In Magic: The Gathering, lands are the backbone of any deck, and being able to find the right land at the right time can be the difference between victory and defeat. While basic lands are easily accessible, nonbasic lands offer powerful abilities and utility that can greatly enhance gameplay. That’s where nonbasic land tutors come into play cards that help you search your library for the specific nonbasic land you need. Whether you’re playing a combo deck, a multi-color strategy, or a landfall build, knowing the best nonbasic land tutors can give you a crucial edge. From instant-speed tricks to reliable enchantments, this topic explores the top nonbasic land tutor cards in Magic, why they are so effective, and how they can be optimized in different deck archetypes.
Why Nonbasic Land Tutors Matter
Unlocking Utility and Versatility
Nonbasic lands often come with game-changing abilities such as mana fixing, recursion, protection, or card advantage. In formats like Commander (EDH), where singleton rules limit redundancy, having access to specific lands via tutors becomes a strategic advantage. Land tutors that fetch nonbasic lands allow players to adapt to different board states or set up powerful combos.
Enhancing Multi-Color Decks
Decks running three or more colors often rely on nonbasic lands like shock lands, triomes, or filter lands to maintain consistency. Being able to tutor for these lands means fewer chances of being color-screwed and more opportunities to execute your strategy smoothly. Nonbasic land tutors ensure a stable mana base, especially in longer games.
Top Nonbasic Land Tutors in Magic: The Gathering
Crop Rotation
Crop Rotationis a one-mana instant that allows you to sacrifice a land and search your library for any land card. The ability to tutor for any land at instant speed makes this card one of the most flexible options available. It’s especially powerful in land-based strategies like Azusa, Lost but Seeking or Lord Windgrace.
- Mana Cost: 1 Green
- Speed: Instant
- Best Uses: Fetching Gaea’s Cradle, Field of the Dead, or Bojuka Bog in response to graveyard plays
Sylvan Scrying
Sylvan Scryingis a simple and efficient sorcery that lets you search for any land, including nonbasic lands. It costs 1G and puts the land into your hand, making it a solid option in slower or control-style decks where you can afford to wait a turn before playing the land.
- Mana Cost: 1G
- Speed: Sorcery
- Best Uses: Grabbing utility lands like Cabal Coffers, Thespian’s Stage, or Dark Depths
Expedition Map
Expedition Mapis a colorless artifact that can be played in any deck and activated for three mana to search for any land card. While it requires an upfront investment, its universality and ease of inclusion make it a staple in many EDH and modern decks that rely on key lands.
- Mana Cost: 1
- Activation: 2 and tap, sacrifice
- Best Uses: Urzatron decks, locating Cradle or Academy
Hour of Promise
Hour of Promiseis a five-mana sorcery that lets you search for up to two land cards and put them directly onto the battlefield. If you control three or more deserts, you also get two 2/2 zombies. Though expensive, it is ideal for ramp and landfall strategies, providing both value and board presence.
- Mana Cost: 4G
- Speed: Sorcery
- Best Uses: Landfall decks, ramp into big spells or combos
Elvish Reclaimer
Elvish Reclaimeris a creature that can search your library for any land by sacrificing a land you control. It gains +2/+2 as long as there are three or more lands in your graveyard, making it a solid early-game tutor and a late-game threat. This card is particularly strong in graveyard or self-mill strategies.
- Mana Cost: G
- Activation: 2, tap, sacrifice a land
- Best Uses: Fetching Maze of Ith, Strip Mine, or cycle lands
Primeval Titan
Though banned in some formats,Primeval Titanremains a powerhouse in Commander and casual play. Each time it enters the battlefield or attacks, it fetches two lands directly to the battlefield tapped. This ramp effect is even more powerful when those lands are nonbasic with activated abilities or combos.
- Mana Cost: 4GG
- Effect: Tutors two lands each trigger
- Best Uses: Valakut combo, Field of the Dead, or dark mana ramp with Coffers and Urborg
Honorable Mentions
Tempt with Discovery
A political green sorcery that allows you to search for any land, and if opponents accept the temptation, you can fetch additional lands. In a multiplayer setting, this card can explode into a massive land advantage if more than one opponent agrees to the offer.
Realms Uncharted
This instant lets you search for four different land cards and have an opponent choose two to go to your graveyard, while the rest go to your hand. While not a strict tutor, it’s very strong in graveyard and recursion decks where putting lands into the graveyard is just as good as having them in hand.
Tooth and Nail (Entwine)
Although primarily used for creatures, Tooth and Nail can tutor up creatures that tutor for lands, like Primeval Titan or Ulvenwald Hydra. This indirect path still makes it a worthy consideration for certain builds.
Deck Archetypes That Benefit Most
Landfall Strategies
Decks that revolve around landfall triggers like Omnath, Locus of Creation or Tatyova, Benthic Druid love having access to multiple lands per turn. Nonbasic land tutors feed these engines and enable explosive turns with ramp and value.
Combo Decks
Many combos rely on specific land interactions. For example, the Dark Depths and Thespian’s Stage combo can be assembled quickly with tutors like Crop Rotation or Elvish Reclaimer. These decks often run low land counts, so having the right ones makes all the difference.
Control and Utility Decks
Control decks may include toolbox lands like Maze of Ith, Bojuka Bog, or Glacial Chasm. Tutors let these decks respond to threats by finding the appropriate answer at the right time, increasing resilience and adaptability.
In any Magic: The Gathering format, access to the right land at the right moment can be pivotal. Nonbasic land tutors provide precision and strategic depth that can elevate any deck. Whether you’re fetching lands to fix mana, activate combos, or respond to threats, including a few of the best nonbasic land tutors can significantly enhance your consistency and power. Cards like Crop Rotation, Expedition Map, and Primeval Titan are standout tools that belong in many land-conscious builds. As the game evolves and more lands with unique abilities are introduced, the importance of land tutors will only continue to grow.