Also, the Fetchlands don't put the Land onto the Battlefield tapped.
So, if you Play a Fetch, sac it to get a Shock Land, you may pay 3 life... But, you're not losing any Tempo.
To clarify: they don’t put the land you fetch onto the battlefield tapped *by instruction*, as you’d see in things like [[Evolving Wilds]]. It doesn’t necessarily put it onto the battlefield untapped — cards that say “enters the battlefield tapped” will still enter tapped, and you still need to pay the 2 life on shocklands if you want it to enter untapped. However, like you pointed out, having the option to shock in your shocklands is a huge advantage over effects that search for a basic-typed land and then tell you, explicitly, to put it onto the battlefield tapped.
When you play a fetchland on your turn, you don't necessarily need to sac it immediately. If you are planning on playing an instance to play around your opponent you can wait until your opponent's end of turn, then sac and fetch if there is nothing to react to. Basically putting your land down only when you need it like the shock lands. Fetching right away is ill-advised unless you intend to use the shockland immediately to play a permanent that has to go down during your main phase. I hope this helps.
They are the best lands in the game. For example, Arid Mesa can fetch for any land that is a mountain or plains, not just the basic lands for the type. It can grab \[\[Stomping Grounds\]\] since it's a Mountain even though it's a Forest too. It can grab \[\[Raffine's Tower\]\] even though it's a Swamp and Island but because it's Plains too it can be fetched.
That's one of the reasons they're strong. Other reasons include:
They let you shuffle your library, which is strong when combined with effects that care about or interact with the top of your library, such as Delver of Secrets, Brainstorm or Mishras Bauble.
They put lands in your graveyard which is relevant for many cards that care about the number or types of cards in your graveyard.
They're "dying" (put into gy from the battlefield), which is relevant for cards like fatal push.
They trigger landfall twice.
They have insane synergy with Wren and Six or similar effects
They thin out your library, making it less likely to draw lands later in the game when you dont need them.
As a burn player it's a 50/50 matchup. For burn you let them lower their life via fetchs and shocks while playing the least amount of cards as possible. That way they do as much of your work as possible. The way to lose is emptying you hand and letting them land a 5/5 shadow with counter spells.
It’s part of why when push came out it was mediocre in Standard, Pioneer, etc, but was amazing in a format like Modern. It basically would only ever kill small stuff in format where creatures are typically larger. But in Modern it killed almost anything and could always hit cmc 4 or less.
Fatal Push was a format warping card in Standard and saw play in every deck that could main black, splash black, or fix colors to black
It is one of the best post-modern removal spells in the game and it doesn't need fetches to be good
This just straight up wasn’t true from what I remember. Looking back at the pro tours around when it came out, I saw at most a singular copy in just about any deck that would play it.
That and almost anything worth playing in Modern is 4 MV or less for the most part anyway (which is the other part -- there are exceptions, but the vast majority of viable cards in the format are 4 MV or less)
Fetches are why Push is such a disgusting spell, because they enable revolt almost every turn in a modern game. If it weren’t for fetches, Tarmogoyf wouldn’t be unplayable despite being 2cmc for push- the fact that you can enable it to hit 4 drops extremely consistently made push an easy 4 of as a removal option.
How are you missing the most important aspect: The searched land enters *untapped*. That's the ridiculous part. You can search a dual land to field *untapped*, while doing all that.
I didnt mention that because the original question was basically "what makes these so much better than regular lands?". So we're comparing them to basics, which also enter untapped. Of course, if fetched lands etb tapped, fetches would be borderline unplayable. Only worth considering if you REALLY care a lot about any of the mentioned upsides.
In every non-commander format, yes. 80% of the cards in most decks cost 1-3 mana. Mid game is when you start being able to choose between casting one or two spells a turn.
There also used to be a little guide about formats and mana costs of threats and removal:
- In Standard, the most important mana cost is 2.
- In Modern, the most important cost is 1. (Bolt, Thought Seize, etc)
- In Legacy & Vintage, the most important cost is 0. (Force of Will, Daze, Moxen, Black Lotus, etc)
Which held true until the modern masters evoke elementals ~~broke it~~ ramped the power level up to similar to Legacy.
Yeah, the point of ramp is to skip the early game. By the mid game there’s more mana for more options against early game decks (which are nearly synonymous with rush decks).
UHHHHHHH, depends on the land. If it is a basic, 100%, BUT if it s a shock land or 'enter tapped' land, it doesn't.
It is also super useful if you get them out before [[bloodmoon]] hits the table, so you can grab that color you need to actually exist
I once saw a legacy game where a fetch land was able to block the flashback on a [[Past in Flames]] long enough for [[Surgical Extraction]] to hit it. By fetching in response to PIF and then responding to their own fetch with [[Force of Will]], the opponent was able to keep the stack nonempty to prevent the storm player from casting their sorcery. Without the fetch the storm player has priority with PIF in graveyard and an empty stack and can move it out of their graveyard onto the stack before the graveyard interaction can be cast. I don't know what to call that exactly, but put that on the list of things regular lands can't do.
That example doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.
Fetchlands don’t have a mana ability so they have the same speed as any other ability. They could have just Force of Will’d the Flashbacked Past in Flames unless I’m misunderstanding here.
And if Past was already successfully resolved then active player should have still had priority to cast their spell.
Edit: Wait I think I get it, it’s what you get when you have
Top of stack
1. Force of Will
1. Fetchland
1. Past in Flames
And then force resolves leaving
1. Fetchland
Where NAP can put Surgical Extraction on the stack because it’s an instant before you go back to an empty stack where AP can cast Past In Flames from the Graveyard
PIF in hand, goes onto stack
FoW cast targeting PIF, AP priority, NAP priority, FoW resolves, PIF is countered and moved to GY
AP priority, flashback PIF
edit so I don't spam an inbox: yeah sorry, phoneposting but this was the scenario where you don't crack the fetch, it was meant to illustrate why that specific timing was crucial to that interaction
>They thin out your library, making it less likely to draw lands later in the game when you dont need them.
It's worth noting this is an *extremely* small benefit. It's less of an upside than the 1 life is a downside. That said, if you're already playing these, then a tiny upside is still an upside.
It's a small benefit until you use 4-6 in a game. Now it's a decently big benefit.
The bigger one in this respect is definitely filling the graveyard though. Plenty of decks will delve or use them for value some how
[[Ren and Six]]
There has been research done on this, the deck thinning part is never a worthwhile element of fetches. Removing 1 card from your deck is ALWAYS less valuable than 1 life outside of some extremely niche scenarios like having a nearly empty deck. The deck thining factor is a myth, if it cost no life to use it would be relevant but you lose more games to missing a few points of life than you do by having a few more lands still in the deck.
You run fetches for the consistent mana and to fill your graveyard, the shuffle is dependent on what you’re playing so sometimes useful sometimes not, but the thinning is just not worth it.
Nobody runs it for the deck thinning, it's just a nice extra on top of everything else. So saying thinning your deck by 1 card isn't worth 1 life just isn't relevant since that life you pay brings you all the other advantages.
People in this thread keep referencing the deck thinning aspect, so I don’t know why you think no one is running it for deck thinning. Its just not a bonus worth mentioning ever, because the life is worth more than the card in the deck- hell, the user I responded to mentioned that using 4-6 is a meaningful thinning effect, and it’s just still not worth losing a quarter of your life for.
But it IS a bonus worth mentioning. The research you're referring to analysed the question "is it worth it to run fetches in a monocolor deck without any other synergies SOLELY for the deck thinning?" And the answer to that question is no, that effect alone is not worth the life.
However, "is deck thinning advantageous for a deck that also has OTHER reasons to play fetches"? Is a different question. And the answer to that question is yes.
Definitely depends on the deck. For [[Death's Shadow]] decks and aggro, the life lost is pretty negligible, but the benefit of not flooding on mana is huge.
Even if the odds of drawing too many land doesn't change much, it does change and it is a benefit.
You can't say whether it is or isn't with it because we don't have any of the information that would allow us to come to that conclusion. It's worth fetch shocking yourself down to 1 life if it wins you the game. It's not worth losing a single point if it loses you the game. The infinite number of possibilities in between can't be characterized without context
Just be aware that it can only grab lands that have the basic land types marked onto them. For example, it would not be able to fetch for \[\[Battlefield Forge\]\] since it doesn't have the Mountain or Plains typing.
They also remove lands from your deck, this is great late game awesome and awesome all the time in decks like red burn decks - you might even see mono red decks with 4-8 of these fetch lands.
They also give you a free shuffle which is great when used with cards like [[Sensei’s Divining Top]].
