Basic

Basic
Supertype
Rules	A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards.
Statistics	11 cards 100%
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type:"Basic"

Basic is a supertype found on basic land cards.

History

Basic was added to the basic lands in Eighth Edition in order to help players understand what exactly the term meant, as the basic land types (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain and Forest) were not always associated with basic lands (e.g. in the case of the original dual lands). The basic but subtypeless Wastes was introduced in Oath of the Gatewatch.

Lands with the basic supertype

The main lands with the five basic land types:

• Plains
• Island
• Swamp
• Mountain
• Forest

Their snow counterparts

• Snow-Covered Plains
• Snow-Covered Island
• Snow-Covered Swamp
• Snow-Covered Mountain
• Snow-Covered Forest

and

• Wastes (which lacks a land type)
• Snow-Covered Wastes (its snow counterpart)

Significance

The supertype is mostly a marker or modifier that R&D can use to impose restrictions onto lands as to not obsolete the five original lands and avoid saturation of four-or-greater color decks. Positively referring to basic lands imposes a deckbuilding requirement, while negatively referring to nonbasic lands allows for a safety valve that fewer-color decks can avoid. Rootpath Purifier is the first card to manipulate this aspect.

The supertype is not to be confused with the basic land types which grant lands the intrinsic ability “: Add [mana symbol],” even if the text box doesn't actually contain that text or the object has no text box.

Deckbuilding

Lands with the basic supertype are not bound by the usual four card maximum rule in Constructed decks. Some creatures are "relentless"—named after Relentless Rats—which also allows them to circumvent the four card maximum rules. Although they share that deckbuilding quality with most basic lands, they don't have the supertype. Rules issues, along with potential player confusion, have been cited as reasons for restricting the usage of the supertype.

In Limited formats, players may usually add any number of cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest to their deck. This is not caused by the basic supertype itself. Instead, the relevant lands are called out specifically as such in the rules. Accordingly, snow lands and Wastes cannot be used this way. R&D decided not to allow players to add any number of Wastes to their decks (e.g. from a Land Station), but to limit players to what they open in their sealed pool or pick in a draft.

Nonbasic

• Nonbasic refers to every land without the Basic supertype, or "special lands".

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Basic

A supertype that’s normally relevant on lands. Any land with this supertype is a basic land. See rule 205.4, “Supertypes.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 100.2a In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates their own deck ahead of time), each deck has a minimum deck size of 60 cards. A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards. For the purposes of deck construction, cards with interchangeable names have the same English name (see rule 201.3).

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 205.4c Any land with the supertype “basic” is a basic land. Any land that doesn’t have this supertype is a nonbasic land, even if it has a basic land type.
  Cards printed in sets prior to the Eighth Edition core set didn’t use the word “basic” to indicate a basic land. Cards from those sets with the following names are basic lands and have received errata in the Oracle card reference accordingly: Forest, Island, Mountain, Plains, Swamp, Snow-Covered Forest, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Mountain, Snow-Covered Plains, and Snow-Covered Swamp.

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 305.5. Land subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash. Land subtypes are also called land types. Lands may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3i for the complete list of land types.

  Example: “Basic Land — Mountain” means the card is a land with the subtype Mountain.

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 305.6. The basic land types are Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. If an object uses the words “basic land type,” it’s referring to one of these subtypes. An object with the land card type and a basic land type has the intrinsic ability “{T}: Add [mana symbol],” even if the text box doesn’t actually contain that text or the object has no text box. For Plains, [mana symbol] is {W}; for Islands, {U}; for Swamps, {B}; for Mountains, {R}; and for Forests, {G}. See rule 107.4a. See also rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

• 305.8. Any land with the supertype “basic” is a basic land. Any land that doesn’t have this supertype is a nonbasic land, even if it has a basic land type.