Painted Bluffs MTG Card

Rarity	Common
Type	Land — Desert
Released	2017-04-28
Set symbol
Set name	Amonkhet
Set code	AKH
Number	246
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mark Poole

Key Takeaways

Delivers valuable mana diversity, crucial in multicolored deck strategies for smoother gameplay.
Includes a mana activation cost, posing a hurdle in efficient mana usage for some decks.
While similar to other lands, its unique cost and benefits warrant strategic deck inclusion.

Text of card

: Add to your mana pool. , : Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Centuries of scouring sands have carved and polished the rocky terrain of the Shefet.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Painted Bluffs doesn’t overtly add cards to your hand, its inclusion in a deck provides reassurance against color screw which can be pivotal to maintaining momentum and effective card use in multicolored decks.

Resource Acceleration: Painted Bluffs offers a unique type of resource acceleration by enabling access to any color of mana. This can be vital for casting spells outside your primary colors or fulfilling color-intensive casting costs.

Instant Speed: Although the ability to produce mana of any color is not at instant speed itself, having the flexibility to tap Painted Bluffs for mana during any phase of your turn or your opponent’s turn can be invaluable. This allows you to stay versatile and reactive to the game’s changing dynamics.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Painted Bluffs provides mana fixing, its activation cost necessitates the discard of another land card or mana resource, which could deplete valuable hand assets. This may negate the advantage of its color-fixing ability, especially during late-game scenarios where each card in hand is critical.

Specific Mana Cost: Painted Bluffs requires a specific cost of one generic mana to activate its mana-filtering ability. This cost could be restrictive in decks that are aiming for high efficiency or those that want to maximize mana usage each turn. Players could find themselves in situations where they are unable to optimally use all their mana because of this additional requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although a land card by nature doesn’t require mana to be played, the need to invest one mana every time to tap for any color makes Painted Bluffs less attractive compared to other mana-fixing lands. Lands that can tap for multiple colors without a mana payment are often seen as preferable, making Painted Bluffs a less efficient choice in a tight mana-base deck build.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Painted Bluffs offers flexibility for decks that require mana fixing. As a land that can tap for any color of mana, it’s a simple yet effective way to smooth out mana curves and enable multicolor spell casting.

Combo Potential: This land can be an integral part of combos that react to mana abilities, or in supporting cards that benefit from diverse color inputs, making it a quietly powerful addition that can activate a range of abilities within a deck.

Meta-Relevance: With the evolving game dynamics, having access to all five colors of mana can be crucial, especially when adapting to shifting metagames that value flexibility and the ability to cast a wide spectrum of spells.

How to beat

Painted Bluffs may not be the most formidable land in MTG, but it can certainly be a thorn in your side if left unchecked. This color-fixing land allows players to tap for one mana of any color, offering a subtle yet valuable advantage, especially in multicolored decks. The key to countering Painted Bluffs lies in disrupting your opponent’s mana base and carefully timing your land destruction spells.

Targeting Painted Bluffs with spells like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can remove the land from play, hindering your opponent’s color-fixing capabilities. Additionally, maintaining pressure on your opponent’s resources with cards like Blood Moon can turn Painted Bluffs into a basic Mountain, leaving your opponent with fewer options. Always prioritize your removal for when your opponent seems most reliant on the boost from Painted Bluffs, and you’ll efficiently mitigate the strategic edge it provides.

Ultimately, while Painted Bluffs doesn’t pose a direct threat, preventing your opponent from maximizing its potential will undoubtedly contribute to your victory. Focus on resource control, and the path to overcoming the advantage granted by this versatile land will become clear.

Cards like Painted Bluffs

Painted Bluffs from Magic: The Gathering finds its place within the vast array of versatile mana-producing lands. The card resembles the function of Unknown Shores, both tapping for colorless mana or delivering mana of any color for a cost. However, unlike Painted Bluffs, Unknown Shores does not require mana input to be activated, though it still imposes a fee to filter mana. This nuance makes Painted Bluffs slightly less flexible compared to its counterpart.

Holding its ground firmly in this category is the Rupture Spire. Much like Painted Bluffs, it delivers any color of mana but comes with a more significant initial investment, requiring you to pay one mana and sacrifice it unless you do when it enters the battlefield. This upfront cost can affect the pace of your mana curve if not played strategically. On the flip side, Transguild Promenade shares this same entry cost but subsequently operates like Rupture Spire without the additional mana filtering cost of Painted Bluffs.

Analyzing utility and setup costs, Painted Bluffs serves well in a mana-fixing role within MTG decks craving color diversity, despite the fine differences that give some lands a slight edge in terms of efficiency and immediacy.

Transguild Promenade - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Painted Bluffs by color, type and mana cost

Terramorphic Expanse - MTG Card versions

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Painted Bluffs MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Painted Bluffs and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Painted Bluffs has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Painted Bluffs card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2017-04-18	Desert is a land subtype with no special meaning. It doesn’t grant the land an intrinsic mana ability. Other cards may care about which lands are Deserts.