Utility lands in EDH - “It’s free real estate!”
Lands aren't the most exciting thing about Commander, but they're definitely a big part of the format. While there's no magic number when it comes to the number of lands that you should be playing, most decks have quite a few. Depending on the deck, there's even a really good chance that your deck has more lands in it than any other card type.
When I craft a mana base for a new deck, I always try to include interesting lands in order to get more bang for my buck. There are just a lot of cool utility lands available in Commander. While I don't think that any of them are auto-includes, I also don't see much reason to ignore them if I have them available for my decks. After all, IT'S FREE REAL ESTATE!
What is a utility land?
For the purposes of this article, a utility land is any land that has an ability other than a mana ability that you can use while it's on the battlefield. It doesn't matter if it's a triggered ability, an activated ability, or a static ability. All three of these types of abilities will be considered for my list.
The lands that won't be considered for my list are fetchlands, modal dual-faced cards (MDFCs), lands such as Cabal Coffers or Gaea's Cradle, or lands with abilities such as cycling, channel, or transmute. These lands are very cool, but they're just not the focus of this article.
Author's note: As per usual with me, this isn't a ranked list. I like to list cards in chronological order based on when they were originally released. I'm also not focused on a specific power level.
Okay, let's get into it!
Strip Mine (Antiquities)
This card has been imitated a lot, but never surpassed. The cool thing about Strip Mine is that it's a completely no-nonsense card. It enters the battlefield untapped and taps for mana, but you can also tap it and sacrifice it to destroy the target land of your choice.
Depending on the power level, this type of exchange can be as fair or unfair as you want it to be. Maybe you'll use it to destroy your opponent's Cabal Coffers before they can cast that huge Torment of Hailfire or maybe you'll loop it with Azusa, Lost But Seeking and Crucible of Worlds to take down a bunch of enemy lands with no mercy. It's easy to see why there have been so many iterations on this card over the years.
Winding Canyons (Weatherlight)
At first glance, this might seem like a more limited Alchemist's Refuge that only works for creature spells. If you’re in a color identity that can play that card, this might be true. The thing about Winding Canyons that's easy to overlook is the fact that it can be played in any color identity.
I use this land in creature-heavy mono-white lists as a way to play important creatures at instant speed and break parity on effects such as Rule of Law. You can also use it to deploy creatures outside of normal timing restrictions in order to pull off sneaky combos or surprise people during combat. The only thing that might give you pause is the fact that this card is on the Reserved List, meaning that it won't see a future reprint to make it more accessible.
Volrath's Stronghold (Stronghold)
This card's actually part of an ongoing cycle, but we'll get back to that later. If you're playing black, you'll probably have creatures that will die at some point and you'll probably also want to get them back to use them again. Volrath's Stronghold makes this easy and allows you to do it over and over again!
This can come in handy if you need a Noxious Revival effect to save a creature from your graveyard at instant speed to prevent it from being exiled. It also has a cool synergy with Volrath the Fallen himself, allowing you to keep reusing the same huge creature to pump him again and again! This won't come up much, but it's a complete flavor win. No matter who your commander is, this land can be very powerful. The main drawback to this card is that it's on the Reserved List, so it's not very accessible.
Kor Haven (Nemesis)
If you've been paying close attention to the chronological order of this list, you may notice that I didn't add Maze of Ith to this list. To be honest, I find it really hard to dedicate slots to lands that don't produce mana. As such, I find the opportunity cost of Kor Haven to be preferable in most cases if I have access to white.
Aside from the fact that it produces mana, I like the way it prevents combat damage dealt by the target creature without also preventing combat damage that would be dealt to it. This can make for an interesting trick that allows you to change the odds for your blockers in combat, as well as allowing you to deal with voltron commanders and pesky creatures such as Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer.
Deserted Temple (Odyssey)
There are a bunch of lands in Commander that can potentially tap for a ton of mana. Gaea's Cradle, Cabal Coffers, and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx are just a few examples. While it doesn't produce much mana on its own, Deserted Temple can be used to untap another land in order to allow you to use it again. This is almost like having a second copy of your best land.
It's even possible to use Rings of Brighthearth to copy the activated ability, allowing you to untap Deserted Temple targetting itself, and use it again! This powerful interaction can be used to produce infinite mana.
Academy Ruins (Time Spiral)
Remember when I said we'd get back to that ongoing cycle again later? This is the second card in that cycle. The key differences are that the activated ability requires blue mana and it can be used to retrieve artifacts. If you have artifacts that sacrifice themselves or you just need to get something back after it's destroyed, Academy Ruins seems like a good call in your artifact deck that features blue.
You can use this land get some serious value out of cards such as Breya, Etherium Sculptor and Krark-Clan Ironworks by looping artifacts with enters-the-battlefield and leaves-the-battlefield triggers. We'll have one more card in this cycle to talk about a little later.
Horizon Canopy (Future Sight)
Drawing a land in the late game can be frustrating sometimes. You don’t really need extra mana anymore. Horizon Canopy can help alleviate that problem, because you can play it as a land that taps for white and green and then sacrifice it later to draw a card if you're secure in the amount of mana that you can produce.
To date, this remains one of my absolute favorite card designs - it’s simple and elegant. Talk about modern solutions for modern problems.
