Tainted Field MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 12 setsSee all
RarityUncommon
TypeLand

Key Takeaways

  1. Dual-color support from Tainted Field ensures mana consistency, crucial for executing Orzhov strategies effectively.
  2. Instant speed mana access from Tainted Field offers strategic flexibility and threat response during gameplay.
  3. Conditional upon controlling a Swamp, Tainted Field’s functionality may be hindered, demanding careful deck building.

Text of card

oc T: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. oc T: Add o W or o B to your mana pool. Play this ability only if you control a swamp.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tainted Field offers a unique edge, especially in decks that capitalize on dual-color strategies. By enabling access to either color, it ensures consistency in your hand without the worry of pulling the wrong land type for your spells.

Resource Acceleration: This card excels in enhancing mana resources. While not directly ramping, the ability to tap for a white or a black mana optimizes your mana base, enabling a smoother execution of your game plan without the need for multiple different lands.

Instant Speed: Unlike some utility lands, the mana provided by Tainted Field can be used at instant speed. This allows for great flexibility, permitting players to respond to threats or opportunities at a moment’s notice, thereby elevating the card’s strategic value within a match.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Tainted Field does not directly require a discard, its effectiveness is conditional upon controlling a Swamp. In scenarios where you don’t have a Swamp or a card with a Swamp type, Tainted Field’s utility diminishes, potentially stranding specific mana in your pool or leaving you unable to cast spells as efficiently as you might wish.

Specific Mana Cost: Tainted Field provides color fixing, but it’s restricted to generating either colorless mana or only black and white mana. If you’re running a multicolored deck beyond the Orzhov palette, Tainted Field’s mana production can be limiting, requiring further mana base adjustments to accommodate other colors in your deck.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The land itself doesn’t have a mana cost, but it can be considered to have an indirect cost. In a game where tempo is crucial, having a land enter the battlefield tapped can set you back with regards to your mana curve. Other dual lands or mana sources could give you immediate access to the mana needed without the same stipulation, which might be more appealing dependent on the deck’s pace and strategy.


Reasons to Include Tainted Field in Your Collection

Versatility: Tainted Field offers flexibility in mana generation for decks that run both white and black cards. Its ability to tap for colorless or, if you control a swamp, either white or black mana, makes it an essential land in multi-colored decks seeking stable mana bases.

Combo Potential: In strategies that revolve around land types, such as those using landfall abilities or cards like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Tainted Field can become a powerful enabler. It works seamlessly to ensure your mana sources match your spell requirements without sacrificing speed or consistency.

Meta-Relevance: With the diverse deck archetypes present in the current game environment, Tainted Field can serve as a critical utility land. It is particularly relevant in formats where the mana base is key to executing your strategy effectively against a variety of competitive decks.


How to Beat Tainted Field

Tainted Field, while versatile in the sense that it provides both white or black mana, operates under a condition: you need to control a Swamp for it to tap for either of those colors. This dual land from Magic: The Gathering can be pivotal in mana-fixing for Orzhov decks, yet it’s not without its vulnerabilities. A useful strategy against Tainted Field is applying land destruction or land manipulation cards to disrupt your opponent’s mana base. Cards like Ghost Quarter can target and get rid of Tainted Field, leaving your adversary a step behind in their mana development.

Another effective approach would be utilizing cards that restrict land abilities, such as Suppression Field or Damping Sphere, that can hinder the tailored use of Tainted Field. These enchantments can make it costly for your opponent to benefit from the dual nature of Tainted Field. By understanding the milieu where Tainted Field thrives – decks heavily reliant on dual-color synergy – players can prepare sideboard cards specifically aimed to throw a wrench in those gears, thus carefully navigating around the strategic stronghold Tainted Field offers in MTG.


Cards like Tainted Field

Tainted Field is a specialized land card in Magic the Gathering that joins an elite group of dual lands capable of providing two types of mana. Its parallels are seen in cards like Caves of Koilos, which also provides both white and black mana. However, Tainted Field does so with a condition – it only produces colored mana if you control a Swamp. Caves of Koilos lacks such a restriction but deals 1 damage to you for the benefit.

