Plains

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Revision as of 22:30, 23 June 2022 by >Neoheart
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Plains
Land Type
(Subtype for land cards)
Rules {T}: Add {W}.
Statistics
27 cards
{W} 18.5% {W/U} 18.5% {G/W} 18.5% {W/B} 11.1% {R/W} 11.1% {M} 22.2%
as of Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate
Scryfall Search
type:"Plains"

Plains is one of the five basic land types and provides white mana, which is required to cast white spells.[1] Plains are large areas of flat land with few trees.

Description

Every expansion feature one or more Plains. Additionally there is a snow variant, the Snow-Covered Plains. Plains also appears on some bicolored or tricolored lands (e.g. Scrubland, Alpine Meadow, Raugrin Triome).

When Richard Garfield named the basic land types, he considered farmland, countryside, pasture, prairie and steppe for white.[2] He finally settled on Plains. Plains is weird among the other land types, because the noun is used in plural. Garfield followed the dictionaries in this.[2]

Though there is a clear mechanical difference, in flavor there is a significant overlap between deserts and plains, with sun-scorched, dune-y places like Tarkir's and Esper's deserts being typed as plains. For urbanized planes, plains are usually reimagined as some form of residential cityscape.

Storyline

Plains of Alara

Esper

Plains of Dominaria

Aerona

Jamuraa

Otaria

Terisiare

The Domains

Corondor

Plains of Kamigawa

Plains of Kephalai

Plains of Mirrodin

Plains of Shandalar

Plains of Serra's Realm

Plains of Shadowmoor

Plains on unknown planes

Rules

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

Plains
One of the five basic land types. Any land with this subtype has the ability “{T}: Add {W}.” See rule 305.6.

References

  1. Michael Yichao (October 6, 2015). "Evolution of the Basic Land". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. a b Mark Rosewater (March 25, 2022). "Why is Plains the only basic land that is plural?". Blogatog. Tumblr.