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"Manland" (also "man-land" or "creature land"[1][2]) is a slang term referring to any land card that can inherently turn itself into a creature, usually until end of turn.

Because Wizards of the Coast use the most inclusive language available, they prefer to use the term "creature land".[3] Mark Rosewater mentioned he liked the term "landfolk" as a gender neutral term.[4]

When a permanent is both a land and a creature it is officially referred as land creatures.

Colorless manlands

The earliest and most famous of the "manlands" is Mishra's Factory.[5] Like the first of its kind all other manlands in this category have "{T}: Add {C}" and enter the battlefield untapped.

Mono colored manlands

Urza's Legacy brought a cycle of manlands, each of which came into play tapped and produce mana of one color. It is this set when the nickname manlands was coined. When the cycle was reprinted in Tenth Edition, the lands were given creature types when they used their abilities to turn into creatures. All of the lands turn into M colored creatures for {1}M, where M is of the color of mana the land can produce. The size and abilities of the creatures vary.

Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms cycle.

Dual colored manlands

Worldwake is a set with a distinct theme of making lands into creatures.[6] As such, it introduced a cycle of lands that enter the battlefield tapped and produce one mana of two different colors. The activation cost contains both colors and varies from card to card as does the size and abilities of the creature, though all of them are Elemental creatures of both colors the land can produce. The Worldwake cycle produces one mana of an allied pair.

Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch contain a mega cycle that is the enemy color counterpart of the Worldwake cycle.

Allied colored

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan completed the allied colored cycle of Restless creature lands.[7]

Enemy colored

Wilds of Eldraine added another enemy colored cycle of creature lands.[7]

Other effects

Main article: land creature

There are also a variety of cards that can turn lands into creatures, either permanently or temporarily. However these are not lands and therefore are not considered manlands. Examples would be Living Lands from Alpha, the Genju Cycle from Betrayers of Kamigawa, the Zendikon Cycle of Worldwake, numerous cards with Awaken from Battle for Zendikar, and various Nissa planeswalker cards like Nissa, Vital Force and Nissa, Who Shakes the World.

Dryad Arbor is a land creature, so is considered by some to be a manland.

References

  1. Luis Scott-Vargas (September 18, 2015). "Building a Better Battle". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. Sam Stoddard (September 7, 2015). ""Creature" Lands". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. Blake Rasmussen (February 25, 2016). "The February 25, 2016 Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. Mark Rosewater (March 15, 2016). "Is there a more gender neutral word for Manland?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  5. Mark Rosewater (February 8, 2010). "All Together Now". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. Mark Rosewater (January 18, 2010). "And the Land Played On". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. a b The Preview Panel at MagicCon: Barcelona (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (July 28, 2023).
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