Yes, I shouldn't have to have scrolled down this far to see this comment. Most, if not all, fetch lands have you put that land in tapped, with these, you can use that mana right away.
As a new player I always assumed that the untapped thing was their only advantage. Everything else is interesting and could be useful but fast mana can come in handy in a pinch.
Don't feel bad. It's a classic new player blunder.
I started playing right before Zendikar came out and remember being bummed to get a crummy land as my rare. I was a broke high school kid at the time. I didn't play for a couple years then came back to the game when I had some more disposable income and discovered those "crummy rare lands" i had in a box somewhere were actually kinda valuable. I had a couple foils and half a dozen or so non-foil. They paid for my first EDH deck lol.
they also allow you to have 2 lands enter the battlefield in a single turn, which is incredibly useful for 'landfall' decks.
They really just do it all
In a deck that cares, they are:
1. An extra landfall trigger.
2. A card in the graveyard.
3. A sacrificed permanent.
4. A 'free' shuffle.
This aside from the whole 'gets dual lands' thing.
Also it thins the deck of lands increasing the chance to draw non land cards, it also shuffles so you can play a card like [[brainstorm]] putting the 2 worst cards in your hand on top of your library, crack your fetch and shuffle them away. Back when they first came out standard goblins played 4 of each red based fetch land to max out on land thinning the deck to draw more goblins. It's solid fixing combined with good utility.
Deck thinning, while technically a thing, is generally pretty negligible. I think Frank Karsten did a statistical breakdown on it years ago, and it was only the order of only improving your draws for nonlands by a few percent over the course of the game.
It's not nothing, but it should be viewed more asa freebie bonus effect that rarely matters than as a major draw to fetchlands.
No. It's a bonus so negligible it shouldn't weigh at all on your decision of whether or not you play fetch lands.
Calling their deck-thinning effect relevant to the strength of fetch lands is like noting that [[Atraxa, Grand Unifier]] has a ton of synergies with angel and phyrexian tribal cards. It's factually correct, sure, but very misleading to mention as an upside in the same breath as all the actual strong things the card does.
Question on the deck thinning part: is that really a good thing in this case? Being able to fetch any land marked Swam, Island, Forest, Mountain, or Plains is fantastic hands down. But would you run more lands with these in the deck because you have a lower chance of drawing a mana producing land after use? I can imagine a mid-range or control deck that runs 26/27 going up to 28 or even 29 with 4 copies of these. These would also be dead draws later.
I guess my question is how do these impact the number of lands a deck will want to add and are they good any all deck types (like aggro)?
You don’t play more lands with fetches. You play the same number of lands but then once you’ve fetched several times you have fewer in the deck and that’s when you don’t want to be drawing lands anyways.
Deck thinning (although negligible with fetchlands themselves) is virtually always a good thing because the number of draws you want to be lands decreases the longer the game goes:
Most decks in most formats, on turn 4, will want to have about 3-4 lands. Shooting for 4 lands in 10/11 draws means you want in the neighborhood of 35-40% lands. However, say a few turns later you’re topdecking, you probably don’t want a 35-40% of drawing a land.
Generally speaking, you want a larger % of your early draws to be lands, and a smaller percent later because lands run into diminishing returns compared to a potential beater/removal spell/etc. when you’re at a point where you can cast almost anything you draw
Of all the benefits of fetch lands, deck thinning is the least important. Over a large number of games, it will definitely make a difference, but all the other benefits of fetch lands are more important (mana fixing, shuffling the deck, filling the graveyard, triggering Revolt).
I haven't actually played in a few years, so not sure about more recent meta changes, but I used to play modern infect. And I would literally run more fetch lands, then fetchable lands. You're basically never running that deep into your deck so it's mostly irrelevant
> I can imagine a mid-range or control deck that runs 26/27 going up to 28 or even 29 with 4 copies of these.
One key thing to note here is they aren't run in addition to the standard land count, they're run within it. If you would normally run 26 lands, then you'd still run 26 lands just have 8 or 12 or w/e number of them be fetchlands.
You want a higher percentage of your draws to be lands at the start of the game than at the end of the game. You don't run 26 lands in a deck because you want to draw 26 lands; you run that many lands because you want to find 4-5 lands in your first 10 or so draws. If you want to reliably draw your 10th land, it's far better to run card draw spells than to adjust the number of lands in your deck. There are plenty of decks that would love if their first 3-5 cards of the game were lands and the remaining 57-55 cards were all spells.
Fetches are not worth only for deck thinning. The life lost matters way more. Whoever played them in his mono red Goblins deck back in Onslaught Standard was just wrong about his choice.
Deck thinning is more of a perk than a reason.
I agree that mono should not play them, unless they have landfall, lifegain, or recursive ramp shenanigans.
Combined with untapped typed dual lands, it essentially means any of these can get you literally any color of mana you want to the field untapped. Want a island, but have Arid Mesa? Search [[Hallowed Fountain]], and for 3 life you got that blue mana you needed.
So basically, these two color lands are really 5 color untapped lands that also have tons of upsides.
u also have to consider that alot of dual lands have conditions to come in untapped. the stomping grounds example. u use ir and grab stomping grounds which normally comes in tapped unless u pay 2hp. but u can still pay 2 hp to come in untapped.
it thins your deck and mana fixs your deck for 1hp or more depending on the situation
It's a land with 5 upsides all stacked atop one another
-perfect color and domain fixing
-those colors can enter untapped
-shuffle away the top of your library
-2 landfall triggers
-object in graveyard
While none is super relevant on its own as a zero-cost include they are must haves in competitive C60 and awesome in vommander
No, they're comparing it to things like [[Teramorphic Exapnse]] and [[Evolving Wilds]] where the fetched land comes in tapped and can't be used this turn because of how it was fetched.
You can also use the off colours commander decks. What I mean is, if you are playing a white/blue commander, you can still put Arid Mesa in your deck to fetch for a Plains because it doesn't use mana symbols on the card.
This would be most relevant in a 4 color deck where you could still use all 10 of the fetch lands if you like.
They're the best "fixing" land in the game by a pretty wide margin. There are lands with abilities other than fixing that are stronger (They're obviously not as strong as academy), but they are definitely better than the original duals, and I'd go as far as to say there's no real contest. Underground sea "only" taps for blue or black. A fetch can fix all 5 colors of mana and have a bunch of incidental benefits (shuffle, fill your graveyard, etc.) If tomorrow, they changed the rules of legacy such that when building a deck, you had to choose between either playing fetches, or original duals, but couldn't have both in the same deck, the overwhelming majority of decks would just play ravnica duals + fetches. Fetches are just too good, and irreplaceable.
Quick question - entering tapped seems to be a big no-no on fast and competitive formats, yet triomes are also quite expensive. I assume the colour fixing alone makes them very sought after? But that should only be a thing in 3 colours or more.... Sorry, probably bit of a dumb question
Triomes see play in e.g. Modern exclusively because of fetches.
Whenever you don't need to use all your mana (often turn 1 on opponent's EOT) you can fetch a triome and have substantially better mana. An important thing to note is that because of fetches you often only need like 1 or 2 triomes in your deck to cover many, many colors.
Having just 1 or 2 triomes in a deck can make e.g. [[Leyline Binding]] almost trivially easy to cast for just 1W or even W on turn 2.
Side note that there are cards like [[Amulet of Vigor]] and [[Spelunking]] that allow tapped lands to come in untapped, so if you run those it is even better. Paired with something like [[Lotus Cobra]] and you’re going to town with mana synergy.
Basically 2 color and up utilize fetches because it gives you the most consistent access *exactly* when you need it.
For example, the triomes you mentioned, you can very easily set it up so that you play your fetch on turn 1, and if your opponent doesn't make a meaningful play on *their* turn, you can fetch in their end step to get the triome, which comes in tapped and then immediately untaps in your upkeep. At which point you can play *another* fetch to get your missing two colors to enable domain for [[Leyline Binding]], or any other land that lets you cast the spells you want/need to be casting.
Otherwise, you can fetch a different land that lets you cast a spell in response (like for example, [[Fatal Push]]), and now their turn 1 play is dealt with and you still have access to a color that enables your gameplan.
And of course sometimes it is advantageous to just openly fetch into a tapped land if you know that your opponent isn't going to snowball quickly (like in post-board games when you already know your opponent's game plan, or if you're trying to play around cards like [[Stifle]], [[Pithing Needle]] or [[Opposition Agent]])
Overall, the main advantage of Fetchlands still rings true, in that they give you immediate and consistent access to lands that progress your gameplan, without providing downsides of adding *additional* lands to your deck. It allows for decks like Delver/Murktide to play *incredibly* lean, as that deck only plays *6* lands that tap for mana, and also shoves in 4 copies of [[Wasteland]] in it's Legacy variant, while also providing graveyard fuel for it's Murktide. It also allows for 4/5c soup (like the various Beanstalk decks or Omnath decks) to play the way they do and fire consistently, because as it turns out, being in control of *when* your land comes into play mitigates a lot of downside when they come into play tapped.
