MTG Best Nonbasic Lands
In Magic: The Gathering (MTG), having access to the right colors of mana at the right time often determines whether a player wins or loses. While basic lands provide essential mana, nonbasic lands elevate deck performance by offering flexibility, utility, and powerful effects. Understanding which nonbasic lands are the best can help any player, whether competitive or casual, enhance consistency and strategy. From format staples to multi-format all-stars, these lands play a pivotal role in shaping the modern landscape of MTG deckbuilding.
What Makes a Nonbasic Land Valuable?
Nonbasic lands are incredibly diverse, but their power level generally stems from one or more of the following traits:
- Mana fixing the ability to produce multiple colors efficiently
- Utility effects like card draw, creature protection, or removal
- Speed entering the battlefield untapped when needed
- Synergy working well with specific archetypes or strategies
When a nonbasic land offers multiple advantages with little to no drawback, it usually becomes a staple across multiple formats, from Commander to Legacy and Modern. Let’s explore some of the best nonbasic lands in MTG and understand why they’re so highly valued.
Top Mana Fixing Nonbasic Lands
Fetch Lands
Fetch lands likeScalding Tarn,Misty Rainforest, andVerdant Catacombsare indispensable in competitive formats. These lands allow players to search their library for specific land types, often shock lands or duals, ensuring perfect mana fixing.
- Enable three or more color decks with ease
- Synergize with graveyard strategies
- Thin the deck for slightly better draws
Though they require life payment and are expensive in the secondary market, their versatility is unmatched.
Shock Lands
Shock lands such asWatery GraveandStomping Groundare dual lands that count as both basic land types. This means they can be fetched by the aforementioned fetch lands, further enhancing deck consistency.
- Come into play untapped with a cost of 2 life
- Crucial for Modern and Pioneer mana bases
- Interact well with cards that care about basic land types
Shock lands are cornerstones for multicolor decks and essential for competitive play.
Triomes and Other Tri-Lands
Triomes from the Ikoria and Streets of New Capenna sets provide three types of mana, have basic land types, and even cycle for a card later in the game.
- Fix mana in three-color decks like Jeskai or Sultai
- Cycle away when drawn late
- Fetchable with fetch lands
These are excellent inclusions in slower formats such as Commander and Casual multiplayer games.
Top Utility Nonbasic Lands
Bojuka Bog
This land enters tapped but exiles all cards from a target player’s graveyard when it enters the battlefield. It’s widely used in Commander to combat reanimation, dredge, and other graveyard-centric decks.
- No mana cost to activate
- Combo breaker in many formats
- Can be fetched with tutors in black
Its usefulness far outweighs its slow entry, especially when it can shut down entire game plans.
Field of the Dead
Popular in both Commander and Historic, Field of the Dead generates zombie tokens once you control seven different lands with unique names.
- Excellent in ramp or land-focused decks
- Creates an inevitable board presence
- Banned in some formats due to overwhelming power
When paired with land tutors or ramp, Field of the Dead becomes an engine of endless value.
Ghost Quarter / Field of Ruin
These lands offer targeted land destruction, often used to answer problematic lands likeGaea’s CradleorUrza’s Tower.
- Disrupts greedy mana bases or utility lands
- Ghost Quarter sacrifices itself; Field of Ruin replaces itself
- Fair and effective land-based control
They’re staples in control and midrange decks looking to maintain balance on the battlefield.
Iconic Nonbasic Lands for Specific Strategies
Gaea’s Cradle
Arguably one of the most powerful lands ever printed, Gaea’s Cradle taps for green mana equal to the number of creatures you control. It fuels explosive turns in green-based decks.
- Turns wide boards into massive mana ramp
- Essential for Elfball and token decks
- Highly sought-after in Legacy and Commander
Its price and rarity reflect its strength, making it a legendary addition to green decks.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
This land makes all lands into Swamps in addition to their other types. It smooths black mana availability and synergizes well with cards that depend on Swamps.
- Pairs with Cabal Coffers for explosive mana generation
- Fixes black mana in multicolor decks
- Combos with swampwalk or black devotion strategies
In Commander, this land is both a fixer and a combo enabler, valued for its flexibility and synergy.
Maze of Ith
Although it doesn’t produce mana, Maze of Ith can tap to untap a creature and prevent all damage it would deal or receive that turn. It’s perfect for stalling big threats.
- Protects you without removing creatures
- Excellent political tool in multiplayer formats
- Can be reused with untap effects
While not a mana source, it serves as an effective defense mechanism, especially in control builds.
Nonbasic Lands in Commander
Commander (EDH) decks often include 1020 nonbasic lands depending on the deck’s color complexity and budget. In this format, singleton rules make cards like Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, and Path of Ancestry particularly valuable.
Recommended Nonbasic Lands for Commander
- Command Tower: Taps for any color in your commander’s identity
- Exotic Orchard: Taps for colors other players can produce
- Reliquary Tower: Removes your hand size limit
- Rogue’s Passage: Makes a creature unblockable, great for voltron decks
- Temple of the False God: Early ramp if you hit five lands
These lands are popular choices because they scale well in multiplayer settings and help support diverse strategies.
Choosing the Best Nonbasic Lands for Your Deck
The best nonbasic lands for your deck depend heavily on format, budget, color identity, and deck strategy. For example, a mono-colored aggro deck may not need anything beyond a couple of utility lands, while a five-color Commander deck will demand advanced mana fixing like Triomes, fetches, and duals.
Budget Considerations
Many of the best nonbasic lands come with a high price tag. Fortunately, there are budget-friendly alternatives like:
- Evolving Wilds / Terramorphic Expanse: Great for mana fixing in casual decks
- Pathways: Provide flexibility and speed
- Check Lands: Like Drowned Catacomb, work well with basic-heavy builds
Even without premium-priced lands, thoughtful land base design can greatly enhance deck performance.
Nonbasic lands play a crucial role in Magic: The Gathering by providing strategic advantages that basic lands simply can’t. Whether you’re building for Commander, Modern, or casual play, including the best nonbasic lands in your deck can improve consistency, open up synergies, and provide game-changing effects. From fetch lands and shock lands to specialized utility lands like Bojuka Bog and Gaea’s Cradle, each serves a distinct purpose. Understanding how to integrate these lands based on your deck’s goals and colors is a key step toward mastering MTG’s complex yet rewarding gameplay.