Gift of EstatesGift of Estates (alternate art) | Art by Justin & Alexis Hernandez

The Lay of the Lands

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another installment of Do Your Worst, where we take a popular archetype and find the most unusual home for it! I'm your host, Philomène, and in this column, we look at decks that shouldn't be – or should they?

Love them or hate them, lands-matter decks are pretty popular at Commander tables. I can understand the appeal: playing lands is the absolute minimum you have to do to play the game, and getting rewarded for it is really powerful! I myself had a Radha, Heart of KeldRadha, Heart of Keld deck (though it was mostly for tall, dual-wielding, barbarian lady reasons, I must admit), and cards like Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar or Tireless TrackerTireless Tracker can create threatening board states and insane amounts of value, all at the drop of a land.

To build the "worst" lands deck, let's look at the typical color spread of the archetype, and go from there!

The five most played color combinations for the lands archetype at time of writing.

The five commanders representing these combinations are Lord WindgraceLord Windgrace, Omnath, Locus of CreationOmnath, Locus of Creation, Child of AlaraChild of Alara (replacing the banned Golos, Tireless PilgrimGolos, Tireless Pilgrim), Nine-Fingers KeeneNine-Fingers Keene, and Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre StraitAesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait. If we take the average deck for each of them and look at the color spread of relevant cards, we get:

Like I said in my 2022 retrospective, the only reason blue is the second-best color here is because of all the cards played with the Simic color identity, like Growth SpiralGrowth Spiral. In fact, the only mono-blue cards in all the average decks put together are Roil ElementalRoil Elemental, Meloku the Clouded MirrorMeloku the Clouded Mirror, Retreat to CoralhelmRetreat to Coralhelm, and two Gate-related cards, Guild SummitGuild Summit and Way of the ThiefWay of the Thief. Still, blue being a part of Simic means that we should try and avoid it. I have to say, I'm really surprised white is the worst color here. In my mind, white is the second-best at land ramp besides green. Yes, it is often "catch-up" ramp, but it is ramp nonetheless. Then we have to choose: do we go Orzhov or Boros?

The Research

The way green maximizes Landfall triggers is either by playing several lands a turnplaying several lands a turn or by rampingramping to put more lands into play. We don't get additional land drops in Mardu colors outside of Ghirapur OrreryGhirapur Orrery and Storm CauldronStorm Cauldron, so we might want to rely on another strategy.

You know what white is really good at? Bringing back permanents that left the battlefield this turn. "Permanents" includes lands! Cards like Brought BackBrought Back, Second SunriseSecond Sunrise, and Cosmic InterventionCosmic Intervention can bring back lands that have been sacrificed by Zuran OrbZuran Orb and trigger all our Landfall cards again. We could build a kind of lands-aristocrats strategy and, by the same token, profit from some of the white-based "catch-up" ramp as well. Oh, I like where this is going. Which commanders could support this strategy?

I like Quintorius, Field HistorianQuintorius, Field Historian for Boros because we get a Spirit everytime we bring back a land from the graveyard. Value! (Also, Loxodons are cool.) In Orzhov, Minthara, Merciless SoulMinthara, Merciless Soul acts as an anthem effect, and since we want to be sacrificing lands every turn, our experience counters will grow accordingly. Plus, these counters can't be interacted with, so we don't loose all our progress if Minthara gets removed – we only have to play her again. Then, Toggo, Goblin WeaponsmithToggo, Goblin Weaponsmith opens up some options to go full Mardu, with Ravos, SoultenderRavos, Soultender as a Partner perhaps.

I have brewed a lot of different versions, and I must say that Quintorius, Field HistorianQuintorius, Field Historian is, to me, the most fun. Let's go Boros lands!

La-La Lands

First and foremost, how do we benefit from lands entering the battlefield?

