Check land

The cycle of allied color check lands from Magic 2011.

Check lands (or checklands) are a 10-card cycle of dual lands.

Their name stems from the fact that they check if the player controls a land with a basic land type that corresponds with either color the land can produce. If this condition is not met, they enter the battlefield tapped.

Examples

Example

Glacial Fortress
Land
Glacial Fortress enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a Plains or an Island.
: Add or .

History

Allied color check lands were introduced summer 2009 in Magic 2010. They have since been reprinted four times, namely in each of the three subsequent Core Sets up to Magic 2013 and in Ixalan.

Enemy color check lands were introduced fall 2011 in Innistrad. They have been reprinted in Dominaria and Dominaria Remastered.

List of check lands

Allied colored

• Glacial Fortress (/)
• Drowned Catacomb (/)
• Dragonskull Summit (/)
• Rootbound Crag (/)
• Sunpetal Grove (/)

Enemy colored

• Isolated Chapel (/)
• Sulfur Falls (/)
• Woodland Cemetery (/)
• Clifftop Retreat (/)
• Hinterland Harbor (/)

Notes

• Check lands work with nonbasic lands that have basic land types.
  • This makes them popular in Modern as one-of or two-of in decklists that otherwise only run shock lands and fetch lands as nonbasics, as this mana base usually offsets their potential drawback.
• Tainted lands are another cycle of dual lands that provide an upside if the player controls a land of a particular type — in this case exclusively a swamp. They enter untapped and always tap for one colorless mana, but can also be activated for colored mana if the player controls a swamp.
• The Castles and Wilds lands of Throne of Eldraine also check for basic land types. The Castles check for one and have an activated ability; and the Wilds check for three others, have the type themselves, and come with a bonus ability if they enter untapped.

Trivia

• Allied color checklands have the same artwork in each of their Core Set printings.