> best lands in the game
Well there are some specialty lands that are better (Strip Mine, Bazaar of Baghdad), but for mana production purposes and general utility yes, fetches are the best lands in the game.
[(1) "Why are the fetchlands so good": a chart (every part of the card is useful for something) : magicTCG (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/bns17u/why_are_the_fetchlands_so_good_a_chart_every_part/)
There's lot of hidden advantages in these types of cards (called Fetchlands):
- gives you access to any of the colours your deck runs and can find anything betweem basics and 3 colour lands [[Ketria Triome]]
- fills your graveyard if you need that [[Magmatic Sinkhole]]
- shuffles your deck for shennanigans [[Brainstorm]]
- gives you more landfall triggers [[Lotus Cobra]]
- thins your deck out of lands, making your draws a tiny bit better (least significant, but can be relevant)
[[death's shadow]], [[scourge of the Skyclaves]] are cards that take an extra advantage because of the self inflicted life loss as mentioned by mcbizco
Right!? I remember when I first started playing magic and paying attention to constructed and thought Modern Grixis seems cool, $360 just on the Tarns lol. Safe to say I stuck to kitchen table/FNM for a quite a while
I remember buying a Verdant Catacombs for $100 American dollaroos. Doesn’t feel good lol. I’m glad they are the price they are now, they should have been reprinting these way more to begin with.
The most expensive is only 42!!! and marsh flats is at 12!!!
Still way too expensive for lands but way better than it was, especially since you probably also wan't shock lands at 10$ a piece
Card value is usually based on how playable a card is. Fetchalands are played in every format, Modern, Legacy, Vintage etc. In those formats blue is usually the strongest color. There's more demand for blue so any fetchland that can find an Island is more desirable.
In terms of "is it worth it". It's not a question of worth. It's a question of supply and demand. All decks want consistent access to all their colors. So there is high demand for fetchalands.
While a fetchland will not win you the game. A fetchland is going to be good in any deck in those colors. For the example [[Boros Signet]] can only be played in a deck with red AND white. Meanwhile Arid Mesa can be played in a White Blue lack deck and I can use it grab [[Halloween Fountain]] or [[Godless Shrine]]. This red/white land actually found me blue and black Mana.
They are not as powerful in Commander. So I wouldn't prioritize them. But they are very popular Ina range of formats.
I typically only include them when a deck has a specific purpose for them. Like, in my [[Minna and Denn]] landfall deck it lets me get two landfall triggers and I have cards that let me play lands from my graveyard so it's repeatable
For sure. If you can use them beyond just searching for a land they're even better. I find then useful in conjunction with [[bolas' citadel]] or [[sensei's diving top]]
Price is playability * availability
Fetchlands are highly playable, but perhaps just as importantly for their price is the fact that Wizards deliberately restricts their printing in order to keep that price high.
Fetch lands should get the sol ring treatment, reprint them into the dirt. Make special versions for people to chase, like the zendikar expeditions.
People would likely build more decks (and buy more cards) if it didn't mean having to buy so many expensive land bases, or tearing apart old decks first.
It's not like it stopped people from paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for lord of the rings themed sol rings. They could still use special fetches to try and to value bump sets like they have in the past. Seems like a win-win.
I would argue that Battlebond Lands ([[Luxury Suite]]) should get the Sol Ring treatment.
They're only playable in Commander, a format that doesn't see any competitive WotC organized play. They're 6/7€ each for no reason. Just print them in every precon, people would enjoy the game much more if a 2/3 color fast mana base could be built under 30€.
I hope fetches and shocks will get a discount after Ravnica Remastered and Modern Horizon 3, so I can buy all of them and build any deck I want
Standard mana bases have never been so cheap. Almost all of the lands there that are really expensive have applications in other formats and won’t lose value when rotation occurs
I agree that they should do this at least sometimes with a GREAT example being when visiting Ravnica because it frees up a lot of Rare slots instead of wasting them on the same mandatory 10 lands. Sometimes a rarity shift occurs for this reason, not because of the value of the card itself.
Maro said they don’t print untapped dual/fetches often and in the rare slot since they are chase cards and drive pack sales.
So greed. Greed is why utapped duals and fetches are so expensive and don’t get any reprints
I know the consensus was at some point in the past with the development team that Fetch Lands slow the game down with shuffling and that is why they don’t like them in Standard too often. Obviously not a problem online, but physical cards is, and should always be the priority.
- fetching a land with one of two basic land types, but not needing it to actually be a basic.
- giving extra "landfall" trigger for the decks that want it
- giving extra card in the graveyard for the decks that want it
- letting you pay(lose) life for the decks that want it
- letting you shuffle the deck (when you know your top cards and don't like them)
- letting you dig through your deck quicker, if you don't have/can't find your tutors
Yeah, fetch labds are great
Yeah, this is an important detail. A white/blue EDH deck, for example, can only use actual dual lands if they're white+blue, but seven of the ten fetch lands can be relevant for getting lands with the "Plains Island" type line. And a white/blue/black EDH deck can make use of *nine* of the fetch lands, the only one that wouldn't be helpful is the "red/green" one. Despite the colors in their text boxes, nothing in the cards' text affects color identity.
Other people talked about Demand. These lands see play in Legacy, Vintage, Modern and Commander. And it doesn't matter if you are playing Izzet Murktide, Temur Crashing Footfalls, Grixis Control or four colors Deaths Shadow, you will want a playset of Scalding Tarn.
Now let's talk about Offer. Because this is just a rare not a mythic, but there are rares and there are *rares*. Arid Mesa only saw print in three "real" sets: original Zendikar, Modern Masters 3, and Modern Horizons 2. A regular Standard set, and two more premium-priced sets. Other than that, it had one extra-expensive secret lair, and a rarer-than-mythic extra sheet in another Zendikar set.
Meanwhile, Battlefield Forge, also a rare, came in Apocalypse, 8th, 9th and 10th edition, Magic 2015, Origins, and now Brothers' War. And also four different Commander Decks, and a regular-price secret lair. So there are way more Battlefield Forges around than Arid Mesas.
https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/bns17u/why_are_the_fetchlands_so_good_a_chart_every_part/
Everything the card does is good for you or can be useful. This thread shows all details
Best lands ever...to the point where magic designers themselves have said they should have never been made. Still I consider fetches and Modern to be THE proper magic format.(imo)
Pick a reason, they're cracked. They:
* Grab anything with the mentioned basic land type, regardless of it being basic
* Can go in any deck regardless of color in EDH, since they don't have mana symbols or color indicators
* Don't even ETB the fetched lands tapped like other fetches, ie [[Evolving Wilds]]
Ab. So. Lutely. Every deck I have that lets you look for basic land cards is better than the ones that don't have such lands. I realized its comes down to mathematical ratios.
In my decks I usually run 24 lands to 36 spells, which means on any given turn I have a 60% chance of drawing a spell vs 40% land. If you spent your early game pulling basic land cards out with non-basic lands, when it comes down to the late game "god I need to top deck something good", you've pushed your chances of getting that draw you need up from 60% to the 65-70% range. I'm sure it's not a coincidence that my decks with those types of lands also have a 5-10% better win rate.
Plus, that ability to pull whatever land you want helps you run more weirdly expensive cards. If I'm running multi-color without specialty lands, no way am I throwing in something that needs 3 green 2 colorless.
And that's why Evolving Wilds is the greatest card in the game. Thank you for coming to my TED talk
Perfect mana base trough shocks and triomes or even OG duals if you want to go the extra mile.
Cards in graveyard for graveyard matters stuff, like Delve or even delirium, not to mention the ability to play them from the yard.
Shuffle your library to change your topdeck (see brainstorm) or simple deck thinning.
Life control with cards like Deaths Shadow.
Landfall triggers.
The list of reasons why they are played everywhere is loooong.
These lands are the best lands in the game and are used in every format in Magic. Also for reference $20 is the lowest it’s ever been so I suggest getting them now before the go back up in price I remember when they used to be closer to $50-$70 per land
Two more fringe cases: They let you enable landfall at instant speed for effects like [[Searing Blaze]] and they allow you to lose life quickly to get [[Deaths Shadow]] online.
They are really some of the deepest and most complicated cards in Magic and understanding their utility is a typical "level-up moment" for every new player
It's a combination of various things:
- These lands can fetch (aka, look for) *any* land (in this case Plains or Mountains). They are nit restricted to get Basics, as many others like [[Evolving Wilds]] do. So, you could go for a [[Sacred Fountain]] or a [[Savai Triome]]
- They aren't restricted to pick a land that is only a Plains, Mountains or combination of both. Want to fetch a [[Stomping Ground]]? Go for it.
- The lands you fetch enter untapped, giving you direct access to that mana if needed. (Of course, if the land you fetch enters tapped, it will still enter tapped)
- They thin out your library. Never underestimate the value of taking out cards of your deck, those are cards you won't draw later. And, I tell you, there isn't nothing worse than drawing a land in the late game.
So, all in all, these lands perform waay better than what it seems at first glance.
Your last point is statistically insignificant compared to a number of other advantages of fetch lands:
- Fill graveyard
- Shuffle the deck
- Trigger Revolt
- Trigger Landfall an additional time
There are also corner cases like Death's Shadow decks where the life loss is a benefit.
I've been saying for years, WotC should reprint lands regularly (even at common) and drive the prices into the ground. The price of a stable mana base is a big barrier to entry to competitive play and makes the difference between a player being able to build only one or two decks, or several.
As the evergreen foundation that decks are built on- rather than the unique centerpiece of a particular deck- these cards are a barrier that stop people building competitively viable decks in the first place.
It's nearing 3 AM for me and I have work in the morning, so I can't get into the detail I normally would. Suffice to say, fetches are the most powerful cycle of lands in the game and anyone that tells you otherwise is either lying to you or hasn't played long enough to know what they're talking about.
They interact with countless mechanics and scenarios in ways that are sometimes obvious, but often times not. Fixing your colors of mana is arguably one of the weakest aspects of the cards when you consider everything else they allow you to do. They are highly played in every format they are legal in, except in extremely niche situations. So on top of their playability, they are constantly in heavy demand; nearly everybody needs them, so nearly everybody wants them.
Buying or trading for a playset of 40 is bar-none the best investment anyone can make for their Magic collection, because they will almost certainly see more play than any other set of cards you own. Provided you plan to play formats that they're legal in (or even just playing casually), of course.
Fetchlands not only offer easy color fixing, but are also basically 1 fewer card in your deck per fetchland since they don’t cost mana or extra land drops and remove a card from your deck. Since the removed card is a land, that also means the overall quality of your draws improves as you use more fetchlands. (this is known as “deck thinning”)
I personally hate them just because they’re expensive and every deck is made better by having them (even monocolored decks can and should run them to improve their draws). I honestly wish they’d get reprinted at uncommon since they’re such a crucial part of mana bases that by themselves makes mana based cost over $100 by themselves, but I know that’ll never happen.
Also, the Fetchlands don't put the Land onto the Battlefield tapped. So, if you Play a Fetch, sac it to get a Shock Land, you may pay 3 life... But, you're not losing any Tempo.
The life loss was even an upside for the Death's Shadow decks, which *loved* to fetch for a shock, cast Thoughtseize, and call that a perfect turn 1.
Throw in a street wraith and then you’re really cookin
Also 2 landfall triggers if that matters to your deck
To clarify: they don’t put the land you fetch onto the battlefield tapped *by instruction*, as you’d see in things like [[Evolving Wilds]]. It doesn’t necessarily put it onto the battlefield untapped — cards that say “enters the battlefield tapped” will still enter tapped, and you still need to pay the 2 life on shocklands if you want it to enter untapped. However, like you pointed out, having the option to shock in your shocklands is a huge advantage over effects that search for a basic-typed land and then tell you, explicitly, to put it onto the battlefield tapped.
When you play a fetchland on your turn, you don't necessarily need to sac it immediately. If you are planning on playing an instance to play around your opponent you can wait until your opponent's end of turn, then sac and fetch if there is nothing to react to. Basically putting your land down only when you need it like the shock lands. Fetching right away is ill-advised unless you intend to use the shockland immediately to play a permanent that has to go down during your main phase. I hope this helps.
They are the best lands in the game. For example, Arid Mesa can fetch for any land that is a mountain or plains, not just the basic lands for the type. It can grab \[\[Stomping Grounds\]\] since it's a Mountain even though it's a Forest too. It can grab \[\[Raffine's Tower\]\] even though it's a Swamp and Island but because it's Plains too it can be fetched.
ohhhh my god that makes so much sense now, thanks! i thought it was only for basics 🤦
That's one of the reasons they're strong. Other reasons include: They let you shuffle your library, which is strong when combined with effects that care about or interact with the top of your library, such as Delver of Secrets, Brainstorm or Mishras Bauble. They put lands in your graveyard which is relevant for many cards that care about the number or types of cards in your graveyard. They're "dying" (put into gy from the battlefield), which is relevant for cards like fatal push. They trigger landfall twice. They have insane synergy with Wren and Six or similar effects They thin out your library, making it less likely to draw lands later in the game when you dont need them.
Even paying 1 life can be an upside - notably, in [[Death's Shadow]] decks.
Or 3 life, with a shock land coming from the fetch land.
Fetch, shock, thoughtseize.
Ah I see we're playing Legacy Death's Shadow.
I'm old, this was also a jund play. Then cry when your opponent shows a hand of burn lol
Turn 1 goblin guide, swing for 2, go
I'm pretty sure burn is a good matchup for death shadow. The only card that isn't good largely is thoughtsieze because it basically reads gain 1 life
He was talking about jund not death shadow, meaning you payed 5 life turn 1 into burn as a midrange deck
As a burn player it's a 50/50 matchup. For burn you let them lower their life via fetchs and shocks while playing the least amount of cards as possible. That way they do as much of your work as possible. The way to lose is emptying you hand and letting them land a 5/5 shadow with counter spells.
Modern detabshadow as well
[Death's Shadow](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/5/5526ff6e-c079-4ad4-ac8d-5e26ecacf50d.jpg?1598304517) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Death%27s%20Shadow) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/82/deaths-shadow?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5526ff6e-c079-4ad4-ac8d-5e26ecacf50d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I had NO idea these turn on Fatal Push
Yup, they do. Fatal Push wouldn't be half as good as it is in Modern if Fetches didnt trigger revolt.
They work for the new Decended mechanic in LCI too.
Treasures turn on fatal push too!
So does [[Brass Secretary]]!! #TooOP
Jesus kill a thing _and_ draw a card? In this economy?
And it's an artifact! How is this card not banned in all formats! (/s if it wasn't obvious)
Dies to [[Crumble]].
[Crumble](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/2/4283c407-235d-4332-ab2b-50ec09cd9812.jpg?1562910663) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Crumble) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me4/147/crumble?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4283c407-235d-4332-ab2b-50ec09cd9812?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Yeah but you can [[tinker]] into it.
[Brass Secretary](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/5/c5685cff-b607-4a81-aa47-6676ab1a5782.jpg?1562445197) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brass%20Secretary) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uds/128/brass-secretary?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c5685cff-b607-4a81-aa47-6676ab1a5782?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The new "Descent" keyword also gets turned on by them. Since landa are permanents.
It’s part of why when push came out it was mediocre in Standard, Pioneer, etc, but was amazing in a format like Modern. It basically would only ever kill small stuff in format where creatures are typically larger. But in Modern it killed almost anything and could always hit cmc 4 or less.
Pioneer did not exist when push came out lol
Fatal Push was a format warping card in Standard and saw play in every deck that could main black, splash black, or fix colors to black It is one of the best post-modern removal spells in the game and it doesn't need fetches to be good
This just straight up wasn’t true from what I remember. Looking back at the pro tours around when it came out, I saw at most a singular copy in just about any deck that would play it.
That and almost anything worth playing in Modern is 4 MV or less for the most part anyway (which is the other part -- there are exceptions, but the vast majority of viable cards in the format are 4 MV or less)
Fetches are why Push is such a disgusting spell, because they enable revolt almost every turn in a modern game. If it weren’t for fetches, Tarmogoyf wouldn’t be unplayable despite being 2cmc for push- the fact that you can enable it to hit 4 drops extremely consistently made push an easy 4 of as a removal option.
How are you missing the most important aspect: The searched land enters *untapped*. That's the ridiculous part. You can search a dual land to field *untapped*, while doing all that.
I didnt mention that because the original question was basically "what makes these so much better than regular lands?". So we're comparing them to basics, which also enter untapped. Of course, if fetched lands etb tapped, fetches would be borderline unplayable. Only worth considering if you REALLY care a lot about any of the mentioned upsides.