Adherents find a kinship with cards like Underground River, too, for offering mana flexibility at a cost. While Underground River can tap for blue or black mana unconditionally, the trade-off is similar to Caves of Koilos, as it also inflicts damage upon the controller. In this aspect, Tainted Field can be more appealing for decks that can repetitively meet its conditions without the life loss aspect. Then there’s Temple of Silence, which provides both types of mana with no life loss, albeit coming into play tapped thus potentially setting back the player’s tempo.

While options like dual shock lands exist, their price in both gameplay and actual value make Tainted Field a noteworthy contender. Its conditional utility is often offset by strategic deck building, securing its niche in monochrome or dual-color decks within MTG.

Caves of Koilos - MTG Card versions
Underground River - MTG Card versions
Temple of Silence - MTG Card versions
Caves of Koilos - Apocalypse (APC)
Underground River - Ice Age (ICE)
Temple of Silence - Theros (THS)

Cards similar to Tainted Field by color, type and mana cost

Scrubland - MTG Card versions
Caves of Koilos - MTG Card versions
Shattered Sanctum - MTG Card versions
Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway - MTG Card versions
Orzhov Basilica - MTG Card versions
Temple of Silence - MTG Card versions
Orzhova, the Church of Deals - MTG Card versions
Fetid Heath - MTG Card versions
Isolated Chapel - MTG Card versions
Orzhov Guildgate - MTG Card versions
Vault of the Archangel - MTG Card versions
Salt Flats - MTG Card versions
Scoured Barrens - MTG Card versions
Forsaken Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Concealed Courtyard - MTG Card versions
Godless Shrine - MTG Card versions
Vault of Champions - MTG Card versions
Great Hall of Starnheim - MTG Card versions
Shineshadow Snarl - MTG Card versions
Snowfield Sinkhole - MTG Card versions
Scrubland - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Caves of Koilos - Dominaria United Promos (PDMU)
Shattered Sanctum - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway - From Cute to Brute (PCTB)
Orzhov Basilica - Ravnica: Clue Edition (CLU)
Temple of Silence - Fallout (PIP)
Orzhova, the Church of Deals - Guildpact (GPT)
Fetid Heath - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Isolated Chapel - Fallout (PIP)
Orzhov Guildgate - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Vault of the Archangel - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Salt Flats - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Scoured Barrens - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
Forsaken Sanctuary - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
Concealed Courtyard - Kaladesh (KLD)
Godless Shrine - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Vault of Champions - Commander Masters (CMM)
Great Hall of Starnheim - Kaldheim (KHM)
Shineshadow Snarl - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)
Snowfield Sinkhole - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tainted Field MTG card by a specific set like Torment and Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt, 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 Tainted Field and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Tainted Field Magic the Gathering card was released in 11 different sets between 2002-02-04 and 2024-03-08. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-02-04TormentTOR 1401997normalblackDon Hazeltine
22013-03-15Duel Decks: Sorin vs. TibaltDDK 342003normalblackDon Hazeltine
32015-11-13Commander 2015C15 3112015normalblackDon Hazeltine
42017-11-24Explorers of IxalanE02 472015normalblackDon Hazeltine
52021-04-23Commander 2021C21 3202015normalblackDon Hazeltine
62022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 9192015normalblackDon Hazeltine
72023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be One CommanderONC 1672015normalblackDon Hazeltine
82023-04-21March of the Machine CommanderMOC 4292015normalblackDon Hazeltine
92023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 10392015normalblackDon Hazeltine
102023-11-17The Lost Caverns of Ixalan CommanderLCC 3562015normalblackAlayna Danner
112024-03-08FalloutPIP 2982015normalblackMirko Failoni
122024-03-08FalloutPIP 8262015normalblackMirko Failoni

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tainted Field has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks