Location, Location, Location
When you’re building a commander deck, it’s easy to get caught up in all the incredibly cool cards you could include. But as any seasoned EDH player knows, often it’s the lands that can make or break a game. This is increasingly true as the power of your playgroup increases. So here are 15 of the best lands for commander that will help you keep up with the Timmys and Spikes of the world.
15. Bojuka Bog
"Nooo! My precious zombies!" — Necromancer who just got Bojuka Bog'd
There are many must-have kinds of cards in every commander deck such as single-target removal, board wipes, protection, and card draw. One important but often overlooked element is graveyard hate. At least, it’s easy to overlook until the Meren of Clan Nel Toth or Syr Konrad deck across from you is going full-steam. Against reanimator decks, removal only adds fuel to their fire.
That’s where Bojuka Bog comes in. While most decks need to devote a non-land card to graveyard hate, black decks can take advantage of this format staple. The downside of it coming into play tapped is negligible compared to its utility. The ease of swapping out a Swamp for Bojuka Bog makes it an auto-include in any black deck.
Pros:
- Shuts down reanimator decks
- Utility on a land
Cons:
- Comes into play tapped
14. The World Tree
"Hey, I can see my universe from here!"
Similar to Bojuka Bog, The World Tree enters the battlefield tapped and can add a green to your mana pool. However, the real power of this land comes online once you control six or more lands in total. Mana–fixing all of your lands is incredibly powerful, especially in five-color decks, which this is limited to.
Don’t worry if you don’t have any Gods in your deck. The World Tree’s power largely comes from the fact that it's a Chromatic Lantern stapled onto a land. Its final ability, if you can pull it off, is just gravy.
Pros:
- Fixes your mana in a five-color deck, which needs fixing the most
- Hard to remove, unlike Chromatic Lantern
Cons:
- Comes into play tapped
- Is a worse Forest if you don’t have five other lands
- Limited to five-color decks
13. Maze of Ith
"Ith's inhabitants are cursed to wander for eternity."
Don’t be deceived by the fact that this card is a land, because it’s actually a removal spell on a stick. Maze of Ith, while it has fallen off in popularity in recent years, can repeatedly remove an attacking opponent’s biggest threat from combat.
You can also use this on your creatures thanks to how attacking rules work. After your Voltron commander has attacked and dealt damage, before combat ends, use Maze of Ith to untap it. This will allow your commander to swing in for damage and be ready to block on your opponents’ turns.
Effectively, Maze of Ith gives your best creature vigilance or can remove an opponent’s best attacking threat. Just make sure not to count this land as part of your mana base. In reality, it’s a repeatable removal spell.
Pros:
- Flexible repeatable combat removal
- Great in Voltron decks
Cons:
- Doesn’t produce mana
12. Tri-Lands
Shard and Wedge decks, rejoice!
The first cycle on the list, the tri-lands, or specifically the triomes and New Capenna tri-lands, are very powerful. Where the old tri-lands simply tapped for three colors, these newer tri-lands can cycle away if you don’t need them and count as their respective land types. This makes them more easily fetchable from your deck, upping their power level significantly.
If you’re running three or more colors, don’t forget to throw the respective tri-land(s) in there. They’re some of the best color fixing out there.
Pros:
- Can tap for one of three colors
- Can be cycled to draw a card later in the game
- Great typing, allowing them to be fetched from your deck
Cons:
- Come into play tapped
- Limited to decks with three or more colors
11. Battlebond Lands
"Commander anyone?"
The next land cycle gets its name from their debut set, Battlebond, and is perfect for commander. They enter tapped unless you have two or more opponents, which, in commander, you always will. At least until it’s down to the final two. The only real downside to these lands is that they’re not easily fetchable since they don’t have land types. However, that downside is easily outweighed by their consistency.
Pros:
- Almost always comes into play untapped
Cons:
- No relevant land types
10. Fetch Lands
"Fetch."
Fetch lands are one of the main reasons why land types are so important. They’re able to “fetch” not just basic lands, but also the relevant tri and dual lands from your library onto the battlefield. They also have the minor upside of thinning your deck ever so slightly, improving future draws. Befitting of the first entry in the top ten, the fetch lands will significantly up the power and consistency of your deck.
Pros:
- Can get any land in your deck with the relevant type
- Amazing in multicolor decks
- Thins your deck slightly
Cons:
- Costs one life to use
9. Shock Lands
"Ow."
