<p><strong>You may activate mana abilities (for example the mana abilities of lands) whenever you may activate other, non-mana abilities, in addition to when you pay a mana cost.</strong></p>

<p>Most mana-generating permanents, including most lands, have an ability that says something along the lines of "Cost: Add mana", where "cost" is usually the <em>Tap</em> cost. Those are mana abilities:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>605.1a An activated ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn't require a target (see rule 114.6), it could add mana to a player's mana pool when it resolves, and it's not a loyalty ability.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Activated mana abilities are a special case of activated abilities. You can activate a mana ability whenever you could activate a regular ability:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>605.3. Activating an activated mana ability follows the rules for activating any other activated ability (see rule 602.2), with the following exceptions:</p>
</blockquote>

<p>One key difference between mana abilities and regular activated abilities is that you can activate mana abilities whenever you have to pay a mana cost. </p>

<p>In a nutshell, you may tap lands etc. for mana whenever you could cast spells and activate abilities, including during your opponent's turn.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T10:20:19.090Z
2019-04-30T10:20:19.090Z
Hackworth
<p>Tapping lands for mana whenever you have priority was and is legal. Earlier (way back) there was a rule about "mana burn" which punished you for having "floating" (i.e. un-spent) mana at the end of a turn (edit: or phase) in the form of damage. This rule was changed and now you can have any excess of mana at any given time without a punishment (if not for a special circumstance).</p>

<p>This means that you could tap all your lands whenever you have priority (i.e. you could cast an instant spell) and have it build up over time if you do not spend it to cast something.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T11:03:40.313Z
Mana burn was definitely there when I was young and Magic was just arrived... Some 25  years ago I think, I feel old now
Francesco
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T13:52:49.693Z
I think mana burn happened at the ends of phases, not just turns. The mana still disappears in the modern rules, but it doesn't burn you as it goes.
Arthur
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T14:16:12.523Z
Ah and does mana also disappear at the end of phases? (If not for something like Omnath)
fxm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T14:34:19.917Z
@tehfurbolg From rule 106.4: "Each player’s mana pool empties at the end of each step and phase, and the player is said to lose this mana."
Arthur
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T14:36:11.770Z
Huh, thanks! I believe I have never played it like this. Although I'd say this is rarely relevant without some special mana shenanigans.
fxm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T15:01:15.733Z
@tehfurbolg There are various situations where it's important. For instance, there are cards that force your opponent to tap all their lands.
Acccumulation
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T10:00:28.977Z
2019-04-30T14:36:42.383Z
2019-04-30T14:36:42.383Z
fxm
<p>So I play with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bOmnath%2c%20Locus%20of%20Mana%5d">Omnath, Locus of Mana</a>, and I've been looking in the rules, but I can't find anything that explicitly forbids generating mana without using it. But there is nothing explicitly allowing it either. </p>

<p>Also can someone definitively tell me if I can tap land in a similar fashion during my opponents turn? I'd like to use it in combination with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bSeedborn%20Muse%5d">Seedborn Muse</a>. It has a lot of potential but I wanna make sure what I am planning is legal.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T04:53:07.993Z
Consider this: how would you expect Omnath to do anything useful if you couldn't tap mana without intending to spend it on something?
murgatroid99
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T05:14:47.720Z
Possible duplicate of [What does "float mana" typically mean?](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/13012/what-does-float-mana-typically-mean)
KMR
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T09:56:56.370Z
Not sure if this is a dupe. The question boils down to "when can I activate mana abilities?", not "what is float mana?"
Hackworth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T11:19:54.233Z
Possible duplicate of [What is the difference between lands and mana?](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/45595/what-is-the-difference-between-lands-and-mana).  The answer does explain "The reason for the mana pool is that it allows a player to hold mana that they are not spending right away."
Zags
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T15:49:03.000Z
Duplicate closures shouldn't be to questions that merely might imply the answer buried somewhere unobvious in one answer if you know where to look and how to understand and interpret it. We're dealing with newbies here; answers should be obviously available. This question is fine and I don't think it's a duplicate of anything we've got.
doppelgreener
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-30T16:07:21.853Z
I miss the days of Mana Burn! Once upon a time if you didn't spend all the mana you'd created by the end of a phase you took damage as it drained away. I even had a deck that lands tap for 4 or 8 or more mana so unless you had X cost spells you'd have to be very careful about casting to avoid taking damage.
aslum
<magic-the-gathering>
Can you tap land for mana without using it, specifically I am playing with Omnath, Locust of mana
Winter Joiner
# Can you tap land for mana without using it, specifically I am playing with Omnath, Locust of mana

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-30)

So I play with [Omnath, Locus of Mana](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bOmnath%2c%20Locus%20of%20Mana%5d), and I've been looking in the rules, but I can't find anything that explicitly forbids generating mana without using it. But there is nothing explicitly allowing it either.

Also can someone definitively tell me if I can tap land in a similar fashion during my opponents turn? I'd like to use it in combination with [Seedborn Muse](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bSeedborn%20Muse%5d). It has a lot of potential but I wanna make sure what I am planning is legal.

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Consider this: how would you expect Omnath to do anything useful if you couldn't tap mana without intending to spend it on something?  
> **username_2**: Possible duplicate of [What does "float mana" typically mean?](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/13012/what-does-float-mana-typically-mean)  
> **username_3**: Not sure if this is a dupe. The question boils down to "when can I activate mana abilities?", not "what is float mana?"  
> **username_4**: Possible duplicate of [What is the difference between lands and mana?](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/45595/what-is-the-difference-between-lands-and-mana).  The answer does explain "The reason for the mana pool is that it allows a player to hold mana that they are not spending right away."  
> **username_5**: Duplicate closures shouldn't be to questions that merely might imply the answer buried somewhere unobvious in one answer if you know where to look and how to understand and interpret it. We're dealing with newbies here; answers should be obviously available. This question is fine and I don't think it's a duplicate of anything we've got.  
> **username_6**: I miss the days of Mana Burn! Once upon a time if you didn't spend all the mana you'd created by the end of a phase you took damage as it drained away. I even had a deck that lands tap for 4 or 8 or more mana so unless you had X cost spells you'd have to be very careful about casting to avoid taking damage.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-04-30. Score: 10

**You may activate mana abilities (for example the mana abilities of lands) whenever you may activate other, non-mana abilities, in addition to when you pay a mana cost.**

Most mana-generating permanents, including most lands, have an ability that says something along the lines of "Cost: Add mana", where "cost" is usually the *Tap* cost. Those are mana abilities:

> 605.1a An activated ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn't require a target (see rule 114.6), it could add mana to a player's mana pool when it resolves, and it's not a loyalty ability.

Activated mana abilities are a special case of activated abilities. You can activate a mana ability whenever you could activate a regular ability:

> 605.3. Activating an activated mana ability follows the rules for activating any other activated ability (see rule 602.2), with the following exceptions:

One key difference between mana abilities and regular activated abilities is that you can activate mana abilities whenever you have to pay a mana cost.

In a nutshell, you may tap lands etc. for mana whenever you could cast spells and activate abilities, including during your opponent's turn.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2019-04-30. Score: 6

Tapping lands for mana whenever you have priority was and is legal. Earlier (way back) there was a rule about "mana burn" which punished you for having "floating" (i.e. un-spent) mana at the end of a turn (edit: or phase) in the form of damage. This rule was changed and now you can have any excess of mana at any given time without a punishment (if not for a special circumstance).

This means that you could tap all your lands whenever you have priority (i.e. you could cast an instant spell) and have it build up over time if you do not spend it to cast something.

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: Mana burn was definitely there when I was young and Magic was just arrived... Some 25  years ago I think, I feel old now  
> **username_9**: I think mana burn happened at the ends of phases, not just turns. The mana still disappears in the modern rules, but it doesn't burn you as it goes.  
> **username_7**: Ah and does mana also disappear at the end of phases? (If not for something like Omnath)  
> **username_9**: @tehfurbolg From rule 106.4: "Each player’s mana pool empties at the end of each step and phase, and the player is said to lose this mana."  
> **username_7**: Huh, thanks! I believe I have never played it like this. Although I'd say this is rarely relevant without some special mana shenanigans.  
> **username_10**: @tehfurbolg There are various situations where it's important. For instance, there are cards that force your opponent to tap all their lands.  

---