We have some nice options! Emeria AngelEmeria Angel, Felidar RetreatFelidar Retreat, Retreat to EmeriaRetreat to Emeria, and Nesting DragonNesting Dragon all create tokens, which goes really well with what Boros usually wants to do: go wide. Canyon JerboaCanyon Jerboa and Moraug, Fury of AkoumMoraug, Fury of Akoum help us improve our combat step(s) quite a bit, and Emeria ShepherdEmeria Shepherd is a powerful source of recursion. We also have Tunneling GeopedeTunneling Geopede and Spitfire LagacSpitfire Lagac to weaponize our Landfall triggers and hurt our opponents.

Our main strategy is to be able to sacrifice lands and bring them back over and over again. How do we do that?

First, we want our sacrifice outlets to be at instant speed and free, if possible. Zuran OrbZuran Orb and Need for SpeedNeed for Speed are perfect for that, and we have an Enlightened TutorEnlightened Tutor as a third copy of these cards. If you prefer not to run tutors, you can always play Troubled HealerTroubled Healer or Trenching SteedTrenching Steed instead. We have other ways to get lands into the graveyard: Nahiri's LithoformingNahiri's Lithoforming can be a way to refill our hand while triggering some Landfall, while Lotus FieldLotus Field and Scorched RuinsScorched Ruins can help keep our land count low.

Our land recursion package is quite deep.

Brought BackBrought Back, Second SunriseSecond Sunrise, Cosmic InterventionCosmic Intervention, and Faith's RewardFaith's Reward will be our huge play-makers. Sacrifice all your lands on your opponent's end step, bring them all back, create a million tokens, then move to your turn and swing for lethal. They also work really well with ArmageddonArmageddon! Mass land destruction as a wincon is valid, change my mind. (If your playgroup doesn't like Armaggeddon, try CleansingCleansing instead! Your friends can pay life instead of sacrificing their lands. Surely they will thank you for giving them the choice.)

Repeatable land recursion is possible with Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds, Sun TitanSun Titan, and Sevinne's ReclamationSevinne's Reclamation. Serra ParagonSerra Paragon is complicated. The lands we play with her should get exiled if they go back to the graveyard, but we can respond to the exile trigger, bring the lands back with some of our instant-speed recursion, and we won't have to exile them.

Lastly, we play Planar BirthPlanar Birth. With our current gameplan, it's at worst a Rampant GrowthRampant Growth, and at best a good impression of Splendid ReclamationSplendid Reclamation.

Living Off the Lands

Covering our basics seems to make sense in a lands deck.

Ramp

Honestly, white ramp has gotten so potent that this section kind of filled itself. Deep Gnome TerramancerDeep Gnome Terramancer, Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid, and Kor CartographerKor Cartographer all search for PlainsPlains cards, so they can fix our mana as well as ramp. The second chapter of The Restoration of EiganjoThe Restoration of Eiganjo fits really well with what Quintorius, Field HistorianQuintorius, Field Historian is doing, and this wouldn't be a Boros deck without Equipment! Sword of the AnimistSword of the Animist and Sword of Hearth and HomeSword of Hearth and Home are exactly what the doctor ordered. Wayfarer's BaubleWayfarer's Bauble has some nice synergy with Emeria ShepherdEmeria Shepherd: sacrifice the Bauble, put a Plains into play, then Emeria ShepherdEmeria Shepherd can bring back the Bauble to the battlefield. Rinse and repeat. Look at us go!

Card Advantage

Valakut ExplorationValakut Exploration gives us some nice impulse draw. Land TaxLand Tax and Archaeomancer's MapArchaeomancer's Map can get us some lands. Cleansing WildfireCleansing Wildfire is a nice little cantrip for us, or it's a way to get rid of an opponent's Cabal CoffersCabal Coffers. Thrilling DiscoveryThrilling Discovery and Faithless LootingFaithless Looting help us fix our hand and fill our graveyard. Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach doesn't work with lands, but it's just a good card, and it does amazing work with QuintoriusQuintorius. In that respect, Reconstruct HistoryReconstruct History is also very good. Tocasia's WelcomeTocasia's Welcome came out recently and has impressed me a lot, especially when we can create tokens at instant speed.