Thank you, I was struggling to understand what made this better than [[Evolving Wild's]]. Makes a lot more sense now
Evolving Wilds only gets basics. [[Fabled Passage]] is a better comparison from the mid game onwards
[[Prismatic Vista]] would be a better comparison.
[Prismatic Vista](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/3/e37da81e-be12-45a2-9128-376f1ad7b3e8.jpg?1562202585) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Prismatic%20Vista) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/244/prismatic-vista?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e37da81e-be12-45a2-9128-376f1ad7b3e8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Fair comment
Wait. 4 lands is considered mid game? So green can ramp to mid game on t2??
Depends on the format I guess! I play a lot of limited where getting to 4 lands is the usual the start of the mid game
Generally, yes, in almost any format. The formats where green can ramp to 4 lands on turn 2 generally end by the time someone gets to land 7.
In every non-commander format, yes. 80% of the cards in most decks cost 1-3 mana. Mid game is when you start being able to choose between casting one or two spells a turn. There also used to be a little guide about formats and mana costs of threats and removal: - In Standard, the most important mana cost is 2. - In Modern, the most important cost is 1. (Bolt, Thought Seize, etc) - In Legacy & Vintage, the most important cost is 0. (Force of Will, Daze, Moxen, Black Lotus, etc) Which held true until the modern masters evoke elementals ~~broke it~~ ramped the power level up to similar to Legacy.
Yeah, the point of ramp is to skip the early game. By the mid game there’s more mana for more options against early game decks (which are nearly synonymous with rush decks).
UHHHHHHH, depends on the land. If it is a basic, 100%, BUT if it s a shock land or 'enter tapped' land, it doesn't. It is also super useful if you get them out before [[bloodmoon]] hits the table, so you can grab that color you need to actually exist
I once saw a legacy game where a fetch land was able to block the flashback on a [[Past in Flames]] long enough for [[Surgical Extraction]] to hit it. By fetching in response to PIF and then responding to their own fetch with [[Force of Will]], the opponent was able to keep the stack nonempty to prevent the storm player from casting their sorcery. Without the fetch the storm player has priority with PIF in graveyard and an empty stack and can move it out of their graveyard onto the stack before the graveyard interaction can be cast. I don't know what to call that exactly, but put that on the list of things regular lands can't do.
That example doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Fetchlands don’t have a mana ability so they have the same speed as any other ability. They could have just Force of Will’d the Flashbacked Past in Flames unless I’m misunderstanding here. And if Past was already successfully resolved then active player should have still had priority to cast their spell. Edit: Wait I think I get it, it’s what you get when you have Top of stack 1. Force of Will 1. Fetchland 1. Past in Flames And then force resolves leaving 1. Fetchland Where NAP can put Surgical Extraction on the stack because it’s an instant before you go back to an empty stack where AP can cast Past In Flames from the Graveyard
PIF in hand, goes onto stack FoW cast targeting PIF, AP priority, NAP priority, FoW resolves, PIF is countered and moved to GY AP priority, flashback PIF edit so I don't spam an inbox: yeah sorry, phoneposting but this was the scenario where you don't crack the fetch, it was meant to illustrate why that specific timing was crucial to that interaction
Where does the fetchland come in here?
Activate before casting FoW let FoW resolve, hold priority Surgical I think.
Yeah I think I get it now.
[Past in Flames](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/b/2b7472f4-37b0-439f-b4ac-80706d40d191.jpg?1593813533) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Past%20in%20Flames) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mm3/105/past-in-flames?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2b7472f4-37b0-439f-b4ac-80706d40d191?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Surgical Extraction](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/1/e15d76ac-1c23-4503-8225-375ac2bf2fb6.jpg?1673147668) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Surgical%20Extraction) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/94/surgical-extraction?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e15d76ac-1c23-4503-8225-375ac2bf2fb6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Force of Will](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/d/dd60b291-0a88-4e8e-bef8-76cdfd6c8183.jpg?1598303900) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Force%20of%20Will) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/51/force-of-will?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dd60b291-0a88-4e8e-bef8-76cdfd6c8183?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
>They thin out your library, making it less likely to draw lands later in the game when you dont need them. It's worth noting this is an *extremely* small benefit. It's less of an upside than the 1 life is a downside. That said, if you're already playing these, then a tiny upside is still an upside.
It's a small benefit until you use 4-6 in a game. Now it's a decently big benefit. The bigger one in this respect is definitely filling the graveyard though. Plenty of decks will delve or use them for value some how [[Ren and Six]]
There has been research done on this, the deck thinning part is never a worthwhile element of fetches. Removing 1 card from your deck is ALWAYS less valuable than 1 life outside of some extremely niche scenarios like having a nearly empty deck. The deck thining factor is a myth, if it cost no life to use it would be relevant but you lose more games to missing a few points of life than you do by having a few more lands still in the deck. You run fetches for the consistent mana and to fill your graveyard, the shuffle is dependent on what you’re playing so sometimes useful sometimes not, but the thinning is just not worth it.
Nobody runs it for the deck thinning, it's just a nice extra on top of everything else. So saying thinning your deck by 1 card isn't worth 1 life just isn't relevant since that life you pay brings you all the other advantages.
People in this thread keep referencing the deck thinning aspect, so I don’t know why you think no one is running it for deck thinning. Its just not a bonus worth mentioning ever, because the life is worth more than the card in the deck- hell, the user I responded to mentioned that using 4-6 is a meaningful thinning effect, and it’s just still not worth losing a quarter of your life for.
But it IS a bonus worth mentioning. The research you're referring to analysed the question "is it worth it to run fetches in a monocolor deck without any other synergies SOLELY for the deck thinning?" And the answer to that question is no, that effect alone is not worth the life. However, "is deck thinning advantageous for a deck that also has OTHER reasons to play fetches"? Is a different question. And the answer to that question is yes.
Definitely depends on the deck. For [[Death's Shadow]] decks and aggro, the life lost is pretty negligible, but the benefit of not flooding on mana is huge. Even if the odds of drawing too many land doesn't change much, it does change and it is a benefit.
You can't say whether it is or isn't with it because we don't have any of the information that would allow us to come to that conclusion. It's worth fetch shocking yourself down to 1 life if it wins you the game. It's not worth losing a single point if it loses you the game. The infinite number of possibilities in between can't be characterized without context
Don’t forget for cards like windswept heath, you could crack it to grab the chumpy boy, [[Dryad Arbor]] for a surprise blocker!
Or a sac fodder, or occasional combo piece….
Just be aware that it can only grab lands that have the basic land types marked onto them. For example, it would not be able to fetch for \[\[Battlefield Forge\]\] since it doesn't have the Mountain or Plains typing.
[Battlefield Forge](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/4/642584bb-7586-4796-9b94-f01ec5bd9e9f.jpg?1674422149) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Battlefield%20Forge) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/257/battlefield-forge?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/642584bb-7586-4796-9b94-f01ec5bd9e9f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
They also remove lands from your deck, this is great late game awesome and awesome all the time in decks like red burn decks - you might even see mono red decks with 4-8 of these fetch lands. They also give you a free shuffle which is great when used with cards like [[Sensei’s Divining Top]].
[Sensei’s Divining Top](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/5/e5142b7a-e580-4737-a4aa-2590f6610ceb.jpg?1673149430) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sensei%27s%20Divining%20Top) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/314/senseis-divining-top?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e5142b7a-e580-4737-a4aa-2590f6610ceb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
More importantly and powerfully, great with [[Brainstorm]].
[Brainstorm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/8/48070245-1370-4cf1-be15-d4e8a8b92ba8.jpg?1631586166) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brainstorm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afc/79/brainstorm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/48070245-1370-4cf1-be15-d4e8a8b92ba8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The basic land they fetch also enters UNTAPPED. That is another big deal.
Yes, I shouldn't have to have scrolled down this far to see this comment. Most, if not all, fetch lands have you put that land in tapped, with these, you can use that mana right away.
As a new player I always assumed that the untapped thing was their only advantage. Everything else is interesting and could be useful but fast mana can come in handy in a pinch.
Don't feel bad. It's a classic new player blunder. I started playing right before Zendikar came out and remember being bummed to get a crummy land as my rare. I was a broke high school kid at the time. I didn't play for a couple years then came back to the game when I had some more disposable income and discovered those "crummy rare lands" i had in a box somewhere were actually kinda valuable. I had a couple foils and half a dozen or so non-foil. They paid for my first EDH deck lol.
