My understanding is any land (or other mana source) can put mana into your mana pool and remain in there until used. While in play, if you have 5 forests available and tap them, with nothing to play. The 5 green mana will remain in your pool. You pass the turn. When it is your turn again you can tap the same 5 forests to bring your mana pool up to 10 green mana. Etc. If you use some of that mana (say an elvish mystic for 1 green) your man pool becomes 9. Does that make sense?
November 7, 2013 10:17 a.m.
Absinthman says... #3
Short answer:
Without Upwelling
: You tap five Forests for 5 green mana and announce the end of your turn. Your mana pool empties and at the beginning of the next turn, you start with 0 mana in your pool.
With Upwelling
: You tap five Forests for 5 green mana and announce the end of your turn. Your mana pool doesn't empty and at the beginning of the next turn, you start with 5 mana in your pool.
November 7, 2013 10:20 a.m.
RedKunoichi says... #4
Your mana pool actually empties between phases. If you tap mana in your main phase and then move to combat before using it your mana pool will empty when you move to the combat phase.
with Upwelling you retain all the mana you create until youy use it. A similar card is Omnath, Locus of Mana
November 7, 2013 10:29 a.m.
RedKunoichi says... #5
well, except for the fact that omnath specifies that only green mana doesnt leave.
November 7, 2013 10:29 a.m.
So the mana in the mana pool doesn't untap in your next untap stage?
November 7, 2013 11:23 a.m.
Let's say I was running a mono green deck that had splashes of black in it and I splash 1 black mana to play Dark Ritual I then play a black spell using the 3 black mana from dark rit, will I be able to use the four black mana next turn?
November 7, 2013 11:25 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... Accepted answer #8
Spending mana on spells and abilities still makes it leave your pool. What Upwelling does is stop the automatic process that empties your pool of unused mana at the end of each step and phase. It doesn't stop lands from untapping.
November 7, 2013 11:27 a.m.
Absinthman says... #10
It's important to know the difference between lands and mana. Lands are not mana. They produce it. When you tap a land for mana, it creates it and puts it into your mana pool, which is as I have said, an imaginary jar. As Rhadamanthus said, there is an automatic process set by the rules that watches for any unusee mana you have left in your pool at end of a step or phase and empties that jar. Upwelling stopa that. Imagine that you use the + ability of Xenagos, The Reveler and you have 5 creatures on the battlefield. The ability will put a total of 5 mana in amy red/green combination into that imaginary jar, and you can then use it. However, you only have a card that costs 3 mana in your hand, so you cast it. You still have 2 mana in your pool but no way to use it, so you decide to go to combat phase. At this point, the automatic process we describe will flush the two remaining mana out of your pool, so it it's lost. Upwelling however, overrides this rule and lets you keep whatever's left in your jar for future use.
Absinthman says... #1
First of all, most lands are in fact colorless. Despite the fact that they can provide colored mana, they have no color themselves. There are exceptions like Dryad Arbor which is green because it has a green color indicator in its type line.
Basically you are correct though. Most lands have an activated ability that adds either colorless mana or a mana of certain color to your mana pool. Imagine the mana pool as a jar where you store the magical energy you then use to cast spells and do other stuff. The rules of MTG state, that every time the game progresses from one step to another, or from one phase to another, all players mana pools are emptied. Upwelling literally breaks that rule (note that its text has been updated to read "Mana pools don't empty as steps and phases end."). So players are able to keep their mana in their pools indefinitely, as long as Upwelling is on the battlefield. This can for example be used to empower spells with X in their mana costs (e.g. Mistcutter Hydra ) to huge proportions.
November 7, 2013 10:16 a.m.