Manland
"Manland" (also "man-land" or "creature land"[1][2]) is a slang term referring to any land card that can inherently turn itself into a creature, usually until end of turn.
Because Wizards of the Coast use the most inclusive language available, they prefer to use the term "creature land".[3] Mark Rosewater mentioned he liked the term "landfolk" as a gender neutral term.[4]
When a permanent is both a land and a creature it is officially referred as land creatures.
Colorless manlands
The earliest and most famous of the "manlands" is Mishra's Factory.[5] Like the first of its kind all other manlands in this category have ": Add " and enter the battlefield untapped.
- Blinkmoth Nexus in Darksteel as an homage to Mishra's Factory.
- Crawling Barrens in Zendikar Rising
- Dread Statuary in Worldwake.
- Faceless Haven in Kaldheim.
- Frostwalk Bastion in Modern Horizons — Possesses the Freeze ability and can produce snow mana.
- Hostile Desert in Hour of Devastation.
- Inkmoth Nexus in Mirrodin Besieged.
- Mishra's Factory in Antiquities — It has four different illustrations by Kaja and Phil Foglio representing Spring, Summer, Fall (Autumn), and Winter. The Fall version was reprinted in Fourth Edition.
- Mishra's Foundry in The Brothers' War.
- Mobilized District in War of the Spark — Becomes a Citizen and synergizes with legendary creatures and planeswalkers.
- Mutavault in Morningtide and Magic 2014.
- Nantuko Monastery in Judgment — Has an activated ability, and a color identity of /.
- Stalking Stones in Tempest — Unusual as it becomes a creature permanently. It was reprinted in Mirrodin.
- Svogthos, the Restless Tomb in Ravnica: City of Guilds — Has an activated ability, and a color identity of /.
- Westvale Abbey in Shadows over Innistrad — becomes an indestructible legendary Demon creature upon sacrificing 5 creatures.
- Zoetic Cavern in Future Sight — A land that can be cast as a creature using its Morph ability.
Mono colored manlands
Urza's Legacy brought a cycle of manlands, each of which came into play tapped and produce mana of one color. It is this set when the nickname manlands was coined. When the cycle was reprinted in Tenth Edition, the lands were given creature types when they used their abilities to turn into creatures. All of the lands turn into M colored creatures for M, where M is of the color of mana the land can produce. The size and abilities of the creatures vary.
Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms cycle.
- Cave of the Frost Dragon ()
- Hall of Storm Giants ()
- Hive of the Eye Tyrant ()
- Den of the Bugbear ()
- Lair of the Hydra()
Dual colored manlands
Worldwake is a set with a distinct theme of making lands into creatures.[6] As such, it introduced a cycle of lands that enter the battlefield tapped and produce one mana of two different colors. The activation cost contains both colors and varies from card to card as does the size and abilities of the creature, though all of them are Elemental creatures of both colors the land can produce. The Worldwake cycle produces one mana of an allied pair.
Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch contain a mega cycle that is the enemy color counterpart of the Worldwake cycle.
Allied colored
- Celestial Colonnade (/)
- Creeping Tar Pit (/)
- Lavaclaw Reaches (/)
- Raging Ravine (/)
- Stirring Wildwood (/)
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan completed the allied colored cycle of Restless creature lands.[7]
- Restless Anchorage (/)
- Restless Reef (/)
- Restless Vents (/)
- Restless Ridgeline (/)
- Restless Prairie (/)
Enemy colored
- Shambling Vent (/)
- Wandering Fumarole (/)
- Hissing Quagmire (/)
- Needle Spires (/)
- Lumbering Falls (/)
Wilds of Eldraine added another enemy colored cycle of creature lands.[7]
- Restless Fortress (/)
- Restless Spire (/)
- Restless Cottage (/)
- Restless Bivouac (/)
- Restless Vinestalk (/)
Other effects
There are also a variety of cards that can turn lands into creatures, either permanently or temporarily. However these are not lands and therefore are not considered manlands. Examples would be Living Lands from Alpha, the Genju Cycle from Betrayers of Kamigawa, the Zendikon Cycle of Worldwake, numerous cards with Awaken from Battle for Zendikar, and various Nissa planeswalker cards like Nissa, Vital Force and Nissa, Who Shakes the World.
Dryad Arbor is a land creature, so is considered by some to be a manland.
References
- ↑ Luis Scott-Vargas (September 18, 2015). "Building a Better Battle". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Sam Stoddard (September 7, 2015). ""Creature" Lands". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (February 25, 2016). "The February 25, 2016 Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (March 15, 2016). "Is there a more gender neutral word for Manland?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 8, 2010). "All Together Now". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 18, 2010). "And the Land Played On". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b The Preview Panel at MagicCon: Barcelona (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (July 28, 2023).