Land changer

Land Changer
Mechanic
Introduced	Alpha
Last used	Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal
Scryfall Statistics
76 cards 11.8% 3.9% 46.1% 9.2% 9.2% 10.5% 9.2%

Land changers are effects or spells that change a land card's basic land type. Changing lands ("Target land becomes the basic land type of your choice.") nowadays is primarily a blue ability. It allows blue a way to get access to other colors in multicolor environments.

Description

Note that the land type-changing effects are not in the same category as text-changing effects.

Changing a permanent's land subtypes is special compared to changing subtypes in two ways:

• Unless the effect adds the type "in addition to its other types", not only does it lose all other land types, it also loses all abilities generated by its text and copy effects. For example, an animated Blinkmoth Nexus that "is a Forest" can't tap for , but it still has flying, because that ability was given to it by an effect. On the other hand, a Darksteel Citadel that "is an Island" no longer has indestructible.
• Notwithstanding the above, any land with a basic land type has the mana ability appropriate for the type (unless an effect removes it). For example, if a Gruul Guildgate becomes a Forest, it has ": Add ." (but it can't tap for , because it lost that ability).

As such, land changers have modern utility as hate against powerful or excessive non-basic landbases, as land changers let players have the same number of mana sources but without the correct mana colors.

Rootpath Purifier is not a land changer as it simply applies the basic supertype to all your lands on the battlefield or the library.

Rules

From the Comprehensive Rules (November 14, 2025—Avatar: The Last Airbender)

• 305.7. If an effect sets a land’s subtype to one or more of the basic land types, the land no longer has its old land type. It loses all abilities generated from its rules text, its old land types, and any copiable effects affecting that land, and it gains the appropriate mana ability for each new basic land type. Note that this doesn’t remove any abilities that were granted to the land by other effects. Setting a land’s subtype doesn’t add or remove any card types (such as creature) or supertypes (such as basic, legendary, and snow) the land may have. If a land gains one or more land types in addition to its own, it keeps its land types and rules text, and it gains the new land types and mana abilities.