Unbridled GrowthUnbridled Growth | Art by Ryan Pancoast

Edge of Eternities has given Commander plays plenty of new cards to play with, most notably cards focusing on either proliferate/counters-matter or lands-matter strategies. Before the World Shaper Commander precon, landfall/lands-matter strategies often struggled when it came to ending games.

The common gripe with Landfall strategies has been that they lack a closing punch. Their wheels spin and spin, but ultimately they have relied on a few select pieces like Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar and Rampaging BalothsRampaging Baloths to close games out.

Once removed, Landfall decks weren't left with too many ways to utilize their lands aside from just generically casting mass amounts of generically good spells. It seems WotC has taken note as many of the previous Landfall additions focused on tokenstokens and counterscounters.

If you were to sit across three opponents who each had a different Landfall Commander deck, chances are that they each would try and end the game very similarly. Whether it be through Simic () landfall pulling every land from their library or Jund () recycling every land from their graveyard each turn, you would see the same lands-matter finishing pieces and hold onto your removal until they were on the board.

They finally found their Tatyova, Benthic DruidTatyova, Benthic Druid? Dies to removal. Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage as their Commander? Kill on sight.

Now, in the last few years, there have certainly been strong additions that demand to be engaged with lest their controller exploits them too far (not that kindnot that kind).

Scute SwarmScute Swarm is, perhaps, a step too far when it comes to power scaling landfall into modern Magic, and Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre StraitAesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait has dominated Simic Landfall for the past five years since its debut.

Landfall counter decks in particular have received a ton of support recently with cards like Bristly Bill, Spine SowerBristly Bill, Spine Sower and Mossborn HydraMossborn Hydra. But Edge of Eternities brings players a lot of new and innovative cards and allows them to play with the strong cards they desire without pushing the bar too far.

Let's take a look at what's new.

Out With the Old, In With the New

As if SpelunkingSpelunking needed any support, you can now run yet another "lands enter untapped" effect. Landfall excels at hoarding as many lands as possible, but sometimes that's all the deck can achieve some games.

You could cast as many FarseeksFarseeks and Rampant GrowthsRampant Growths as you'd like, but they'll still eat up a turn of setting up before you can use those lands. Once your opponents see how many lands you've fetched in a single turn, as well as seeing how many more lands you have compared to them, they won't take your turn of setting up lightly.

However, with more cards like Horizon ExplorerHorizon Explorer, your setting up turns can be more than just that. You can both set up for next turn and cast another spell or two to brace the coming onslaught that is Archenemy status.

Icetill ExplorerIcetill Explorer and Evendo BrushrazerEvendo Brushrazer are important card advantage pieces that some Landfall decks struggle with. In particular, decks that include the color red have historically had trouble drawing cards and thus being an active participant throughout an entire Commander game.

Gruul () Landfall has specifically benefitted from card advantage pieces like Escape to the WildsEscape to the Wilds and Hugs, Grisly GuardianHugs, Grisly Guardian, but Jund decks could recycle all of the lands in their graveyard as much as they like to no end without a hand to build a board with.

This is where Icetill Explorer and Evendo Brushrazer really shine. Additionally, Evendo Brushrazer requires you to sacrifice lands in a creative twist to how Landfall decks intend to operate.

The Brushrazer is found alongside Baloth PrimeBaloth Prime and Scouring SwarmScouring Swarm in the World Shaper precon, two more cards that follow this play on lands-matter strategies. By asking players to engage further with their lands beyond just fetching them from the library once, lands-matter decks have been bolstered with new playstyles that promote healthier games.

The more we're able to interact with our lands and how we draw value from them, the more our opponents can do so as well in an effort to stop us from winning, and thus a more interactive game of Commander can be played.

With new cards demanding to be played with, how do former Landfall all-stars look? Have they gotten any better, or have some of them been sidelined for good?

Wait, Maybe Some of the Old Can Stay

With the World Shaper precon introducing even more reasons for land strategies to throw lands into graveyards, it's only natural that cards that can trash lands for value feel even more valuable. Nahiri's LithoformingNahiri's Lithoforming is a great example of this.

Not only does this sorcery try to solve red's "lack-of-draw" problem on its own, but in the right deck it can both draw in red and fuel your graveyard with lands to swiftly return to the battlefieldreturn to the battlefield.

In the same vein, SixSix offers supreme graveyard recursion for those nonland cards that end up in your graveyard one way or another (perhaps from discarding to hand size with Nahiri's Lithoforming or all of your Icetill ExplorerIcetill Explorer triggers). Your graveyard is basically your "second hand" now more than ever, so why not lean further into extending your hand capacity and play as many lands and nonland permanents from your graveyard as possible.