So what are you going to fetch with your fetch lands? Shock lands are the perfect target. These lands derive their name from the red instant of the same name that deals two damage to any target. In this instance, that target is yourself, but it’s completely worth it to have these consistently fetchable lands in your deck.
Pros:
- Taps for either of two colors as early as turn one
- Easily fetchable land typing
Cons:
- “Shocks” you for two damage when they enter the battlefield untapped
8. Urborg Coffers
"By our powers combined!"
This entry is a double whammy. While both of these lands can be good individually, their true power shines in conjunction with one another. Cabal Coffers is great in any mono-black deck, but Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth allows Coffers to shine even in muli-color decks. If you are playing Cabal Coffers on its own, just make sure you have at least three other Swamps on the battlefield before you activate it, otherwise you’ll be mana negative.
Pros:
- Cabal Coffers can generate very high amounts of mana
- Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth can enable your creatures with swampwalk
Cons:
- Cabal Coffers is only truly powerful in mono-black or in conjunction with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
- Can be difficult to assemble both out of a 100-card deck
7. Ancient Tomb
"Ow."
Don’t let the repeated Shock to the face dissuade you from this one. It might seem like a lot of damage over the course of a game (and it is). But Ancient Tomb can do incredible work in any deck that doesn’t run too many colors. This is especially true of commanders that only cost three mana. With Ancient Tomb you can run them out as early as turn two!
Pros:
- Great mana acceleration
- Allows for crazy early game plays
Cons:
- Two damage per use can really add up over the course of a game. With great power comes great responsibility
6. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
"By the gods!"
Virtually every mono-colored deck should be looking to slot in Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Just by having three of the correct mana symbols on the battlefield, you already break even on mana generation. While similar to Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Nykthos’ conditions are more easily met. This is due to the one land per turn restriction, whereas you can play as many permanents per turn as you have mana.
Pros:
- Can generate incredible amounts of mana
- Still adds colorless mana if its conditions aren’t met
Cons:
- Power drops off significantly in multi-color decks
5. Dual Lands
It's hard to beat the classics.
A significant jump in power, the original dual lands start off the top 5. This cycle has all the upside of the shock lands with literally none of the downside. Well, except for the deep and searing hole they’ll burn into your wallet. A theme that will continue later on in this section.
Pros:
- Excellent land typing
- Come into play untapped at no extra cost
Cons:
- $$$
4. Boseiju, Who Endures
"Wait, is that a land or a spell?" "Yes."
Lands are good in your deck. Removal is good in your deck. Why not combine the two? Boseiju, Who Endures does literally just that, and with no real downside. Sure, your opponent gets to search for a land, but you might have just removed their win-con in the process. Boseiju also enters the battlefield untapped, making it an easy replacement for a Forest in any deck with green. Play this card.
Pros:
- Removal stapled onto a land
- Boseiju’s ability is channeled, meaning it can’t even be traditionally countered
- Comes into play untapped
Cons:
- Allows your opponent to ramp slightly
3. Command Tower
A simple decision.
Coming in at the low, low price of roughly $0.35, Command Tower is just an auto-include in any multicolor deck. As represented by this list, usually when lands tap for multiple colors there is some downside. Command Tower, quite literally, has none. There’s not much of any reason to run one in a single-color deck, but any multi-color deck can make this the first land added to the list.
Pros:
- Taps for any color
- Enters the battlefield untapped
Cons:
- ???
2. Serra’s Sanctum
As peaceful as it is powerful.
Serra’s really done a great job with her Sanctum. Just look around — it’s prime real estate. Oh, and the fact that it generates ridiculous amounts of mana in an enchantment-themed deck is nice too.
Pros:
- Generates incredible amounts of mana in the right deck
Cons:
- Less powerful in decks not themed around enchantments
- Expensive
1. Gaea’s Cradle
Life unbridled.
How could Gaea’s Cradle not be the most powerful land in commander? Nearly every deck, especially in green, runs creatures. Just control one creature, likely your commander, and you’ve already broken even. Add one more and you’re already doubling the amount of mana a land can normally generate. If you run green, just do yourself a favor and play this card. Wait, it costs how much??
Pros:
- Can generate truly absurd amounts of mana, especially if you can untap it
Cons:
- $$$$$
Build Your Base
Your land base in any EDH deck is incredibly important. Choosing the right ones can significantly increase the power level of your deck. Even mono-color decks have powerful options at their disposal. So when you’re building your next commander deck, keep these lands in mind. They just might swing the game in your favor.
