Basalt Monolith
Artifact
This artifact doesn't untap during your untap step.
: Add 
.
: Untap this artifact.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Foreign Black Border
- Price
- $45.33
- EDHREC rank
- #556
Basalt Monolith is a three-mana rock that taps for three — net-zero on rate — but its real job is going infinite: pair it with Forsaken Monument for unlimited colorless mana, or slot it under Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy and watch the combo density compound. The can't-untap-normally clause is the cost, and in dedicated shells it barely registers.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy appears in nearly 88% of decks on EDHREC, and for good reason — Basalt Monolith is one of the cleanest ways to generate the infinite colorless mana that fuels Kinnan's activated ability and closes the game on the spot.
Trazyn the Infinite
Trazyn the Infinite can imprint Basalt Monolith from the graveyard and copy its tap ability, making it both a mana source and a modular combo piece that slots into the artifact-dense strategies Trazyn demands.
Zirda, the Dawnwaker
Zirda, the Dawnwaker cuts the Basalt Monolith untap cost to one mana, turning it into a trivially easy infinite-mana engine the moment both pieces hit the board.
Oswald Fiddlebender
Oswald Fiddlebender tutors artifacts by sacrificing them at parity, and Basalt Monolith sits at exactly three mana — a perfect target to sacrifice into a four-drop combo finisher or to fetch when the gameplan needs accelerant.
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero
The Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero partnership runs Basalt Monolith as a reliable infinite-mana outlet that dumps directly into Thrasios's activated ability, converting colorless mana into card advantage and inevitability.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the natural home for Basalt Monolith — the format's long games and combo-friendly rules let it operate as a genuine engine piece rather than a mere accelerant. In Vintage it's legal but competes with a deep field of faster mana, so it sees little competitive play outside of niche artifact builds. Legacy access doesn't translate to meaningful play either; the format's tempo demands punish a three-mana rock that enters tapped. Oathbreaker is legal and mirrors the Commander dynamic at a compressed game length, where the combo lines are just as relevant. Modern, Pioneer, Standard, and Pauper are all off the table, which is fine — Basalt Monolith was built for the 100-card singleton environment anyway.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Thran Dynamo is the closest honest substitute — three colorless in, four colorless out, no untap restriction, under $2 — but it doesn't combo with Forsaken Monument or Zirda, so you're trading engine potential for raw rate. Worn Powerstone fills a similar accelerant role at a fraction of the price and enters tapped like Basalt Monolith does, though it caps at two mana and has no infinite interaction; if the combo lines are the reason you want Basalt Monolith, neither substitute fully replaces it.
Price Context
Current price
$45.33 premium tier
At $45.33, Basalt Monolith sits firmly in the premium tier — justified by its near-irreplaceable role in Kinnan and Zirda combo lists, where no cheaper card replicates the exact interaction. Reprint history keeps a ceiling on growth, but demand from high-synergy commanders has kept the floor elevated.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Forsaken Monument
- Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
- Trazyn the Infinite
- Zirda, the Dawnwaker
- Oswald Fiddlebender
- Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero
- Rings of Brighthearth
- Forensic Gadgeteer
- Nyxbloom Ancient
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.