Living Lands MTG Card


Living Lands offers card advantage by turning forests into dual-purpose land creatures. It accelerates resource usage, synergizing with cards that untap creatures for mana. Flexible play is achieved as the land creatures retain instant speed abilities.
Card setsReleased in 15 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Text of card

Treat all forests in play as 1/1 creatures. Now they can be enchanted, killed, and so forth, and they can be tapped either for mana or to attack. The living lands have no color; they are not considered green cards.


Cards like Living Lands

Living Lands is an intriguing enchantment in Magic: The Gathering, transforming all forests into 1/1 creatures that are still lands. Close parallels can be drawn with Nature’s Revolt, which turns all lands into 2/2 creatures. Yet, Living Lands maintains the original properties of the forests, whereas Nature’s Revolt affects all lands regardless of type and changes their stats entirely.

Another card that echoes this transformation theme is Ambush Commander, a creature that similarly enlivens forests by turning them into 1/1 green Elf creatures that also remain lands. Although both cards animate forests, Ambush Commander’s Elf creature type adds a layer of synergy with other Elf-related cards, offering a different angle of strategic value. Conversely, Living Lands applies solely to the intrinsic quality of the land, without additional creature type benefits.

In assessing the impact of land creature conversion, Living Lands presents a unique option for players wanting to animate specifically forests. While other cards provide broader or alternative effects, the singularity of Living Lands’ effect on just forest-type lands marks its distinct place in player decks that seek such a specialized mechanism.

Nature's Revolt - MTG Card versions
Ambush Commander - MTG Card versions
Nature's Revolt - MTG Card versions
Ambush Commander - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Living Lands by color, type and mana cost

Titania's Song - MTG Card versions
Arboria - MTG Card versions
Cyclone - MTG Card versions
Primal Order - MTG Card versions
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Preferred Selection - MTG Card versions
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Sporogenesis - MTG Card versions
Defense of the Heart - MTG Card versions
Vernal Equinox - MTG Card versions
Foster - MTG Card versions
Overlaid Terrain - MTG Card versions
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Vernal Bloom - MTG Card versions
Epic Struggle - MTG Card versions
Court of Bounty - MTG Card versions
Eidolon of Blossoms - MTG Card versions
Greater Good - MTG Card versions
Arasta of the Endless Web - MTG Card versions
Titania's Song - MTG Card versions
Arboria - MTG Card versions
Cyclone - MTG Card versions
Primal Order - MTG Card versions
Splintering Wind - MTG Card versions
Barbed Foliage - MTG Card versions
Preferred Selection - MTG Card versions
Aluren - MTG Card versions
Sporogenesis - MTG Card versions
Defense of the Heart - MTG Card versions
Vernal Equinox - MTG Card versions
Foster - MTG Card versions
Overlaid Terrain - MTG Card versions
Rowen - MTG Card versions
Vernal Bloom - MTG Card versions
Epic Struggle - MTG Card versions
Court of Bounty - MTG Card versions
Eidolon of Blossoms - MTG Card versions
Greater Good - MTG Card versions
Arasta of the Endless Web - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Living Lands turns all of your Forests into 1/1 creatures, which essentially means each Forest card you have on the battlefield is now a potential attacker or blocker. This transformation bolsters your ranks and can overwhelm opponents with an increased number of threats, providing substantial card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While Living Lands itself doesn’t directly produce mana, the fact that it makes your lands into creatures can work in tandem with other cards that accelerate resources. Cards that allow you to untap creatures can now be used to untap your Forests, providing another chance to tap them for mana within the same turn. This can significantly speed up your gameplay, allowing you to cast more spells or heavier hitting creatures sooner.

Instant Speed: Although Living Lands is an enchantment that’s cast at sorcery speed, the instant ability it grants to your land-creatures can create unforeseen opportunities. Since the 1/1 creatures it creates are still lands, you can decide to tap them for mana or attack with them as the situation requires, even if they’ve just been transformed. Combining Living Lands with other cards that can be played at instant speed allows for flexible responses to your opponent’s actions, keeping them guessing at every turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of using the Living Lands card is its dependency on having a land card to discard. In some situations, this can put players in a tough position, especially when their hand is lacking in land cards or crucial for the current game strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: In order to play Living Lands, players need to have access to green mana. This necessitates a deck that’s tuned to generate green mana consistently, potentially limiting the card’s versatility across various deck types that might not focus on green mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its cost sitting at four mana, including three generic and one green, some players find Living Lands to be on the higher side in terms of investment, especially considering other cards in the game that can offer land-centric benefits for lower mana costs.


Reasons to Include Living Lands in Your Collection

Versatility: Living Lands offers a unique dynamic to the battlefield by turning all Forests into 1/1 creatures that remain as lands. This allows the card to enhance various green-based decks focused on land synergy, creature strategies, or those looking to capitalize on having multiple creatures in play.

Combo Potential: The transformation of every Forest into a creature presents significant combo potential with cards that benefit from large numbers of creatures entering the battlefield or being tapped for advantage. Pair it with cards that boost creatures or provide benefits for creature-heavy boards to unlock devastating combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where lands play a pivotal role, Living Lands can be a game-changer. It slots well into land-matters strategies and provides an avenue for turning land-heavy draws into potential threats, keeping the card relevant and useful in a variety of match-ups.


How to beat

Living Lands is a unique enchantment card in the world of Magic: The Gathering, with the ability to turn all Forests into 1/1 creatures. These animated lands can be quite the surprise for an unprepared opponent, ultimately shaping the battlefield in unexpected ways. To effectively counter this strategic move, focus on cards that can sweep the board of creatures, such as Wrath of God or Damnation, which can clear out the animated Forests before they can mount a significant attack.

Alternatively, spot removal spells that don’t target lands—like Doom Blade or Go for the Throat—are not particularly effective here. Hence, you may want to rely on mass removal or even enchantment removal spells such as Return to Nature or Back to Nature to directly remove Living Lands from play. It’s also worth noting that with Living Lands in play, an opponent’s land base is vulnerable to creature removal; thus, cards like Pyroclasm can disrupt your opponent’s mana base by taking out these 1/1 Forest creatures. Proper recognition of Living Lands’ potential threat and preparing your deck with versatile answers will make facing this card much less intimidating.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Living Lands MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Living Lands and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Living Lands Magic the Gathering card was released in 14 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 2091993NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 2101993NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 2101993NormalWhiteJesper Myrfors
41993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 2101993NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
51993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 2101993NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
61994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 2101993NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
71994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 2101993NormalWhiteJesper Myrfors
81994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 2101993NormalWhiteJesper Myrfors
91995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 2601993NormalWhiteJesper Myrfors
101995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 2601993NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
111997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 3121997NormalWhiteJohn Matson
121999-04-21Classic Sixth Edition6ED 2381997NormalWhiteJohn Matson
132011-01-10Masters Edition IVME4 1611997NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
142022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 2052015NormalBlackJesper Myrfors
152022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 5021997NormalBlackJesper Myrfors

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Living Lands has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Living Lands card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2008-08-01 A noncreature permanent that turns into a creature can attack, and its abilities can be activated, only if its controller has continuously controlled that permanent since the beginning of their most recent turn. It doesn’t matter how long the permanent has been a creature.