I love Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds. I do. Juggling lands between the graveyard and the battlefield as a means of double-dipping landfall and land-sac triggers is very rewarding, especially as early as turn three. But, just as so many great cards before, Crucible is actively being designed against.

Conduit of WorldsConduit of Worlds? For you get Crucible's text plus the ability of recasting a permanent from your grave. Sure, it's the only spell you can cast that turn and it must be restricted to only your turn, but I think it's worth considering if you have just one slot for a Crucible-esque effect.

If that's not your speed, what about Walk-In ClosetWalk-In Closet? For the same amount of mana you get your Crucible and a pseudo-Yawgmoth's WillYawgmoth's Will on a later turn.

What if you had a Crucible right in your command zonecommand zone? Crucible of Worlds may ultimately the best version of itself in a vacuum, but each new adaptation of the classic artifact asks players if they're willing for their Crucible to be just that: only a Crucible of Worlds.

In time Crucible will wane from being Commander's premier "play lands from graveyard" effect as it's power crept out of relevance. But that's fairly easy to predict. What about some of the newer cards and their futures?

What to Expect Post-Edge of Eternities

After playing around with the World Shaper precon, I'm comfortable predicting (if not suggesting) that we'll see more experimentation within the "whenever you sacrifice a land" space. This new take on Landfall has the potential to push traditional Landfall conventions and flip them into a more engaging experience.

These two token generators are just the first in their class. Given time we'll eventually see everyone's favorite "once per turn" stapled next to a well known spell or ability in Magic with the condition of sacrificing a land or two, something like "Whenever you sacrifice one or more lands, [insert popular spell or ability text here]. Do this only once each turn."

It's very plausible that SpelunkingSpelunking and Horizon ExplorerHorizon Explorer were designed separately from one another and that seeing two "lands enter untapped" clauses is merely coincidence. But I'm still willing to bet that this is just the beginning.

I dare say that since these two cards were so well received WotC would consider reprinting Amulet of VigorAmulet of Vigor's text within the next design cycle. It may be a little different, but I have full faith that we'll see Amulet be reborn in the near future.

Planetary AnnihilationPlanetary Annihilation is interesting. One one hand, it acts as the great equalizer that ArmageddonArmageddon would never compromise being reduced to, allowing players the fair footing of a clean board and six lands to rebuild with. If used appropriately, it may even serve as a valuable counter against other landfall/lands-matter decks that grab too many lands too fast.

On the other, it's technically Mass Land Denial in what should be a Bracket 2 deck. Everyone may be equally reset with this spell directly after resolution, but it undeniably pushes the Brackets' "use as intended" sticker to its limit. Odds are the player willing to sacrifice tens of lands at sorcery speed is able and willing to rebuild their board state as soon as their next spell resolves.

I believe cards that challenge the current definitions of what makes something a particular Bracket will continue to be printed directly into future precons. It'd be interesting to see these new cards help us redefine what certain categories actually intend to capture, kind of how Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse broadens what it means to chain extra turns together.

Tempering Hopes and Fears

All in all, landfall/lands-matter decks have never been happier. There's a bright future in store for decks hoping to ship lands from libraries and hands into play and/or the graveyard for incremental value, topped off with the plethora of additional land plays that are cheap and efficient to slot into a deck.

I'd love to see sacrificing lands be given even more design space, but I should temper my expectations. WotC intends to print as much money as possible, and what better way than to print only the best and strongest cards.

I fear that, if given too much attention, some cards could go too far and make sacrificing lands as natural as breathing. It should be a risk to sacrifice lands for value, but if enough cards reduce this risk or circumvent it by some means, then there's suddenly no reason not to lean into land sacrifice.

It's in the name—sacrifice. Something should be lost. We may benefit from this cost but it has to remain a cost, otherwise it becomes an expectation for all decks to abide by. Treasures had a similar problem when it felt like all cards had to mention Treasures to some capacity.

The same concerns can be extended to fetch lands like Evolving WildsEvolving Wilds and Escape TunnelEscape Tunnel. Evolving Wilds would eventually be surpassed, but with sacrificing lands receiving more attention, should we expect more fetch lands that can do more than just fetch?

How do you feel about the sacrificing lands design space? Do you think that Landfall was strong enough before Edge of Eternities? What are some other effects you hope to see in the future?

I hope that this article was a helpful recap of where lands-matter decks sit at this current time, but I'd love to hear from you if there's something missing. Tune in next time to continue our conversation about the Bracket system and more Commander Philosophy!

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