There’s a special kind of Commander pain where your hand is stacked, your dreams are big, and your board is… two lands and a sad little mana rock that entered tapped because you made bad choices earlier. We’ve all been there.
Ramp is supposed to prevent that. But ramp can also create its own problems. Too little ramp and you never get going. Too much ramp and you’re topdecking mana on turn nine while everyone else is drawing gas and doing crimes.
So how much ramp is “right” for your Commander deck?
The honest answer is: it depends on your curve and your plan. The useful answer is: there are solid starting points, and you can adjust them without reinventing math.
Ramp isn’t “more mana.” It’s faster mana.
Ramp is any card that helps you produce more mana than one land per turn. It’s not the same thing as fixing (making the right colors). A rock that taps for any color can do both. A mana dork usually does both. A land that enters tapped and makes two colors fixes, but doesn’t ramp.
Why that matters: a lot of decks don’t need “more mana,” they need the right mana at the right time. If your deck keeps stumbling on colors, you can add ramp forever and still feel behind.
Ramp is also not a substitute for lands. If your land count is too low, ramp won’t save you consistently. It’ll just give you more hands where you keep two lands and pray.
Start by thinking in “total mana sources”
If you want a clean mental model, think in total mana sources:
- lands
- repeatable ramp (rocks, dorks, enchantments that add mana)
- cheap land-ramp spells (especially the ones that put lands straight into play)
Some deckbuilding approaches start from “mana sources first” and treat cheap ramp as part of the manabase, not just another spell slot. One practical way to view it is that cheap ramp contributes some fraction of a land’s consistency, and outliers like Sol Ring are in their own category because they’re wildly above rate.
You don’t have to calculate anything to use this. Just remember the point: you’re trying to build a deck that reliably hits its early mana, not a deck that occasionally high-rolls into twelve mana.
The simplest starting point: 8–10 ramp spells
If you want a baseline that works for most “normal” Commander decks:
- start around 8–10 ramp cards, then tune based on what your deck is trying to do
That range shows up again and again because it’s the sweet spot for hitting a little acceleration without turning your deck into “ramp, ramp, ramp, oh cool i drew my commander on turn 11.”
But we can get more specific.
Use your commander’s mana value as a quick ramp guide
A very practical rule of thumb is to tie your ramp count to how expensive your commander is, because that often tells you how badly you want to accelerate:
- Commander costs 3 or less: about 8 ramp spells
- Commander costs 4–5: about 9 ramp spells
- Commander costs 6+: about 10 ramp spells
This is not a law. It’s just a good default because it matches how many decks want to curve into their commander.
If your commander is 6 mana and your whole deck is built around them sticking, you probably don’t want to “naturally” cast them on turn six every game. You want to cast them earlier and still have mana up for protection or follow-up.
Then adjust based on your curve (this matters more than people admit)
Your commander’s cost is a hint. Your curve is the truth.
Here’s the clean adjustment:
- Low curve decks (mostly 1–3 drops): you can often live at 6–8 ramp sources
- Midrange curves (lots of 3–5 drops): 8–10 ramp is usually right
- High curve / big mana decks (lots of 5–8 drops, or X-spells): you often want 10–12 ramp sources, sometimes more
Why? Because ramp’s real job is to let you cast the spells that matter before the table has already built a fortress.
If you’re trying to win with 8-mana monsters, casting your first one on turn eight is basically being polite. Your opponents will appreciate the gesture and then kill you.
Match ramp to your plan (not just your colors)
Ramp isn’t one thing. It’s a menu. Pick the type that fits your deck’s mechanics.
Mana rocks are great… until your deck hates artifacts
Rocks are popular because they’re simple and work in any color. They’re also vulnerable to artifact wipes, and they don’t always synergize with creature-centric or sacrifice-centric plans.
Rocks shine when:
- you want clean acceleration on turns 2–4
- you don’t care if a board wipe hits artifacts occasionally
- you want color fixing in 3+ colors
Mana dorks are better when bodies matter
Dorks ramp early and can later wear equipment, get buffed, be sacrificed, or trigger creature synergies. They also die to the same board wipes that kill your team.
Dorks shine when:
- you’re creature-heavy
- your deck rewards bodies (counters, sacrifice, anthem effects)
- you want to ramp on turn one in green decks
Land ramp is the “boring but reliable” option
Ramp that puts lands into play tends to be harder to interact with than rocks and dorks. It also helps you hit land drops, which makes your entire deck smoother.
Land ramp shines when:
- you’re in green (obviously)
- you’re scared of artifact wipes
- you want long-game stability more than explosive starts
Treasures and one-shot ramp are for decks that want bursts
Treasures can be “ramp” or “rituals,” depending on the deck. If you consistently make treasures, they’re part of your mana plan. If you make one treasure once, it’s just a coupon.
Treasure ramp shines when:
- your deck naturally produces treasures over time
- you want explosive turns and double-spells
- you’re in colors that struggle with traditional land ramp
Cost reducers are ramp-ish, but don’t count them as full ramp
Cost reducers can be amazing, but they’re narrow. They don’t help you cast everything. They don’t always help you fix colors. And sometimes they do nothing if you draw the wrong half of your deck.
They’re great on top of a ramp package, not instead of it.
Don’t forget the “value per turn” idea
Ramp isn’t just “how many ramp cards.” It’s “what do these ramp cards do after turn five?”
A two-mana rock is great early, but sometimes it’s a miserable topdeck late. Meanwhile, a three-mana ramp piece that replaces itself (or has an extra mode) can be better in longer games.
That’s why a lot of decks don’t need to force every ramp spell to be two mana. Commander games are long. You’re allowed to play cards that still matter later.
The most common ramp mistakes
Running ramp instead of lands
If you’re keeping hands with two lands and a couple rocks, you’ll have games where you get your rock removed and suddenly you’re back in the stone age.
Too much ramp, not enough draw
Ramp without draw is how you end up with ten mana and one card in hand: a land. If you increase ramp to support a higher curve, you usually need more draw too. Otherwise you’re just accelerating into emptiness.
Ramp that doesn’t match your deck
If your deck is built to sacrifice creatures, dorks may do more than rocks. If your deck is artifact-heavy, rocks might be the whole point. If your meta is full of artifact wipes, relying on rocks can be a self-own.
Ramp that doesn’t fix colors
If you’re three or more colors, some of your ramp needs to produce or find the colors you’re missing. Otherwise you’ll have “plenty of mana” and still can’t cast the spell you actually need.
A quick way to tune your ramp count
If you want a quick sanity check, ask:
- Do i regularly miss casting my commander on time?
Add ramp, or lower the curve, or both. - Do i flood out with mana and nothing to do?
Cut a ramp piece or two and add draw or payoffs. - Do i have turns where i could double-spell but can’t?
Add cheap ramp and/or lower the curve at the top end. - Do i keep hands that look playable but stall?
You may need more lands, not more ramp.
If you do nothing else, start at 8–10 ramp and adjust by 1–2 cards at a time based on what actually happens in games.
Conclusion
Most Commander decks don’t need a perfect ramp number. They need a ramp plan that matches their curve and their win condition.
Start with a sane baseline (8–10). Push toward 10–12 if you’re playing big mana or expensive commanders. Pull back toward 6–8 if you’re low curve and proactive. Then choose ramp that fits your deck’s mechanics so your ramp cards aren’t just “mana,” they’re part of the plan.
Do that, and you’ll stop losing games where your deck technically worked… just not until turn nine.