Shrine of the Forsaken GodsHow it works & interactions with other cards

Dual Mana Modes

Shrine of the Forsaken Gods features two distinct activated abilities. The first is a standard tap ability that adds one colorless mana to your mana pool with no restrictions. The second ability becomes available only once you control seven or more lands, allowing you to tap the Shrine for two colorless mana. Note that this second ability has a specific spending restriction: the mana can only be used to cast colorless spells.

Activating the Shrine

To use the two-mana ability, the game checks how many lands you control at the moment you attempt to activate it. If you have seven or more lands, the ability can be placed on the stack (or activated as a mana action). The mana produced carries a 'tag' that restricts its use. You can use it for Eldrazi, artifacts, or other spells with no colored mana symbols in their cost, but you cannot use it to pay for activated abilities or triggered abilities.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is trying to use the two colorless mana to pay for the generic portion of a colored spell. Even if a spell costs three mana including one green, you cannot use the restricted mana for the two generic mana if the spell itself is green. Additionally, remember that the Shrine counts itself toward the seven-land requirement.

When to Play It

This land excels in 'Big Mana' strategies and artifact-heavy decks. It is particularly effective in formats like Commander where games last longer, allowing you to reach the seven-land threshold reliably. It provides the acceleration needed to cast high-cost finishers several turns earlier than your opponents might expect.

Interaction examples

Basic Mana Generation

Early in the game, if you control only three lands including Shrine of the Forsaken Gods, you can tap it to add one colorless mana to your pool. This mana can be spent on any spell or ability.

Reaching the Threshold

Command TowerExotic Orchard

If you control Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, four other lands, and Shrine of the Forsaken Gods, you have seven lands total. You can now choose to activate the Shrine's second ability to produce two colorless mana, which must be spent on a colorless spell.

Colorless Restrictions

If you have eight lands and tap the Shrine for two colorless mana, you can use that mana to cast a colorless artifact like a Sol Ring. However, you could not use that same mana to pay for a spell that has any colored mana symbols in its mana cost, such as a blue or red creature.