MTG mana base tools

Free calculators and guides for the question every deckbuilder eventually hits: how many sources of each color do I actually need, and how many lands is that?

Everything here runs on the same engine — exact hypergeometric probability, computed in your browser, no account and no lookup tables. The three tools below are the ones people use most; the guides underneath apply the same math to a specific deck type or format.

Which one do I need?

They answer different questions, and picking the wrong one is the usual reason people bounce off mana math:

• You have a finished list and something feels off. Use the Deck Mana Audit. It works from your actual cards, so it names the specific spells your mana can't reliably support instead of giving you an average.
• You are still building and want a target. Use the Mana Base Calculator, and enter the hardest cost you genuinely intend to cast on curve — not your average card. Mana bases are built for the demanding spells, not the median one.
• You want to understand the number, not just get it. Read the guide that matches your deck. Each one works through a real example and explains where the figure comes from.
• You want to know if your deck is too strong for the table. That's the Bracket Checker, which is a different axis entirely.

How these tools calculate

Every recommendation on this site is an exact hypergeometric probability, not an estimate and not a table someone published years ago. The inputs are deck size, how many sources of the colour you run, the turn you want to cast the spell, and whether you are on the play or the draw. The output is the chance you have what you need by then.

That matters because the widely repeated source counts are often wrong in a specific direction: they tend to be quoted for 60-card decks and reused for Commander, where a 99-card deck sees a much smaller fraction of itself by turn three. Where our numbers disagree with the common advice, the calculator's math is what we go with, and the guides say so explicitly rather than quietly matching the consensus.

None of it needs an account, and nothing is stored. If you want the site to remember your decks, track your collection or log your pod's games, that lives behind a free account — but the tools on this page never require one.

FAQ

Which of these mana tools should I start with?

If you already have a decklist, start with the Deck Mana Audit — it reads the real list and grades every colored cost in it, so you get specific problems instead of general advice. If you are still building, start with the Mana Base Calculator and enter the hardest cost you intend to cast on curve. The written guides are for when you want the reasoning rather than a number.

Are The Pod Companion tools free?

Yes. Every calculator and guide on this page is free and needs no account. Signing in is only required for the parts of the site that store your own data — the game log, deck builder and collection tracker.

Where do the numbers in these calculators come from?

Every source recommendation is an exact hypergeometric probability, computed in your browser from deck size, source count, the turn you want to cast the spell, and whether you are on the play or the draw. Nothing is a lookup table or a rule of thumb, which is why the answers sometimes disagree with commonly repeated advice.

Do these tools work for formats other than Commander?

Yes. The calculator takes any deck size, so it covers 60-card Constructed and 40-card Limited as well as 99-card Commander. The guides that are Commander-specific say so in their titles; the rest apply to any format.