MTG Fetch Lands: The Ultimate Guide to Mana Fixing and Deckbuilding

What are Fetch Lands?

Definition

At their core, mtg fetch lands are a type of land card designed to provide players with exceptional mana fixing capabilities. These lands typically function by sacrificing themselves to search your library for a basic land card with a specific land type (like Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest) and putting that land onto the battlefield. This action effectively gives the player access to a broader range of mana colors, a critical advantage in a game where casting spells hinges on having the right mana available.

Key Characteristics

The defining characteristic of mtg fetch lands is their sacrifice requirement. Unlike basic lands that enter the battlefield untapped, fetch lands enter tapped. Additionally, you must pay the ultimate price of sacrificing the land to activate its ability. Upon activation, you must search your library, reveal a basic land, and then put that basic land into play. They do this by targeting a particular basic land, for example, a “Plains”. They cannot search for non-basic lands, with very few exceptions.

Notable Examples

Several notable examples illustrate the concept of mtg fetch lands. The Onslaught fetch lands, such as Flooded Strand, Windswept Heath, and Wooded Foothills, set the standard for these cards, featuring straightforward land-type searching. The Zendikar fetch lands, like Scalding Tarn, Misty Rainforest, and Marsh Flats, are highly sought after by players and known for their powerful mana-fixing and deck thinning capabilities. More recently, the Modern Horizons series introduced new printings like Prismatic Vista, further expanding the availability and accessibility of fetch lands. These are legal in many formats, including Modern and Pioneer. In addition to these, many new prints like the ones from Modern Horizons II are now legal in the Pioneer format.

The Benefits of Fetch Lands

Mana Fixing

The advantages of utilizing mtg fetch lands extend far beyond simple mana fixing. Their versatility and strategic depth contribute significantly to their enduring popularity.

Mana fixing is the primary function of fetch lands, and they excel at it. By allowing you to fetch any basic land color, they enable smooth access to the mana colors required for your deck’s spells. For decks running multiple colors, the ability to tutor for the needed mana is vital. This ability enables players to effectively construct three, four, or even five-color decks with a much higher degree of consistency, which broadens the possibilities of deckbuilding. They also work well with dual lands, meaning that you are able to fetch for a dual land, allowing for even more flexible mana bases.

Thinning Your Deck

Another key benefit is deck thinning. When you activate a mtg fetch land, you remove a basic land from your library. While the impact of a single fetch land activating may seem minimal, repeated fetching throughout the game can influence your future draws. By reducing the number of basic lands in your deck, you slightly increase the probability of drawing spells and other non-land cards. This can be advantageous in the long run, giving you a slightly higher chance of getting the threats and answers you need.

Triggering Abilities

Fetch lands can also trigger various abilities. Abilities like Landfall, where you get an effect when a land enters the battlefield, are immediately triggered whenever you activate a mtg fetch land. This interaction boosts certain strategies and card combinations. Furthermore, fetching from your library is often an inherent element for some deck archetypes. For instance, cards that work when you reveal certain spells benefit from the ability to fetch. This adds a layer of strategic depth and potential for synergies that sets fetch lands apart from other mana-fixing options.

Interaction with Graveyard

Fetch lands’ interactions with the graveyard add another layer of complexity. Each time you activate a fetch land, it sends the land to your graveyard. This provides a crucial effect for strategies that rely on the graveyard, like decks that use Delve, or those that use reanimation strategies. You can get a quick influx of fuel to your graveyard to help power your game plan. This advantage makes fetch lands a potent tool for many different deck archetypes.

Fetch Lands in Different Formats

Legacy/Vintage

The impact of mtg fetch lands varies across different MTG formats, reflecting the evolving metagame and legal card pools.

In Legacy and Vintage, fetch lands are essentially a core necessity. The power level of these formats is high, and the ability to reliably cast spells of various colors in a timely manner is a must. Their ability to interact with dual lands and other powerful cards make them indispensable to the success of a deck. The presence of fetch lands creates a faster metagame that requires high-level strategic deckbuilding.

