Ugin's LabyrinthUgin's Labyrinth | Art by Mark Poole

Every deck needs a good land base. Some lands try to further their efficacy by tapping for more than one color, or perhaps they'll tap for more than one mana. Others will attempt to redefine what can be done with just one land drop.

Many new and interesting designs for lands have popped up recently and, ironically, they've gotten me to think more about what lands aren't worth most deck's real estate anymore.

Not every utility land is quite as useful as it once was, nor does a budget mana base need to be as inefficient as it once was. Let's take a moment and look at which lands are still being played despite modern land design suggesting otherwise.

Filter Lands

Out of all the lands that can tap for more than one color, where lands like Botanical PlazaBotanical Plaza and Crumbling NecropolisCrumbling Necropolis are abundant, why are we considering running filter lands as inefficient as Darkwater CatacombsDarkwater Catacombs?

Just as the Signet cycle that gave us Azorius SignetAzorius Signet twenty years ago isn't worth cutting cards for, these filter lands aren't worth the hassle. They don't do anything on their own, aren't fetchable, and aren't basic, which leads to a variety of niche scenarios that collectively make running basics in their stead more appealing.

Price of ProgressPrice of Progress? Back to BasicsBack to Basics? Trailblazer's BootsTrailblazer's Boots? All nonbasic lands have this inherent downside, so why are we adding to this downside by playing a land that doesn't do anything on its own?

If you're concerned about building around a budget, these still aren't worth running. Lands like Yavimaya CoastYavimaya Coast and Cascade BluffsCascade Bluffs, while still not the best, offer superior utility at the same price point.

I'd argue that the majority of tapped dual lands like Akoum RefugeAkoum Refuge, Haunted MireHaunted Mire, or Irrigated FarmlandIrrigated Farmland offer infinitely more utility than any of these filter lands.

Bounce Lands

For the majority of decks, bounce lands aren't worth playing. This includes conventional bounce lands and the KarooKaroo variants.

Many will defend running bounce lands in their landfall or untap-centered decks that seek to exploit permanents that generate more than one mana, and I have nothing against them.

It's the average Commander decks, usually preconstructed decks, that I'm focusing on. There's no reason for someone's Urza, Chief ArtificerUrza, Chief Artificer precon to be running an Azorius ChanceryAzorius Chancery.

Technically, bounce lands can aid a deck that struggles to find consistent land drops every turn. If you have only two lands for the first three turns of a game, the bounce land allows you to retain three mana on turn three without missing a land drop, maintaining your mana curve.

But let's be real. It's 2026. You're not missing a land drop that often, and if you are, it's likely because your hand contained enough rocks and/or dorks to accommodate such a greedy starting hand.

You also shouldn't be running bounce lands to fix your colors. There currently exist around 30 Evolving WildsEvolving Wilds variants that fix your colors more efficiently than a random bounce land ever will.

Temple landsTemple lands are arguably better in most decks if we're not already running the surveil landssurveil lands.

Unless you're running a bounce land for a very specific reason that your deck justifies, it's very likely not worth running.

Modal Double-Faced (MDFC) Land Cards

I've got a thing against MDFCs, specifically the pathway cyclethe pathway cycle from Kaldheim.

They're a better color fixer than either filter or bounce lands and are a cheaper alternative to most multicolor-identity lands like shock lands or triomes, but I'd still argue not worth the simple hassle of pulling the card out of the sleeve and flipping the card every so often.

Fetchable lands are at a premium, even if most cannot enter untapped. While these MDFCs guarantee any one of it's two colors of your choice, I'd still rather be able to fetch a land that taps for multiple colors and shuffle my deck instead of flipping a pathway for either of its colors and re-sleeving when necessary.

Of the lands on this list, the pathways are the most playable while remaining relatively inexpensive. There's no shame in any given deck running these lands, but they aren't the first lands I'd grab when completing a mana base.

The Case Against Temple of the False GodTemple of the False God

And then there's Temple of the False God. There's never been a time when building a deck I've thought to myself "I should run Temple of the False God," nor have I ever recommended anyone play it either.

For the first four turns of a game, this card is dead in hand. You can't fetch it. It doesn't play well into a deck with more than two colors. Most of the time, when you play Temple of the False God as your fifth land on turn five, you've already accelerated your mana enough so that a free Sol RingSol Ring as your land for turn doesn't really push your board ahead that much.

The few non-colorless decks running Temple are, for the most part, precons. It's a cheap land that's been a popular and easy choice for any precon.

Putting aside these decks, what's left are a few "big spells matter" decks like Gishath, Sun's AvatarGishath, Sun's Avatar that seek to play their big commander or flashy spells as early as possible. It doesn't seem that many decks feel comfortable leaning on Temple to get them to their "do the thing" turn unless it's a very casual, laid-back experience.

Even then, there are more viable ways to achieve what Temple aims to do multiple turns before Temple's online. At this point I'm asking you readers where Temple of the False God is even remotely viable. But don't say colorless decks, that's cheating.

But what do you think? How do you feel about these lands? What's your experience with playing with or against Temple of the False GodTemple of the False God? Do you think there are other overplayed lands that weren't mentioned?

I hope this article was an informative exploration through some lands of years past. Find me on Bluesky at @ajwicker4.bsky.social. I'd love to hear from you and what your thoughts are.

Tune in next time to continue this deep dive into more Commander Philosophy!