brackets.

There are two main ways to ramp with lands. One is to put more lands in play, and the other is to play lands that produce additional mana.

Dozens of green instants and sorceries do some variation of a Rampant GrowthRampant Growth. These spells are backed by an army of creatures that also fetch a land. Farhaven ElfFarhaven Elf is Rampant Growth on a creature. Plenty of other creatures do it with a twist, like Yavimaya DryadYavimaya Dryad.

If a deck doesn't have green, then consider Wayfarer's BaubleWayfarer's Bauble or Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum.

White can search for lands and put them in play, even though green does it best. Kor CartographerKor Cartographer costs more mana than its green equivalents. White effects that search for lands usually have restrictions based on the number of lands an opponent controls. Options like Archaeomancer's MapArchaeomancer's Map technically ramp their controller, but only if an opponent is further ahead.

Many cards ramp by allowing players to play additional lands, or put lands from hand into play. There's an important rules distinction here. Playing a land is a special action on a player's own turn, and opponents can't respond to it.

Azusa, Lost but SeekingAzusa, Lost but Seeking is a classic ramp commander that allows the player to play more lands. Abilities like Walking AtlasWalking Atlas or Terrain GeneratorTerrain Generator can be activated on any player's turn, and opponents may respond because these abilities use the stack.

Instead of playing more lands, another approach to land ramp is playing lands that make more mana. Ancient TombAncient Tomb and Temple of the False GodTemple of the False God are controversial ramp pieces for different reasons. The former is a Game Changer, and using it is a ShockShock to the face. The latter doesn't make any mana unless the player controls four other lands.

Despite the downsides, these are both great cards in the right deck.

Some lands ramp as a reward for having other objects in play. Nykthos, Shrine to NyxNykthos, Shrine to Nyx makes mana based on devotion to a color. Three Tree CityThree Tree City does the same thing based on creature types.

In Magic slang, creatures that produce mana are called "mana dorks." There's some debate over the exact criteria to be a mana dork, but this guide includes any creature with a mana ability. Mana dorks are outstanding role players: a mana source with power and toughness is ramp, offense, and defense in one package.

Of the hundreds of mana dorks, about two-thirds are green. Green or not, there are a two main downsides for including mana dorks in a deck.

Creatures have summoning sickness the turn they enter play, unless they have haste. This means most mana dorks don't increase the deck's mana production on the turn they enter. The creature must survive at least one round of turns before the ramp is effective.

Surviving long enough to be impactful can be a problem. The Magic idiom "Bolt the bird" refers to zapping Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise with a Lightning BoltLightning Bolt.

This idiom exists because a creature that ramps is accelerating the game for one player. It's a tempo advantage, and leads to additional advantages when combined with other game effects.

Mana dorks are a mainstay of Elf decks. Many Elves tap for a single mana, like Elvish MysticElvish Mystic. Others tap for multiple mana like Priest of TitaniaPriest of Titania. Elf decks ramp to pay for OverrunOverrun effects like Ezuri, Renegade LeaderEzuri, Renegade Leader.

Elves don't have a monopoly on creature ramp. Other popular creature types with mana dorks include Humans and Elementals.

Some of the most powerful commanders are mana dorks. Giada, Font of HopeGiada, Font of Hope, Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier and Esika, God of the TreeEsika, God of the Tree are all mana-producing legends with very different strategies.

Artifact ramp is the easiest method of mana acceleration for all colors. Any artifact that taps to produce mana is called a mana rock. Most mana rocks are colorless, and many of them easily fix a deck's color production. Mana rocks are available at every mana value, so sequencing a game plan with mana rocks is easy.

Let's start with ManalithManalith as a base line. It costs three mana to cast, and it makes one mana of any color. No frills; it gets the job done. For players who expect more from their mana base, there are fancier options up and down the mana curve.

In Commander, Manalith has been pushed to the brink of extinction by Arcane SignetArcane Signet. The cycle of Talismans, such as Talisman of IndulgenceTalisman of Indulgence, are also popular for their efficiency.

Mana rocks can do double duty as utility spells. Heraldic BannerHeraldic Banner fixes one color, and pumps creatures of that color. Color-specific options provide even more powerful side effects, such as Cursed MirrorCursed Mirror entering as a temporary, hasty copy of another creature.

Some mana rocks are mana positive, meaning they produce more mana than their casting cost. Cards like Sol RingSol Ring are fast mana, and tend to be Game Changers, like Mox DiamondMox Diamond and Chrome MoxChrome Mox.

Gold and Treasure are token mana rocks. Wizards of the Coast prints new cards that make Treasures in nearly every set. A deck can effectively ramp using Treasures alone.

All colors create Treasure tokens, but red and black do it best with cards like Guild ArtisanGuild Artisan and Black Market ConnectionsBlack Market Connections. Though one of the best Treasure makers in the game is the white enchantment Smothering TitheSmothering Tithe.

Mana rocks don't suffer from summoning sickness the way mana dorks do, but artifacts are still vulnerable to removal. Don't be sad if someone overloads VandalblastVandalblast on a board full of mana rocks. It's just good business.

