Check land
Check lands[1] (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.
Example
History
Allied color check lands were introduced summer 2009 in Magic 2010. They have since been reprinted three times, namely in each subsequent Core Set up to Magic 2013.
Enemy color check lands were introduced fall 2011 in Innistrad. So far, they have not been reprinted — with the exception of Isolated Chapel, which was included as playset in the Modern Event Deck.
List of Check lands
Allied colored
- Glacial Fortress (
/
) - Drowned Catacomb (/
) - Dragonskull Summit (/
) - Rootbound Crag (/
) - Sunpetal Grove (/)
Enemy colored
- Clifftop Retreat (/)
- Isolated Chapel (/)
- Woodland Cemetery (/)
- Hinterland Harbor (/)
- Sulfur Falls (/)
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.
Trivia
- Allied color checklands have the same artwork in each of their Core Set printings.
References
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