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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Planechase Legal
Premodern Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Back to Basics

Enchantment

Nonbasic lands don't untap during their controllers' untap steps.

wallisface on How Do I Explain to …

2 weeks ago

The word "balanced" is quite subjective here, because at face-value these cards are doing fair 1-for-1 interactions. However, these cards are obviously absurdly powerful, and there's a reason Wasteland is in 60% of legacy decks (and would never ever be printed into Modern, Pioneer, Standard etc).

The big reason why these effects are very powerful is because the owning player has agency over abusing them:

  • The Wasteland player has no inherent reason to trigger the ability if they themselves require mana. However, if they are fine with their own mana-resources, they can cripple the opponents if they have limited options. Because lands are almost always required to play the game, these effects can quickly lock the opponent out of being able to play the game at all.

  • You could compare the effect to something like Blood Moon or Back to Basics, where at face-value the card appears to hit all players equally. But realistically if someone is running one of these cards, they're intending to be entirely unaffected by these effects while preventing their opponent being able to play the game. Wasteland similarly might read like a 1-for-1 at face value, but realistically people play this card with the intention of preventing their opponents from being able to play the game.

  • Wasteland is very quickly abusable with recursion effects like Wrenn and Six's +1.

I think overall though, the cards are technically "balanced" - they are doing clean 1-for-1 trades with on-board resources. However, practically speaking, they are played only with the intention create a locked boardstate - one where the opponent doesn't have the resources to cast the cards in their hand.

There is a big reason Wasteland is the most-played land in Legacy, and why it will never be printed into any newer format - but this is more to it being very, very powerful, as opposed to it being "unbalanced". I would say that in multiplayer formats like Commander, Wasteland is entirely fair in insolation, as the player is losing one of their resources to 1-for-1 trade with only one of their three opponents.

legendofa on Winter Moon

1 month ago

My take here is that it's more of a budget equalizer. Let's say you started playing a few months ago, you have a decent small collection, but you haven't starting investing in fetch lands, shocklands, triomes, or whatever. You have a pile of basics and some Crystal Grottos and Geothermal Bogs. Your friend has been playing for decades, and does have all those cards and more. They can make whatever Modern base they want. Winter Moon will balance the game a little more in your favor until you can catch up.

I don't think Winter Moon will be a must-have in higher competitive brackets. I think it's supposed to help bridge the gulf between new and established Modern players and help them get a footing. It's a cheaper, less restrictive Back to Basics, and may have a fringe role in helping mono-color decks.

Coward_Token on Modern Horizons 3

2 months ago

For power, I feel a closer comparsion is Back to Basics :)

legendofa on

3 months ago

An easy switch would be the shocklands Hallowed Fountain, Breeding Pool, and Temple Garden. They're pretty much the next best thing to the original duals, and they can be picked up by Windswept Heath and friends that search for a land type, not a basic land. Spara's Headquarters and Waterlogged Grove are also good options.

And, as a personal choice, I like to include enough basic lands to cast any card in the deck of basics alone. You never know when a Ruination or Back to Basics is going to wander in.

Andramalech on Domain Zoo-Pact

5 months ago

TheRoaringRegisaur while I agree with what you propose, I'm not capable of hitting Domain on turn 2 without the Guildpact if I include basic lands. Besides, Blood Moon and Back to Basics isn't really a concern right now. Path might hurt, but my Force of Negation to the Path is what I'm gonna bet on. Thanks for the feedback though, because I could probably designate a spot or two to basic lands in the sideboard.

Zobeth on Omnath 9.22.2022 preEdit

6 months ago

Some new cards to consider after you become a multi million dollar engineer

Lands: All of the New Capenna sac lands. Obscura Storefront, Maestros Theater, Riveteers Overlook, Cabaretti Courtyard, Brokers Hideout. These will trigger landfalls 2x and let you search for the colors you need.

Instants/Sorceries Entish Restoration - If you have Omnath in play you hit 3 of his triggers in just one card Awaken the Woods - Pay X mana to make that many land creatures. Seems pretty good for landfall

Enchantments/Artifacts Conduit of Worlds - You can play lands from graveyard and if you are in a bind, cast spells from there too. Spelunking - Lands come in untapped Back to Basics - Ruins peoples lands if they arent playing basics

Creatures Nissa, Resurgent Animist - Pricey but another mana generator Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer - Another Token Generator Rootpath Purifier - Niche card but allows you to search for any land in your library

SufferFromEDHD on Vendilion clique combo

9 months ago

This is a solid first EDH deck! Straight forward combo.

Retraced Image would act as ramp with that many basic lands.

Back to Basics a hefty tax that you don't have to pay.

Planar Portal the only tutor you are missing.

SaberTech on Zurtron

9 months ago

If you are going for a Voltron style of Zur there are a few auras that are often seen in those sorts of lists:

Darksteel Mutation and Oubliette complement Imprisoned in the Moon as ways that neutralize commanders. They make it difficult for your opponents to immediately get their commanders back to recast if they don't have enchantment removal. Darksteel Mutation is much better than Kasmina's Transmutation because the indestructible that the Mutation gives means that the enchanted commander will live through a board wipe and not go back to its owner's command zone. Oubliette could replace Pendrell Flux.

There's a bit of a call to make between Flaming Fist and Battle Mastery. Flaming Fist won't trigger the turn Zur puts it into play because Zur will have already been declared as attacking at that point. However, Flaming Fist does stick around if Zur happens to die since it's not an aura. Battle Mastery will let Zur hit with double strike the turn it enters but dies with Zur. It's a call to make depending on how aggressive you want to be. Duelist's Heritage is also generally better than Flaming Fist but not if Zur has shroud from a card like Diplomatic Immunity, so that depends on what auras you choose to run in the end.

If you aren't running Stony Silence as a silver bullet to shut down opponents' artifacts then it could be worth considering Nettlecyst as another creature/pump effect in the deck, even if Zur can't tutor it up. It could potentially replace Gray Merchant of Asphodel since the current list doesn't look that geared to reliably get a big hit off the Merchant's ability.

One of Zur's biggest strengths though is that he can tutor up Necropotence, so that's a card you should aim to add as soon as you can get your hands on one.

Rest in Peace is a strong card for messing with decks that utilize the graveyard.

Back to Basics can punish decks with greedy mana bases.

Stroke of Midnight is better than Expose to Daylight.

Seal of Cleansing or Aura of Silence are targets for Zur to tutor up to get rid of enchantments and artifacts.

Sevinne's Reclamation and/or Sun Titan could be worth considering for getting key permanent cards back from your graveyard.

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