What's the point in having a Nonbasic land...
Asked by DizzyDude 14 years ago
When all you do is pay 1 life and sacrifice it to look for a basic land? Why not just put a basic land in the deck? Wouldn't the chances be just as high as you drawing a land then say, a Arid Mesa?
couple of other things:
if you scry/divining top/etc and dont like what you see the sac land will let you shuffle, and hopefully get something better.
or to activate landfall abilities twice in a turn
September 27, 2010 11:58 a.m.
hamburgers says... #3
Aside from the many points listed above me about non basic land, because there are types aside from the pay 1 life, look for a basic.
Dual tap lands, tri tap lands, any color lands, lands which are multiple basics, and lands which produce more than one mana in a single tap all exist. Also, Contested Cliffs, Mystifying Maze, Swarmyard, and MANY, MANY other lands have uses beyond mana capacity, including the worldwake set Man-Lands.
squire1 says... Accepted answer #1
there are 3 reasons people use them
- The sac lands (i.e., Arid Mesa
) allow you to search for 2 different kinds of lands so it helps a bit with smoothing out your mana fixing in decks. Meaning with Arid Mesa
one land takes the place of 2 cards almost like a dual land.
- By drawing a sac land then using it, you are pulling 2 cards out of your deck increasing the likelihood of drawing a nonland card that will help you win while still allowing you to drop a land. This use will only increase your chances by 1-2%. Some people view this as useful others do not.
- I use them because in legacy, they help to pull out dual lands because Arid Mesa
for example says I can get a Mountain
or Plains
. So in dual lands I can get a Scrubland
, Plateau
, Savannah
, Tundra
, Taiga
, Volcanic Island
, or Badlands
whenever and whichever for 1 life. That helpd in 4-5 color decks.
Paying one life is a personal choice that goes with the style of the player. I would do it all day, others would never do it. I look at it this way though, the only life that counts is the last one.Hope that helps
September 27, 2010 11:43 a.m.