Although these next examples don't tap like a typical mana rock, they produce tons of mana. Ashnod's AltarAshnod's Altar and Phyrexian AltarPhyrexian Altar enable Aristocrats, Reanimator, and Combo strategies.

There's a series of Auras that increase the mana produced by a land. Wild GrowthWild Growth is the starting point, increasing one land's mana production by . For a two-mana investment, Fertile GroundFertile Ground adds one mana of any color.

These Auras cumulatively increase mana production when the land is tapped, meaning their bonuses stack with the land's mana ability.

Cards like Gift of ParadiseGift of Paradise ramp by granting a land another mana ability that produces more mana. This is not a cumulative bonus like Wild Growth and friends, but those other effects still stack on the mana ability from Gift of Paradise.

A few Auras grant a mana ability to a creature, like Multani's HarmonyMultani's Harmony. Making a mana dork this way is synergistic with Enchantress decks, or decks that care about modified creatures.

There are a couple oddball enchantments that meet the definition of ramp.

Braid of FireBraid of Fire is a relic of outdated Magic rules and design. It was first printed in the era of mana burn, when spontaneous mana production could have resulted in a spontaneous game loss. Surplus mana no longer causes life loss, and it's awesome with the right mana sinks.

Carpet of FlowersCarpet of Flowers is very conditional, requiring opponents to have Islands. In the right meta (Brackets 4 & 5) it frequently competes with fast mana. Even in lower Brackets, Carpet of Flowers is often mana positive.

All the ramp examples in previous sections are permanents that produce mana. The following mana accelerants are either not permanents, or not mana producers. However, every one of these effects meets the criteria for ramp. Here's the criteria again for reference.

A game effect is ramp if both of these statements are true:

1. The effect increases the amount of mana a player can spend in a turn.
2. The net value of the increase is greater than playing on curve.

Cost Reducers

Cost reducers apply a continuous discount from the casting cost of other spells. For example, Semblance AnvilSemblance Anvil subtracts from the cost of an imprinted nonland card type.

Cost reducers are potentially game-breaking. They're cumulative with other cost reducers, and the discounts can apply to multiple costs in a turn cycle.

It's also important to note that cost reduction counts toward the value of X in an cost.

Mana Multipliers

A select few cards apply order of operations to mana production. Cards like Mana ReflectionMana Reflection are replacement effects that multiply the amount of mana produced by other sources.

Untappers

Starting small, a single untap effect can provide a big amount of ramp. Voltaic KeyVoltaic Key untaps a single artifact. If that artifact makes two or more mana, then the net result is ramp. Arbor ElfArbor Elf is not technically a mana dork by itself, because it needs a Forest to untap. After clearing that low bar, add Wild GrowthWild Growth and friends for a bigger boost.

A higher form of untapper ramps by untapping multiple mana-producing permanents. Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse is a Game Changer for good reason. Unwinding ClockUnwinding Clock only untaps artifacts, but it's also colorless, so it's allowed in all decks. These effects can create an unsurmountable advantage, giving one player disproportionately more game actions than their opponents.

Rituals

Rituals are not permanent, repeatable mana sources, but mana acceleration doesn't need to be permanent to win games. Rituals still ramp out threats ahead of curve and dump mana into closers like FireballFireball.

Chaining multiple rituals together is a proven approach to increasing storm count, before casting a finisher like GrapeshotGrapeshot or Brain FreezeBrain Freeze. The original ritual was black's boon, Dark RitualDark Ritual. However, this effect is now primarily red, with Jeska's WillJeska's Will setting the gold standard.

Green cards made a dominant showing in previous chapters of this guide. Of the tens of thousands of Ramp decks on EDHREC, about 85% include green.

Regardless of color identity, most deck archetypes consist of a common set of enablers and payoffs. Ramp decks rely on mana production as the enabler and mana-intensive threats for the payoffs. The payoffs tend to be huge creatures or spells.

The payoffs in Ramp decks tend to be so expensive that they wouldn't be viable in a deck that only plays on curve. The ramp enables the payoffs to be timely and effective.

A Ramp deck can focus on one type of ramp, or diversify into multiple ramp sources. Choosing the right enablers depends on the characteristics of the intended payoff. A spell like Crackle with PowerCrackle with Power doesn't care where the mana for came from, only that it's enough to obliterate opponents' life totals.

On the other hand, Omnath, Locus of ManaOmnath, Locus of Mana is a Voltron commander that needs its ramp to make .

Tron is a sub-archetype of Ramp decks that use the Urza's lands for mana acceleration. This started long before the inception of Commander with the original Urza's lands, Urza's MineUrza's Mine, Urza's Power PlantUrza's Power Plant, and Urza's TowerUrza's Tower.

Traditionally, Tron decks ran four copies of each of these. That's not an option in a singleton format, limiting the viability of Tron in Commander. Additional Urza's lands, printed in recent sets, as well as a high density of land tutors, make Tron consistent enough for Commander play.

As ramp enablers, Urza's lands can only support generic or colorless payoffs. Favorites include spells, Eldrazi and Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus

No matter how you choose to ramp in your deck, the goal is the same: Make mana faster than your opponents, and spend it to win before they stop you.