Hello and happiest of days to each of you! I hope your days are going super mega well! I grew up playing casual and Five Color the format. That needs colorless sources of mana that make colors to cast things in your hand that your hand cannot cast. The best are any color mana rocks nicknamed "Manaliths" after the actual card Manalith. That way you can cast your Cultivate for lands or Fact or Fiction to draw or Flametongue Kavu to kill.

But in Commander many today run what they call "Signets" which are just in their colors, like Arcane Signet or Dimir Signet. Why spend another turn for a color that's not in their color identity they don't need and cannot cast?

But yet, you'll still see me running Manaliths in many of my brews over Signets. Why? Enter this article!

The Case for the Manalith

Case #1: More than a Two-Color Brew

The first place that Manaliths tend to be better is outside of just two colors like Orzhov Signet. If your deck or Commander is more colors, then this works out well. The only Signet that works for all of them is Arcane Signet and then just for Commander only. The Sisay above costs three for a base White but then all five colors searches and drops cheap legendary thang out. She'll need Manaliths as well the five-drop Grixis 2/4 dork that's a Howling Mine on legs and then pings everyone else, like Underworld Dreams when they draw. You'll need to ensure he gets cast on time and then his spells too.

Case #2: For When Your Commander is Five Mana

The next are five-cost Commanders. Why run a two-color Signet when they won't get that down any faster than a third-turn Manalith on the fourth turn a turn early? The Dragon above in Jund colors costs five, and then has a 4/4 body and then when he enters or swings you sac then draw and then toss a counter here too. Then the beloved Simic five-drop Merfolk Druid with 3/3 body and then landfall draws you a card and gains a life too. Why run Simic Signet for her instead of a Manalith since she'll still be a turn early? See below for some good Mana Rocks for her in Case #5 below!

Case #3: For Spells that Steal Stuff

Now if you are running a brew with the ability to grab your foes' stuff, Manaliths will let you activate them outside of your color identity or on the table. The Multiplayer Classic Bribery grabs their best dork for your battlefield but if it's got an activated ability like Shivan Dragon, you cannot do it if you aren't in red, unless you have Manaliths or Fellwar Stone too. Ditto stealing them things like Control Magic and such too. Add them in!

Case #4: To Prepare for Them Giving you Something

Some decks like to give away things that are bad or just for them to benefit. Now you can use their activated ability if it's colored, no matter your stuff. The red sorcery above gives you anything of theirs. Then the Jeskai legendary four-drop with 2/4 at the beginning of their upkeep draw and gain life equal to how many of their things other foes have and then they can give away one for three Jeskai mana. Use them!

Case #5: When the Manalith is Better Than the Signets

There are times when the Manalith is vs better than the two-mana option. Run those up and down the blocks. Don't shy away. A great example is the two-drop colorless tapping mana rock Thought Vessel to shut down discard EOT. It's great but there is a Manalith Version that can be run in your brews that actually taps for colors. Run it first usually, but you can run both. Then the three-drop rare above can make all of your lands tap for all colors of mana - great even in two-color brews for all of the good stuff.

The Case Against Manaliths

Now let's turn to the case against Manaliths.

The Case Against #1: When You've Got a Four-drop Commander

The first obvious time that even I tend to run two-drop Mana Rocks is when our Commander costs four. A second-turn Mana Rock drops them turn 3. That's worth it. Now that's only true in Commander, other formats can skip past that. The flying Mardu four-drop with 2/2 body and an attack trigger is a great thing you'll want to wait a turn on since when she swings you drop a free attacking dork of the Angel, Demon or Dragon persuasion. Yup! Then the four-cost Azorius 8/8 legendary Vee is next with crew 8. You can tap with a mana and then draw two, discard one and then make a Pilot token 1/1 with 3/1 power to power it. You'll want to drop that as fast as possible for tapping, drawing and then crewing it.

The Case Against #2: You Have to Wait a Turn

This is the obvious issue with Manaliths. Barring Fellwar Stone they cost three mana. I hear you. It's a big one too, for example, if you have drawn an Explosive Vegetation in your opening hand, now you cannot cast it on the third-turn with a Manalith like you could have a Signet. Correct. Plus, you cannot cast that Wrath of God a turn early and die or you'll take more damage. That's big I get it.

However, I feel that the speed of a Mana Rock on the second turn into a third-turn four-cost is worth the fact that you can cast whatever you draw with a Manalith. If you needed a second White mana for that Wrath outside of lands, then at least you can cast it. You are more likely to wait with them sure, but then you actually can cast whatever you have, from Beast Within to Counterspell.

Therefore, I tend to run Manaliths and Fellwar Stone in my brews against current trends, outside of Four-drop Commanders that I need to drop a turn early. All that you lose is a turn a speed, but the flexibility and capability to and cast anything is worth it. But what about you? Do you think my 5 advantages also outnumber the costs in multiplayer?