Badlands MTG Card
1993-08-05 - Number 277
1993-10-04 - Number 278
1993-12-01 - Number 278
1993-12-10 - Number 278
1993-12-10 - Number 278
1994-04-01 - Number 282
1994-04-01 - Number 282
1994-06-21 - Number 282
2008-09-22 - Number 225
2011-01-02 - Number 2016NA
2011-01-10 - Number 241
2014-06-16 - Number 291
2022-11-28 - Number 273
2022-11-28 - Number 570
2002-06-24 - Number 43600
| Card sets | Released in 15 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land — Swamp Mountain |
Text of card
Counts as both mountains and swamp and is affected by spells that affect either. Tap to add either o R or o B to your mana pool.
Cards like Badlands
Badlands is a highly sought-after Dual Land card in Magic: The Gathering, revered for its ability to tap for both red and black mana without any penalty. Its closest relatives in terms of functionality are the other Original Dual Lands, such as Underground Sea, which provides blue and black mana, and Taiga, offering red and green mana options. Like Badlands, these lands are prized for their versatility in multi-color decks and the fact that they come into play untapped.
More modern equivalents would be the Shock Lands, for example, Blood Crypt. Although it can enter the battlefield untapped at the cost of 2 life, it mirrors the utility of Badlands by producing red or black mana. Overgrown Tomb and Stomping Ground offer similar duality in other color combinations but come with the same life point trade-off.
Badlands holds its prestige among these counterparts for its scarcity and lack of entering the battlefield tapped or any life loss, making it a timeless asset for players aiming to optimize their land bases in decks that run red and black spells.
Cards similar to Badlands by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Badlands. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Reanimator | Legacy | Reanimator | Legacy Preliminary 2024-04-18 |
 | UBR | Legacy | Legacy Preliminary 2024-04-22 | |
 | Rakdos Scam | Legacy | Rakdos Scam | Legacy League 2024-04-21 |
 | Madness | Legacy | Madness | Legacy Showcase Challenge 2024-04-21 |
| UBRG | Legacy | Legacy League 2024-04-18 | |
 | BR | Legacy | Legacy Showcase Challenge 2024-04-21 | |
| Painter | Legacy | Painter | Legacy Challenge 32 2024-04-20 |
 | Goblins | Legacy | Goblins | Legacy Challenge 32 2024-04-20 |
 | Lurrus Deathrite | Vintage | Lurrus Deathrite | Vintage Challenge 32 2024-04-20 |
| BR Reanimator | Legacy | Reanimator | 4^ tappa | 8^ INVILegacy MTG King's Cross |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Badlands offers a dual land capability, seamlessly providing access to both red and black mana. This intrinsic flexibility means you don’t have to sacrifice deck space for additional lands to ensure consistent mana availability—preserving the potency of your deck.
Resource Acceleration: As part of the original Dual Lands, Badlands has no enter-the-battlefield restrictions, allowing for immediate mana availability. This accelerates your resource curve, giving you an edge to cast high-impact spells sooner than your opponent can respond.
Instant Speed: While Badlands itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its immediate mana provision empowers you to maximize instant-speed interactions. Having access to two colors of mana without delay means your instants and flash threats can be played without a hitch, keeping you one step ahead in the fast-paced tempo of the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Badlands does not inherently require discard, it often pairs with cards that do. Running such synergies may force you into difficult decisions regarding how to manage your hand, making the strategy not always ideal.
Specific Mana Cost: Badlands taps for either red or black mana, which while flexible within its spectrum, limits deck-building options and is not universal like colorless mana lands.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Badlands is a land and doesn’t have a direct casting cost, its value might make it a costly acquisition compared to other dual lands, especially for players on a budget, affecting its overall accessibility and incorporation into decks.
Reasons to Include Badlands in Your Collection
Versatility: Badlands seamlessly integrates into multiple deck archetypes, particularly those requiring a strong mana base that taps for both red and black mana without entering the battlefield tapped.
Combo Potential: This land is crucial for activating synergy between red and black spells, serving as a dependable source for initiating combinations, especially in Legacy and Vintage formats where land destruction is minimal.
Meta-Relevance: With an ever-shifting competitive landscape, Badlands retains its status due to the consistent need for efficient mana fixing in decks that rely on speed and resilience, ensuring its place in various metagames.
How to beat
Badlands, as a crucial mana fixing card in Magic: The Gathering, stands out for its ability to produce both red and black mana without coming into play tapped. This increases the speed and efficiency of any deck that runs colors red and black. However, one way to counteract the benefits of Badlands is by utilizing land destruction cards or strategies that specifically target nonbasic lands, such as Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin. These cards can eliminate the advantage that Badlands provides by removing it from play.
Another approach is incorporating cards like Blood Moon or Magus of the Moon to outmaneuver Badlands. Blood Moon turns all nonbasic lands into Mountains, which can disrupt your opponent’s mana base and potentially lock them out of vital colors. Furthermore, consider leveraging color-specific hate cards like Red Elemental Blast or Blue Elemental Blast, depending on what your opponent casts using Badlands. By anticipating the threats that Badlands enables and preparing your deck with answers to those strategies, you can mitigate its impact and maintain an upper hand in the game.
Ultimately, planning your game strategy while bearing in mind the strengths of Badlands can help you formulate a winning strategy, ready to adapt to the dynamic landscape of Magic: The Gathering.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Badlands MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Badlands and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Badlands Magic the Gathering card was released in 14 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 3 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1993-08-05 | Limited Edition Alpha | LEA | 277 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 2 | 1993-10-04 | Limited Edition Beta | LEB | 278 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 3 | 1993-12-01 | Unlimited Edition | 2ED | 278 | 1993 | Normal | White | Rob Alexander | |
| 4 | 1993-12-10 | Collectors' Edition | CED | 278 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 5 | 1993-12-10 | Intl. Collectors' Edition | CEI | 278 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 6 | 1994-04-01 | Revised Edition | 3ED | 282 | 1993 | Normal | White | Rob Alexander | |
| 7 | 1994-04-01 | Foreign Black Border | FBB | 282 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 8 | 1994-06-21 | Summer Magic / Edgar | SUM | 282 | 1993 | Normal | White | Rob Alexander | |
| 9 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 43600 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Daarken | ||
| 10 | 2008-09-22 | Masters Edition II | ME2 | 225 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 11 | 2011-01-02 | Legacy Championship | OLGC | 2016NA | 2015 | Normal | Black | Filip Burburan | |
| 12 | 2011-01-10 | Masters Edition IV | ME4 | 241 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 13 | 2014-06-16 | Vintage Masters | VMA | 291 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daarken | |
| 14 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 273 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 15 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 570 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Badlands has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Oldschool | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Badlands card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | Land type changing effects that change a dual land’s land type will remove the old land types completely. Text-changing effects that just change one of the two land types will leave the other type unaffected. |
| 2004-10-04 | This card is a Mountain and a Swamp even while in the graveyard, library, or any other zone. |
| 2008-10-01 | This has basic land types, but it isn’t a basic land. Things that affect basic lands don’t affect it. Things that affect basic land types do. |
| 2008-10-01 | This has the mana abilities associated with both of its basic land types. |