Love Land Tax. It creates tension in the development of players' resources, and it has an absolutely absurd ceiling. It also pairs well with a lot of cube cards that can control your own land count, even if you're playing the card on the play and hitting all your land drops. Drawing 3-9 cards for W is one of the strongest things you can do in Magic, and that more than makes up for the instances where it may not fire. And when it's off, it's likely because you were on the play, made all your land drops, and didn't lose any lands (which is a good thing). Or the opponent is actively trying to play around it, which can cripple their development. But it's an amazing insurance policy for resource control, ensuring that you won't fall behind on land count ...all for one mana. One of my favorite white cards.
I know this is one of the most bomb white cards, but in what decks do you guys slot it into? Anything with white? Anything that's not an aggro / ramp deck? Of all the cards in my cube, Land Tax is the card I'm always the most conflicted when it comes to deck building.
It's not ideal for hard aggro, or decks using land-based ramp effects like Search/Cultivate/STE, etc. But other than that, I'm pretty happy to use it. And oddly enough, ramp decks that use a ton of mana rocks and mana dorks can get great mileage from Land Tax, because your land count is often lower.
I've passed this card in drafts way more often than I should have and paid the price. It's easy for newer players to the game to underestimate how valuable this much raw card advantage can be, even when it comes in the form of basic lands. Looters and other discard outlets make this even better, and I've seen players really make the most out of it this way, but even just guaranteeing your land drops in the early-mid game, and ensuring that you have nothing left in your deck but gas to draw in the later game is absurdly powerful for a single mana. It's an interesting and powerful classic card that I don't see myself cutting any time soon.
Aesthetically, I'm all about the original Brian Snoddy grinning pimp art. There's a minor issue with the wording on the original Legends and 4th edition versions, though, in that the original versions does not say to reveal the basic lands you fetch with Land Tax. The Battle Royale and Judge foil versions have the current Oracle text.
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I'm playing it in aggro decks too. In an aggro deck I can cast a lot more spells than my opponent ever could with 1 or 2 lands, so trigerring it in the early game is often trivial.
I'm sure that no one will find it shocking that I found a whole cycle of lands like this in the MTGO Legacy Cube. Once again, let's discuss this as a cycle:
Dual lands are technically better, but the cycle of shock lands is probably the single best designed cycle of duals ever printed. Powerful, universally playable, and has an appropriate and interesting drawback. It's probably the first cycle of lands that should be obtained for any (non-C/U) cube out there, based on their power to expense ratio.
Staples are staples. I'm also OK with the idea of running double sets if you can't acquire a version of ABU duals and don't want to proxy, as I feel a fetchable mana base is one of the most important 'cores' to replicating the 'cube experience', despite what type of cube you're running. If I had a non-proxy cube it would be the only singleton rule I would break.
Yeah those lands are staple for any cube, powered or not.
BTW, in a flavor sense, I personally don't like the fact that BFZ took those Ravnica Guild lands to put them into Zendikar/Hedron context. It's just not appropriated IMO. Those are Ravnica's high places and they have nothing to do with Zendikar plane.
It's probably the first cycle of lands that should be obtained for any (non-C/U) cube out there, based on their power to expense ratio.
I couldn't agree more with this, it's the cheapest cycle of duals that makes the cut in the tightest of cubes, and it's very unlikely that they something better will ever come out to make them obsolete. For Eternal and Modern staple mana fixing, they're surprisingly inexpensive.
BTW, in a flavor sense, I personally don't like the fact that BFZ took those Ravnica Guild lands to put them into Zendikar/Hedron context.
I'm also turned off by anything involving Hedrons outside of the Zendikar blocks. I won't say I'm not running the Expeditions lands purely on principle, but it's another reason I'm fine with not running them.
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Staple cycle is staple. That being said, what do you guys prefer art wise? All original RAV block, RTR block, expeditions, or pick and choose? I'm personally using RTR block ones because the color pops out more overall, but there are some original RAV block ones that have superior art IMO (Temple Garden / Hallowed Fountain specifically).
I'd be much less turned off by expeditions if they didn't but the card type box in the bottom like that.
Original art on the vast majority of 'em. But there's a few from the new block that look okay. And all the expeditions are bad (but that problem's not exclusive to the shock lands).
They're all fantastic, but I love the fact that they have land types, which is what makes them truly shine. Beyond just fetchland interactions, you have wood elves, gift of estates, chained to the rocks etc all get to work with them in some fashion.
And I totally agree about getting them first. They're very accessible, and staples pretty much anywhere. A good investment that will never leave you wondering why you got them.
Pretty good value engine and is arguably the 3rd best black PW (just slightly behind his Black Oath version). I think he's better than people give him credit for, but he's also part of the vast sea of mediocre black 5-drops. At 540 he misses the cut for me, but I often see him in other cubes and am more than happy to pick him there.
I like the card, but he's a bit too expensive to be an effective value grinder long term. He's fine for now, if only because black has so little to choose from in terms of 5cmc cards and planeswalkers.
Classic meat and potatoes card. It's solid, does good stuff, but not really exciting.
Total agreement. Destroying creatures is great, the phyrexian arena ability is good. The emblem is purely "win more" because if you're ever that high on loyalty counters (beyond counter gimmicks) you're already winning hard.
It is a brutal enchantment, though.
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Aesthetically, I'm all about the original Brian Snoddy grinning pimp art. There's a minor issue with the wording on the original Legends and 4th edition versions, though, in that the original versions does not say to reveal the basic lands you fetch with Land Tax. The Battle Royale and Judge foil versions have the current Oracle text.
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Sacred Foundry
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On topic: Shocklands are great. Fetchable, affordable, interesting cost, prime mana fixers. Every cube should run the full cycle.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
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BTW, in a flavor sense, I personally don't like the fact that BFZ took those Ravnica Guild lands to put them into Zendikar/Hedron context. It's just not appropriated IMO. Those are Ravnica's high places and they have nothing to do with Zendikar plane.
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I couldn't agree more with this, it's the cheapest cycle of duals that makes the cut in the tightest of cubes, and it's very unlikely that they something better will ever come out to make them obsolete. For Eternal and Modern staple mana fixing, they're surprisingly inexpensive.
I'm also turned off by anything involving Hedrons outside of the Zendikar blocks. I won't say I'm not running the Expeditions lands purely on principle, but it's another reason I'm fine with not running them.
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I'd be much less turned off by expeditions if they didn't but the card type box in the bottom like that.
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from Ravnica: City of Guilds
Stomping Ground & Godless Shrine
from Guildpact
Hallowed Fountain & Blood Crypt
from Dissension
Overgrown Tomb & Steam Vents
from Return to Ravnica
Breeding Pool & Sacred Foundry
from Gatecrash
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And I totally agree about getting them first. They're very accessible, and staples pretty much anywhere. A good investment that will never leave you wondering why you got them.
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Total agreement. Destroying creatures is great, the phyrexian arena ability is good. The emblem is purely "win more" because if you're ever that high on loyalty counters (beyond counter gimmicks) you're already winning hard.
Recurring Nightmare
This is by far my favorite build around card in cube. I've never passed this any time I've opened it in Pack 1 of a draft.
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