Hi all,
by special request, here is another guide thread ported over from the WotC Forums for your enjoyment (as well as for the eternal abuse of the spoiler tag, but I digress).
Generated out of the initial discussion in this thread, it's fairly obvious that we're playing on kitchen tabletops in multiplayer, and not the PTQ feature table. And with that comes budgets. Not everyone is going to be able to splash for a pack-mint playset of Revised duals. So what are the alternatives? Let's go through them. I'll list their prices and keep them updated. You tell me your faves and preferences.
Currently ordered by cost, high to low. Prices are current fair trade price on MTGPrice.com as of the date listed below.
Last Price Update: 10th Nov 2011... currently mid-update...
The Cost: $10-$51. Obviously, Khans of Tarkir was nice to us with the allied fetches, and these are all now down to under $15 a copy. Expect the enemy fetches to be reprinted in Battle for Zendikar, and to do roughly the same.
Pros: The land you want, first turn. Great with landfall. Grabs non-basic land with the appropriate land types (e.g. Duals, Shocklands, Murmuring Bosk...).
Cons: Clearly the most expensive option available. Good luck getting a playset of the enemy copies.
Pros: Comes into play untapped. Guaranteed both colours of mana on the second turn. Essentially fixes the colour of the land you use to activate the ability.
Cons: Needs a second land next to it to work. Cannot give coloured mana on the first turn. Expensive - enemy colour copies in particular have become Modern staples, and are priced accordingly. Probably needed reprinting in MM2, and didn't get it, so will continue to rise in value.
Pros: Can come in untapped. Both colours on the first turn. Counts as basic land types. Were reprinted to within an inch of their life in RtR block, and are easily available.
Cons: Damage if you want them untapped the turn they come in. In some situations, the Core Set duals can be better in this regard.
Pros: A land that can become a dude. Good with Wrath effects.
Cons: Comes into play tapped. The blue copies have become ridiculously expensive due to Modern play (particularly Celestial Colonnade).
Grove of the Burnwillows: $35. Both red and green mana on the first turn with little drawback. Combo with Punishing Fire made this a Modern staple (and its price has gone nuts accordingly). Hilarious in a Kavu Predator deck.
Horizon Canopy: $34. Getting played in Modern, and has therefore had a significant price-rise. Really good with Crucible of Worlds.
Cavern of Souls: $27. Tourney-worthy rainbow land. Not dropping in price any time soon, either.
Mana Confluence: $12. A fixed (and arguably better) City of Brass. Currently high due to Standard play, but may drop after rotation.
Glimmervoid: $10. Has its limitations, but is awesome in the right deck, hence its price. Reprinted in Modern Masters, but went up in price anyway.
River of Tears: $9. Comes into play untapped and gives you both colours on the second turn. If they printed a cycle of these, there wouldn't be too many unhappy people.
Reflecting Pool: Around $8 for the Tempest version, $6 for the Conspiracy or Shadowmoor reprints. Still one of the gold standard non-basics, though not good in an opening hand. Stonkingly good for its price point.
Gemstone Mine: Around $7.50. What Vivid lands wish they were. Mana of any colour on the first turn. Very good, especially with proliferate.
Thawing Glaciers: Around $7. The ultimate fetch land. Fantastic with landfall, and budget in comparison to how it was priced a few years back. Well worth its price.
Forbidden Orchard: Around $6.50. No longer works with Brand, but has a limitation you can work around easily. Certainly not budget.
Lotus Vale: Around $6. Takes a good three turns to get on the table, and is vulnerable to return-to-hand effects, but very good once in play.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: Around $5.50. Like a five-colour Cabal Coffers, but not priced like one, and readily available. Will surely rise in price in the future, barring further reprints.
Nimbus Maze: Around $5.50. Essentially a powered-down Glacial Fortress nowadays, but still a good colour-fixer. Has spiked in the last couple of years.
Undiscovered Paradise: Around $5. Has cheapened in the last couple of years. Definitely not a card that inspires land advantage, but deservedly has an excellent reputation.
Pros: Capable of coming in untapped and giving colours on the first turn. Acts like a full dual land early. Have dropped in cost, and are a viable budget alternative once more.
