Land
Lands are lands. What else can you say about them?
Well, I suppose you could say that for a few years early on, Wizards treated them like really difficult-to-kill enchantments. Island of Wak-Wak, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Maze of Ith, and a few others don’t even tap for mana.
Now, every land does. (Or it goes and fetches one that does.) And as Wizards spends more time honing the skills of lands, some more intriguing possibilities leak into the Hall. While I couldn’t quite justify 20 entries (Thawing Glaciers and Petrified Field peeked just a bit above 2.0), eighteen lands still stood out as worthy of mention:
LANDS |
RS |
GO |
SP |
PG |
PL |
CK |
COM |
|
18 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
2.51 |
|
17 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
2.65 |
|
16 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2.90 |
|
15 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3.04 |
|
14 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3.11 |
|
13 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3.11 |
|
12 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3.17 |
|
11 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
3.19 |
|
10 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3.20 |
|
9 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3.25 |
|
8 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
3.32 |
|
7 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3.35 |
|
6 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3.40 |
|
5 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
3.41 |
|
4 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3.56 |
|
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
3.62 |
|
2 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
3.77 |
|
1 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
2 |
5 |
4.34 |
|
avg. |
4.3 |
2.8 |
2.3 |
2.8 |
2.4 |
4.8 |
3.27 |
LANDS |
||
18 |
||
17 |
Mono-mage will keep secure. |
|
16 |
Sim: Wasteland, Rishadan Port, Dust Bowl |
|
15 |
Sim: Mishra’s Factory, Treetop Village, etc. |
|
14 |
A land version of Parallax Wave. |
|
13 |
Sim: Cabal Pit, Barbarian Ring, etc. |
|
12 |
Small groups only, good in pinch. |
|
11 |
Sim: Quicksand, Island of Wak-Wak, etc. |
|
10 |
A land version of Pendrell Mists. |
|
9 |
Sim: Griffin Canyon |
|
8 |
A land version of Mobilization. |
|
7 |
Sim: Pendlehaven, Daru Encampment, etc. |
|
6 |
Sim: High Market, Starlit Sanctum, etc. |
|
5 |
Sim: Arena |
|
4 |
Sim: Maze of Shadows, Maze of Ith |
|
3 |
Best held back for a mild surprise. |
|
2 |
Sim: Unholy Grotto |
|
1 |
Slow, steady – and terrific in team. |
|
Like artifacts, lands aren’t built for surprise. I kept the spider rating at 4 or less. Furthermore, lands don’t exactly scream”big board impact!” by their mere presence. Even an activation of a Shivan Gorge doesn’t hit a single permanent, unless its controller is at one life. There’s no particular reason why a land couldn’t do better at plankton than Rainbow Vale, but Wizards just hasn’t seen fit to make a land that can truly benefit anyone. (No, Rhystic Cave doesn’t count!) Pigeon is another wounded rating – only Shivan Gorge really plays it right. (Legendary lands do get a tiny boost in pigeon, since the more players there are, the more chance your playing that Karakas will deny anyone else the pleasure!)
No, the strength of lands is in rattlesnake and cockroach elements. (By the way, I didn’t include points for repeating mana in cockroach – just for other repeated abilities.)
Giving Lands A Fighting Chance
There are many cards similar to Yavimaya Hollow, Balduvian Trading Post, and Keldon Necropolis. I grouped them like this for a reason – the Hollow-inspired cards (like Pendlehaven) all are built to help creatures stay on the board. The Post-inspired cards (like Quicksand) are combat-only. And the Necropolis-inspired cards (like Barbarian Ring) hit any time, and typically require some sacrifice.
There’s also a category of man-lands, headed up by Nantuko Monastery. In past versions, this slot was held by Treetop Village, much to the dismay of those who prefer Mishra’s Workshop. Each of the three (as well as many other variants, like Stalking Stones or Spawning Pool) has their separate advantages and disadvantages. Play what you like, of course; the Monastery could simply put up the best numbers, for Hall purposes.
For staple lands, of course there are the five basic land types. But beyond that, any player who wants the best lands available in their”toolbox” should at least glance at the following. Due to the nature of non-basic lands, I can’t supply as many common and uncommon choices.
- Remote Isle, or any cycling land, including those in Onslaught,
- Gemstone Mine, which works real slick with Planeshift’s lair lands,
- Tropical Island, or any dual land be it old-school or Invasion block,
- Thawing Glaciers, and any of the fetch-style lands (and again, the Onslaught variety are perfectly good!), and
- Reflecting Pool, which will turn your Mines, Odyssey common sack-lands, and a bunch of other lands into the mana you need with no pain or sacrifice.
That’s it for cards in the Hall! You can download the entire shebang, as guaranteed by The Ferrett this time, right here.
Peace,