MTG dual lands: every cycle, cheapest to priciest
Last updated: October 7, 2026
A dual land taps for two colours. Magic has printed dozens of cycles of them, and the difference between them is almost entirely when they enter untapped — which is also most of the difference in price. Here is every major cycle, from the cheapest to the most expensive.
Cheap and reliable
- Gain lands — enter tapped, gain 1 life: Tranquil Cove, Dismal Backwater, Bloodfell Caves, Rugged Highlands, Blossoming Sands and the enemy-colour five (Scoured Barrens, Swiftwater Cliffs, Jungle Hollow, Wind-Scarred Crag, Thornwood Falls).
- Temples — enter tapped, scry 1: Temple of Enlightenment, Temple of Deceit, Temple of Malice, Temple of Abandon, Temple of Plenty and the rest.
- Two-or-more-colour staples — Command Tower and Exotic Orchard tap for any colour your deck needs, and belong in almost every multicolour Commander deck.
Tapped lands are fine in moderation. A Commander deck can usually afford a handful before it starts to feel slow.
The middle tier: untapped most of the time
- Bond lands — untapped with two or more opponents, so effectively always in Commander. Some of the best value lands in the format.
- Check lands — untapped if you control a matching basic: Glacial Fortress, Isolated Chapel, Sulfur Falls, Woodland Cemetery, Clifftop Retreat, Hinterland Harbor and the rest.
- Pain lands — always untapped; colourless for free or a coloured mana for 1 life: Adarkar Wastes, Underground River, Sulfurous Springs, Karplusan Forest, Brushland, Caves of Koilos, Shivan Reef, Llanowar Wastes, Battlefield Forge, Yavimaya Coast.
- Surveil lands — enter tapped, but carry both basic types, so fetch lands find them.
The expensive tier
- Shock lands — untapped for 2 life, both basic types.
- Fetch lands — not duals themselves, but they find any typed dual, which is why the two are bought together.
- The original duals — Tundra, Underground Sea, Badlands, Taiga, Savannah, Scrubland, Volcanic Island, Bayou, Plateau and Tropical Island. Untapped with no drawback and both basic types. They are on the Reserved List and will never be reprinted, which is why they cost what they cost.
What a Commander deck actually needs
Two colours: a few duals from the middle tier and basics is plenty. Three or more: more duals, a budget fetch or two, and Command Tower. The expensive tier makes a mana base smoother, not a deck better — buy it last, after the ramp, removal and card draw that decide games. See budget utility lands for the rest of the land slots.
Price a mana base against live stock in the Deck Builder, or browse Commander singles.