Gemstone Array
As with my previous two articles on Myriad Landscape and Wastes I like to pick unsung cards and make a case as to why I think they should be worthy of your consideration.
Why Gemstone Array? I hope you're asking,
The answer to this is that it is the only card you can play in EDH/Commander that can repeatedly change one type of mana into another.
Sure there's a price to pay. You're paying 2 for 1 but it can prove to be invaluable.
Let's take an example.
You've got a way to generate infinite mana, let's use a colourless example:
To clarify Rings of Brighthearth can copy the untap ability of Basalt Monlith. This means you get six mana (two lots of three) from the Monolith and only pay five mana (three and two) to untap it. This gives you a net result of +1 mana. Repeat for infinite mana.
Let's say you've played Scourge of Kher ridges
You can wipe the board with it's two abilities, but each activation requires Red mana.
Now in normal situations you have options to change generic mana (any colour or colourless) into the colour of your choice. However, they are usually tap to use.
So you could use these to get one or two activations maybe more if you've got spare Red mana producers untapped.
If you're not playing Green then Gemstone Array will let you create as much Red mana as you wish.
The key is that the Array never taps. Provided you have the mana you can add as many counters as you like as often as you like to it and remove as many counters as you like as often as you like to produce as much mana as counters you've removed in the colour of your choice.
Even in Green, which has alternative options, it can be useful.
While both the Orochi Leafcaller and the Nomadic Elf let you change mana into a different colour neither will store mana for you.
If you check out the Maze of Ith + Argothian Elder combo from last week's article. The mana you produce is produced during the combat phase.
Mana produced in this way is lost at the end of the phase and so won't be available for you in your second main phase or even later turns. One way to keep this mana is to use the Gemstone Array.
UPDATE -
As of 18 January 2016 Rule 4 has been redacted. You can find the ruling here.
Rule 4 stated that mana generated that was not part of your commander's colour identity became colourless in the mana pool.
It used to be that City of Brass could only produce the same mana as Command Tower. That is no longer the case.
That makes Gemstone Array even more useful than it was when I wrote this article.
Why Gemstone Array? I hope you're asking,
The answer to this is that it is the only card you can play in EDH/Commander that can repeatedly change one type of mana into another.
Sure there's a price to pay. You're paying 2 for 1 but it can prove to be invaluable.
Let's take an example.
You've got a way to generate infinite mana, let's use a colourless example:
To clarify Rings of Brighthearth can copy the untap ability of Basalt Monlith. This means you get six mana (two lots of three) from the Monolith and only pay five mana (three and two) to untap it. This gives you a net result of +1 mana. Repeat for infinite mana.
Let's say you've played Scourge of Kher ridges
Now in normal situations you have options to change generic mana (any colour or colourless) into the colour of your choice. However, they are usually tap to use.
So you could use these to get one or two activations maybe more if you've got spare Red mana producers untapped.
If you're not playing Green then Gemstone Array will let you create as much Red mana as you wish.
The key is that the Array never taps. Provided you have the mana you can add as many counters as you like as often as you like to it and remove as many counters as you like as often as you like to produce as much mana as counters you've removed in the colour of your choice.
Even in Green, which has alternative options, it can be useful.
While both the Orochi Leafcaller and the Nomadic Elf let you change mana into a different colour neither will store mana for you.
If you check out the Maze of Ith + Argothian Elder combo from last week's article. The mana you produce is produced during the combat phase.
Mana produced in this way is lost at the end of the phase and so won't be available for you in your second main phase or even later turns. One way to keep this mana is to use the Gemstone Array.
UPDATE -
As of 18 January 2016 Rule 4 has been redacted. You can find the ruling here.
Rule 4 stated that mana generated that was not part of your commander's colour identity became colourless in the mana pool.
It used to be that City of Brass could only produce the same mana as Command Tower. That is no longer the case.
That makes Gemstone Array even more useful than it was when I wrote this article.
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