Modern

In Modern, mtg fetch lands also play a central role. They provide the best mana fixing in the format, and are used in almost every multi-colored deck. The availability of multiple sets that contain fetch lands has further solidified their place. This has led to significant demand, and the prices reflect their power.

Pioneer

The Pioneer format has benefited from the introduction of fetch lands. Fetch lands help players achieve a mana base that helps enable various deck archetypes.

Commander (EDH)

In the Commander (EDH) format, fetch lands are almost universally used, especially in decks running more than two colors. Mana fixing is vital, and the format is slower paced, so you can fetch a land from your library to improve your chances of drawing the correct cards later on in the game. The sheer variety of cards in this format means you can have a variety of strategies.

Standard

While not consistently present in Standard, unless a particular set provides access to them, the dynamics change significantly. Because of this, you will not usually find fetch lands within the format.

Considerations and Drawbacks

Cost

While fetch lands offer numerous advantages, there are also considerations to keep in mind.

The cost of mtg fetch lands is a significant factor. As highly desirable cards, they are expensive. The value of these cards will change based on the popularity of the format that they are legal in, as well as reprints.

Life Loss

Life loss is another potential drawback. Activating some fetch lands requires you to lose life. This can affect some decks with a strategy of being aggressive and wanting to deal a significant amount of damage, making them vulnerable.

Deck Building Considerations

Fetch lands can make games longer. Because they make you search your library, they can add time to the game, so it is important to consider how you will use them during gameplay.

Availability of Basic Lands

The availability of basic lands matters. Fetch lands are useless if your deck doesn’t contain the right basic lands to fetch. The ability to fetch the correct basic land is key to their function, and is important to the use of the card.

Strategy and Deckbuilding Tips

Analyzing Your Mana Base Needs

Incorporating mtg fetch lands effectively requires a thoughtful approach to deckbuilding and strategic decision-making.

Assess your deck’s mana base needs. Determine which colors are essential and the ratios needed for your spells. The more colors your deck uses, the more critical a solid mana base becomes.

Balancing Fetch Lands and Other Lands

Balance fetch lands with other lands. The right mix depends on the format, the deck’s speed, and your budget. Consider how many colors you need and the amount of basic lands in your deck.

The Importance of Basic Lands

Always consider how many basic lands are in your deck. Without enough basic lands, your fetch lands can become ineffective, limiting your ability to fix your mana. Ensure your deck has enough basics to support fetching.

The Psychology of Fetching

The psychology of fetching is important. Decide when to activate fetch lands and which land to fetch based on your hand, the board state, and your future game plan. Remember you may also be giving information to your opponent when you search your library.

Comparison with Other Land Cards

Dual Lands

Understanding the different types of land cards and their role helps you determine the best mix for your deck.

Dual lands provide mana fixing, but their impact can be significantly different from mtg fetch lands. Both shock lands and fetch lands work well together, and are essential to multi-colored decks.

Shock Lands

The value of the fetch lands can be enhanced by the use of shock lands.

Other Mana Fixing Options

Other mana fixing options like tri-lands and filter lands also offer mana fixing. Their effectiveness depends on the format, your deck’s strategy, and what cards are in the metagame.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mtg fetch lands are a fundamental part of MTG’s landscape. Their unique ability to fix mana, thin your deck, and trigger abilities makes them a vital asset to successful deckbuilding. From competitive formats to casual play, fetch lands contribute to a richer and more strategic gameplay experience. By strategically incorporating them into your decks and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, you can significantly enhance your chances of victory.

Now, take the knowledge and skill to integrate mtg fetch lands into your deck. Consider how this card will benefit you, and the deck that you build. Embrace the art of fetch land manipulation, and may your mana base be forever reliable and powerful.

Resources

Here are some websites that you can learn more from:

• Gatherer: The official MTG card database
• Scryfall: A comprehensive card search engine
• MTGGoldfish: Deck building and metagame analysis