Wizards of the Coast actually continued this cycle in Modern Horizons with the creation of enemy color pair lands. Consider this my endorsement of those cards as well. Here's hoping that they eventually finish this incomplete cycle!
Bojuka Bog (Worldwake)
This land is in a unique place in Commander because it's not uncommon to hear its name used as a verb during gameplay. We've all had someone ‘Bojuka Bog’ our graveyard at one time or another. While it comes into play tapped, this land exiles target player's graveyard. This can be pretty powerful when you play it as a regular land drop against an unsuspecting graveyard deck, but it really shines if you have a way to put it onto the battlefield at instant speed with cards like Crop Rotation or Growth Spiral.
Homeward Path (Commander 2011)
Theft effects can be powerful in the Commander format and nobody likes to see their cool stuff get stolen. It can seem especially daunting to have your commander and other strong creatures fall under the control of an opponent. This land is a powerful answer to decks that steal creatures, as merely tapping it allows you to regain control of creatures that you own.
This can create some interesting situations, such as an opponent using Corrupted Conscience to steal your best creature and you regaining control of that creature with Homeward Path. Your creature will still have infect because of your opponent's aura, but now it's time to make your opponent pay for their transgressions! I think we’ve all seen enough Agent of Treachery (which by the way, can steal your Homeward Path) and Gilded Drake type cards to consider running a Homeward Path.
Buried Ruin (Magic 2012)
If you're like me, you can never be too careful with your powerful artifacts. Buried Ruin is one of the few efficient ways to retrieve an artifact from your graveyard without relying on a specific color, so it can be a valuable tool for decks that normally have a hard time getting stuff back.
It comfortably slots into artifact decks that aren't too color-saturated, and you'll find that there are a number of situations where you don't mind making the exchange in order to get back your important artifacts. If your Crucible of Worlds gets destroyed, you can even get it back and then play this land again, or you get the artifact you sacrifice with Goblin Engineer back in your hand.
Inventors' Fair (Kaladesh)
When you're playing an artifact deck that wants to find a specific card, it doesn't hurt to have a land that can tutor it for you. Whether you're looking for a value card such as Sunforger or a combo piece such as Isochron Scepter, you can rely on Inventors' Fair as an extra tutor that doesn't take up a spell slot in your deck. You just need at least three artifacts to activate the ability, which isn't a big ask in an artifact deck.
I've even been playing this land in my Heliod, Sun-Crowned cEDH deck as a means to tutor Walking Ballista, although the incidental life gain can also be a boon to that deck.
Hall of Heliod's Generosity (Modern Horizons)
Okay, this is currently the last card on that ongoing cycle with Volrath's Stronghold and Academy Ruins, and my personal favorite of the three. White is known for playing a lot of enchantments, so having a way to reuse them again is always welcome.
You can use Hall of Heliod's Generosity to recycle sagas, cards such as Aura of Silence, or just get back enchantments that have been destroyed. You can even use it to retrieve Urza's Saga, which can actually be a pretty interesting and powerful interaction! If you’re playing a lot of enchantments, it certainly seems worthy of consideration.
Mystic Sanctuary (Throne of Eldraine)
Throne of Eldraine is rightly remembered as a powerful set. As such, it may come as no surprise that a common land from that set is among the most powerful lands in years. Mystic Sanctuary allows you to retrieve an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard. This can be done as a one-time thing or you can play cards such as Ghostly Flicker and Tameshi, Reality Architect and do it multiple times. It's also an island, which means that you can grab it with a fetchland and get something back right when you need it - all in all pretty impressive for a common card.
War Room (Commander Legends)
I'm a big fan of cards that favor Commander decks with less colors, but that design space can be difficult to explore. This one of the best designs in that space, allowing you to sink unused mana and pay life to draw a card.
Out of all of the cards on this list, I've definitely found myself jamming this one into most of my decks because of the low opportunity cost.
If you’re holding up mana for interaction, being able to use War Room to draw a card instead is rarely a bad option. It outclasses the previous colorless lands that tried to fill that slot like Arch of Orazca (5 mana being a lot of mana to leave open) or Cryptic Caves (only drawing one card). I would avoid including this card in decks that can't afford to slot lands that don't produce colored mana.
Roadside Reliquary (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty)
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is my favorite Standard rotation set in the last few years, and uncommon gems like this one are a big part of the set's appeal for me.
Being able to sacrifice an unneeded land to draw a card is very strong, which is why I'm such a big fan of the Horizon Canopy cycle. For decks that have a high density of artifacts and enchantments, Roadside Reliquary can be even more impactful because you can potentially draw two cards! If you can reliably hit the conditions to draw two cards and can afford the colorless land slot in your deck, this card seems insane. The condition may seem like a lot, but if you think about cards like Smothering Tithe or Revel in Riches, those cards will make you meet the conditions on their own just by the way they operate.
These were just a few of the powerful utility lands that you can play in Commander. It often feels like people overlook utility lands when brewing a new deck, but there are a lot of fantastic options to fill almost any niche. I hope that this list inspires you to try out more utility lands in your Commander decks. Regardless of which lands you choose to play, I hope that you have a great time and hit all of your land drops. I'll see you out there!
“This article is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.”
