I'm looking at Shard Convergence and wondering what gives a land types. The rulings say you can find a Hallowed Fountain for either the plains or the island. Hallowed Fountain lists that it is both on its card so that seems clear enough.
But Glacial Fortress does not list any basic land types. So is it not an island or a plain? I don't see why Hallowed Fountain would be and it wouldn't. But is that just the way it is?
I guess in short, is there any way to determine if a land has basic land types other than if it lists them?
See where it says "Land" on Glacial Fortress? A card you can search for with a fetch such as Shard Convergence will have a "-" with any relevant land types following.
The subtype of the land is what gives it its type. Hallowed Fountain has the subtypes 'Island' and 'Plains' so it counts as both. Glacial Fortress has no subtypes, so it is neither. This confuses a lot of players. Just because something taps for a certain color, doesn't mean that it has the land types associated with it. For Example Murmuring Bosk has the subtype forest but can also tap for white and black. Just because it has the ability to do so does not mean that it is also a swamp and plains. Boil will destroy Hallowed Fountain and Tundra,but it won't destroy Glacial Fortress because Glacial Fortress isn't an island
Land is a type, Mountain, Plains, Swamp, Island, Forest are subtypes. Basic is a supertype, so it's Basic Land Swamp, shard convergence checks for subtypes swamp, mountain, island or plains, hallowed fountain has the subtypes plains/island, just the same as putting a glacial fortress into play checks to see if you control the subtypes island or plains.
Thanks. I figured that with the subtype but wasn't sure if it was just a format change on newer cards or something.
Out of curiosity, if Glacial Fortress did have plains and island subtypes, and you played it on your first turn would it enter the battlefield tapped or not?
Also, do they have both just for variety? Or is it because having the subtypes is too powerful with some cards based on their abilities and other available cards like Wild Nacatl?
Glacial Fortress would enter tapped if it had those subtypes, because that replacement effect applies before it actually enters, since it has to know the game state before it enters to know whether it should apply or not.
The latter is not a rules question, but yes, it's a power level issue. Having a basic land type is generally more powerful than not having a basic land type, because of the existence of effects that search for basic land types (which allows you to search for an island and get white mana from it, for example).
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As This is entering the battlefield, it checks for lands that are already on the battlefield. It won't see lands that are entering the battlefield at the same time.
There has been two full cycles of dual subtype lands, the original dual lands Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised. The next set was printed in Ravnica, which did all 10 dual type combinations, an honorary note to murmuring bosk in lorwyn which has the subtype forest, and the ability to pain land for either a white or black.
But Glacial Fortress does not list any basic land types. So is it not an island or a plain? I don't see why Hallowed Fountain would be and it wouldn't. But is that just the way it is?
I guess in short, is there any way to determine if a land has basic land types other than if it lists them?
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Out of curiosity, if Glacial Fortress did have plains and island subtypes, and you played it on your first turn would it enter the battlefield tapped or not?
Also, do they have both just for variety? Or is it because having the subtypes is too powerful with some cards based on their abilities and other available cards like Wild Nacatl?
The latter is not a rules question, but yes, it's a power level issue. Having a basic land type is generally more powerful than not having a basic land type, because of the existence of effects that search for basic land types (which allows you to search for an island and get white mana from it, for example).
This FAQ answers many of the common questions asked in the MTGS Rulings forum. Take a look!
I'm the editor/content manager of the Magic Rules Tips Blog - Bookmark this site for daily tips about game and tournament rules.
"Abstract concepts of perfect judging run headlong into the realities of how people play the game." - Toby Elliott (papa_funk)
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As This is entering the battlefield, it checks for lands that are already on the battlefield. It won't see lands that are entering the battlefield at the same time.
There has been two full cycles of dual subtype lands, the original dual lands Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised. The next set was printed in Ravnica, which did all 10 dual type combinations, an honorary note to murmuring bosk in lorwyn which has the subtype forest, and the ability to pain land for either a white or black.
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Hallowed Fountain's type line reads "Land — Plains Island". If you control a Hallowed Fountain, you control both a Plains and an Island.
(to verify any land you want, just go to Gatherer, type in the name of the card, and look on the right-hand side of the page at the "Types" section)
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