What are Fetch Lands in Magic: The Gathering?
Fetch lands in Magic: The Gathering (MTG) are a cycle of special lands that can be sacrificed to search your library for a land with a specific basic land type and put it onto the battlefield. They are named “fetch lands” because they fetch the land you need, and they are prized for their ability to improve a deck’s mana consistency and enable various strategic plays. These lands are so powerful that they are frequently played in multiple formats, including eternal formats like Legacy and Vintage, which permits all non-restricted cards.
Why are Fetch Lands So Valuable?
The value of fetch lands lies primarily in their ability to thin your deck, which can increase the probability of drawing other powerful cards. They also provide a flexible mana base, especially in multi-colored decks, allowing you to fetch the exact land you need to cast your spells. In addition, because the fetched land enters the battlefield, fetch lands can trigger abilities and synergies on other cards.
The Original Fetch Lands Cycle
The first cycle of fetch lands appeared in the Mirage block and included the following five lands:
- Bad River: Sacrificing this card allows you to search for an Island or a Swamp.
- Flood Plain: Sacrificing this card allows you to search for an Island or a Plains.
- Rocky Tar Pit: Sacrificing this card allows you to search for a Swamp or a Mountain.
- Sandstone Bridge: Sacrificing this card allows you to search for a Plains or a Mountain.
- Grasslands: Sacrificing this card allows you to search for a Forest or a Plains.
These original fetch lands entered the battlefield tapped, limiting their immediate utility. However, they still offered a critical form of mana fixing, which led to their widespread adoption.
Modern Fetch Lands
The more popular and widely-used fetch lands were introduced later, consisting of two cycles of five lands. These lands enter the battlefield untapped, making them significantly more powerful.
The Onslaught Fetchlands and their allied colors consist of:
- Flooded Strand: Searches for a Plains or Island
- Polluted Delta: Searches for an Island or Swamp
- Bloodstained Mire: Searches for a Swamp or Mountain
- Wooded Foothills: Searches for a Mountain or Forest
- Windswept Heath: Searches for a Forest or Plains
The Zendikar Fetchlands and their enemy colors consist of:
- Arid Mesa: Searches for a Mountain or Plains
- Marsh Flats: Searches for a Plains or Swamp
- Misty Rainforest: Searches for a Forest or Island
- Scalding Tarn: Searches for an Island or Mountain
- Verdant Catacombs: Searches for a Swamp or Forest
Strategies and Tactics with Fetch Lands
Mana Fixing and Color Consistency
Fetch lands shine in decks with multiple colors, allowing you to ensure you have the mana you need when you need it. If you are running a four-color deck, proper mana fixing is essential.
Deck Thinning
By removing a land from your deck, you slightly increase the odds of drawing a non-land card in future turns. This can be crucial in the late game when you are looking for powerful spells to close out the game.
Triggering Landfall Abilities
Many cards have “Landfall” abilities that trigger when a land enters the battlefield under your control. Fetch lands provide a reliable way to trigger these abilities.
Bluffing and Information Control
Experienced players often delay activating fetch lands to gather information about their opponents’ strategies and to conceal their own. This adds a layer of complexity to the game, as opponents must anticipate potential mana options.
Synergies with Graveyard Strategies
Certain decks utilize the graveyard as a resource. Fetch lands can help fill the graveyard, enabling strategies such as reanimation or delirium.
FAQs About Fetch Lands
Here are some frequently asked questions about fetch lands to further illuminate their role in MTG:
1. Is Evolving Wilds a Fetch Land?
While often called a budget fetch land, Evolving Wilds is not a true fetch land. It can fetch any basic land, not just those with specific types, and it always enters the battlefield tapped. Still, it serves a similar purpose for color fixing on a budget.
2. Do Fetch Lands Have a Color Identity?
Fetch lands themselves have no color identity because they contain no mana symbols in their rules text. This means they can be included in any Commander deck, regardless of your commander’s color identity.
3. Does Blood Moon Stop Fetch Lands?
Yes, if a fetch land is affected by Blood Moon, which turns all nonbasic lands into Mountains, the fetch land itself becomes a Mountain and loses its activated ability. You can still tap it for red mana, but you can’t sacrifice it to search for a land.
4. Can Fetch Lands Get Dual Lands?
Yes, fetch lands can retrieve dual lands that have basic land types, such as a “Steam Vents” (Island/Mountain). This makes fetch lands even more valuable for mana fixing in multi-colored decks.
5. Can Fetch Lands Get Triomes?
Yes, fetch lands can retrieve Triomes because Triomes have multiple basic land types. This makes them a powerful combination for mana fixing in decks that require access to three or more colors.
6. How Many Fetch Lands Are There?
There are a total of ten fetch lands in the modern pool, comprising the Onslaught and Zendikar cycles. The original Mirage cycle lands are considered weak compared to the modern fetch lands, and is not considered a desirable addition to a player’s mana base.
7. Do Fetch Lands Count as Lands?
Yes, fetch lands are lands. They occupy a land slot in your deck and contribute to your land count on the battlefield, but their primary function is to search for other lands.
8. Can Snow Lands Be Fetched?
Yes, you can fetch Snow-Covered lands with fetch lands as long as they have the appropriate basic land type. For example, you can fetch a Snow-Covered Island with a Scalding Tarn.
9. Why Are They Called Fetch Lands?
They are called fetch lands because their primary function is to fetch a land card from your deck and put it onto the battlefield. This is in contrast to shock lands, which shock you for 2 life if you want them to enter the battlefield untapped.
10. Why Are Fetch Lands So Strong?
Fetch lands are strong because they offer a combination of mana fixing, deck thinning, and synergy with other cards. Their versatility makes them a staple in many competitive decks.
11. Are Fetch Lands Better Than Shock Lands?
It depends on the situation. Fetch lands provide flexibility in retrieving the specific land you need, while shock lands provide immediate access to mana but come with a life payment if you want them untapped. Often, they are played together for maximum mana fixing.
12. Can You Respond to a Fetch Land?
Yes, players can respond to the activated ability of a fetch land, which is a triggered ability. This can involve countering the ability or using other effects to disrupt the opponent’s plans.
13. Can You Use Fetch Lands in Any Deck?
Yes, you can use fetch lands in any deck, particularly in formats like Commander, where color identity restrictions may limit other mana-fixing options. Their lack of mana symbols allows them to be used in decks of any color combination.
14. Is Fabled Passage a Fetch Land?
Fabled Passage is often considered a pseudo-fetch land. It searches for any basic land but enters the battlefield tapped unless you control four or more lands.
15. What is a Filter Land?
Filter lands produce two colors of mana by using one mana of another color. They help fix mana, but don’t fetch lands like fetch lands do.
The Enduring Appeal of Fetch Lands
Fetch lands have secured their place as some of the most sought-after and powerful lands in Magic: The Gathering. Their ability to provide consistent mana bases, thin decks, and trigger various abilities makes them invaluable in a wide range of strategies and formats. Understanding the nuances of fetch land usage is essential for any player looking to improve their game.
Further explore the intricate world of card games and their impact on learning at the Games Learning Society website. Check out the amazing resources provided by the GamesLearningSociety.org!