Nonbasic lands are a core part of competitive Magic: The Gathering decks, offering powerful utility, mana fixing, and special abilities that basic lands cannot provide. However, with these benefits comes a vulnerability: nonbasic land hate. This refers to cards and strategies specifically designed to punish or destroy nonbasic lands, disrupting opponents who rely heavily on them. In many formats, especially Commander and Legacy, nonbasic land hate can be a key element of controlling the game and limiting powerful synergies. Understanding how to use nonbasic land hate effectively and how to play around it is critical for any serious Magic player.
What Is Nonbasic Land Hate?
Definition and Purpose
Nonbasic land hate includes any card or effect that punishes players for using nonbasic lands. These cards can destroy, restrict, or neutralize the abilities of nonbasic lands. The goal is to target greedy mana bases or land-based strategies that rely on utility lands, dual lands, fetch lands, or other special land types.
While basic lands are always a safe bet, players often prefer nonbasics because of the versatility they offer. That’s where nonbasic land hate becomes important. It levels the playing field and pressures decks that attempt to gain too much advantage from their lands.
Why It Matters
Modern Magic decks often feature three or more colors and use many nonbasic lands to manage mana costs. By attacking this reliance, you can slow down or even shut down an opponent’s entire strategy. In certain metas especially in EDH nonbasic land hate is not just useful but necessary to counter high-power decks.
Top Nonbasic Land Hate Cards
Mass Land Destruction
These cards wipe out all or most nonbasic lands on the battlefield, forcing players to rely on basic lands or rebuild their mana base from scratch.
- Blood Moon: Turns all nonbasic lands into Mountains. This is especially effective against decks with few or no basic lands, rendering many of their lands useless.
- Ruination: Destroys all nonbasic lands. It’s a red sorcery that can devastate greedy mana bases, especially in Commander.
- Magus of the Moon: A creature version of Blood Moon that applies the same effect. It’s easier to remove than an enchantment but just as dangerous if left unchecked.
Targeted Land Destruction
These cards allow you to pick off specific nonbasic lands, either recurring or one-shot effects.
- Wasteland: Can tap and sacrifice to destroy a target nonbasic land. It’s a staple in Legacy and Commander for dealing with problematic lands like Cabal Coffers or Gaea’s Cradle.
- Strip Mine: Similar to Wasteland, but it can target any land, including basics. Its flexibility makes it a top-tier hate card.
- Ghost Quarter: Destroys a land and replaces it with a basic land from the opponent’s library. Useful for color disruption.
Taxing and Restrictive Effects
Rather than destroying lands outright, some cards limit what nonbasic lands can do or punish their usage indirectly.
- Back to Basics: Forces nonbasic lands to enter the battlefield tapped and remain tapped unless untapped through other means. A great card in mono-blue control builds.
- Price of Progress: Deals 2 damage to each player for every nonbasic land they control. This punishing instant can finish games out of nowhere.
- Aven Mindcensor: Limits searching abilities, which hurts decks that rely on fetch lands a common nonbasic land mechanic.
Color Breakdown of Nonbasic Land Hate
Red
Red is the most aggressive color when it comes to nonbasic land hate. Cards like Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, Ruination, and Price of Progress are all red staples that punish nonbasic land use hard and fast. Red decks often use these tools to keep faster decks in check and apply pressure quickly.
White
White focuses more on equality and balance. Cards likeArmageddonandCataclysmdestroy all lands, forcing players to rebuild on equal footing. Additionally, white often includes taxing cards that make mana bases less consistent for multicolor decks.
Green
Green rarely uses nonbasic land hate but does have some tools likeReap and SoworMwonvuli Acid-Moss, which can destroy lands while ramping. Green prefers to focus on its own land development rather than directly punishing others.
Blue and Black
Blue and black are less common sources of nonbasic land hate but can participate via cards likeContamination(black) orSpreading Seas(blue), which change lands’ types and mana output. These effects can be highly disruptive in the right deck.
When to Use Nonbasic Land Hate
Deck Archetypes That Benefit
Including nonbasic land hate makes the most sense in certain archetypes:
- Mono-colored decks: These decks can run more basic lands and are less affected by Blood Moon-type effects.
- Stax or Prison decks: These decks aim to lock down the board, and limiting mana from nonbasic lands is a key part of that strategy.
- Aggro decks: Slowing down an opponent’s mana base can give you the time you need to win before they stabilize.
Meta Considerations
If your playgroup or local meta includes many five-color or three-color decks, adding nonbasic land hate becomes more valuable. In Commander, where mana bases are diverse and land synergies are strong, targeting nonbasic lands can severely hinder many top-tier decks.
How to Play Around Nonbasic Land Hate
Include More Basic Lands
The most direct way to avoid getting wrecked by Blood Moon or Ruination is to include a higher number of basic lands. This allows you to continue functioning when nonbasic lands are disabled or destroyed.
Use Mana Rocks and Ramp
Cards like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, and Cultivate can help you play through nonbasic land hate. Relying less on lands for mana makes it easier to recover after a land wipe or lock effect.
Removal for Hate Cards
Pack enchantment and artifact removal in your sideboard or main deck. Cards like Nature’s Claim, Disenchant, and Chaos Warp can eliminate problem pieces like Blood Moon before they ruin your plans.
Diversify Your Mana Sources
Utilize creatures and spells for mana generation instead of relying solely on lands. Birds of Paradise, Farseek, and mana dorks can keep your deck functional even under pressure.
Striking the Right Balance
Nonbasic land hate is a powerful tool in Magic: The Gathering that can shift the momentum of a game by disrupting complex mana bases and punishing greedy strategies. While it isn’t appropriate for every deck or every meta, understanding when and how to use it effectively can give you a serious advantage. Whether you’re piloting a mono-red prison deck with Blood Moon or packing a well-timed Strip Mine in Commander, knowing how to handle nonbasic lands both yours and your opponent’s will elevate your strategic depth and success rate at the table.