Been a while gang, sorry about that. Suffice to say, life blows chunks lately. But lets set that aside and get down to part three of the Land Series shall we? Time Spiral actually dropped some fun lands for this particular category, but you'll have to wait till the ends of the article to get to see my opinion of those now won't you? Now no cheating, take your medicine and read the whole thing. Its educational and/or good for you! Builds character, or something like that.

We'll step up to the plate first off with those weird lands that search for other lands. This mechanic really caught on with the release of the Onslaught "fetchlands" but if your newer to Magic, you might not realize this is actually Wizards third attempt at this sort of mechanic for a land. Yes, it was done twice before the famous 'fetchlands' came out and broke the idea in half over their burly little knees. And actually, if you count a very similar card that doesn't sacrifice itself, its technically the fourth attempt!

First off, the real oldie but goodie. Thawing Glaciers was a key card in a lot of control decks back in the old days. Even today, certain builds of popular Legacy format decks run it.

CardName: Thawing Glaciers Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Oracle text: Thawing Glaciers comes into play tapped. 1, Tap: Search your library for a basic land card and put that card into play tapped. Then shuffle your library. If it’s the end phase, return Thawing Glaciers to its owner’s hand. Otherwise, return Thawing Glaciers to its owner’s hand at end of turn. Set/Rarity: Alliances Rare

Horrificly slow by today's standards, but it shows how early on Wizards tried to get this mechanic into MTG.

Now we move onto the cycle of cards that was quite possibly the direct inspiration for the Onslaught fetchlandss. This weird little cycle came into being back in Mirage, and believe it or not, some decks actually played with them.

You can see the disadvantages I'm sure. As Magic developed and become more complex, some simple concepts came forward. Among these were: Speed and Tempo can kill. Having to wait a turn to use this to get a 'real' land might not be a luxury you'd have in a tight tournament game. Playing it first turn robbed you from using that first turn to cast any of the great one cost cards such as Lightning Bolt, Swords to Plowshares or even a Birds of Paradise on your first turn. Yes, it did technically give you better mana consistency, making it easier to draw and play a right mix of lands to keep your deck running smoothly, but that one turn wait could be agonizing against the very fast decks of the day.

CardName: Terminal Moraine Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T Add 1 to your mana pool. 2, T, Sacrifice Terminal Moraine: Search your library for a basic land card and put that card into play tapped. Then shuffle your library. Set/Rarity: Planeshift Uncommon

Coming into play untapped is a nice advantage for this particular land. Being able to tap for colorless by itself is another plus. Its ability can be useful, but it requires three lands (two to pay the mana, and the Moraine itself) to go find you a single, tapped basic land. Still, it was useful in its day and I admit to having a block deck that ran these to try to smooth its crazy mana requirements.

CardName: Krosan Verge Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: Krosan Verge comes into play tapped. T Add 1 to your mana pool. 2, T, Sacrifice Krosan Verge: Search your library for a Forest card and a Plains card and put them into play tapped. Then shuffle your library. Set/Rarity: Judgment Uncommon

Now this was an odd one. Like the above Mirage 'sac lands', Krosan Verge is a slow acting land searching for other lands. However, whereas the Mirage lands only replaced themselves with one additional land, the Verge gets you two specific lands with its sacrifice. Add that to the possible land drop from your hand for the turn, and you’re looking at quite a sudden acceleration, though it’s still a bit delayed. The 'Wake' deck has historically made very good use of this lands deck thinning and land playing abilities.

Unless you've been in a cave with no internet access, you've probably heard or seen how these lands change the face of entire formats. From the crazy speed combos of Vintage, to the aggro filled battlefields of Legacy, and on into the crazy world of Extended, the Onslaught Fetchlands have allowed players to work with manabases they'd never dreamed of playing before. The secret in the 'Eternal' formats of Vintage and Legacy was the old school dual lands like Tundra, Taiga, and Underground Sea. Because they each count as both of their land types, IE "Swamp and Mountain" or "Island and Plains" a wide variety of Fetchlands could bring them out of the deck and into play. Splashing colors became easy, manabases became powerfully consistent. The fact that every fetchland thinned your deck by a additional card was just gravy. The one life cost to activate these? I don't think I've ever met anyone who would complain about it.

In Extended, the newer Ravnica 'Dual lands" give you a very similar option but with a much higher price. Bringing a Ravnica land into play off a fetchland, untapped, will cost you three life. And where as one life can be laughed away, there are some decks in Extended that drool hungrily at any deck that's willing to pay three life to try to stabilize it's manabase in the early game.

CardName: Ghost Quarter Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T Add 1 to your mana pool. T, Sacrifice Ghost Quarter: Destroy target land. Its controller may search his or her library for a basic land card, put it into play, then shuffle his or her library. Set/Rarity: Dissension Uncommon

I'm not entirely sure what the original intent of this card was. Some see it as a 'fixed' Strip Mine. Other's see it as a really bad land search card. Either way, it provokes a lot of thought. At times, it can do both the above mentioned functions, which gives it a sort of odd flexibility. The fact that it brings the new land into play untapped suggests that it might have been designed from the very start for that sort of thoughtful usage. Plus, it’s great against those decks that run nothing but non-basic lands.  Editor's Note: Try it with Darksteel Citadel for optimal use of it's ability on your own land.  ~Streetz~

CardName: Terramorphic Expanse Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T, Sacrifice Terramorphic Expanse: Search your library for a basic land card and put it into play tapped. Then shuffle your library. Set/Rarity: Time Spiral Common

It's by no means a true fetchland replacement, but it is a nice mechanic for free. Using it at end of turn negates the fact that it brings the land into play tapped. Much like the Mirage lands, however, this is a tempo loss that most very aggressive decks will probably avoid. In decks focusing on a long game approach, like traditional control styles, this could be a very helpful card to let them thin their deck and improve their late game draws.  Editor's Note: Or Sliver decks trying to bring out an even faster Sliver Queen -- Gemhide Sliver aside... ~Streetz~

CardName: Flagstones of Trokair Cost: Type: Legendary Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T Add W to your mana pool. When Flagstones of Trokair is put into a graveyard from play, you may search your library for a Plains card and put it into play tapped. If you do, shuffle your library. Set/Rarity: Time Spiral Rare

This reminds me a great deal of the various Legendary lands in Kamigawa block, such as Eiganjo Castle and Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers. It's basically a regular land (comes into play untapped and taps for a color mana rather then colorless) but like those, Flagstones of Trokair has a little extra clause that makes it even better then a normal Plains. Considering the work I'm doing on a Land Destruction deck, I really hate to talk about how good this is against land destruction strategies.

Essentially, every time they have to aim a Stone Rain, Creeping Mold or Wreak Havoc at this land, they've just wasted their Land Destruction. Plus, not counting as a Plains is a huge plus against Cryoclasm. Yeah, I hate to say I fear this darn card if I'm playing Land Destruction, but I do.

Refreshing isn't it? Educational even! Now let’s move onward to our next mechanic in this special two-for-the-price-of-one coverage. We slide right into the opposite mechanic to the one above, the ability to destroy or suppress opposing lands.

CardName: Strip Mine Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T Add 1 to your mana pool. T, Sacrifice Strip Mine: Destroy target land. Set/Rarity: Antiquities Rare, Antiquities Rare, Antiquities Rare, Antiquities Uncommon, Fourth Edition Uncommon

It all started with good old Strip Mine way back in Antiquities. It's hard to believe, but you used to be allowed to run four of these in a deck. You were actually allowed to run four, uncounterable, effects that could destroy any opposing land of your choice. Must have been nice to have that capability always on hand to help your opponent mana screw himself! The fact that it came into play untapped and could tap for colorless mana was just icing on the cake.

CardName: Wasteland Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T Add 1 to your mana pool. T, Sacrifice Wasteland: Destroy target nonbasic land. Set/Rarity: Tempest Uncommon

Strip Mine Lite. What else can you say? Because of its inability to kill basic lands, you’re actually allowed to play four Wastelands in formats where they are legal. Legacy especially is well known for strong use of this versatile card. One of the many criticisms commonly used when critiquing a Legacy format deck is, "Yes, it’s fun, but you’re entirely too vulnerable to Wasteland."

CardName: Dust Bowl Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T Add 1 to your mana pool. 3, T, Sacrifice a land: Destroy target nonbasic land. Set/Rarity: Mercadian Masques Rare

It's an expensive, reusable Wasteland. This card never became all that popular, although to this day you still occasionally see a copy in certain deck lists that run cards like Living Wish to search for it on the odd occasions it would be useful. Even that use has fallen by the wayside however, ever since Crucible of the Worlds was printed and allowed you to continuously replay Wasteland's from your graveyard, completely negating the more expensive reuse factor of Dust Bowl.

CardName: Rishadan Port Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: T Add 1 to your mana pool. 1, T Tap target land. Set/Rarity: Mercadian Masques Rare

I have to admit I hate this card. Much like I hate Umezawa’s Jitte. It comes from a combination of factors. One, they’re too damn good at what they do, and two, I don't own any of either even to this day. All of that aside, Port is a wonderful card for decks that run low mana curves like Sligh. After the first turn or two of laying small, efficient threats, your extra mana could be put to good use by tapping key lands under your opponent’s control, denying him the right combinations of mana he needed to respond. There's more than one control player who died because the opposing player’s Port kept him from getting two white mana to use his Wrath of God.

CardName: Wintermoon Mesa Cost: Type: Land Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: Wintermoon Mesa comes into play tapped. T Add 1 to your mana pool. 2, T, Sacrifice Wintermoon Mesa: Tap two target lands. Set/Rarity: Prophecy Rare

Why is this rare? Why is it even a card in Magic? On top of tapping for colorless and having a pretty damn expensive, one-shot ability, it also comes into play tapped! I don't think I ever saw a single serious deck ever try to run even a single copy of this stinker. It's ridiculously underpowered.

There's actually one, older deck style that specifically blended both searching lands and destroying/suppressing lands into a fluid whole that supported its game plan. That deck is "Red deck Wins" from Pre-rotation Extended. Here's a partial list from one of the acknowledged masters of that deck style, Dan Paskins:

8 Mountain
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Rishadan Port
4 Wasteland

4 Jackal Pup
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Seal of Fire
4 Cursed Scroll

20 Red or Artifact cards

That's how he literally wrote it folks. "20 Red or Artifact cards" to finish out the list. But what he did list is probably the most powerful core of any deck that was ever made. Look at the land mix. He's only running eight lands that tap for red mana! Surely, even with a deck that runs such small spells, that can't be right! But look again. Those eight Mountains are accompanied by eight Onslaught fetchlands. So essentially that's 16 mountains. The fetchlands also play into your strategy by stocking up your graveyard so you can fuel continual Grim Lavamancer activations as well.

The insidious part are the mana strangling compliment of four each Rishadan Port and Wasteland. Any opponent who unwisely keeps a poor mana hand against a strong draw from Red Deck Wins (RDW) is unlikely to live long enough to regret it. Even hands that looked solid when you drew them could disintegrate under the combined life and land assault if you weren't very careful.

And here's a much more modern deck that abuses land to its fullest. It's the brainchild of a local friend of mine, and for all intents and purposes, its the Type 2 version of "43 land.dec".

Yeah, he really is playing that many lands. How does it win? A nigh unstoppable Lightning Storm to the opposing head for 18+ damage, every time. With a Trade Routes in play and a few extra mana open, there's pretty much no way your opponent will manage to ditch enough land to twist the spell back to hit you. Even if he tries, he just guarantee's it will hit for lethal damage.

Life from the Loam allows you to fuel up your hand for the big Lightning Storm win, as well as getting you back Quicksands and Mouth's to help hold down opposing creatures. Loam and Trade Routes makes a nice, hard to stop (but a bit slow) draw engine as well. It's hard to argue with a deck that can conceivably draw three or more extra cards starting on turn three, and keep it up pretty steadily the entire game.

Summer Bloom allows for explosive mana acceleration out of nowhere. Summer Bloom isn't limited to basic lands, so feel free to use it to dump a withering barrage of Quicksand or whatever land you need into play in big, fat multiples.

Vinelasher of course, is here because it's the most ridiculous creature you can run in a deck that flips this many lands into and out of play. A single Trade Routes can make this creature into a literal monster in a single main phase, combined with a Summer Bloom.

Weatherseed Totem is there to provide a late game threat that gets around protection red creatures and the like. Even if you dredge it into the graveyard, a quick activation of Academy Ruins can get it back on top of your deck and allow the almost unstoppable totem to go to town. What if you milled your Academy Ruins, you ask? Well that's why Life from the Loam is your friend.

Kher Keep's aren't there to be pumped up and attack with their tokens. Their only reason to exist is that they make really cheap chump blockers. Over and over again. City-Tree has a similar use, although in a long run game it CAN be a threat that keeps your opponent on his toes. With all the chances for cheap token creatures, I almost want to run Strength in Numbers in this deck, just to abuse a opponent that doesn't realize attacking 0/1 tokens can actually be a very serious threat to him.

There we have it. Two hopefully insightful deck lists, and one's even Standard legal just for kicks. I wouldn’t suggest running 40 lands for states, unless you feel like playtesting a couple dozen matches against the major archetypes in just one week, but I think it has some potential to catch people by surprise. Imagine winning FNM with a deck that's more then half land. It should be worth it just for the looks.

Well, that’s it for me. As always, live, learn, play hard.

~Cashew~

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Articles Spotlights from 2006
The Games People Play - Tactical Magic.
If I worked at R&D
The Beginner’s Guide to Rogue
Druid Week Primer
Opting In: Ravnica
MDV Idol: Finale!
Avatar Week Primer
Delusions of Mediocrity: Getting Stuffy in Here.
Raiding Ravnica: Guildmages and You!
Lands-More than Mana: Part One