The best modern ramp cards in MTG allow you to steamroll through your opponents from your very first turn. Read on below, where we disclose the top 10 modern ramp cards to keep in your MTG deck.
Top 10 Best Modern Ramp Cards
1. Mirari’s Wake
Let’s start this list off with a “Bang!”, shall we? Mirari’s Wake is a mythic rare enchantment that primarily boosts your creatures with a +1/+1 to power and toughness.
The real kicker is that whenever you tap a land while Mirari’s Wake is in play, you get to add extra mana of the same color that the land produces. If the land produces more than one color of mana, you get to take your pick.
2. Smothering Tithe
Smothering Tithe is one of the very best Modern Ramp cards in MTG, no serious player will disagree. For 3 colorless mana and a single plains, this rare white enchantment is more than worth the casting cost, to say the least.
When Smothering Tithe is in play, every time a player draws a card you get to create a colorless Treasure Artifact (unless they play 2 colorless mana to counter the ability). The Treasure Artifacts are tappable for adding 1 mana of any color to your pool. But, you have to sacrifice them in addition.
3. Ashnod’s Altar
Artifacts are often overlooked by MTG players, which is a HUGE mistake. Take Ashnod’s Altar for example, for just 3 colorless mana you have a powerful tool at your beck and call (and it is harder than typical cards for an enemy to target directly).
When Ashnod’s Altar is in the game, you may sacrifice a create and add 2 mana to your pool at any time. The ability doesn’t require the card to tap, so you can sacrifice as many creatures as you wish. Talk about convenience, especially when used in tandem with a card like Smothering Tithe.
4. Chromatic Lantern
The Chromatic Lantern is another flat-out amazing Modern Ramp card that should absolutely be in your deck if you play Ramp style. As with the previous artifact on the list, Chromatic Lantern costs 3 colorless mana, a small price for greatness.
With Chromatic Lantern on the board, all your lands have the ability to be tapped for a mana of any color that you please. It can also be tapped itself for adding an additional color of your choice to your mana pool for the remainder of the turn.
5. Avenger of Zendikar
Avenger of Zendikar is a 5/5 mythic rare Elemental creature that belongs in your Modern Ramp deck. Sure, it has a semi-expensive cost, but for these wicked abilities, it’s well worth the mana.
When Avenger of Zendikar hits the field, you get to create 0/1 Plant creatures (green in color) for each land that you have on the board. The best part? Whenever you play another land, thanks to Landfall ability, you may add a +1/+1 to each of your Plant creatures.
6. Lotus Cobra
The Lotus Cobra is a beautiful green Snake creature with a power and toughness of 2/1, with a casting cost of 1 colorless mana and 1 forest.
The card seems basic, but for Modern Ramp decks, it’s just the sort of card you should keep in multiples. Lotus Cobra has Landfall, and whenever a land enters the game under your control, you get an extra mana of any color you choose, for the remainder of the turn.
7. Azorius Chancery
Azorius Chancery is a classic double-land card that fits perfectly into Modern Ramp decks. There isn’t much to explain about this card, besides that it comes into play tapped and you must return a land you own to your hand.
Every time you tap Azorius Chancery you get a plains and an island added to your mana pool for the rest of your turn.
8. Animist’s Awakening
Animist’s Awakening is a card we’ve seen getting heavy use with Ramp players in MTG lately. The rare green sorcery card is surely diverse enough to deserve a spot in your Ramp deck.
Pay X + 1 forest and reveal the top X cards of your deck, when you play Animist’s Awakening. All of the land cards revealed this way go onto the battlefield tapped. The rest of the cards go onto the bottom of your deck, in random order.
Probably one of the sweetest parts? Animist’s Awakening has Spell Mastery. So, if you happen to have a couple of Instants or Sorcery cards in your graveyard, the new lands brought onto the battlefield this turn aren’t tapped.
9. Adventuring Gear
The last artifact on our list of Modern Ramp cards for MTG, and one you might not expect to see here, is Adventuring Gear. At first glance it may not seem like a Ramp card at all… oh, but is it ever!
In Ramp, you have plenty of land hitting the field. And with Adventuring Gear in play, each time you play a new land card, creatures under your control gain a power and toughness boost of +2/+2 until the end of your turn.
With the right cards played, your creatures can become quadruple their normal size and smash the enemy lines to bone splinters and dust.
10. Grazing Gladehart
Grazing Gladehart is a 2/2 green Antelope creature that costs 2 colorless mana and 1 forest. The Antelope may only be a mediocre creature on the surface, but it is equipped with Landfall.
Whenever lands enter the battlefield, under your control, you may gain 2 life points for each one. See? We know what we’re talking about! Grazing Gladehart is a surprisingly excellent card for Modern Ramp MTG.
Common Questions About Modern Ramp Cards
What is a Modern Ramp in MTG?
Modern Ramp is a term in MTG that refers to a playing style. The objective of playing Modern Ramp is to use modern MTG cards that enable you to access enormous amounts of mana from the early to mid-game. In turn, you may play cards with higher costs quicker than other players.
Are Modern Ramp Cards Good?
The old Mana Ramp playing style was so popular that MTG has continued to design cards with the same great purpose; to get your hands on as much extra mana each turn as possible. What makes Modern Ramp so good is that for all the extra land and mana you have, you also gain additional benefits like creature tokens, life points, and other boosts.
What is the Difference Between Vintage Ramp and Modern Ramp?
The main difference between Vintage Ramp cards and Modern Ramp cards is that the older cards (Vintage) are now a bit limited. Vintage Ramp cards are still potent, don’t get us wrong. But, Modern Ramp cards have an edge due having to the newest spells and abilities in the MTG universe.