Evendo, Waking HavenEvendo, Waking Haven | Art by Piotr Dura | Scalding TarnScalding Tarn | Art by Adam Paquette

Hello, everyone! I’m Levi from The Thought Vessel, and today we are looking back on this eventful year of Magic and the cards that we have received.

With Universes Beyond gaining steam, we've taken Magic to new places, literally, and consequently we've gotten some very interesting lands this year. Today we’ll be looking at these new pieces of real estate and determining what the best lands of 2025 truly were.

For the land to count on the list, it has to be a first print of the card for 2025; I love shock lands as much as the next person, but since they are reprints, they are automatically disqualified. I also will hand out some bonus points for lands that are budget-friendly or semi-budget-friendly because a card is way more useful to us if we can afford to own it.

Before we get into the official list, we do have an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention: Multiversal PassageMultiversal Passage

It’s interesting seeing a “shock land” released here to help with color fixing. It's cheaper than most nonbasic lands, with a market price around $12 (at time of writing), and you can choose any color to tap for when it enters. The only downside is that we only get one color versus a traditional Shockland that would tap with two different color options. However, it can be a nice option for color fixing on a lower price point, so I thought it was at least worth a mention here.

10. Secret TunnelSecret Tunnel

Secret Tunnel!!! In all seriousness, playing Rogue's PassageRogue's Passage in Voltron decks or in decks that have a commander that has an attack or damage trigger is very common. Kindred decks, especially Ninjas, would absolutely love this card as we can make two creatures unblockable instead of one as long as they share a creature type. Dinosaurs, Dragons, even Specters could make good use of this card, and I think it will be a popular land in the future. Even non-kindred strategies might have creatures that share a common creature type, like Human or Soldier, and could still take full advantage of this card. In lower brackets, where interaction and answers tend to be less frequent, it could be nice to have land that can get creatures through walls of blockers to help play through the inevitable trenches. We’ve all been on one of those games where boards get built bigger and bigger until someone finds their Moonshaker CavalryMoonshaker Cavalry to break through and swing for the win. There are even some added earthbending synergies since this land can’t be blocked. Overall, it's a great design and on-theme for what the card represents in the actual show.

9. Maelstrom of the Spirit DragonMaelstrom of the Spirit Dragon

I view Maelstrom of the Spirit DragonMaelstrom of the Spirit Dragon very similarly to how I view Inventors' FairInventors' Fair: it’s not going to fit into every single deck, but when it does, it's phenomenal. Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon can color fix for Dragon and Omen spells in the early game, and later on, when we just need that one Dragon to close things out, we can scrap the land to tutor that card to our hand. It’s always a positive when we can slip a tutor into our land base since it can’t be countered, and it frees up a spot in the 99 of the deck for either an additional tutor or something else we might want to include. The only downside to this card is that it really only cares about Dragons, so it isn’t as universally useful as some other lands on this list. Regardless, I have this card in decks that I personally play now, and it’s been a card that I’ve been happy to draw into every time.

8. Abandoned Air TempleAbandoned Air Temple

Next up on our list is a land that could go in almost every deck that has white and cares about creatures. Abandoned Air TempleAbandoned Air Temple out of Avatar: The Last Airbender will come into play untapped as long as we control a basic land; for most decks outside of cEDH, this is an incredibly low bar. With any excess mana, we can tap this land and give each creature we control a +1/+1 counter. In white, where there are plenty of +1/+1 counter decks and go wide builds, this can be incredibly useful. This could even add enough power to our attackers at instant speed to sneak a lethal hit on players if we can time it correctly. It's also only going for $3-4 at the moment. In Commander games, it’s always nice to have something to do in the unfortunate event that we run out of spells to play, so I try to add a couple of these types of high floor cards to my deck as an outlet.

7. Adagia, Windswept BastionAdagia, Windswept Bastion

For whatever reason, modern card design seems to have a major shift towards doubling up triggers and copying things, so it’s only fitting that we would also see a land this year that can make copies as well. It does take a little time to get stationed, admittedly, but once it is, we can start making legendary copies of all of our favorite artifacts and enchantments. This could be something as simple as Sol RingSol Ring, but maybe we think bigger and target Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia, Privileged PositionPrivileged Position, or even some powerful Auras, like Bear UmbraBear Umbra. The possibilities of this card are great, and the only downside is that it has to come into play tapped and that it might take some time to get online.

6. Agna Qel'aAgna Qel'a

Back to Avatar we go with Agna Qel'aAgna Qel'a. Similar to Abandoned Air Temple from earlier in this list, this is a one-color land that comes in untapped as long as we have a basic land. Interestingly enough with this cycle, the basic land doesn’t even have to be the same color, so more often than not Agna Qel’a will be coming into play untapped for us. It also has the nice effect of letting us draw and discard a card. This won’t be super handy for us in the early part of games unless our deck cares about loading up our graveyard or has discard synergies, but being able to push one more card deeper into a deck to find an answer or a win condition could be the difference in winning or losing a game. Of course, with most lands on the list, the opportunity cost to play this is incredibly low as it simply takes up a land slot and it has the added bonus of being really cheap to pick up right now.

5. Final Fantasy’s Adventure Lands

Modal double-faced cards, or MDFCs for short, are some of the best cards to pick up and add to a commander deck these days since they can give you just that extra bit of versatility (I know that these lands technically aren’t MDFCs; bear with me here). With the release of Final Fantasy, we got the very first Adventure lands. Adventure is a mechanic that originated back in Wilds of Eldraine. Essentially what it does is there is a secondary spell attached to a card that can be cast, and then the original card can be cast or played from exile. These Adventure lands are a spell that is attached to a land that comes into play tapped. These lands are Ishgard, the Holy SeeIshgard, the Holy See, Jidoor, Aristocratic CapitalJidoor, Aristocratic Capital, Lindblum, Industrial RegencyLindblum, Industrial Regency, Midgar, City of MakoMidgar, City of Mako, and Zanarkand, Ancient MetropolisZanarkand, Ancient Metropolis. The lands, themselves, on these cards aren’t really anything remarkable, but having the attached spell is great. Ishgard is great for recursion of artifacts or enchantments, Jidoor is a staple for mill decks, and Midgar is a nice simple sac outlet and draw spell. Zanarkand can create a massive token beater under the right circumstance, and I have Lindblum in my Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph deck to make an extra pinger. Are any of these spells going to break the game? Probably not, but they all offer a solid level of utility that we can definitely take advantage of.

4. The Completed Verge Cycle

With Aetherdrift we got the enemy pair set of verge lands completing the cycle these are fantastic lands that come in untapped and, in the case of Bleachbone VergeBleachbone Verge, will tap for black mana but can also tap for white if we control PlainsPlains or a SwampSwamp. Since it doesn’t say basic SwampSwamp or PlainsPlains, this also includes dual lands, shock lands, and triomes. Commander players are already playing check lands, like Dragonskull SummitDragonskull Summit, and these are better in most circumstances that Commander players will find themselves in. Most of the lands in this cycle are under the $10 mark and are pretty reasonable to pick up. I really hope we continue to get color-fixing lands like this moving forward.

3. Mistrise VillageMistrise Village

This is where we go from lands that have a high floor or are a great value to the lands that have some power behind them. Coming in at number three we have Mistrise VillageMistrise Village. A new card from Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Mistrise Village taps for blue mana and comes in untapped if we control a ForestForest or MountainMountain to match the intended Temur theme. The reason I'm so excited about this land though is that we can tap it and spend one blue mana to make the next spell we cast uncounterable. In a deck that's using combos, big X spells, or that has a commander that has to be in play to function, this can be a great way to ensure those high-impact spells resolve from a land that will be able to come into play without being counterable, like a card such as SilenceSilence or Teferi, Time RavelerTeferi, Time Raveler would be. I've played games with this card, and being able to resolve my commander cleanly or playing a well-timed board wipe was the difference in the game. I need so many copies of this card.

2. Uthros, Titanic GodcoreUthros, Titanic Godcore

The next two on our list are very similar and both came out of Edge of Eternities. Uthros, Titanic GodcoreUthros, Titanic Godcore is a station land that is a more balanced version of banned-in-Commander card Tolarian AcademyTolarian Academy. When this land is fully stationed, we can pay one blue mana to add one blue mana to our pool for each artifact we control. Between Treasure tokens, mana rocks, and miscellaneous artifact creature tokens, this can produce an absurd amount of mana. In a deck like Urza, Prince of KroogUrza, Prince of Kroog, this card can do a lot of damage.

1. Evendo, Waking HavenEvendo, Waking Haven

Finally, at number one we have Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle at home, Evendo, Waking HavenEvendo, Waking Haven. I have this card slightly higher than Uthros, Titanic Godcore due to the fact that they're both station lands but Evendo can use its creatures to station the land while Uthros can’t use its artifacts in the same way. Both of these lands are incredibly strong once stationed and will come into play without the risk of being countered. Getting five-plus mana from a single land is incredibly strong on a land that isn’t going to attract the typical salt a Gaea’s Cradle would while also being a mere fraction of the price and not being included on the game changer list. All of this makes Evendo our top land of 2025.

Wrapping Up

When looking back on this year, I had forgotten about a lot of these lands that have come out this year. I didn’t forget because they were unremarkable, but rather because they fit so naturally into decks that are currently played, so it almost feels like they have always been here. The new Verge cycle fixes our mana without really having to think about it too much, while cards like Abandoned Air TempleAbandoned Air Temple can provide an option for value whenever we might need it. Utility lands might not be the most exciting part of brewing a new Commander deck, but they can really help take a deck to the next level if you take the time to find the right lands for your deck and playstyle.

While we’ve covered the top ten lands this year, we had plenty others that didn’t quite make my list. Which lands that came out this year are your favorite? Let us know in the comments below to help our fellow readers discover their new favorite cards. Until next time, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Happy Brewing!