Is Solar Array good in Commander?

Solar Array

Artifact

: Add one mana of any color. When you next cast an artifact spell this turn, that spell gains sunburst. (If it's a creature, it enters with a +1/+1 counter on it for each color of mana spent to cast it. Otherwise, it enters with that many charge counters on it.)

CMC: 3
Mana cost
Color identity: C
Rarity: rare
Set: Edge of Eternities Commander
Price: $0.30
EDHREC rank: #5205

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Solar Array taps any artifact you control to add one mana of any color — a mana rock that doubles as a color fixer the moment you have enough artifacts to care. The combo ceiling is real: Freed from the Real on a creature that taps for mana, or the Inspirit, Flagship Vessel engine, turns Solar Array into a repeatable mana engine with no ceiling.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

Inspirit, Flagship Vessel

74.2% of decks · synergy 0.64

Inspirit, Flagship Vessel is a tap-matters commander, and Solar Array feeds directly into that loop — tapping artifacts for colored mana is both a resource and a trigger in the same action.

Kilo, Apogee Mind

61.9% of decks · synergy 0.52

Kilo, Apogee Mind wants to convert artifact activations into value, and Solar Array gives you an on-demand tap outlet that produces colored mana while fueling whatever payoff Kilo, Apogee Mind is building toward.

Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp

27.6% of decks · synergy 0.27

Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp runs a dense artifact package, and Solar Array slots in as both color fixing and incidental tap synergy in a shell that already wants every artifact it can get.

Optimus Prime, Hero

23.4% of decks · synergy 0.13

Optimus Prime, Hero rewards artifact-heavy boards, and Solar Array pulls double duty as a mana fixer and a low-cost artifact body that contributes to the overall artifact count without asking much in return.

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 where Solar Array actually lives — the artifact-dense battlefields, the tap-based combo lines, and the demand for flexible color fixing all converge in a 100-card singleton format. Freed from the Real loops and similar infinite-mana setups are far more common at the Commander table than anywhere else, which is exactly the context where Solar Array goes from role-player to engine piece. Legacy and Vintage are technically legal, but the competition at those power levels is steep enough that a three-mana artifact requiring other artifacts to function doesn't make the cut. Oathbreaker shares enough DNA with Commander that the same tap-based strategies apply, and the card performs similarly there.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

2,981 decks