AI DraftFeb 26, 2026
Basalt Monolith + Nyxbloom Ancient
Overview
Basalt Monolith’s "
: Add 
." is a mana ability that includes the symbol, so tapping it to produce mana is "tapping a permanent for mana" under rule and meets the mana-ability criteria in . Nyxbloom Ancient’s static effect triples the amount of mana produced when you tap a permanent for mana, so tapping Basalt Monolith will produce 3 × 3 = 9 colorless. Basalt Monolith doesn’t untap during your untap step , but it has an activated ability "
: Untap this artifact." that you can activate (it is not a mana ability) to untap it; using the 9 colorless to pay that untap cost leaves a net gain of 6 colorless each cycle, so you can repeat to generate arbitrarily large amounts of colorless mana (see Ruling [2020-08-07]).
: Add ." is a mana ability that includes the symbol, so tapping it to produce mana is "tapping a permanent for mana" under rule and meets the mana-ability criteria in . Nyxbloom Ancient’s static effect triples the amount of mana produced when you tap a permanent for mana, so tapping Basalt Monolith will produce 3 × 3 = 9 colorless. Basalt Monolith doesn’t untap during your untap step , but it has an activated ability ": Untap this artifact." that you can activate (it is not a mana ability) to untap it; using the 9 colorless to pay that untap cost leaves a net gain of 6 colorless each cycle, so you can repeat to generate arbitrarily large amounts of colorless mana (see Ruling [2020-08-07]).Step 1
Ensure you control both Basalt Monolith and Nyxbloom Ancient so Nyxbloom’s "If you tap a permanent for mana..." applies.
Step 2
Tap Basalt Monolith to activate its : Add ability; because the ability has in its activation cost this is "tapping a permanent for mana" under and the ability is a mana ability under .
: Add ability; because the ability has in its activation cost this is "tapping a permanent for mana" under and the ability is a mana ability under .Step 3
When that mana ability resolves it immediately produces its mana (mana abilities resolve immediately after activation) under .
Step 4
Nyxbloom Ancient triples the mana produced by that tap, so Basalt Monolith’s becomes 3 × = .
becomes 3 × = .Step 5
Activate Basalt Monolith’s : Untap this artifact. ability by paying from the mana you just produced; that ability is an activated ability that is not a mana ability and so is activated and put on the stack normally (it is not affected by the special mana-ability timing or resolution rules) .
: Untap this artifact. ability by paying from the mana you just produced; that ability is an activated ability that is not a mana ability and so is activated and put on the stack normally (it is not affected by the special mana-ability timing or resolution rules) .Step 6
When the untap ability resolves the Monolith untaps and you have 9 − 3 = 6 colorless left in your mana pool; you can then tap it again to repeat the cycle and generate more mana, yielding an unbounded amount over repeated cycles (Ruling [2020-08-07]).
Resolution
If you control both Basalt Monolith and Nyxbloom Ancient, tapping Basalt Monolith for its ability produces nine colorless ( × 3) because Nyxbloom triples mana produced when you tap a permanent for mana and Basalt Monolith’s ability is a mana ability . Basalt Monolith’s : Untap this artifact. ability is an activated ability that is not a mana ability, so you can pay from the mana just produced to untap it and repeat; each loop nets six colorless, creating an unbounded mana engine (Ruling [2020-08-07]). Note that triggered mana abilities that trigger from tapping something for mana are not themselves affected by Nyxbloom Ancient per Ruling [2020-01-24].
ability produces nine colorless ( × 3) because Nyxbloom triples mana produced when you tap a permanent for mana and Basalt Monolith’s ability is a mana ability . Basalt Monolith’s : Untap this artifact. ability is an activated ability that is not a mana ability, so you can pay from the mana just produced to untap it and repeat; each loop nets six colorless, creating an unbounded mana engine (Ruling [2020-08-07]). Note that triggered mana abilities that trigger from tapping something for mana are not themselves affected by Nyxbloom Ancient per Ruling [2020-01-24].Feedback