Summary
Magic: The Gathering’sCommander was rocked by a series of bans that have had players scrambling to replace cards in their decks. The four banned cards were Jeweled Lotus; Mana Crypt; Nadu, Winged Wisdom; and finally, Dockside Extortionist. If you’ve been racking your Magic knowledge to try and find a replacement card, we have been too, which is why we came up with these cards.
Keep in mind a problem that comes with trying to replace Dockside Extortionist is that it often was a combo piece that does one very specific thing. If you’re repeatedly playing it over and over to generate infinite or near-infinite mana, there’s not much you can do to replace it. But if you were using it for just some extra mana at the expense of your opponents, then these cards might be a good alternative.
10Ancient Tomb
Probably The Best Option But…
Very likely your best bet in looking to replace Dockside Extortionist is just a land, and the best land for that is Ancient Tomb. This land generates two generic mana when you tap it at the expense of paying two life. The problem with Ancient Tomb is that it is kind of boring.
Playing a better land in place of an explosive creature or wild combo is the realistic choice, but it isn’t very in the spirit of the format.
9Rousing Refrain
Play The Long Game
If you don’t need the mana immediately, you can try playing Rosing Refrain in your deck. This card has you add one red mana for each card in your opponent’s hand, and you don’t lose that mana when you move through steps and phases either.
Once you cast it,it automatically suspends itself with three time counters on it, so you get it again in three more turns. you may also suspend it yourself for two mana, getting to get all that mana on your fifth turn more often than not.
8Birgi, God Of Storytelling//Harnfel, Horn Of Bounty
Generate More And More Mana
The best cards in Commander are the ones that do a lot of work for little mana, that’s what made Dockside Extortionist so good. With the God Birgi out, you may keep generating more and more mana with each spell you cast.
When you cast a spell, you get to add one red mana, which won’t disappear as you move between steps and phases. Birgi does a lot of other things, but the most relevant ability is to always be generating a mana with your spells. She is particularly good when used in a combo (like with Grinning Ignus) so you never run out of mana.
7Pyretic Ritual
A Simple Swap
Perhaps the easiest swap in would be a ritual spell like Pyretic Ritual. This mana positive spell costs two mana, just like Dockside Extortionist, and generates three mana for you, giving you one extra mana.
While one mana on its own is nowhere near the amount that Dockside would generate, it might be just enough to get you to cast your commander early, and when used with a card like Birgi, you’re netting two more mana than you spent into it, making for a better trade off.
6Simian Spirit Guide
A Single Use Monkey
If you need just one more mana to cast your game-changing spell, you might want to consider using Simian Spirit Guide. If your deck is in both red and green, you can also use Elvish Spirit Guide, a green creature with the same effect. This rather unique creature lets you exile it from your hand to generate one red mana.
you’re able to only do this once, and since you’re in Commander, you can’t rely on it to be in your opening hand. That said, it could be just enough to give you an edge over your opponents.
5Curse Of Opulence
How Long Can You Live With A Curse?
This one mana enchantment comes down earlier than Dockside Extortionist, but has the potential to generate more mana. Curse of Opulence is an enchantment that enchants a player, making it so whenever that player is attacked, you get to make a Gold token.
Gold tokens are the prototype of Treasure tokens, but you do not have to tap them to use their mana generation abilities. Curse of Opulence lets you generate mana as your opponents attack each other, so you get your Gold tokens on turns that aren’t your own.
4Descent Into Avernus
Everyone Is Going Down
A surprisingly powerful option for your deck could be the Battle for Baldur’s Gate enchantment, Descent into Avernus. This three-mana enchantment doesn’t do anything immediately, but puts a tight clock on the game if your opponents can’t do anything about it.
On your upkeep, you put two descent counters on the enchantment. Then, each player getsTreasure tokens equal to the number of counters on itand takes that much damage. Even though everyone is getting mana too, you can deal a significant amount of damage to your opponents over the course of just a few turns.
3Fable Of The Mirror-Breaker//Reflection Of Kiki-Jiki
A Saga For The Ages
So good it was banned in Standard, Fable of the Mirror is a fantastic enchantment that can turn a game in your favor all on your own. For three mana you get the Saga and a 2/2 Goblin Shaman token that makes a Treasure token when it attacks.
So you can start generating mana with smart attacks off the Goblin, plus you get to filter your hand a bit on the second chapter. Once you flip Fable to Reflection of Kiki-Jiki,you get another Goblin Shaman, this one lets you make copies of nonlengedary creatures you control, giving them haste but forcing you to sacrifice them at the next end step.
2Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
The Menace Himself
Very likely the best creature to replace Dockside Extortionist is Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. This one mana creature makes a Treasure token anytime it connects with a player, while also exiling the top card of their library. You can cast that card this turn, so not only do you get a Treasure token, you get a free card.
Alternatively, you can dash it in for two mana, letting you cast it with haste, smack an opponent who is wide open, and then bounce it back to your hand at the end of your turn.
1Jeska’s Will
Possibly The Best
In terms of explosive mana production, perhaps the best way to generate a lot of mana all at once is with Jeska’s Will. For three mana you get to pick one of the two modes in this spell. Either you:
Say you play a Sol Ring on your first turn or drop an Ancient Tomb, you can then cast Jeska’s Will on your second turn so long as you have a red source, you can make upwards of five, six, or even seven mana if an opponent hasn’t cast any spells yet. For a single card, Jeska’s Will is likely the closest you’re going to get to the pure mana generation that you could make off of Dockside Extortionist.
Magic: The Gathering
Created by Richard Garfield in 1993, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has become one of the biggest tabletop collectible card games in the world. Taking on the role of a Planeswalker, players build decks of cards and do battle with other players. In excess of 100 additional sets have added new cards to the library, while the brand has expanded into video games, comics, and more.
