Staple lands for the modern format.
Your land base will either make or break your deck. After all, what good are your spells if you can't cast them. This is a list of the most commonly played lands in modern, i.e. Staples.
Whether you're a beginner just getting into the format, or are a seasoned veteran who has been playing for years, this list should prove helpful.
The descriptions here are more for the newer players who don't know the names of every card printed.
I have separated them into the following categories:
Artifact Lands: These are either artifacts them selves or are meant to be played with artifacts.
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Battle(tango) Lands: Come in tapped unless you control 2 or more BASIC lands,AND can also be retrieved using fetch lands.
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Bounce Lands: When played you must return another land you control to your hand, but they tap for 2 mana.
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Check Lands: These come into play tapped you control another land with a basic land type name. (ex: comes in tapped unless you control a swamp or island)
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Cycling Duals: (New from Amonkhet) Fetch-able Dual lands that either come into play tapped, or can be cycled from your hand.
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Deserts: New from Hour of Devastation, while not tested enough to be a staple in modern, they have enough possibilities that they deserve to be listed for the rogue deck builders out there.
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Depletion lands: These enter the battlefield with a number of counters that can be removed to add 1 mana of any color.
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Fetch Lands: Quite possibly the most commonly played lands in ALL formats. Fetch lands let you retrieve a land from your library that has a basic land name.
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Filter Lands: lets you pay a mana of one color for 2 mana in any combination of certain colors.
Ex: , : Add , , or to your mana pool.
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Guild Halls: These lands only tap for a colorless mana, but have a secondary function much like the utility lands.
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Hideaway Lands: When played they exile a card from the top of your deck, and allow you to cast it for free after meeting a certain requirement.
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Legendary Lands: You can only have one out at a time, and usually for a good reason.
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Pain Lands: lets you tap for one of 2 colors at the cost of one life
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Man Lands: Lands that tap for one or more colors or mana, and can also become creatures themselves.
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Fast Lands (aka Scar Lands): Come in tapped unless you control 2 or fewer lands.(best for early game)
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Scry Lands: While not as popular, or used as frequently as other lands on this list, they do see some play in modern; particularly in decks that use cards with the Miracle mechanic.
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Shadow(Show) Lands: Come into play tapped unless you reveal corresponding land type from your hand.
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Shadowmoor Utility: An often overlooked set of lands from Shadowmoor. They enter tapped but each have a secondary function, and they can be retrieved by a fetch land.
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Shock Lands: Dual lands that come in tapped unless you pay 2 life, AND can also be retrieved using fetch lands.
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Storage Lands: : Add a storage counter. , Remove X storage counters, Add X mana in any combination.
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Strip Lands: These lands destroy other lands.
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Tri-Lands: If you're building a deck in 3 colors, you'll want to throw a few of these in.
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Tribal Lands: These are lands that synergize well with certain creature types.
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Urza's Lands (Tron Lands): If you have one of each (Tower, Mine, Power Plant) on the board, they tap for a combined mana.
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Utility Lands: These are lands that have functions other than just tapping for mana, or, in some cases, can tap for any color mana or mana that can only be used for specific purposes.
Note: Lands that are currently banned in modern have been omitted from the list (e.g. Eye of Ugin, Seat of the Synod, etc.)
If you can think anything that needs to be added, please feel free to comment.
