Understanding Fetch Lands: A Comprehensive Guide
Fetch lands are a cornerstone of Magic: The Gathering’s (MTG) mana fixing system. In essence, a fetch land is a land card that, for a cost, allows you to search your library for a specific type of land card and put it directly onto the battlefield. This ability to thin your deck, fix your colors, and enable various strategies makes them incredibly powerful and sought after in the MTG community. Fetch lands typically sacrifice themselves after resolving their ability, sending them to the graveyard.
Deeper Dive: What Makes Fetch Lands Special?
Fetch lands go beyond simple mana fixing; they are strategic tools that impact several aspects of gameplay. Their ability to search and retrieve lands provides consistency by ensuring you have the mana needed to cast your spells. They also contribute to deck thinning, effectively reducing the probability of drawing lands later in the game when you might need other cards. Crucially, they interact favorably with cards that care about land entering or leaving the battlefield, such as landfall triggers or cards that benefit from a full graveyard.
Furthermore, the shuffling effect caused by fetching can impact the probabilities of your next draws, sometimes in unexpected ways. Experienced players can leverage this aspect to their advantage, especially when combined with cards that manipulate the top of the library. Their versatility and efficiency are why fetch lands often command a high price on the secondary market.
Key Features of Fetch Lands
- Searching: The primary function is to search your library for a specific land type.
- Sacrifice: Fetch lands are sacrificed as part of their activation cost.
- Fetchable Land Types: They typically fetch basic land types (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest) even if those lands have other subtypes.
- Instant Speed: Most fetch lands can be activated at instant speed, adding to their tactical flexibility.
- Deck Thinning: Removing a card (the land fetched) from your deck marginally increases your chances of drawing non-land cards later.
FAQs: All About Fetch Lands
1. What are the original fetch lands?
The original fetch lands, often referred to as the “Onslaught fetch lands,” were introduced in the Onslaught set. They are:
- Arid Mesa
- Marsh Flats
- Misty Rainforest
- Scalding Tarn
- Verdant Catacombs
2. What other fetch lands exist besides the Onslaught cycle?
The Zendikar set introduced another cycle of fetch lands, which are commonly called the “Zendikar fetch lands.” These are considered more powerful and valuable because they can fetch dual lands with basic land types (e.g., a “Steam Vents” can be fetched by “Scalding Tarn”).
- Arid Mesa
- Marsh Flats
- Misty Rainforest
- Scalding Tarn
- Verdant Catacombs
3. Can fetch lands retrieve any land?
No, fetch lands can only retrieve lands with basic land types: Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. This means they can fetch dual lands that have one or more of these basic land types, such as “Steam Vents” (Island, Mountain) or “Overgrown Tomb” (Swamp, Forest).
4. Why are fetch lands so expensive?
Their high cost stems from their utility, scarcity, and demand. They are staples in many competitive decks across various formats due to their ability to fix mana, thin the deck, and trigger landfall effects. Furthermore, they are not printed frequently, further driving up the price.
5. How do fetch lands help with mana fixing?
By fetching lands of the correct color, fetch lands ensure you have the necessary mana to cast your spells. This is particularly important in multi-colored decks where consistent access to all colors is crucial for success.
6. What does “deck thinning” mean in the context of fetch lands?
Deck thinning refers to the process of reducing the number of cards in your library. When you use a fetch land, you remove one card (the fetched land) from your deck, slightly increasing the probability of drawing other cards, such as spells, in subsequent draws.
7. Can I fetch a shock land with a fetch land?
Yes, as long as the shock land has a basic land type printed on it. For example, you can fetch “Steam Vents” with “Scalding Tarn” because “Steam Vents” has the types “Island” and “Mountain.”
8. What happens if I don’t find a land when I activate a fetch land?
If you activate a fetch land and you don’t have a land of the specified type in your library, you still shuffle your library. This is because the shuffling effect is part of the resolution of the ability, regardless of whether you find a matching land.
9. Can I activate a fetch land if my library is empty?
No, you cannot activate a fetch land if your library is empty. You need to have a legal target to search for in order to activate the ability.
10. Do fetch lands trigger landfall abilities?
Yes, because the fetched land is put onto the battlefield, it will trigger any landfall abilities your creatures or enchantments might have. This synergy makes fetch lands even more valuable in decks built around landfall effects.
11. How do fetch lands interact with graveyard strategies?
Fetch lands end up in the graveyard after being sacrificed. This can be beneficial for decks that utilize cards and abilities that care about the number of lands in your graveyard.
12. Are fetch lands legal in all formats?
No, fetch lands are not legal in all formats. Their legality depends on the set they were printed in and the specific format’s rules. For example, they are not legal in Standard, but are staples in formats like Modern and Legacy. Always check the format’s banned and restricted lists.
13. What are some budget alternatives to fetch lands?
While there’s no direct replacement for the efficiency of fetch lands, there are budget options that provide similar, though often slower, mana fixing. These include cards like Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, and the cycle of lands that enter the battlefield tapped unless you reveal a land card from your hand.
14. How does the timing of activating a fetch land affect the game?
The timing of activation is crucial. Activating at the end of your opponent’s turn can provide mana for your turn while hiding your intentions. However, activating in response to a spell can disrupt your opponent’s strategy or ensure you have the right mana to counter a threat. The Games Learning Society has a variety of resources to help you sharpen your MTG timing skills. You can find more info about it at GamesLearningSociety.org.
15. Can fetch lands be countered?
The activation of a fetch land’s ability can be countered using cards like Counterspell. However, once the ability resolves and the land is on the battlefield, the fetch land is already in the graveyard and cannot be targeted.
Fetch lands are a complex and powerful tool in Magic: The Gathering. Understanding their functionality and strategic implications is crucial for competitive play. They truly exemplify how complex and rewarding the game is.