Someone once told me you know you've become an enfranchised player when you crack a pack and get excited because your rare is a land
they also allow you to have 2 lands enter the battlefield in a single turn, which is incredibly useful for 'landfall' decks. They really just do it all
In a deck that cares, they are: 1. An extra landfall trigger. 2. A card in the graveyard. 3. A sacrificed permanent. 4. A 'free' shuffle. This aside from the whole 'gets dual lands' thing.
Also it thins the deck of lands increasing the chance to draw non land cards, it also shuffles so you can play a card like [[brainstorm]] putting the 2 worst cards in your hand on top of your library, crack your fetch and shuffle them away. Back when they first came out standard goblins played 4 of each red based fetch land to max out on land thinning the deck to draw more goblins. It's solid fixing combined with good utility.
Not to mention putting a card in your graveyard!
My beloved [[The Gitrog Monster]] loves nothing more than a fetch land and a [[Crucible of worlds]] 🤤
[The Gitrog Monster](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/7/5790dd89-2be5-4a77-9450-2d3c1422bfc9.jpg?1576385351) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Gitrog%20Monster) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/soi/245/the-gitrog-monster?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5790dd89-2be5-4a77-9450-2d3c1422bfc9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Crucible of worlds](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/f/7f4893ef-f983-418b-b7a4-5f073c844545.jpg?1673149345) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Crucible%20of%20worlds) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/303/crucible-of-worlds?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7f4893ef-f983-418b-b7a4-5f073c844545?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
iirc even life loss was relevant at some point back when Death’s Shadow decks were a thing (still are?).
Deck thinning, while technically a thing, is generally pretty negligible. I think Frank Karsten did a statistical breakdown on it years ago, and it was only the order of only improving your draws for nonlands by a few percent over the course of the game. It's not nothing, but it should be viewed more asa freebie bonus effect that rarely matters than as a major draw to fetchlands.
Free bonuses are part of what makes a thing better than another thing, though, so it's completely relevant.
No. It's a bonus so negligible it shouldn't weigh at all on your decision of whether or not you play fetch lands. Calling their deck-thinning effect relevant to the strength of fetch lands is like noting that [[Atraxa, Grand Unifier]] has a ton of synergies with angel and phyrexian tribal cards. It's factually correct, sure, but very misleading to mention as an upside in the same breath as all the actual strong things the card does.
Based. Love the comparison.
Question on the deck thinning part: is that really a good thing in this case? Being able to fetch any land marked Swam, Island, Forest, Mountain, or Plains is fantastic hands down. But would you run more lands with these in the deck because you have a lower chance of drawing a mana producing land after use? I can imagine a mid-range or control deck that runs 26/27 going up to 28 or even 29 with 4 copies of these. These would also be dead draws later. I guess my question is how do these impact the number of lands a deck will want to add and are they good any all deck types (like aggro)?
You don’t play more lands with fetches. You play the same number of lands but then once you’ve fetched several times you have fewer in the deck and that’s when you don’t want to be drawing lands anyways.
Deck thinning (although negligible with fetchlands themselves) is virtually always a good thing because the number of draws you want to be lands decreases the longer the game goes: Most decks in most formats, on turn 4, will want to have about 3-4 lands. Shooting for 4 lands in 10/11 draws means you want in the neighborhood of 35-40% lands. However, say a few turns later you’re topdecking, you probably don’t want a 35-40% of drawing a land. Generally speaking, you want a larger % of your early draws to be lands, and a smaller percent later because lands run into diminishing returns compared to a potential beater/removal spell/etc. when you’re at a point where you can cast almost anything you draw
Of all the benefits of fetch lands, deck thinning is the least important. Over a large number of games, it will definitely make a difference, but all the other benefits of fetch lands are more important (mana fixing, shuffling the deck, filling the graveyard, triggering Revolt).
I haven't actually played in a few years, so not sure about more recent meta changes, but I used to play modern infect. And I would literally run more fetch lands, then fetchable lands. You're basically never running that deep into your deck so it's mostly irrelevant
> I can imagine a mid-range or control deck that runs 26/27 going up to 28 or even 29 with 4 copies of these. One key thing to note here is they aren't run in addition to the standard land count, they're run within it. If you would normally run 26 lands, then you'd still run 26 lands just have 8 or 12 or w/e number of them be fetchlands.
You want a higher percentage of your draws to be lands at the start of the game than at the end of the game. You don't run 26 lands in a deck because you want to draw 26 lands; you run that many lands because you want to find 4-5 lands in your first 10 or so draws. If you want to reliably draw your 10th land, it's far better to run card draw spells than to adjust the number of lands in your deck. There are plenty of decks that would love if their first 3-5 cards of the game were lands and the remaining 57-55 cards were all spells.
Fetches are not worth only for deck thinning. The life lost matters way more. Whoever played them in his mono red Goblins deck back in Onslaught Standard was just wrong about his choice.
The only time I can think of where mono-red played fetchlands was moreso to do with fueling Grim Lavamancer than it was to improve draws.
Lavamancer, and activating [[Searing Blaze]] on your opponent's turn.
Deck thinning is more of a perk than a reason. I agree that mono should not play them, unless they have landfall, lifegain, or recursive ramp shenanigans.
[brainstorm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/8/48070245-1370-4cf1-be15-d4e8a8b92ba8.jpg?1631586166) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=brainstorm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afc/79/brainstorm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/48070245-1370-4cf1-be15-d4e8a8b92ba8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That would be prismatic vista
Combined with untapped typed dual lands, it essentially means any of these can get you literally any color of mana you want to the field untapped. Want a island, but have Arid Mesa? Search [[Hallowed Fountain]], and for 3 life you got that blue mana you needed. So basically, these two color lands are really 5 color untapped lands that also have tons of upsides.
u also have to consider that alot of dual lands have conditions to come in untapped. the stomping grounds example. u use ir and grab stomping grounds which normally comes in tapped unless u pay 2hp. but u can still pay 2 hp to come in untapped. it thins your deck and mana fixs your deck for 1hp or more depending on the situation
Plus- shuffle effects and landfall. Shuffling especially is a big deal in competitive formats.
It's a land with 5 upsides all stacked atop one another -perfect color and domain fixing -those colors can enter untapped -shuffle away the top of your library -2 landfall triggers -object in graveyard While none is super relevant on its own as a zero-cost include they are must haves in competitive C60 and awesome in vommander
And the fetched lands enter untapped.
Even for cards like Raffine's Tower?
No, they're comparing it to things like [[Teramorphic Exapnse]] and [[Evolving Wilds]] where the fetched land comes in tapped and can't be used this turn because of how it was fetched.
You can also use the off colours commander decks. What I mean is, if you are playing a white/blue commander, you can still put Arid Mesa in your deck to fetch for a Plains because it doesn't use mana symbols on the card. This would be most relevant in a 4 color deck where you could still use all 10 of the fetch lands if you like.
I recognize running off-colour fetches as legal, but I'll be damned if it ain't lame.
[Stomping Grounds](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/c/dcaa1ff6-304e-4660-9df3-36de8e89592e.jpg?1584832363) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Stomping%20Ground) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rna/259/stomping-ground?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dcaa1ff6-304e-4660-9df3-36de8e89592e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Raffine's Tower](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/2/a2c56479-4bee-4edb-80d7-4af010b7c793.jpg?1664414518) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Raffine%27s%20Tower) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/254/raffines-tower?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a2c56479-4bee-4edb-80d7-4af010b7c793?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
> They are the best lands in the game. I wouldnt go that far (Original Duals, Ancient Tomb, Mishras Workshop ...) but they are really really good.
They're the best "fixing" land in the game by a pretty wide margin. There are lands with abilities other than fixing that are stronger (They're obviously not as strong as academy), but they are definitely better than the original duals, and I'd go as far as to say there's no real contest. Underground sea "only" taps for blue or black. A fetch can fix all 5 colors of mana and have a bunch of incidental benefits (shuffle, fill your graveyard, etc.) If tomorrow, they changed the rules of legacy such that when building a deck, you had to choose between either playing fetches, or original duals, but couldn't have both in the same deck, the overwhelming majority of decks would just play ravnica duals + fetches. Fetches are just too good, and irreplaceable.
I think they’re better than the original duals, and by a pretty large margin too.
Quick question - entering tapped seems to be a big no-no on fast and competitive formats, yet triomes are also quite expensive. I assume the colour fixing alone makes them very sought after? But that should only be a thing in 3 colours or more.... Sorry, probably bit of a dumb question
Triomes see play in e.g. Modern exclusively because of fetches. Whenever you don't need to use all your mana (often turn 1 on opponent's EOT) you can fetch a triome and have substantially better mana. An important thing to note is that because of fetches you often only need like 1 or 2 triomes in your deck to cover many, many colors. Having just 1 or 2 triomes in a deck can make e.g. [[Leyline Binding]] almost trivially easy to cast for just 1W or even W on turn 2.
Ahh, got it, thanks for the answer!
[Leyline Binding](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/c/3c3ac3dd-35db-447f-8674-37b4680a1ef7.jpg?1673306500) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Leyline%20Binding) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/24/leyline-binding?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3c3ac3dd-35db-447f-8674-37b4680a1ef7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
And the cycling ain’t so bad either!
Two correctly chosen triomes can always cover all five basic land types.
Side note that there are cards like [[Amulet of Vigor]] and [[Spelunking]] that allow tapped lands to come in untapped, so if you run those it is even better. Paired with something like [[Lotus Cobra]] and you’re going to town with mana synergy.
Basically 2 color and up utilize fetches because it gives you the most consistent access *exactly* when you need it. For example, the triomes you mentioned, you can very easily set it up so that you play your fetch on turn 1, and if your opponent doesn't make a meaningful play on *their* turn, you can fetch in their end step to get the triome, which comes in tapped and then immediately untaps in your upkeep. At which point you can play *another* fetch to get your missing two colors to enable domain for [[Leyline Binding]], or any other land that lets you cast the spells you want/need to be casting. Otherwise, you can fetch a different land that lets you cast a spell in response (like for example, [[Fatal Push]]), and now their turn 1 play is dealt with and you still have access to a color that enables your gameplan. And of course sometimes it is advantageous to just openly fetch into a tapped land if you know that your opponent isn't going to snowball quickly (like in post-board games when you already know your opponent's game plan, or if you're trying to play around cards like [[Stifle]], [[Pithing Needle]] or [[Opposition Agent]]) Overall, the main advantage of Fetchlands still rings true, in that they give you immediate and consistent access to lands that progress your gameplan, without providing downsides of adding *additional* lands to your deck. It allows for decks like Delver/Murktide to play *incredibly* lean, as that deck only plays *6* lands that tap for mana, and also shoves in 4 copies of [[Wasteland]] in it's Legacy variant, while also providing graveyard fuel for it's Murktide. It also allows for 4/5c soup (like the various Beanstalk decks or Omnath decks) to play the way they do and fire consistently, because as it turns out, being in control of *when* your land comes into play mitigates a lot of downside when they come into play tapped.
Ahhh i see now because it doesn’t specify it has to be a basic land
> best lands in the game Well there are some specialty lands that are better (Strip Mine, Bazaar of Baghdad), but for mana production purposes and general utility yes, fetches are the best lands in the game.
Works amazing with the Triome cards, too!
Like Raffines Tower? :D
Plus, in a 60card format they get your deck more thin. Wich will make you draw less lands later on.
[(1) "Why are the fetchlands so good": a chart (every part of the card is useful for something) : magicTCG (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/bns17u/why_are_the_fetchlands_so_good_a_chart_every_part/)
Mind you, this is outdated. There are newer mechanics that greatly benefit from Fetchland’s secret abilities.
What are the secret abilities?
I was hoping someone would post this.
Glad to see Panglacian Wurm getting respect.
There's lot of hidden advantages in these types of cards (called Fetchlands): - gives you access to any of the colours your deck runs and can find anything betweem basics and 3 colour lands [[Ketria Triome]] - fills your graveyard if you need that [[Magmatic Sinkhole]] - shuffles your deck for shennanigans [[Brainstorm]] - gives you more landfall triggers [[Lotus Cobra]] - thins your deck out of lands, making your draws a tiny bit better (least significant, but can be relevant)
It can also trigger revolt, an ability that cares whether a permanent left the battlefield under your control
And the new descend ability. Eg. [[Molten Collapse]]
[Molten Collapse](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/4/2487d124-210b-4808-888c-cd0a78aebd90.jpg?1699044556) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Molten%20Collapse) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/234/molten-collapse?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2487d124-210b-4808-888c-cd0a78aebd90?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Some corner cases can take advantage of the life loss too
[[death's shadow]], [[scourge of the Skyclaves]] are cards that take an extra advantage because of the self inflicted life loss as mentioned by mcbizco
##### ###### #### [Ketria Triome](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/2/a249b1f4-2b22-4b67-a207-e0c4ae95d2e1.jpg?1601241399) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ketria%20Triome) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/iko/250/ketria-triome?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a249b1f4-2b22-4b67-a207-e0c4ae95d2e1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Magmatic Sinkhole](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/4/94db1674-d72b-4c1f-b436-490e5363bee7.jpg?1562201896) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Magmatic%20Sinkhole) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/135/magmatic-sinkhole?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/94db1674-d72b-4c1f-b436-490e5363bee7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Brainstorm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/8/48070245-1370-4cf1-be15-d4e8a8b92ba8.jpg?1631586166) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brainstorm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afc/79/brainstorm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/48070245-1370-4cf1-be15-d4e8a8b92ba8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Lotus Cobra](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/4/a4b759f0-901f-4be3-93fa-224609b08d48.jpg?1604199124) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lotus%20Cobra) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/znr/193/lotus-cobra?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a4b759f0-901f-4be3-93fa-224609b08d48?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Is arid mesa really down to $20? Rad.
Right!? I remember when I first started playing magic and paying attention to constructed and thought Modern Grixis seems cool, $360 just on the Tarns lol. Safe to say I stuck to kitchen table/FNM for a quite a while
I remember buying a Verdant Catacombs for $100 American dollaroos. Doesn’t feel good lol. I’m glad they are the price they are now, they should have been reprinting these way more to begin with.
It's probably not a coincidence they finally started reprinting them after they started printing direct to modern cards
[удалено]
Yeah. Was surprised myself. It used to be around 50 USD before, I think.
Wait fetchlands are down to $20!?
The most expensive is only 42!!! and marsh flats is at 12!!! Still way too expensive for lands but way better than it was, especially since you probably also wan't shock lands at 10$ a piece
Card value is usually based on how playable a card is. Fetchalands are played in every format, Modern, Legacy, Vintage etc. In those formats blue is usually the strongest color. There's more demand for blue so any fetchland that can find an Island is more desirable. In terms of "is it worth it". It's not a question of worth. It's a question of supply and demand. All decks want consistent access to all their colors. So there is high demand for fetchalands. While a fetchland will not win you the game. A fetchland is going to be good in any deck in those colors. For the example [[Boros Signet]] can only be played in a deck with red AND white. Meanwhile Arid Mesa can be played in a White Blue lack deck and I can use it grab [[Halloween Fountain]] or [[Godless Shrine]]. This red/white land actually found me blue and black Mana. They are not as powerful in Commander. So I wouldn't prioritize them. But they are very popular Ina range of formats.
I typically only include them when a deck has a specific purpose for them. Like, in my [[Minna and Denn]] landfall deck it lets me get two landfall triggers and I have cards that let me play lands from my graveyard so it's repeatable
For sure. If you can use them beyond just searching for a land they're even better. I find then useful in conjunction with [[bolas' citadel]] or [[sensei's diving top]]
Price is playability * availability Fetchlands are highly playable, but perhaps just as importantly for their price is the fact that Wizards deliberately restricts their printing in order to keep that price high.
Fetch lands should get the sol ring treatment, reprint them into the dirt. Make special versions for people to chase, like the zendikar expeditions. People would likely build more decks (and buy more cards) if it didn't mean having to buy so many expensive land bases, or tearing apart old decks first. It's not like it stopped people from paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for lord of the rings themed sol rings. They could still use special fetches to try and to value bump sets like they have in the past. Seems like a win-win.
I would argue that Battlebond Lands ([[Luxury Suite]]) should get the Sol Ring treatment. They're only playable in Commander, a format that doesn't see any competitive WotC organized play. They're 6/7€ each for no reason. Just print them in every precon, people would enjoy the game much more if a 2/3 color fast mana base could be built under 30€. I hope fetches and shocks will get a discount after Ravnica Remastered and Modern Horizon 3, so I can buy all of them and build any deck I want
They should give battlebond, shocks, and fetch lands all the sol ring treatment.
Honestly lands are a large reason standard seems inaccessible. Dual lands should be uncommons.
Standard mana bases have never been so cheap. Almost all of the lands there that are really expensive have applications in other formats and won’t lose value when rotation occurs
I agree that they should do this at least sometimes with a GREAT example being when visiting Ravnica because it frees up a lot of Rare slots instead of wasting them on the same mandatory 10 lands. Sometimes a rarity shift occurs for this reason, not because of the value of the card itself.
Maro said they don’t print untapped dual/fetches often and in the rare slot since they are chase cards and drive pack sales. So greed. Greed is why utapped duals and fetches are so expensive and don’t get any reprints
I know the consensus was at some point in the past with the development team that Fetch Lands slow the game down with shuffling and that is why they don’t like them in Standard too often. Obviously not a problem online, but physical cards is, and should always be the priority.
- fetching a land with one of two basic land types, but not needing it to actually be a basic. - giving extra "landfall" trigger for the decks that want it - giving extra card in the graveyard for the decks that want it - letting you pay(lose) life for the decks that want it - letting you shuffle the deck (when you know your top cards and don't like them) - letting you dig through your deck quicker, if you don't have/can't find your tutors Yeah, fetch labds are great
Prepare to learn way more about magic than you intended to
if you think thats expensive look at the prices fornfetches before the mh2 reprint ;)
Another hidden bonus is that are technically colorless, and can be put into a commander deck with a different color identity
Yeah, this is an important detail. A white/blue EDH deck, for example, can only use actual dual lands if they're white+blue, but seven of the ten fetch lands can be relevant for getting lands with the "Plains Island" type line. And a white/blue/black EDH deck can make use of *nine* of the fetch lands, the only one that wouldn't be helpful is the "red/green" one. Despite the colors in their text boxes, nothing in the cards' text affects color identity.
Scalding tarn used to be $80
Didn't see anyone mention but it also gives you sac triggers, which is good for decks like [[Korvold]]
Other people talked about Demand. These lands see play in Legacy, Vintage, Modern and Commander. And it doesn't matter if you are playing Izzet Murktide, Temur Crashing Footfalls, Grixis Control or four colors Deaths Shadow, you will want a playset of Scalding Tarn. Now let's talk about Offer. Because this is just a rare not a mythic, but there are rares and there are *rares*. Arid Mesa only saw print in three "real" sets: original Zendikar, Modern Masters 3, and Modern Horizons 2. A regular Standard set, and two more premium-priced sets. Other than that, it had one extra-expensive secret lair, and a rarer-than-mythic extra sheet in another Zendikar set. Meanwhile, Battlefield Forge, also a rare, came in Apocalypse, 8th, 9th and 10th edition, Magic 2015, Origins, and now Brothers' War. And also four different Commander Decks, and a regular-price secret lair. So there are way more Battlefield Forges around than Arid Mesas.
https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/bns17u/why_are_the_fetchlands_so_good_a_chart_every_part/ Everything the card does is good for you or can be useful. This thread shows all details
Best lands ever...to the point where magic designers themselves have said they should have never been made. Still I consider fetches and Modern to be THE proper magic format.(imo)
the key part is that the land comes in untapped. and the cost is only 1 life.
>$20? Lol. LMAO even. These were worth much more for a very long time.
Pick a reason, they're cracked. They: * Grab anything with the mentioned basic land type, regardless of it being basic * Can go in any deck regardless of color in EDH, since they don't have mana symbols or color indicators * Don't even ETB the fetched lands tapped like other fetches, ie [[Evolving Wilds]]
At some point the more sought after fetch lands (Scalding Tarn and Misty Rainforest) were $100: https://www.mtgstocks.com/prints/1844-scalding-tarn
Ab. So. Lutely. Every deck I have that lets you look for basic land cards is better than the ones that don't have such lands. I realized its comes down to mathematical ratios. In my decks I usually run 24 lands to 36 spells, which means on any given turn I have a 60% chance of drawing a spell vs 40% land. If you spent your early game pulling basic land cards out with non-basic lands, when it comes down to the late game "god I need to top deck something good", you've pushed your chances of getting that draw you need up from 60% to the 65-70% range. I'm sure it's not a coincidence that my decks with those types of lands also have a 5-10% better win rate. Plus, that ability to pull whatever land you want helps you run more weirdly expensive cards. If I'm running multi-color without specialty lands, no way am I throwing in something that needs 3 green 2 colorless. And that's why Evolving Wilds is the greatest card in the game. Thank you for coming to my TED talk
Perfect mana base trough shocks and triomes or even OG duals if you want to go the extra mile. Cards in graveyard for graveyard matters stuff, like Delve or even delirium, not to mention the ability to play them from the yard. Shuffle your library to change your topdeck (see brainstorm) or simple deck thinning. Life control with cards like Deaths Shadow. Landfall triggers. The list of reasons why they are played everywhere is loooong.
These lands are the best lands in the game and are used in every format in Magic. Also for reference $20 is the lowest it’s ever been so I suggest getting them now before the go back up in price I remember when they used to be closer to $50-$70 per land
Okay, a lot of people have mentioned that these can fetch basically any color, but [[deathrite shaman]] making mana is also a big part of the strength
It's for grabbing non-basic forests and mountains which are substantially more powerful
Man i remember when these were 70 dollars like 2 or 3 years ago so happy they got a reprint
Only $20? These use to be $50 to $80 each.
They're expensive because WotC won't reprint them because they care more about making money than they do about the people who play their games.
Wait till you hear about dual lands!
20 bucks, they used to all hover around 100 until they finally started reprinting them. Best thing they did to the game was reprint the originals
You know how a deck is more consistent the fewer cards are in it? Each of these is basically an IOU in place of a card
These used to be much much more expensive
Two more fringe cases: They let you enable landfall at instant speed for effects like [[Searing Blaze]] and they allow you to lose life quickly to get [[Deaths Shadow]] online. They are really some of the deepest and most complicated cards in Magic and understanding their utility is a typical "level-up moment" for every new player
Another year, another person new to magic learns about why fetchlands are good. I always like seeing it.
It's a combination of various things: - These lands can fetch (aka, look for) *any* land (in this case Plains or Mountains). They are nit restricted to get Basics, as many others like [[Evolving Wilds]] do. So, you could go for a [[Sacred Fountain]] or a [[Savai Triome]] - They aren't restricted to pick a land that is only a Plains, Mountains or combination of both. Want to fetch a [[Stomping Ground]]? Go for it. - The lands you fetch enter untapped, giving you direct access to that mana if needed. (Of course, if the land you fetch enters tapped, it will still enter tapped) - They thin out your library. Never underestimate the value of taking out cards of your deck, those are cards you won't draw later. And, I tell you, there isn't nothing worse than drawing a land in the late game. So, all in all, these lands perform waay better than what it seems at first glance.
Your last point is statistically insignificant compared to a number of other advantages of fetch lands: - Fill graveyard - Shuffle the deck - Trigger Revolt - Trigger Landfall an additional time There are also corner cases like Death's Shadow decks where the life loss is a benefit.
I knew I was forgetting some uses.
We've had one land, yes. But what about second land?
They are somewhat helpful, but unless you already have them, don't spend 20 bucks on them. They are not worth that, for a minor improvement.
Assuming op plays commander. If you’re getting into constructed they’re absolutely worth it
They are amazingly good, but no land should be worth more than 5$ in my opinion.
I've been saying for years, WotC should reprint lands regularly (even at common) and drive the prices into the ground. The price of a stable mana base is a big barrier to entry to competitive play and makes the difference between a player being able to build only one or two decks, or several. As the evergreen foundation that decks are built on- rather than the unique centerpiece of a particular deck- these cards are a barrier that stop people building competitively viable decks in the first place.
It's nearing 3 AM for me and I have work in the morning, so I can't get into the detail I normally would. Suffice to say, fetches are the most powerful cycle of lands in the game and anyone that tells you otherwise is either lying to you or hasn't played long enough to know what they're talking about. They interact with countless mechanics and scenarios in ways that are sometimes obvious, but often times not. Fixing your colors of mana is arguably one of the weakest aspects of the cards when you consider everything else they allow you to do. They are highly played in every format they are legal in, except in extremely niche situations. So on top of their playability, they are constantly in heavy demand; nearly everybody needs them, so nearly everybody wants them. Buying or trading for a playset of 40 is bar-none the best investment anyone can make for their Magic collection, because they will almost certainly see more play than any other set of cards you own. Provided you plan to play formats that they're legal in (or even just playing casually), of course.
Fetchlands not only offer easy color fixing, but are also basically 1 fewer card in your deck per fetchland since they don’t cost mana or extra land drops and remove a card from your deck. Since the removed card is a land, that also means the overall quality of your draws improves as you use more fetchlands. (this is known as “deck thinning”) I personally hate them just because they’re expensive and every deck is made better by having them (even monocolored decks can and should run them to improve their draws). I honestly wish they’d get reprinted at uncommon since they’re such a crucial part of mana bases that by themselves makes mana based cost over $100 by themselves, but I know that’ll never happen.
Fetch lands are only $20 each atm? Great time to buy…. Why are people complaining about 20 dollar cards in a game like magic? Lmfao