Interaction

The Dredge on ShenanigansShenanigans works nicely with our commander. Path to ExilePath to Exile, Winds of AbandonWinds of Abandon, and Settle the WreckageSettle the Wreckage can potentially ramp our opponents, but with Archaeomancer's MapArchaeomancer's Map and Deep Gnome TerramancerDeep Gnome Terramancer, we can benefit from that! We can also use Settle the WreckageSettle the Wreckage on our own attacking army to go fetch some basic lands and trigger some Landfall. Corner case, but it is an option!

Now for the protection department. We will want to go wide, so it's a good idea to be prepared for board wipes. Your Temple Is Under AttackYour Temple Is Under Attack is a nice modal spell that draws some cards if we don't end up using it. Boros CharmBoros Charm can protect not only our creatures but also our lands. It's just another way to make our opponents cry when we cast ArmageddonArmageddon.

Utility and Lands

We're a lands deck, so Expedition MapExpedition Map is a must. Elesh Norn, Mother of MachinesElesh Norn, Mother of Machines will double our Landfall triggers and is just good value when we have cards with good ETBs, like Sun TitanSun Titan and Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum, in the deck. (In fact, she could helm a lands deck on her own - check out our own DougY's version here!) Tiller EngineTiller Engine does good work when a lot of your lands come into play tapped, and Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession will help us grow our token army even bigger.

If you have them, play every possible fetchland in Boros, but if you're a poor musician like me, Cabaretti CourtyardCabaretti Courtyard, Evolving WildsEvolving Wilds, Fabled PassageFabled Passage, Myriad LandscapeMyriad Landscape, and Terramorphic ExpanseTerramorphic Expanse will do the job. You can sacrifice Flagstones of TrokairFlagstones of Trokair, Gods' Eye, Gate to the ReikaiGods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai, or Drownyard TempleDrownyard Temple for value. Also, we have Thespian's StageThespian's Stage and Dark DepthsDark Depths in here, because why not?

Enough roaming and wandering about, let's look at that decklist!

Canyon JerboaCanyon Jerboa (alternate art) | Art by Dominik Mayer

Sticking the Landing

This deck was kind of an eye-opener for me. I really think there should be more white-based land decks out there. Going Orzhov with Minthara, Merciless SoulMinthara, Merciless Soul, which was our second option, lets us have an aristocrats subtheme with BloodghastBloodghast and Skyclave ShadeSkyclave Shade. We can curse ourselves with Curse of the Restless DeadCurse of the Restless Dead, sacrifice lands to Braids, Arisen NightmareBraids, Arisen Nightmare, or win the game with a convoluted combo involving Codex ShredderCodex Shredder, Zuran OrbZuran Orb, Second SunriseSecond Sunrise, and Scrib NibblersScrib Nibblers to exile our opponents' libraries. How neat!

I really think white has come a long way in terms of land ramp, and it's good to give green a little competition.

Beauty Tips

Before I leave you today, I just want to swoon at some Dominik Mayer art. We have the opportunity to play three of his works in this deck (seen below), and that makes me so happy. Zendikar Rising also had other beautiful alternate art treatments, like Felidar Retreat and Valakut Exploration, done by different artists (Tyler Smith and Aenami respectively).

Spitfire LagacSpitfire Lagac, Canyon JerboaCanyon Jerboa and Moraug, Fury of AkoumMoraug, Fury of Akoum alternate arts, by Dominik Mayer.

So, how would you build a Boros lands deck? Are you okay with sacrificing your lands? Is there some sweet card or synergy that I missed? Would you have built your nongreen lands deck with other color options, like mono-blue (Cosima, God of the VoyageCosima, God of the Voyage) or even mono-black (Korlash, Heir to BlackbladeKorlash, Heir to Blackblade)? Let me know in the comments! I'm Philomène, and this has been Do Your Worst. See you next time!

Philomène Gatien

Philomène is a film composer from Montréal, Canada. Her love of card games started in the late 90's with Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball Z and of course, Magic: The Gathering. Preferring a more casual kind of game in commander (art and lore being very high on her list of reasons to play cards), she satiates her competitive urges through Limited formats.