Cons: In most situations, acts like an expensive Invasion dual land. Given that multiplayer games inevitably run longer, these are less effective in this environment. Some better options available for cheaper prices.
Pros: Can come in untapped. The core set allied duals and Isolated Chapel have now been reprinted enough that they are serious budget options. Sulfur Falls is the only copy over $5. The enemy copies will likely get further reprints in the future.
Cons: A glorified Invasion dual land in a deck with a lot of nonbasic land.
Pros: Comes in untapped. Both colours on the first turn. Relatively cheap. Easily available due to basic set reprints (particularly the Ice Age painlands, which appear in 6th Ed - 10th Ed).
Cons: Unable to produce coloured mana without pain. Other lands in the same price range are probably better. A couple of the enemy painlands (particularly Battlefield Forge) have spiked in price due to current Standard play.
Pros: Can come in untapped and give both colours on the first turn. Relatively cheap (especially Primal Beyond). Murmuring Bosk is capable of three colours on the first turn, Primal Beyond of all five.
Cons: Situational. Outside of the appropriate tribal deck, they become glorified Invasion dual-lands. Primal Beyond in particular is useless outside of an Elemental deck. Secluded Glen has become expensive.
Pros: Still relatively cheap. Guaranteed two colours on the second turn.
Cons: Needs a land alongside it to work. In most cases, worse than the Shadowmoor-block filter lands.
Tendo Ice Bridge: $4.50. Was a horrid one-shot Vivid land before proliferate gave it a new lease on life. Used in Modern due to its ability to give any colour on Turn 1. Don't be fooled by it in Multiplayer, though - there are far better options.
Ancient Ziggurat: Around $4. Not as good as Exotic Orchard, which is also from Conflux, but still very useful in the right decks. Has spiked in the last year or so.
City of Brass: Around $3, assuming you don't want the original Arabian Nights version ($72 if you do!). The ultimate painland.
Command Tower: Around $2.80. The EDH rainbow land. If Commander is your game, this is actually turning into a pretty good budget option, considering what it does.
Thran Quarry: Around $2.70. Weak in an environment heavy with Wrath effects, but brilliant outside of that. Steadily dropping in price..
Pros: Brilliantly cheap for their function. Guaranteed three colours on the second turn, which is more than enough for most decks. Strictly better than the Invasion duals.
Pros: Exceptional in a dual colour deck where one of the colours is black. Very good for its price. Great fun with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
Cons: Needs a swamp in play next to it for full benefits. Generally not good in a deck with many nonbasic lands.
Tarnished Citadel: Around $1.70. A bad City of Brass that can be used the turn it comes into play. Finally had its price tank once people realised how much better Mana Confluence was.
Exotic Orchard: $1.30-2. Like Fellwar Stone, it improves greatly in multiplayer. Reprinted in a Planechase deck. A good budget option.
Grand Coliseum: Around $1.40. The poor man's City of Brass, but can give you colourless mana without pain. Not too bad.
Meteor Crater: Around $1.15. Powered-down Reflecting Pool isn't great in an opening hand, but is excellent later on.
Pros: Capable of producing any colour. Shiny copies from Slivers foil deck available cheaply and easily, as well as Commander reprints. Good with proliferate.
Cons: Enters the battlefield tapped. Only able to produce all colours for a limited time.
Pros: Guaranteed two colours on the second turn. Reprinted in 8th Ed and duel decks, so easy to find. Reprints from Planechase or Phyrexia vs. Coalition are especially cheap and easy to pick up.
Pros: Very cheap. Capable of producing large amounts of coloured mana. Great with Doubling Season and proliferate. Some available as Commander reprints.
Cons: Needs another land alongside to work. Slow to use.
Pros: Very cheap. Produces double mana, so gives the illusion of playing with more land than you actually are. Most available as Archenemy, Commander or Planechase reprints.
Cons: Needs another land alongside to work. Comes into play tapped.
Pros: Really cheap. Capable of both colours on the first turn. Can give colourless mana without drawback. Strictly better than the Ice Age depletion lands they were based on, despite being half the cost.
Cons: ...and nasty. Can't produce coloured mana until turn two. Can't produce two of the three colours until turn three. Slow and expensive to use. If you're paying 25c for these, you're paying too much.
Cons: Comes into play tapped. Sacrifices to give what is essentially two enemy colours' worth of mana. Really only useful in Shards-style tricolour decks.
Pros: Ridiculously cheap. Comes into play untapped. The land you want second turn (albeit after a land drop). Can give mana on the first turn (albeit colourless). Can fetch three different basic land types, as opposed to the more common two.
Cons: Needs another land to work alongside. Slower than traditional fetch lands.
Rhystic Cave: Around 30c. From Prophecy. And therefore, not worth the cardboard it's printed on.
Terramorphic Expanse / Evolving Wilds: 25c - 35c. The basic land you want, the same turn. Common, and yet better than half the fetches printed. If they ever print a version that brings the land into play untapped, it'll easily be a $20 card.
Rupture Spire: Around 25c. A turn's pain, followed by many turns of joy. While essentially losing two mana the turn it comes into play, eating this for a turn is more manageable in multiplayer, so it is strictly better in this environment.
Unstable Frontier: Around 25c. Kind of, sort of a five-colour land. Needs another land next to it to work, but not bad considering its price.
What do I like to roll with?
I have a penchant for the Shadowmoor filter lands, but they're getting expensive. So I am currently defaulting to Rupture Spire, the Alara tri-lands and Vivid lands (which are sick in a multicolour proliferate deck).
I object to the terming of the Odyssey "Signet Land" cycle as "strictly worse" than the filterlands. It has been relevant in our games and should have been clear at first glance that there is a significant advantage to accepting colourless and other colours of mana as input for the filtering effect. To make a claim of strictly worse is at best fallacious. The term "strictly" has very exacting standards, and you have not met your burden of proof.
You make a similar claim about Krosan Verge in relation to Mirage Fetchlands which is even worse because they are massive degrees of separation apart. Krosan Verge is mana accel at the cost of a CIPT land and then 2 mana later on AND still puts the fetched lands into play tapped. The mirage fetches cipt as well, but fetch their lands untapped and have no mana investment needed. These two aren't even similar and you are making a claim that requires almost entirely similar subjects.
On another note, I would point out that terminal morraine can tap for mana as well as fetch whereas terramorphic expanse cannot. I'm not arguing with your assessment on this one, I am just pointing out that you omited something.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
I object to the terming of the Odyssey "Signet Land" cycle as "strictly worse" than the filterlands. It has been relevant in our games and should have been clear at first glance that there is a significant advantage to accepting colourless and other colours of mana as input for the filtering effect. To make a claim of strictly worse is at best fallacious. The term "strictly" has very exacting standards, and you have not met your burden of proof.
You make a similar claim about Krosan Verge in relation to Mirage Fetchlands which is even worse because they are massive degrees of separation apart. Krosan Verge is mana accel at the cost of a CIPT land and then 2 mana later on AND still puts the fetched lands into play tapped. The mirage fetches cipt as well, but fetch their lands untapped and have no mana investment needed. These two aren't even similar and you are making a claim that requires almost entirely similar subjects.
On another note, I would point out that terminal morraine can tap for mana as well as fetch whereas terramorphic expanse cannot. I'm not arguing with your assessment on this one, I am just pointing out that you omited something.
Good call on all of those - the first two points probably only exist because I got lazy with wording after a while! Off to fix now.
You know, it's remarkable how a thread can have 18 months and 3,500+ views on one forum, and you bring it to a new audience and they help you improve it new ways.
Good call on all of those - the first two points probably only exist because I got lazy with wording after a while! Off to fix now.
You know, it's remarkable how a thread can have 18 months and 3,500+ views on one forum, and you bring it to a new audience and they help you improve it new ways.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
Awww! That's some serious hate on Rainbow Vale! I love that card. It's so fun! Your opponent never expects it!
I've found Rainbow Vale's best (and only?) use is in a deck themed around floating cards.
Of course, said deck should feature Primal Order and Cursed Land - the latter to be placed on the Vale itself, to ensure it keeps moving around the table.
This thread has resulted in my targeted land-shopping at online stores.
Thanks, Bl00m!
Cheers!
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Awww! That's some serious hate on Rainbow Vale! I love that card. It's so fun! Your opponent never expects it!
I know...
Coming from someone who basically started playing during Fallen Empires, and collected the set, it pained me to have to be so brutal to the Vale too. Damn having to write subjective guides!
Good point. About to update the pricing in this thread (I've done it over on the WotC forums already... i.e. if your name is Blut, and you're awesome, please don't lock this thread for a necro... the OP's about to get a serious update).
Hopefully you can order them by quality while keeping the price info.
I think quality is more interesting but price is relevant to know.
Two remarks:
Why do you mention the old tri-lands as favourite but not the new?
In my experience (but in my meta there's little land destruction) the Ravnica bounce lands are really good.
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My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
Prices from back in 2011. Worldwake man-lands in the $2-$5 bracket. Horizon Canopy under $10 even with a Modern spike. The price of some of these have gone up considerably.
Two remarks:
Why do you mention the old tri-lands as favourite but not the new?
In my experience (but in my meta there's little land destruction) the Ravnica bounce lands are really good.
The new tri-lands didn't exist when topic was created.
Command Tower. (Still under $2.50 a copy, but the foils are spiking in price. Non-foils will likely follow shortly)
Exotic Orchard. (Has always been a really good budget option... Ancient Ziggurat from the same set has spiked, but Orchard has so far stayed behind. Surely won't last)
Do NOT Buy Now:
Zendikar Fetches. (Likely to get reprinted in Battle for Zendikar, at a third of their current price)
SHA/EVE Filter Lands. (Prime candidates for Modern Masters 2, waaaaay expensive for what they do ATM)
Enemy Painlands. (Current Standard flavour of the month. Will tank like you wouldn't believe once they rotate - Allied Painlands are all under $2 a copy)
Command Tower. (Still under $2.50 a copy, but the foils are spiking in price. Non-foils will likely follow shortly)
This thing has been reprinted already, will undoubtedly be reprinted more, and just how many do you need? It's not exactly a 4-of. Demand is mostly met already.
Back from hols, so I can respond now.
Yeah, this is definitely only short-term (until it's reprinted again). Seems to be going up right now, so it's the time to buy before its inevitable next reprint (as it's likely only going to keep rising before then).
Promise I'll get around to completing the pricing update in the OP some time in the next week or two (work and sanity permitting).
by special request, here is another guide thread ported over from the WotC Forums for your enjoyment (as well as for the eternal abuse of the spoiler tag, but I digress).
Generated out of the initial discussion in this thread, it's fairly obvious that we're playing on kitchen tabletops in multiplayer, and not the PTQ feature table. And with that comes budgets. Not everyone is going to be able to splash for a pack-mint playset of Revised duals. So what are the alternatives? Let's go through them. I'll list their prices and keep them updated. You tell me your faves and preferences.
Currently ordered by cost, high to low. Prices are current fair trade price on MTGPrice.com as of the date listed below.
Last Price Update: 10th Nov 2011... currently mid-update...
More Than $5
The Cards: Arid Mesa, Bloodstained Mire, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest, Polluted Delta, Scalding Tarn, Verdant Catacombs, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills.
The Cost: $10-$51. Obviously, Khans of Tarkir was nice to us with the allied fetches, and these are all now down to under $15 a copy. Expect the enemy fetches to be reprinted in Battle for Zendikar, and to do roughly the same.
Pros: The land you want, first turn. Great with landfall. Grabs non-basic land with the appropriate land types (e.g. Duals, Shocklands, Murmuring Bosk...).
Cons: Clearly the most expensive option available. Good luck getting a playset of the enemy copies.
The Cards: Cascade Bluffs, Fetid Heath, Fire-Lit Thicket, Flooded Grove, Graven Cairns, Mystic Gate, Rugged Prairie, Sunken Ruins, Twilight Mire, Wooded Bastion.
The Cost: $7 - $31.
Pros: Comes into play untapped. Guaranteed both colours of mana on the second turn. Essentially fixes the colour of the land you use to activate the ability.
Cons: Needs a second land next to it to work. Cannot give coloured mana on the first turn. Expensive - enemy colour copies in particular have become Modern staples, and are priced accordingly. Probably needed reprinting in MM2, and didn't get it, so will continue to rise in value.
The Cards: Blood Crypt, Breeding Pool, Godless Shrine, Hallowed Fountain, Overgrown Tomb, Sacred Foundry, Steam Vents, Stomping Ground, Temple Garden, Watery Grave.
The Cost: $7 - $13.
Pros: Can come in untapped. Both colours on the first turn. Counts as basic land types. Were reprinted to within an inch of their life in RtR block, and are easily available.
Cons: Damage if you want them untapped the turn they come in. In some situations, the Core Set duals can be better in this regard.
The Cards: Celestial Colonnade, Creeping Tar Pit, Lavaclaw Reaches, Raging Ravine, Stirring Wildwood.
The Cost: $1.30 - $17
Pros: A land that can become a dude. Good with Wrath effects.
Cons: Comes into play tapped. The blue copies have become ridiculously expensive due to Modern play (particularly Celestial Colonnade).
The Cards: Blackcleave Cliffs, Copperline Gorge, Darkslick Shores, Razorverge Thicket, Seachrome Coast.
The Cost: $3.50 - $6.50.
Pros: Capable of coming in untapped and giving colours on the first turn. Acts like a full dual land early. Have dropped in cost, and are a viable budget alternative once more.
Cons: In most situations, acts like an expensive Invasion dual land. Given that multiplayer games inevitably run longer, these are less effective in this environment. Some better options available for cheaper prices.
The Cards: Clifftop Retreat, Dragonskull Summit, Drowned Catacomb, Glacial Fortress, Hinterland Harbor, Isolated Chapel, Rootbound Crag, Sulfur Falls, Sunpetal Grove, Woodland Cemetery.
The Cost: $1.50 - $8
Pros: Can come in untapped. The core set allied duals and Isolated Chapel have now been reprinted enough that they are serious budget options. Sulfur Falls is the only copy over $5. The enemy copies will likely get further reprints in the future.
Cons: A glorified Invasion dual land in a deck with a lot of nonbasic land.
The Cards: Adarkar Wastes, Battlefield Forge, Brushland, Caves of Koilos, Karplusan Forest, Llanowar Wastes, Shivan Reef, Sulfurous Springs, Underground River, Yavimaya Coast.
The Cost: $1.70 - $6.
Pros: Comes in untapped. Both colours on the first turn. Relatively cheap. Easily available due to basic set reprints (particularly the Ice Age painlands, which appear in 6th Ed - 10th Ed).
Cons: Unable to produce coloured mana without pain. Other lands in the same price range are probably better. A couple of the enemy painlands (particularly Battlefield Forge) have spiked in price due to current Standard play.
The Cards: Ancient Amphitheater, Auntie's Hovel, Gilt-Leaf Palace, Murmuring Bosk, Primal Beyond, Secluded Glen, Wanderwine Hub.
The Cost: 80c - $5.
Pros: Can come in untapped and give both colours on the first turn. Relatively cheap (especially Primal Beyond). Murmuring Bosk is capable of three colours on the first turn, Primal Beyond of all five.
Cons: Situational. Outside of the appropriate tribal deck, they become glorified Invasion dual-lands. Primal Beyond in particular is useless outside of an Elemental deck. Secluded Glen has become expensive.
The Cards: Darkwater Catacombs, Mossfire Valley, Shadowblood Ridge, Skycloud Expanse, Sungrass Prairie.
The Cost: $2 - $4.
Pros: Still relatively cheap. Guaranteed two colours on the second turn.
Cons: Needs a land alongside it to work. In most cases, worse than the Shadowmoor-block filter lands.
The Cards: Arcane Sanctum, Crumbling Necropolis, Frontier Bivouac, Jungle Shrine, Mystic Monastery, Nomad Outpost, Opulent Palace, Sandsteppe Citadel, Savage Lands, Seaside Citadel.
The Cost: 50c - $1.70.
Pros: Brilliantly cheap for their function. Guaranteed three colours on the second turn, which is more than enough for most decks. Strictly better than the Invasion duals.
Cons: Comes into play tapped.
The Cards: Tainted Field, Tainted Isle, Tainted Peak, Tainted Wood.
The Cost: 75c - $1.30.
Pros: Exceptional in a dual colour deck where one of the colours is black. Very good for its price. Great fun with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
Cons: Needs a swamp in play next to it for full benefits. Generally not good in a deck with many nonbasic lands.
The Cards: Crosis's Catacombs, Darigaaz's Caldera, Dromar's Cavern, Rith's Grove, Treva's Ruins.
The Cost: 50c - 80c.
Pros: Guaranteed three colours on the second turn. Good with some of the common Zendikar lands that have enter-the-battlefield effects.
Cons: Bounce a land as it enters the battlefield.
The Cards: Arctic Flats, Boreal Shelf, Frost Marsh, Highland Weald, Tresserhorn Sinks.
The Cost: 45c - 85c.
Pros: Guaranteed two colours on the second turn.
Cons: Comes into play tapped.
Meh: Snow land! Well, you can fetch them with Into the North!
The Cards: Caldera Lake, Pine Barrens, Salt Flats, Scabland, Skyshroud Forest.
The Cost: 45c - 85c.
Pros: Cheap. Colourless as well as coloured mana. Works on its own.
Cons: Strictly worse version of the enemy painlands from Apocalypse. Comes into play tapped.
The Cards: Vivid Crag, Vivid Creek, Vivid Grove, Vivid Marsh, Vivid Meadow.
The Cost: 40c - 45c.
Pros: Capable of producing any colour. Shiny copies from Slivers foil deck available cheaply and easily, as well as Commander reprints. Good with proliferate.
Cons: Enters the battlefield tapped. Only able to produce all colours for a limited time.
The Cards: Land Cap, Lava Tubes, River Delta, Timberline Ridge, Veldt.
The Cost: Around 40c.
Pros: Really cheap. Mana of either colour on the first turn.
Cons: Slow once they are in play. Strictly worse version of the uncommon lands from Tempest and Kamigawa block.
The Cards: Bad River, Flood Plain, Grasslands, Mountain Valley, Rocky Tar Pit.
The Cost: 25c - 55c.
Pros: The cheapest fetches money can buy. Don't have to pay life to use them.
Cons: Enters the battlefield tapped, so slow to use.
The Cards: Coastal Tower, Elfhame Palace, Salt Marsh, Shivan Oasis, Urborg Volcano.
The Cost: 25c - 45c.
Pros: Guaranteed two colours on the second turn. Reprinted in 8th Ed and duel decks, so easy to find. Reprints from Planechase or Phyrexia vs. Coalition are especially cheap and easy to pick up.
Cons: Comes into play tapped.
The Cards: Akoum Refuge, Graypelt Refuge, Jwar Isle Refuge, Kazandu Refuge, Sejiri Refuge.
The Cost: 30c - 40c.
Pros: Strictly better than the Invasion duals, and cheaper. Some even available as reprints from special decks.
Cons: Enters the battlefield tapped.
The Cards: Calciform Pools, Dreadship Reef, Fungal Reaches, Molten Slagheap, Saltcrusted Steppe.
The Cost: 25c - 40c.
Pros: Very cheap. Capable of producing large amounts of coloured mana. Great with Doubling Season and proliferate. Some available as Commander reprints.
Cons: Needs another land alongside to work. Slow to use.
The Cards: Azorius Chancery, Boros Garrison, Dimir Aqueduct, Golgari Rot Farm, Gruul Turf, Izzet Boilerworks, Orzhov Basilica, Rakdos Carnarium, Selesnya Sanctuary, Simic Growth Chamber.
The Cost: 30c - 50c.
Pros: Very cheap. Produces double mana, so gives the illusion of playing with more land than you actually are. Most available as Archenemy, Commander or Planechase reprints.
Cons: Needs another land alongside to work. Comes into play tapped.
The Cards: Cinder Marsh, Cloudcrest Lake, Lantern-Lit Graveyard, Mogg Hollows, Pinecrest Ridge, Rootwater Depths, Thalakos Lowlands, Tranquil Garden, Vec Townships, Waterveil Cavern.
The Cost: 20c - 25c.
Pros: Really cheap. Capable of both colours on the first turn. Can give colourless mana without drawback. Strictly better than the Ice Age depletion lands they were based on, despite being half the cost.
Cons: Slow to use once out.
The Cards: An-Havva Township, Aysen Abbey, Castle Sengir, Koskun Keep, Wizards' School.
The Cost: 20c - 25c.
Pros: Really, really cheap...
Cons: ...and nasty. Can't produce coloured mana until turn two. Can't produce two of the three colours until turn three. Slow and expensive to use. If you're paying 25c for these, you're paying too much.
The Cards: Ancient Spring, Geothermal Crevice, Irrigation Ditch, Sulfur Vent, Tinder Farm.
The Cost: Around 20c.
Pros: Really, really cheap.
Cons: Comes into play tapped. Sacrifices to give what is essentially two enemy colours' worth of mana. Really only useful in Shards-style tricolour decks.
The Cards: Bant Panorama, Esper Panorama, Grixis Panorama, Jund Panorama, Naya Panorama.
The Cost: 10c - 15c.
Pros: Ridiculously cheap. Comes into play untapped. The land you want second turn (albeit after a land drop). Can give mana on the first turn (albeit colourless). Can fetch three different basic land types, as opposed to the more common two.
Cons: Needs another land to work alongside. Slower than traditional fetch lands.
The Cards: Abandoned Outpost, Bog Wreckage, Ravaged Highlands, Seafloor Debris, Timberland Ruins.
The Cost: 10c - 15c.
Pros: Ridiculously cheap. Capable of any colour of mana on the second turn.
Cons: Comes into play tapped. Essentially a very bad Vivid land.
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What do I like to roll with?
I have a penchant for the Shadowmoor filter lands, but they're getting expensive. So I am currently defaulting to Rupture Spire, the Alara tri-lands and Vivid lands (which are sick in a multicolour proliferate deck).
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You make a similar claim about Krosan Verge in relation to Mirage Fetchlands which is even worse because they are massive degrees of separation apart. Krosan Verge is mana accel at the cost of a CIPT land and then 2 mana later on AND still puts the fetched lands into play tapped. The mirage fetches cipt as well, but fetch their lands untapped and have no mana investment needed. These two aren't even similar and you are making a claim that requires almost entirely similar subjects.
On another note, I would point out that terminal morraine can tap for mana as well as fetch whereas terramorphic expanse cannot. I'm not arguing with your assessment on this one, I am just pointing out that you omited something.
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
إن سرقت إسرق جمل
Level 1 Judge
My Cube for use with 6th ed. Rules
Good call on all of those - the first two points probably only exist because I got lazy with wording after a while! Off to fix now.
You know, it's remarkable how a thread can have 18 months and 3,500+ views on one forum, and you bring it to a new audience and they help you improve it new ways.
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
always happy to help
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
إن سرقت إسرق جمل
Level 1 Judge
My Cube for use with 6th ed. Rules
Of course, said deck should feature Primal Order and Cursed Land - the latter to be placed on the Vale itself, to ensure it keeps moving around the table.
This thread has resulted in my targeted land-shopping at online stores.
Thanks, Bl00m!
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
I know...
Coming from someone who basically started playing during Fallen Empires, and collected the set, it pained me to have to be so brutal to the Vale too. Damn having to write subjective guides!
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
Hopefully you can order them by quality while keeping the price info.
I think quality is more interesting but price is relevant to know.
Two remarks:
Why do you mention the old tri-lands as favourite but not the new?
In my experience (but in my meta there's little land destruction) the Ravnica bounce lands are really good.
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
The new tri-lands didn't exist when topic was created.
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
I'll get to it soon, but in the meantime...
Buy NOW:
Do NOT Buy Now:
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
Back from hols, so I can respond now.
Yeah, this is definitely only short-term (until it's reprinted again). Seems to be going up right now, so it's the time to buy before its inevitable next reprint (as it's likely only going to keep rising before then).
Promise I'll get around to completing the pricing update in the OP some time in the next week or two (work and sanity permitting).
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
How about the functional reprint Transguild Promenade? (Found in Individual Cards section)