Why Does WotC Continue to Reprint the Same Dual Lands So Often?
General forum
Posted on Dec. 10, 2017, 9:43 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
Recently, WotC introduced a cycle of ten dual lands (one for each two-color combination) that always enter the battlefied tapped and have absolutely no benefits whatsoever to compensate for that (i.e., Meandering River, Stone Quarry, and so forth).
These lands are, without any question, some of the worst dual lands in the game, yet WoTC has been reprinting them very frequently, when it would cost them no more money, but make them much more, to instead reprint useful dual lands, such as the shocklands or filter lands, yet they are not doing so. At the very least, they could instead reprint the "lifelands" from the Tarkir block (i.e., Tranquil Cove, Dismal Backwater, etc.), as those lands have at least some form of benefit. Even worse than that, some of those lands have cool names and awesome artwork (most notably Highland Lake), so WotC has wasted such great names and artwork on mediocre cards.
Why would WotC willingly pass by a chance to make themselves more money and satisfy the players? Why could they not reprint the lifelands instead? What does everyone else say about this?
It's also to help color fixing in limited, I think. Rare dual lands that are powerful are great, but they'll do little to nothing for you in a limited environment...
December 10, 2017 11:46 p.m.
These cards are made to be always available in standard. It is a decent way to color fix and does not detract from any other product, since they re usually available through other products (new player starter decks and like).
Also, we just got reprints of checklands, which are always cool and combine well with cycle lands from Amokhet that bare the basic land types.
And in Kaladesh, there were the fast lands that finised the cycle several years after the first ones.
TLDR; Fetches and shocks are not the lands in existence.
December 11, 2017 2:52 a.m.
I'd say it's definitely for the limited environments like draft and the prereleases where games are a little bit slower anyway
December 11, 2017 9:43 a.m.
It solves a problem that's been happening for years. New players get a bunch of cards,just kind of pile them together to make a Standard deck, go to FNM, then find out their mana base isn't legal after they've carefully looked through and made sure to use Standard-only creatures/planeswalkers/whatever.
To newer players, Coastal Tower, Azorius Guildgate, Boreal Shelf, Sejiri Refuge, Tranquil Cove, and Temple of Enlightenment are all identical. Imagine the shock they had when they found out they couldn't use Azorius Chancery but Glacial Fortress and Hallowed Fountain were legal. "Why can't I use my dual land that's worse? It's just a land!"
Meandering River's cycle of being reprinted fixes this issue. It allows a budget dual land that's affordable to new players, but is also always Standard legal.
It's kind of the same reason they keep reprinting Evolving Wilds, but won't reprint Terramorphic Expanse as frequently.
As far as I know, WotC hasn't ruled out printing other uncommon dual lands, only that they will always print Meandering River's cycle in any Standard set.
pskinn01 says... #2
They try to balance the lands to the rarity spot they hold. Life lands are uncommon, these no benefit lands are common, shock lands are rare.
They also wait years in between shocks/fetches to be reprinted so that they dont lose all thier value. Shocks/fetches wouldnt boost pack sales if they ended up printed too often as they would drop in value.
They are a business first, so they plan years in advance what reprint cards they think will sell packs, and still keep their value.
December 10, 2017 10:22 p.m.