Recently Wizards has created lands that you can grab with fetchlands that are beyond the ABU duals or shocklands. They did that in battle for zendikar with Prairie Stream and friends, and now in Amonkhet they're doing something similar with Irrigated Farmland and friends. Obviously fetchlands are very powerful and are critical for many high-end mana bases to function, but most people will prefer the ABU duals and shocklands as they are drawback-free (shocklands are technically not so, but 2 life isn't a big deal).
With that said, it got me to think about what would be "number 3" behind ABU duals and shocklands in terms of dual lands that can be grabbed with fetchlands. Both cycles have their ups and downs. BfZ duals are almost strictly worse than shocklands, but compared to the Amonkhet duals they have the potential to ETB untapped (particularly in 2 and 3 color decks), while the cycle duals will always ETB tapped (you can technically fetch them at the end of the turn in case you didn't need the mana, but mana curves in the early-midgame tend to be tight and you generally want all the mana you can get, and if your cycling dual gets stuck in your hand early on it does slow you down). On the flip side, cycling as we all know is powerful, particularly on lands since you can cash them in for a card lategame when you don't need the mana, but again, ETBing tapped will often slow you down in the early-midgame.
So the million dollar question is, if you're constructing an EDH deck and you had a couple of slots left in your mana base and you had to choose between BfZ duals or Amonkhet duals, which would make the cut more often?
BFZ. I'm not sure I'd ever run the cycling ones, as you can only run so many taplands. I'm fine with running BFZ in 2-color and as a possible budget alternative in 3-color until I can pick up ABU duals.
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UG Arixmethes Combo UGR Wanderer UGB Tasigur Control URB Jeleva Storm RW Gisela Control
While fetching into play the BfZ lands are probably better.
While fetching into the hand (assuming 4 or 5c decks, Gift of Estates, Gaea's Bounty, Gem of Becoming, Shard Convergence, any of the several Plainscycling, Mountaincycling etc cards) the Bikelands might be better, especially late game for thinning and pitching them for additional card draws.
Fetching the Bikelands into play might also be alright if you are running a bunch of the Ravnica bounce-lands so you can pitch it for a card late-game.
It's pretty rare to run into a situation where you don't want to play your lands and also want to pay 2 mana for the cycle. As others have stated the new ones are more deck specific (decks that play lands from the graveyard etc.). As far as fetching is concerned the cycling is almost completely irrelevant at that point and the BFZ at least have a chance to come in untapped. All that said, the new ones are more versatile. They help prevent mana flooding, are better late game when you don't need more mana or draw something like Skyshroud Claim, and again have potential synergies with certain decks. In general ETB untapped is just better than that versatility, but they do have their place and are certainly viable.
Having a land come into play tapped when you need it untapped can make or break you at times. With that said BfZ are superior. Of course, if you are running a very low amount of basic lands in something like a 4 or 5 color deck and can't support the BfZ lands to come into play untapped then the cyclelands are going to be better... but in that case I think you're better off running a different type of dual land. You can only run so many CIPT lands.
In 3+ color decks, you are unlikely to have enough basics in play for BFZ lands to come into play untapped in the first 4 turns. When you want to fetch, you already have ABU and Shocks to get untapped. When are you going to need to fetch that third WB land? When you draw the land late, sure, it can come into play untapped, but I'd rather have the option to cycle.
Not to mention synergy with dredge (life from the loam especially). That being said, a 3 color deck has a lot of good options before BFZ or Cycle lands. Painlands, both cycles of filter lands, Tainted lands, etc...
In 2 color decks, you play both. Both cycles are good enough.
Depends heavily on basic counts and whether you have any way to interact with the cycling. If you're running heavy on cards like Tithe or are very basic light, cyclers are better. If you're just looking for fixing and running plenty of basics and/or basic ramp, tangos are better. I don't think either group is an autoinclude if you already have duals/shocks/fetches. I'd place them behind checks and filters as well, which means I'm only expecting to put them into lists that takes advantage of higher numbers of basic typed duals (3+ colored ramps decks) or lists that can take advantage of cycling lands with things like Life from the Loam packages. I'll probably revisit that if/when we get enemy colored versions.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Depends on basic land count and cycling synergy. Without much cycling synergy, I prefer tangos, unless I'm running very few basics or something.
Mainly I just want WotC to finish both cycles so enemy colors have more options!
I run scrylands, so these really fit into that sort of "smoothing out the draw" type thing. It's just that these are "or" and scrylands are "and".
That said, I also tend to run a lot of basics, and I like fetchlands and ramp of the Nature's Lore variety.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Recently Wizards has created lands that you can grab with fetchlands that are beyond the ABU duals or shocklands. They did that in battle for zendikar with Prairie Stream and friends, and now in Amonkhet they're doing something similar with Irrigated Farmland and friends. Obviously fetchlands are very powerful and are critical for many high-end mana bases to function, but most people will prefer the ABU duals and shocklands as they are drawback-free (shocklands are technically not so, but 2 life isn't a big deal).
With that said, it got me to think about what would be "number 3" behind ABU duals and shocklands in terms of dual lands that can be grabbed with fetchlands. Both cycles have their ups and downs. BfZ duals are almost strictly worse than shocklands, but compared to the Amonkhet duals they have the potential to ETB untapped (particularly in 2 and 3 color decks), while the cycle duals will always ETB tapped (you can technically fetch them at the end of the turn in case you didn't need the mana, but mana curves in the early-midgame tend to be tight and you generally want all the mana you can get, and if your cycling dual gets stuck in your hand early on it does slow you down). On the flip side, cycling as we all know is powerful, particularly on lands since you can cash them in for a card lategame when you don't need the mana, but again, ETBing tapped will often slow you down in the early-midgame.
So the million dollar question is, if you're constructing an EDH deck and you had a couple of slots left in your mana base and you had to choose between BfZ duals or Amonkhet duals, which would make the cut more often?
WUBRGProgenitus
URGMaelstrom Wanderer
WUBOloro, Ageless Ascetic
WURZedruu, the Greathearted
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher ($100)
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Tactician ($100)
UGKruphix, God of Horizons ($100)(retired)UTalrand, Sky Summoner (French 1v1, $100)
Mainly I just want WotC to finish both cycles so enemy colors have more options!
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
While fetching into the hand (assuming 4 or 5c decks, Gift of Estates, Gaea's Bounty, Gem of Becoming, Shard Convergence, any of the several Plainscycling, Mountaincycling etc cards) the Bikelands might be better, especially late game for thinning and pitching them for additional card draws.
Fetching the Bikelands into play might also be alright if you are running a bunch of the Ravnica bounce-lands so you can pitch it for a card late-game.
Username: Cabz
In 3+ color decks, you are unlikely to have enough basics in play for BFZ lands to come into play untapped in the first 4 turns. When you want to fetch, you already have ABU and Shocks to get untapped. When are you going to need to fetch that third WB land? When you draw the land late, sure, it can come into play untapped, but I'd rather have the option to cycle.
Not to mention synergy with dredge (life from the loam especially). That being said, a 3 color deck has a lot of good options before BFZ or Cycle lands. Painlands, both cycles of filter lands, Tainted lands, etc...
In 2 color decks, you play both. Both cycles are good enough.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
I run scrylands, so these really fit into that sort of "smoothing out the draw" type thing. It's just that these are "or" and scrylands are "and".
That said, I also tend to run a lot of basics, and I like fetchlands and ramp of the Nature's Lore variety.
On phasing: