Fallow Earth MTG Card
1996-10-08 - Number 214
1999-04-21 - Number 227
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Put target land on top of owner's library.
". . . and when the farmer awoke the next morning, all the seeds from his field were once again in their sacks." —Afari, *Tales*
Cards like Fallow Earth
Fallow Earth carves its niche in the realm of Magic: The Gathering with its unique land bounce effect. It draws a parallel to cards such as Sunder, which similarly disrupts opponents by returning lands to their owner’s hand. Where Fallow Earth requires targeting one land at a time during your turn, Sunder uproots the entire battlefield’s manabase, resetting the board but at a much higher mana cost and as an instant.
Another card worth mentioning is Stunted Growth. While Fallow Earth aims at impeding your adversary’s land development, Stunted Growth forces the player to pick and choose three cards to put back on top of their library. While this does not impact the lands on the battlefield directly, it hampers the player’s drawing potential, leading to strategic delays much like Fallow Earth’s targeted approach.
Each of these cards offers a tactical edge in controlling your opponent’s progress, though Fallow Earth does so in a cost-effective and singular manner. Unlike Sunder’s sweeping effect or Stunted Growth’s deck manipulation, it strikes a balance between disruption and mana efficiency, securing its position in MTG as a dependable choice for tampering with an opponent’s land resources.
Cards similar to Fallow Earth by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Fallow Earth boasts the potential for significant card advantage by resetting the lands on the battlefield, particularly impactful when played against an opponent with numerous lands in play. This advantage puts you ahead as they must replay their lands, effectively giving you more options and control over the following turns.
Resource Acceleration: While Fallow Earth does not directly accelerate your resources, its unique ability to bounce lands can indirectly lead to resource acceleration by disrupting your opponent’s mana base. This can lead to a situation where you maintain resources while your opponent struggles to rebuild, giving you an opportunity to outpace them and play more expensive spells sooner.
Instant Speed: Fallow Earth’s capability at instant speed offers a significant strategic advantage, allowing you to wait for the optimal moment to disrupt your opponent’s land count. The flexibility to play it during your opponent’s end step means you can keep mana available for other actions and still have the impact of Fallow Earth’s effect at the time of your choosing, making it a subtle yet powerful tool in controlling the pace of the match.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Fallow Earth obliges players to discard a card as part of its casting conditions. This additional cost is often seen as a drawback, particularly when a player’s hand is already depleted, or the game state requires maintaining card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise mana configuration to be played—two green and one mana of any type. This requirement can be restrictive and often doesn’t align well with multicolored or splashable mana bases in diverse deck archetypes.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, the impact of Fallow Earth’s effect may not correlate with its mana investment when compared to other land interaction cards. The presence of alternative cards with lower costs or more flexible effects challenges the viability of Fallow Earth in competitive play.
Reasons to Include Fallow Earth in Your Collection
Versatility: Fallow Earth offers the ability to disrupt land strategies, making it a valuable addition to decks that aim to control the pace of the game. Its utility extends to various deck archetypes as both a means of resource denial and a tool to set opponents back.
Combo Potential: This card can synergize well with landfall abilities or strategies that capitalize on opponents having fewer lands in play. It could also be incorporated into decks that profit from opponents having to rebuild their mana base.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where land-based strategies are prevalent, or the field is dense with mana-hungry decks, Fallow Earth stands out as an impactful sideboard card. It’s especially useful in keeping ramp decks in check and maintaining tempo advantage.
How to Beat Fallow Earth
Fallow Earth presents a unique challenge for players in Magic: The Gathering. This card’s ability to put lands on top of their owner’s library can severely disrupt an opponent’s mana base and strategy. Overcoming its effects requires foresight and strategic planning. The key is to maintain a diverse array of lands and to have a robust draw engine or land fetch capabilities. Cards like Crucible of Worlds, which allow you to play lands directly from your graveyard, or Azusa, Lost but Seeking, which permits an increased number of land plays in a turn, can help mitigate the setback imposed by Fallow Earth.
Another effective tactic is to use instant-speed spells or abilities that can shuffle your library or replace your draw to avoid the forced draw of a land, like the search function of Evolving Wilds or the shuffle effect of a card like Prismatic Vista. Additionally, utilizing landfall abilities can transform a seemingly negative effect into a positive outcome. Notably, decks with an emphasis on land interaction prove more resilient against such disruption and can often leverage it to their advantage.
Ultimately, while Fallow Earth might seem daunting, a strategic deck build and a calm approach to resource management can turn the tide in your favor, keeping you one step ahead of this land-manipulating threat.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Fallow Earth MTG card by a specific set like Mirage and Classic Sixth Edition, 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 Fallow Earth 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 Fallow Earth Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1996-10-08 and 1999-04-21. Illustrated by Janine Johnston.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-10-08 | Mirage | MIR | 214 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Janine Johnston | |
| 2 | 1999-04-21 | Classic Sixth Edition | 6ED | 227 | 1997 | Normal | White | Janine Johnston |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Fallow Earth has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |