Discussion Forum

[QUOTE=eryops]So I'm getting back into Magic (been away pretty much since 4th/Ice Age) and one thing I see is the concept of the Fetch Lands. It confuses me. I can kind of understand the concept of 'deck thinning' (as described by the article I link to), but are they really that worth it? They seem pretty expensive, which makes me think they must be. Does anyone care to give a bit of an explanation to someone new to this concept?[/QUOTE]

For deck thinning purposes it's only relevant in games that turn into a long grind, If the game is going to end in the first 7 turns fetchland thinning isn't all that relevant.

So what are they good for:

1: fetching duals that have basic land types. The 10 old duals (Bayou, Underground Sea...) and the 10 ravnica duals (Breeding Pool...) all have 2 basic land types and can be fetched with fetchland that says for instance Search your library for a Plains or Island card and put it onto the battlefield.
Fetch land like this one (Flooded strand) can fetch any dual that is an island or a plains which means it can fetch:

Tundra, Plateau, Tropical Island, Volcanic Island, Underground Sea, Scrubland, Savannah, etc... and same for the ravnica duals.

Basically if you play a deck with 3 colors or more they guarantee you will be able to play any color you need as of turn 1 which is very important in fast formats like Legacy (and I'm talking tournament play here).
These Onslaught and Zendikar fetchlands also don't come into play tapped and the land they fetch can be used immediatly which is again very important in formats like legacy where players can potentially win the game as of turn 1. Loosing a full turn because your land enters play tapped just isn't playable.

2: Far more important then color fixing however is the ability to shuffle your deck when you want/need it. This again is a tournament thing. Fetchlands in combination with Brainstorm is concidered the most powerful legacy legal effect in the game. For 1 mana you draw 3 cards, put your worst 2 cards back on top and if you don't want these cards crack your fetchland to fetch a land and SHUFFLE YOUR LIBRARY. The latter is where the broken shit happens. Basically any card that allows you to see and manipulate the top of your library (for instance seinsei's divining Top) is insane with fetchland.


Now if you are just getting into magic and/or you play only casual, don't bother buying these lands. Just learn the game at your own pace. These cards won't make you win games if you don't have the experience to use them properly.

Yeah, that makes total sense - especially with Brainstorm, and the dual lands that actually count as (or are named) two basic lands. Like you said, I don't think I'm going to worry about them for now, as it's very unlikely I'm going to wade into Legacy any time soon.