How are fetchlands good???!?!

General forum

Posted on Oct. 30, 2014, 5:24 p.m. by mardolous

I know they stock your graveyard for junk/ golgari reanimator but why do they cost so much darn $$$$$?!?!?!

quesobueno123 says... #2

They fix your lands, and get you what you want when you want it.

October 30, 2014 5:26 p.m.

jwe94 says... #3

In formats that have access to them they can grab shocklands and ABUR dual lands

October 30, 2014 5:28 p.m.

Khanye says... #4

learn to play magic outside of standard FNM....that is all...

October 30, 2014 5:31 p.m.

mcskivvies says... #5

Its more because of modern and legacy. Also they allow you to get the mana you need when you need it and it comes in untapped. The fact they can get shocklands and dual lands is also extremely important.

October 30, 2014 5:31 p.m.

MindAblaze says... #6

Because they increase the likelihood of you having the color of mana you need.

ie: in Modern, a deck that plays Flooded Strand on turn one can have access to a

Plains and an Island to start...

but...you can also get

Hallowed Fountain , Steam Vents , Watery Grave , Breeding Pool , Temple Garden , Godless Shrine or a Sacred Foundry

There's also the "deck thinning" argument; while it's mathematically going to increase your chances of drawing a non-land card by using two lands to get one, the numbers are so small the change is usually insignificant. People will often balance the lifeloss vs this tiny benefit, and choose to save the money.

October 30, 2014 5:31 p.m.

gufymike says... #7

The important factor here is the lands fetched do not come into play tapped, unless they state they do(like shocklands). This and the fetches themselves do not cipt is what makes them so good.

October 30, 2014 5:31 p.m.

vampirelazarus says... #8

Because they can "fetch" the shock lands (like Sacred Foundry ) out of your deck, and since the fetch land doesnt say that the land enters tapped, you can pay the additional two life to have the shock land enter untapped.

Basically, the fetches let you pick whatever color you need.

October 30, 2014 5:32 p.m.

They're good is because, unlike Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse , the lands come in untapped, so you get your mana fixing immediately.

October 30, 2014 5:33 p.m.

mathimus55 says... #10

If you only play standard, they combo really well with Courser of Kruphix too. If you have a card on top you don't want you can basically scry for free. And if you have multiple coursers you can end up gaining life for the scry/land fixing too.

October 30, 2014 5:34 p.m.

Gidgetimer says... #11

Besides being outstanding fixing, there is also the shuffle effect. Brainstorm putting 2 dead cards on top and then shuffling them away is very powerful.

October 30, 2014 6:01 p.m.

sergiodelrio says... #12

Double Landfall trigger.

October 30, 2014 6:03 p.m.

JRaynor says... #13

Also Landfall is a thing they're good for. It's an older mechanic but worth noting.

October 30, 2014 6:05 p.m.

JRaynor says... #14

And as to the price, you really have to go back to the thing that affects price most: How flexible is the card. To say it another way, "How many decks can it fit into?" Rare lands fit into every color deck ever made of their colors. They're extremely flexible. Thus the consistent high price for good rare lands.

October 30, 2014 6:07 p.m.

mardolous says... #15

I get it, shocklands are by far the best land type, I had just forgotten that they had basic land types too!

Thanks

October 30, 2014 6:18 p.m.

Em0B0b says... #16

For the standard format right now, the fetch lands are good for Delve and can fix mana problems a little bit. Because of the lack of dual lands that you can fetch, it is as not as important in Standard.


Fetch lands are mostly used in the "internal" competitive formats (modern, legacy, vintage) because you are able to fetch "shock" lands, original dual lands as well as basic lands which accelerate the consistency of your deck.


Constructing a deck with fetch lands can be tricky. Be sure to have a well balance of fetch lands and lands to fetch. The ratio can be harder to find for newer player. Also it depends on the type of decks you wish to build and which format you would like to play.


side note: the khans reprint of onslaught lands greatly reduced the price of fetch lands. Polluted Delta use to cost $80 and now the older one is about $50


Hope this helps. Happy Playing :)

October 30, 2014 6:31 p.m.

Named_Tawyny says... #17

Did you mean "eternal"?

October 30, 2014 6:36 p.m.

Moved to General.

October 30, 2014 6:43 p.m.

WicKid52 says... #19

it's also worth mentioning that they were so damn expensive 'cause they weren't reprinted forever.

October 30, 2014 6:43 p.m.

I'm sorry, but I lold at "internal competitive format."

October 30, 2014 7:02 p.m.

killkong1211 says... #21

The simple points:
- They thin your deck out (so it's easier to draw not lands)
- They give you a free shuffle if you need to break a land clump during a game
- They allow you to color fix
- They allow you to get basics in the event someone wants to blow up non-basics (See Blood Moon in response get a basic to not lose on the spot)
- In eternal formats (e.g. Modern, Legacy, Vintage, EDH) they can tutor up multicoloured lands (See Shock Lands e.g. Overgrown Tomb and Perfect Duals see Bayou )
- They hold their price for the above reasons and so are a good investment, as if you stop playing just wait till they hit a decent price and sell them
- They fuel Delve, Deathrite Shaman , and various other things that are relevant in eternal formats
Hope that helps @mardolous

October 30, 2014 7:51 p.m.

xGhostx says... #22

Fetches are great in all formats for multiple reason, yes the fix your land drops, yes they activate dual trigger land drops (i.e. Courser of Kruphix )

But, they also Thin your deck. They allow you to get un-needed land drops out of the way. I know guys that play mono-color builds in current standard format running 4of Fetchlands just for this reason. (I know one guy that plays Mono-Red with 4 Bloodstained Mire 's and 4 Wooded Foothills !) Running a tri-color build 60 card standard deck with 22-24 lands and 8 fetches essentially makes your deck a 50 Card deck allowing you to more frequently and consistently hit your key pieces.

October 30, 2014 7:57 p.m.

"I get it, shocklands are by far the best land type."

No they are not. They are strictly worse versions of the ABUR Duals; see Bayou and crew. You could also make the argument, very reasonably, that Fetchlands are even better than ABUR Duals, but they're (obviously) best in conjunction with each other.

October 30, 2014 8:30 p.m.

Named_Tawyny says... #24

I thought the best land type was Island ?

October 30, 2014 8:33 p.m.

xGhostx says... #25

Only silly blue finger waggling mages think that.

October 30, 2014 8:35 p.m.
Smiley face
October 30, 2014 9:10 p.m.

danthek84 says... #27

They also thin your deck so you're more likely to not get mana flooded

October 30, 2014 9:16 p.m.

nighthawk101 says... #28

@CrazyLittleGuy: Read that three times before I realized it was Dissipate and not Counterspell .

October 30, 2014 9:30 p.m.

tman007 says... #29

Khanye No reason to be condescending.

October 30, 2014 9:57 p.m.

This discussion has been closed