Treacherous Terrain MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Basic landcycling,Cycling,Landcycling

Key Takeaways

  1. Strategically potent in land-focused decks, especially in multiplayer formats and ramp-heavy metas.
  2. Basic landcycling adds flexibility, helping to maintain consistent mana access for casting.
  3. High mana cost necessitates careful deck construction to optimize its late-game impact.

Text of card

Treacherous Terrain deals damage to each opponent equal to the number of lands that player controls. Basic landcycling (, Discard this card: Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Treacherous Terrain can deal substantial damage in the late game, potentially swinging the tide in your favor. The card’s impact scales with the number of lands your opponents control, making it particularly potent against ramp decks or in multiplayer formats like Commander.

Resource Acceleration: While Treacherous Terrain itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its place in landfall decks can contribute to synergies that help power out your spells faster. Any damage it deals also assists in closing games quickly, reducing the need for additional resource accumulation.

Instant Speed: Although Treacherous Terrain doesn’t have instant speed, its ability to be cast using the basic landcycling mechanic offers you flexibility with your mana. This feature helps smooth out draws and ensures land drops, keeping pace with opponents and readying the stage for a strategic cast of the spell.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Treacherous Terrain does not require a discard itself, its place in a deck might necessitate strategies to offset hand depletion from using other cards to control the board or set up for its land-based damage condition.

Specific Mana Cost: With a color identity firmly rooted in red and green, this spell demands both types of mana, making it less flexible for inclusion in decks that don’t adhere strictly to these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Commanding a total of eight mana, this sorcery can be heavy on resources. Given its impact is dependent on the number of lands an opponent controls, its effectiveness may vary and not always justify the cost, especially when facing streamlined or aggressive decks that operate on fewer lands.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Treacherous Terrain has the capacity to slide into a diverse array of deck builds, chiefly those that capitalize on land count as a means to amplify damage. Its ability to deal damage based on lands can turn the tides in games, especially in formats with extensive land play.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with land ramp strategies or cards that allow you to increase the number of lands your opponents control. It can serve as a critical finisher in games, making it a potent piece in combinations aimed at closing out a match.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where players tend to manage expansive manabases, Treacherous Terrain can act as the necessary tool to punish such strategies. Its presence is particularly felt in multi-player or Commander games, where land counts can skyrocket, thereby elevating the impact of this card.


How to beat

Treacherous Terrain is a notable card in the world of Magic: The Gathering, posing a unique threat to opponents by dealing damage based on the number of lands they control. When facing Treacherous Terrain, it’s essential to maintain a balance in your land count, neither flooding the board nor falling behind on necessary mana resources. Adapting your strategy to include land disruption or land count manipulation can diminish the impact of this card.

Strategies such as incorporating land bounce spells, playing fewer lands but with higher efficiency, or utilizing land destruction effects can effectively mitigate the damage potential of Treacherous Terrain. Cards that limit land searches or punish opponents for land ramp can also be crucial when playing against a deck that incorporates this powerful spell. Keep in mind that instant-speed interaction and land count management can be instrumental in overcoming the challenge posed by Treacherous Terrain.

Understanding the timing of your opponent’s plays is another aspect to master. If you anticipate Treacherous Terrain, holding up counterspells or instant-speed removal for key ramp spells can prevent your opponent from setting up an overwhelming land advantage. Ultimately, a combination of careful play, deck tuning, and situational awareness will arm you with the tools needed to tackle this treacherous card from Magic: The Gathering.


BurnMana Recommendations

Delving into the MTG realm, Treacherous Terrain stands out with its land-count-dependent damage, making it a strategic ace in multiplayer matchups. Its synergy with landfall and ramp decks underscores its potential as a game finisher. However, its high mana cost and color-specificity ask for prudent deck construction. Whether you aim to punish expansive manabases in a long-drawn Commander game or seek to overwhelm with a sudden land count spike, understanding and integrating Treacherous Terrain can elevate your MTG play. Hungry for more insights and tips on deck-building strategies? Dive in with us for a deeper exploration and advance your MTG prowess.


Cards like Treacherous Terrain

Treacherous Terrain operates in the realm of damage-dealing spells in Magic: The Gathering. It bears similarity to spells like Rolling Earthquake, which also inflicts damage to each player and each creature. Yet, Treacherous Terrain has a unique aspect tied to land count, dealing damage to each opponent for each land they control. Rolling Earthquake does not target based on lands, and it doesn’t differentiate between friends and foes.

Comparatively, Earthquake offers a similar effect, dealing X damage to each creature without flying and each player. But again, Treacherous Terrain is contingent upon the number of lands held by opponents, potentially unleashing greater damage in the later stages of the game. Another similar card, Price of Progress, damages players for each nonbasic land they possess, aligning it more closely with Treacherous Terrain’s land-centric focus while excluding creatures from its wrath.

The versatility and potential for immense late-game impact position Treacherous Terrain as a powerful spell in games where land ramp strategies reign. Its unique blend of land-punishing mechanics marks its identity within the domain of red and green spells.

Rolling Earthquake - MTG Card versions
Earthquake - MTG Card versions
Price of Progress - MTG Card versions
Rolling Earthquake - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Earthquake - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Price of Progress - Exodus (EXO)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Treacherous Terrain MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2016 and Treasure Chest, 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 Treacherous Terrain and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Treacherous Terrain Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2016-11-11 and 2020-09-25. Illustrated by Titus Lunter.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-11-11Commander 2016C16 472015normalblackTitus Lunter
22016-11-16Treasure ChestPZ2 422015normalblackTitus Lunter
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 15002015normalblackTitus Lunter
42020-09-25Zendikar Rising CommanderZNC 1052015normalblackTitus Lunter
52020-09-26The ListPLST C16-472015normalblackTitus Lunter

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Treacherous Terrain has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

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