Mana Confluence and City of Brass the same card?
Deck Help forum
Posted on May 11, 2015, 5:26 p.m. by Liszt
Are Mana Confluence and City of Brass basically the same card? I have 4 slots to fill with an all color producing land so I've tried thinking of a scenario where the one card has an edge over the other. Nothing came to my mind though. Do these cards have the same effect? Or are there actually cards with sth. like "Producing Mana doesn't cause your lands to tap. Use this ability only once for each land." ...etc.? (Unless something like Samite Healer for example because this interaction is just pointless.)
asasinater13 says... #3
things like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Chromatic Lantern make Mana Confluence able to tap without doing damage to you.
May 11, 2015 5:33 p.m.
Mana Confluence is better. If your opponents cast cards that can tap your lands, you wouldn't have as much trouble with Confluence, but with City of Brass you would. However, like you said, if you have cards that would prevent damage, you wouldn't be able to prevent the Confluence's loss of life, but loss of life isn't effected by cards like Furnace of Rath because it can't double the damage. I guess it just comes down to what deck your opponent is up against.
May 11, 2015 5:33 p.m.
TheNinjaJesus says... #5
Paying one life is part of the cost... Thus, you can't tap Mana Confluence to bolt an opponent also at 1. You'd die as part of the cost. You CAN kill an opponent like that with City of Brass, if my memory serves correctly.
May 11, 2015 5:43 p.m.
With Personal Sanctuary, Phyrexian Unlife, Platinum Emperion, Platinum Angel, City of Brass is better.
But if you're using Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth or similar things, Mana Confluence is better. Way better if your playing against Rishadan Port.
May 11, 2015 5:46 p.m.
Paying 1 life and dealing 1 damage to yourself are different things.
The damage from City of Brass can be prevented by Personal Sanctuary or Worship, for example. Also, you can't pay life that you don't have, so if you have 0 life and are being kept alive by something like Platinum Angel or Phyrexian Unlife, you won't be able to activate Mana Confluence's ability.
City of Brass deals damage to you regardless of what taps it though, so if an opponent Pestermite's it or if you have a Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth on the field and tap the City for a 
from it being a Swamp, you'll still take the damage.
May 11, 2015 5:53 p.m.
Each of them can serve different uses, but neither is "strictly better" than the other. As an example, if you are at one life and your opponent is at 3, you can't kill them with a Lightning Bolt if you only have a Mana Confluence. But you CAN kill them if you have a City of Brass.
May 11, 2015 5:57 p.m.
selesvyaloverer8 says... #9
Isnt tapping the city a cost and so doesnt the take 1 damage happens before u get the mana. im not a judge but i think thats how it works
May 11, 2015 6:17 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #10
Angel of Jubilation doesn't kill a City of Brass
May 11, 2015 7:02 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #11
also you can run Platinum Emperion alongside city of brass. Can't do that with confluence.
May 11, 2015 7:03 p.m.
No taking damage by tapping the city is an effect, both get in the stack at the same time, meanwhile you need to pay 1 life to get Mana Confluence's mana, which means paying one life resolves before getting the mana.
As state above, you can play a spell paid with City of Brass if you are at one life, but you can't do that with Mana Confluence.
May 11, 2015 7:06 p.m.
Also, what just came to my mind. I can use cards like Underworld Connections on Mana Confluence without taking damage. So I think it's safe to say that in most situations Mana Confluence is overall just the better card.
May 15, 2015 12:14 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #14
I think Mana Confluence is more likely to be good, but City of Brass is better in some specific situations, which your deck would have built into it, so you would know which to run when deckbuilding. default to confluence, use city if you have ways to prevent damage.
May 15, 2015 12:31 p.m.
Serendipitous_Hummingbird says... #15
it's a matter of personal preference at the moment. If budget is a concern go with the city because a playset of the chronicles printing is the same price as one confluence/
EpicFreddi says... #2
The first (and obvious) difference is that Mana Confluence can't be force-tapped. So when a card says "tap target permanent" you won't take damage.
May 11, 2015 5:27 p.m.