Editing Basic land

In ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', '''basic lands''' are [[land]]s that possess the [[supertype]] "[[Basic]]" in their type line and may be tapped to produce [[mana]].<ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/evolution-basic-land-2015-10-06|Evolution of the Basic Land|[[Michael Yichao]]|October 6, 2015}}</ref> Twelve different basic lands have been printed to date, but overwhelmingly prominent are the five originals corresponding to each [[color]] of mana, which recur in most sets: [[Plains]], [[Island]], [[Swamp]], [[Mountain]], and [[Forest]]. These also provide the names for the five [[#Basic land types|basic land types]]. Each of the original basics are by far the most commonly printed ''Magic'' cards overall, and many copies of one or more of them are included in many [[deck]]s as the foundation for its [[mana base]].

==Description==
A [[deck]] may contain any number of basic land cards. To date, there are two basic lands for each [[Color Pie|color]] {{-}} [[Plains]], [[Island]], [[Swamp]], [[Mountain]], and [[Forest]] and their [[Snow|snow-covered]] versions for [[white]], [[blue]], [[black]], [[red]], and [[green]], respectively {{-}} and two for [[colorless]] {{-}} [[Wastes]] and its snow-covered version. Each basic land that produces colored mana has the [[#Basic land types|basic land type]] of the same name; e.g., [[Plains]] have the Plains land type, and therefore has the [[intrinsic ability]] to produce mana of the appropriate color.

Basic lands are thought of as the cornerstones of ''Magic'' design, and no lands should be printed if they are [[strictly better]] than basic lands. This rule was born after the [[dual land]]s from ''[[Alpha]]''/''[[Beta]]''/''[[Unlimited]]''/''[[Revised]]'' proved to be an issue in terms of designing others at a similar power.  Wastes, the {{C}} basic land printed two decades into the game, is the other exception to the rule - many nonbasic lands have the ability to tap for colorless mana, do not come in tapped, have extra abilities, and exactly two cards refer to Wastes as a land specifically. Consequently, colored nonbasic lands feature [[drawback]]s, in addition to the fact that no more than four copies of nonbasic lands may be played in a deck.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/land-my-land-2003-03-31|This Land Is My Land|[[Mark Rosewater]]|March 31, 2003}}</ref> As time went on and good land designs became scarcer, the "strictly better" exception was loosened (such as the [[Pathway land]]s), in exchange for an increase in references to the basic supertype and basic land types in other cards.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/632965918918656000/something-i-found-in-the-making-magic-archive-from|title="Rule #1 – No Land Can Be 'Strictly Better' Than a Basic Land".|October 25, 2020}}</ref> For example, cards like <c>Field of Ruin</c> reward ''both'' players for having basic lands; a [[metagame]] with enough similar cards introduces a strategic liability for players who don't use basic lands.

The basic land's [[text box]] was changed to a giant [[mana symbol]] for ''[[Portal]]'' and ''[[Sixth Edition]]'' onwards.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/change-better-2004-10-04|Change For the Better|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 04, 2004}}</ref> [[R&D]] found that the large mana symbols in place of rules text helped new players to better distinguish lands from spells.<ref>{{DailyRef|ask-wizards-october-2002-2002-10-01|Ask Wizards - October, 2002|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|October, 2002}}</ref> 

[[R&D]] has talked about changing the rules so basic lands can have different names, but the majority of R&D is not in favor.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/159515646038/will-we-ever-see-a-plane-where-the-five-basics-do|title=Will we ever see a plane where the five basics do not have "Plains," "Island," "Swamp," "Mountain," and "Forest" in their names?|April 13, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/159536393313/is-there-any-mechanical-benefit-to-having-basic|title= Is there any mechanical benefit to having basic land types with different names?|April 13, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/159528513013/with-these-hypothetical-alternate-basic-land|title=With these hypothetical alternate basic land names ...?|April 13, 2017}}</ref>

==Rules==
{{CR|205.4c}}

===Basic land types===
{{CR|glossary|Basic Land Type}}
{{CR|305.6}}
Each basic land subtype implicitly grants the ability to tap for one mana of its corresponding color:

* [[Plains]] {{-}} {{T}}: Add {{W}}.
* [[Island]] {{-}} {{T}}: Add {{U}}.
* [[Swamp]] {{-}} {{T}}: Add {{B}}.
* [[Mountain]] {{-}} {{T}}: Add {{R}}.
* [[Forest]] {{-}} {{T}}: Add {{G}}.

Any land with a basic land type has the appropriate ability. A land with multiple basic land types has each corresponding ability and can tap for any of the appropriate colors. However, a land with a basic land type is only a basic land if it has the Basic [[supertype]].

[[Wastes]] is a basic land with no subtypes, so it has no implicit mana abilities. However, its [[Oracle]] text reads "{{T}}: Add {{C}}". The same is true of its [[snow]] counterpart.

[[Cloud]] is an additional basic land type that is only used on a [[test card]] from the ''[[Mystery Booster]]'' set (<c>Barry's Land</c>) {{-}} {{T}}: Add {{C}}.

==References by other objects==
Any [[object]] that refers to one or more of the basic land types refers to any land with that land type, not to the Basic land of the same name. For instance, if a card says "Search your [[library]] for a Plains", you can find a <c>Savannah</c>, as it has the Plains basic land type. Effects can be more specific with "a basic Plains card" (which means Plains or Snow-Covered Plains) or, very rarely, "a card named Plains".

Any object that refers to a "Basic land" refers only to the 12 lands with the Basic [[supertype]] and not any other land with a basic land type.

==Rarity: Land==
Basic lands technically have their own [[rarity]], but are often marked as [[common]].<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/624053227578638336|title=Since the jumpstart basics are one-per-pack, why do they still count as common?|July 20, 2020}}</ref> They can have an "L" instead of a "C" in the [[information below the text box]]. This is usually known as the "land slot" - the fifteenth card - in draft boosters. Some nonbasic lands have been given this slot, such as the [[Gate|Gates]] in the [[Guilds of Ravnica]] and [[Ravnica Allegiance]] and the life-gain taplands in [[Khans of Tarkir]], and the snow duals in [[Kaldheim]].

When searching for the rarity "land", [[Gatherer]] lists:
*The 5 basic lands
*The 5 snow-covered basic lands
*The 3 [[Urzatron]] lands (''[[Masters Edition IV]]'') 
*The 10 life-gain [[tapland]]s (''[[Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths]]'' and ''[[Core Set 2021]]'')
*The snow dual lands (''[[Kaldheim]]'') 
*<c>Cryptic Spires</c> from ''[[Double Masters 2022]]''
Strangely, {{Card|Snow-Covered Wastes}} is [[uncommon]] in ''[[Modern Horizons 3]]'', making it the only basic land to break this rule.

==Full-art lands==
Special [[full-art]] basic lands were first featured in ''[[Unglued]]'' (1998). These cards had extended artwork inside an oval frame stretching from the top to bottom of the card.<ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/unglued-lands-2003-05-15|''Unglued'' lands|[[Magic Arcana]]|May 15, 2003}}</ref> Due to their popularity, full-art basic became a characteristic feature of [[Un-set]]s. In ''[[Unhinged]]'' they had rectangular frames, in ''[[Unstable]]'' the frames were [[borderless]], and ''[[Unsanctioned]]'' featured borderless lands with an inner gilded oval holding the name and mana symbol. 

The first regular expansion to feature full-art lands was the 2009 land-themed ''[[Zendikar]]'' set. The lands have a regular [[name|name box]] but the [[mana symbol]] of the [[text box]] and the [[type line]] are conflated into one at the bottom of the card. The box is the normal height of the type-box but dents outwards for the mana symbol in the middle. To the left of the symbol are the words "[[Basic]] [[Land]]" while on the right is the type of the land and the expansion symbol. These special lands appear in [[booster pack]]s and [[fat pack]]s. [[Intro pack]]s on the other hand have normal styled lands as they have appeared in the majority of large expansions. These have the same [[collector number]]s, but with an added letter "a". There are four individual arts for each land and both sets of lands feature the same artwork.<ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/zendikar-plains-2009-08-10-0|''Zendikar'' Plains|[[Magic Arcana]]|August 10, 2009}}</ref> Similar full-art basics were featured in the return set ''[[Battle for Zendikar]]'', while the second set of [[Battle for Zendikar block|that block]], ''[[Oath of the Gatewatch]]'', features full-art {{card|Wastes||OGW|#=183}}.

In August 2014, a cycle of foil full-art basic lands illustrated by [[Terese Nielsen]] were announced as [[Judge Gift]]s.<ref name="Nielsen">{{DailyRef|arcana/judge-promo-basic-lands-2014-08-04|Judge Promo Basic Lands|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|August 4, 2014}}</ref>  According to the letter included with them, they were intended to settle a dispute between Wizards of the Coast and the Judge community.

The two sets of the [[Amonkhet block]], ''[[Amonkhet]]''<ref name="Packaging">{{DailyRef|news/modern-masters-2017-edition-and-amonkhet-packaging-2017-02-20|''Modern Masters 2017 Edition'' and ''Amonkhet'' Packaging|[[Blake Rasmussen]]|February 20, 2017}}</ref> and ''[[Hour of Devastation]]''<ref name="Dark 1">{{DailyRef|making-magic/darkest-hour-part-1-2017-06-19|Darkest Hour, Part 1|[[Mark Rosewater]]|June 19, 2017}}</ref> also featured full-art basics containing Bolas's horn gate in the art.

''[[Modern Horizons]]'' featured full-art [[snow]] basics.

''[[Theros: Beyond Death]]'' featured full-art "Nyx" basics with a large mana symbol on a starfield background.

''[[Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths]]'' was the first set to feature non-basic lands in a full-art treatment, the [[showcase]] [[Triome]]s. These cards do have a [[text box]] containing their abilities, but the art is visible behind the textbox and stretches to the edge of the cards with a borderless treatment.

''[[Secret Lair Drop Series: The Godzilla Lands]]'' contained special [[wikipedia:Godzilla|Godzilla]] art full-art basics.

''[[Double Masters]]'' [[VIP Edition]]s contain new printings of five ''Battle for Zendikar'' full-art basics and five ''Unhinged'' full-art basics, both in a slightly modified frame.

Starting with ''[[Midnight Hunt]]'',  full-art basics have become a regular part of the [[Booster Fun]] program of each set.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/691130758077808640|title=Are full art basics the new norm?|July 29, 2022}}</ref>

==Full-text lands==

A set of full-text lands with no artwork was printed as [[Secret Lair Drop Series: Dr. Lair's Secretorium Superdrop|a Secret Lair Drop]].

==See also==
*[[Barry's Land]]
*[[Basic land counting]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Lands|state=collapsed}}
{{Rarity|state=collapsed}}
{{Card types|nocat=1}}