Carrying on from this thread, and the discussion it generated...
So, given that we're all in the multiplayer realm, it's fairly obvious that we're playing on kitchen tabletops, not the PTQ feature table. And with that comes budgets. Not everyone is going to be able to splash for a pack-mint playset of Revised duals. So what are the alternatives? Let's go through them. I'll list them, you tell me your faves and preferences.
Laying this out nicely, incase we want to sticky this thread some day. If you think this could be laid out a little more intuitively, let me know - for now, I've put this under multiple sblocks, as the bottom bracket is monstrous, and I'd rather not have you all having to fight past a wall of text to read comments. Currently ordered by cost, high to low. Prices are current median price on TCGPlayer as of this post (for the uninitiated, an average across about fifty online stores, which seems to match MOTL prices fairly well also).
The Cost: $20 - $56 for the Onslaught copies, $17 - $32 for the Zendikar enemy fetches. And let's not talk about foils.
Pros: The basic land you want, first turn. Great with landfall. Fetch original duals and Ravnica shocks.
Cons: Clearly the most expensive option available. Good luck getting a playset, especially now that the Zendikar fetches are becoming popular in Modern.
The Cost: $14-25 for the original Ravnica-block copies. $9-12 for those printed so far in Return to Ravnica.
Pros: Can come in untapped. Both colours on the first turn. Counts as basic land types. Becoming cheaper now that they've been reprinted.
Cons: Still somewhat expensive - not likely to drop further, given that the allied colour copies are the first choice in Modern (as the Onslaught fetches aren't Modern legal).
Pros: Comes into play untapped. Guaranteed both colours of mana on the second turn. Rumours of a reprint in Modern Masters may see these become cheaper.
Cons: Needs a second land next to it to work. Cannot give coloured mana on the first turn. The Eventide enemy-colur copies are particularly expensive (as they are one of the few options available in Modern).
$12. Both red and green mana on the first turn with little drawback. Combo with Punishing Fire has made this a Modern staple (and its price has gone nuts accordingly). Hilarious in a Kavu Predator deck. Shiny alt-art copies available from FtV:Realms.
$8.50-9 for either Tempest or Shadowmoor versions. Still one of the gold standard non-basics, though not good in an opening hand. Surprisingly yet to become heinously expensive despite being Modern-legal (and therefore very good for its price point).
Around $5. A bad City of Brass that can be used the turn it comes into play. Now dropping again following a massive price spike, presumably due to being played in Dredge and EDH.
Around $5. No longer works with Brand , but has a limitation you can work around easily. Dropping in price, and available as a shiny reprint with gorgeous art thanks to FtV:Realms.
Pros: Can come in untapped. The core set allied duals have now been reprinted enough that they are serious budget options. The new Innistrad copies are still relatively high in price due to being the current Standard flavour of the month, but should drop to a similar level over time.
Cons: A glorified Invasion dual land in a deck with a lot of nonbasic land.
Pros: Capable of coming in untapped and giving colours on the first turn. Acts like a full dual land early. A somewhat decent budget option now that Scars has rotated.
Cons: In most situations, acts like an expensive Invasion dual land. Given that multiplayer games inevitably run longer, these are less effective in this environment. Better options available for cheaper prices.
Pros: A land that can become a dude. Good with Wrath effects. Finally becoming a good budget option now (especially the non-blue copies, which are all under $2).
Cons: Comes into play tapped. Vulnerable to creature removal when activated.
Pros: Comes in untapped. Both colours on the first turn. Relatively cheap (only Shivan Reef is over $3). