Dual lands or duals is common slang for any non-basic land that produces two colors of mana, particularly the ten original rare lands printed from Alpha to Revised.
Original dual lands[ | ]
Allied colored[ | ]
- Tundra (/)
- Underground Sea (/)
- Badlands (/)
- Taiga (/)
- Savannah (/)
Enemy colored[ | ]
- Scrubland (/)
- Volcanic Island (/)
- Bayou (/)
- Plateau (/)
- Tropical Island (/)
Legacy[ | ]
Since then, "dual land" has also come to refer to any land that can produce two colors of mana.[1][2][3][4] Dual lands are often highly sought-after and fetch high prices on the secondary market; the original duals see prices in the thousands.
Popular dual land cycles have been printed in numerous sets, including:
Cycle | Color pair | Enters | Basic land types? | Original Set | Major Reprints | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pain lands | Ally | Untapped | No | Ice Age | Fifth Edition, Sixth Edition, Seventh Edition, Ninth Edition, Tenth Edition, Dominaria United, The Brothers' War | Taps for colorless mana or one mana of the colors of the land for one damage. |
Enemy | Apocalypse | Ninth Edition, Tenth Edition, Magic 2015, Magic Origins, Commander 2020, Dominaria United, The Brothers' War | ||||
Enemy | Tapped | No | Tempest | Vintage Masters | ||
Fetch lands | Ally | Tapped | No | Mirage | Vintage Masters, Dominaria United Commander | Fetches lands with basic land types |
Ally | Untapped | No | Onslaught | Khans of Tarkir, Zendikar Expeditions, Zendikar Rising Expeditions, Modern Horizons 3 | Fetches lands with basic land types, upon paying 1 life | |
Enemy | Untapped | No | Zendikar | Modern Masters 2017, Zendikar Expeditions, Zendikar Rising Expeditions, Modern Horizons 2 | ||
Pure Taplands | Ally | Tapped | No | Invasion | Eighth Edition | Enters tapped with no further upside or downside |
Ally | No | Oath of the Gatewatch | Core Set 2019 | |||
Enemy | No | Shadows over Innistrad | Rivals of Ixalan, Core Set 2019 | |||
Filter lands | Ally | Untapped | No | Odyssey | Adds an allied-colored pair of mana to your mana pool, which activates at the cost of one colorless mana. | |
Enemy | Untapped | No | Fallout | Adds an enemy-colored pair of mana to your mana pool, which activates at the cost of one colorless mana. | ||
Ally | Untapped | No | Future Sight (incomplete)[5] | Shadowmoor (complete), Zendikar Expeditions, Double Masters | Adds two mana in any combination of an allied color pair, which activates at the cost of one mana of one of those colors. | |
Enemy | Untapped | No | Eventide | Zendikar Expeditions, Masters 25, Double Masters | Adds two mana in any combination of an enemy color pair, which activates at the cost of one mana of one of those colors. | |
Bounce lands | Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Ravnica block | Modern Masters 2015, Iconic Masters, Double Masters 2022 | Requires a land to be returned to hand upon playing, adds a pair of colors |
Shock lands | Ally & enemy | Tapped/Untapped
(player's choice) |
Yes | Ravnica block | Return to Ravnica block, Zendikar Expeditions, Guilds of Ravnica block, Unfinity, Ravnica Remastered, Ravnica: Clue Edition | Upon playing, the player can pay 2 life or the land enters the battlefield tapped. |
Nimbus lands | Ally | Untapped | No | Future Sight (incomplete)[5] | Iconic Masters (incomplete) | Adds colorless; adds colored mana only if the player already controls the other color's basic land type |
Changing lands | Ally | Untapped | No | Future Sight (incomplete)[5] | Iconic Masters (incomplete) | The color of the added mana is dependent on the fact that another land has been played or not. |
Opponents' boon lands | Ally | Untapped | No | Future Sight (incomplete)[5] | Iconic Masters (incomplete), Zendikar Rising Expeditions (incomplete) | Adds colorless; opponents gain 1 life when tapped for colors |
Horizon lands | Ally | Untapped | No | Future Sight (incomplete)[5] | Modern Horizons (incomplete), Zendikar Rising Expeditions (incomplete) | Pain lands that can be sacrificed to draw a card. |
Enemy | Untapped | No | Modern Horizons | |||
Guildgates | Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Return to Ravnica block | Modern Masters 2017, Guilds of Ravnica block, Foundations | Taplands with the Gate subtype |
Scry lands | Ally | Tapped | No | Theros block | Theros Beyond Death, Foundations | Temples. Scry 1 upon entering the battlefield |
Enemy | Tapped | No | Core Set 2020, Core Set 2021, Foundations | |||
Enemy | Tapped | No | Strixhaven: School of Mages | Campuses. Dual lands that also have ", : Scry 1." | ||
Battle lands | Ally | Tapped/Untapped (board state dependent) | Yes | Battle for Zendikar | Zendikar Expeditions | Enters untapped when controlling two or more basic lands |
Check lands | Ally | Tapped/Untapped (board state dependent) | No | Magic 2010 | Magic 2011, Magic 2012, Magic 2013, Ixalan | Checks for basic land types on board to be untapped |
Enemy | Tapped/Untapped (board state dependent) | No | Innistrad | Dominaria, Dominaria Remastered | ||
Dual-colored manlands | Ally | Tapped | No | Worldwake | Ultimate Masters, Zendikar Rising Expeditions (Incomplete) | Can become creatures until end of turn |
Enemy | Tapped | No | Battle for Zendikar block | |||
Enemy | Tapped | No | Wilds of Eldraine | “Restless” Lands. Can become creatures until end of turn. Have attack triggers not tied to the land’s activated ability. | ||
Ally | Tapped | No | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | |||
Fast lands[6] | Ally | Tapped/Untapped (board state dependent) | No | Scars of Mirrodin | Zendikar Rising Expeditions, Phyrexia: All Will Be One | Enters untapped as long as you control two or fewer other lands |
Enemy | Tapped/Untapped (board state dependent) | No | Kaladesh | Outlaws of Thunder Junction | ||
Reveal lands | Ally | Tapped/Untapped (hand-reveal) | No | Shadows over Innistrad | Shadows over Innistrad Remastered | Untapped if an appropriate basic land type is revealed from hand |
Enemy | Tapped/Untapped (hand-reveal) | No | Strixhaven: School of Mages | |||
Bicycle lands | Ally | Tapped | Yes | Amonkhet | Cycling | |
Bond lands | Ally | Tapped/Untapped (multiplayer) | No | Battlebond | Zendikar Rising Expeditions, Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | Enters the battlefield tapped unless the controller has two or more opponents |
Enemy | Tapped/Untapped (multiplayer) | No | Commander Legends | Commander Masters | ||
Aggro lands | Enemy (incomplete) | Untapped | No | Mystery Booster | Taps before the combat phase (test card) | |
Pathway lands | Ally & enemy (mixed) | Untapped | No | Zendikar Rising | Modal double-faced cards, the player gets to choose which face to be on | |
Kaldheim | ||||||
Snow duals | Ally & enemy | Tapped | Yes | Kaldheim | Fetchable Dual lands with Snow-Covered properties | |
Gainlands | Ally | Tapped | No | Zendikar | Refuges. You gain 1 life. | |
Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Khans of Tarkir | Eternal Masters, Core Set 2020, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, Core Set 2021, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, March of the Machine, Foundations | Generic names. You gain 1 life. | |
Bridge lands | Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Modern Horizons 2 | Artifact land, Indestructible | |
Slow lands | Ally | Tapped/Untapped (board state dependent) | No | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt | Innistrad: Double Feature | Enters untapped as long as you control two or more other lands |
Enemy | Tapped/Untapped (board state dependent) | No | Innistrad: Crimson Vow | |||
Sac-Draw Lands | Ally | Tapped | No | Streets of New Capenna | Have “MN, , Sacrifice this land: Draw a card” | |
Typed taplands | Ally & enemy | Tapped | Yes | Dominaria United | Fetchable Dual lands | |
Surveil Duals | Ally & enemy | Tapped | Yes | Murders at Karlov Manor | Surveil 1 when they enter the battlefield. | |
Investigate Duals | Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Ravnica: Clue Edition | Have “, : Investigate” | |
Dual Deserts | Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Outlaws of Thunder Junction | Deal 1 damage to target opponent when they enter the battlefield | |
Modal Double-Faced Spells | Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Modern Horizons 3 | Modal Double-faced card with a spell that costs hybrid mana on the front and a tapland of the two colors on the back | |
Unlucky lands | Ally & enemy | Tapped | No | Duskmourn: House of Horror | Enters tapped unless a player has 13 or less life. | |
Verge lands | Ally (Clockwise) | Untapped | No | Duskmourn: House of Horror | Always adds mana of a single color, can also add the clockwise allied color if the player controls either basic land type |
There are also a few notable "triple lands" cycles that produce three colors of mana; two cycles of shard-colored triple lands were printed in Shards of Alara and Streets of New Capenna, and two cycles of wedge-colored triple lands have been printed: one in Khans of Tarkir, the other in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.
Trivia[ | ]
- Volcanic Island was not printed in Alpha through internal error. This oversight was corrected in Beta.
- Plateau has an alternate art in the Revised version due to lost and corrupted art.[7]
- All original dual lands received new art for Magic Online.[8]
Gallery[ | ]
Plateau (Alpha Edition)
Plateau (Revised Edition)
References[ | ]
- ↑ Devin Low (June 13, 2008). "Why Are Dual Lands Usually Allied-Colored". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 20, 2013). "Gates Foundation". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Sam Stoddard (October 9, 2015). "The Power of Lands". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 27, 2017). "Get Ready to Dual". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c d e Aaron Forsythe (April 20, 2007). "When a Cycle Isn't a Cycle". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Tom LaPille (September 17, 2010). "The Promised Land". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (February 20, 2002). "Plateau(s)". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Monty Ashley (May 9, 2012). "Dual Lands in the Magic Online Cube". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.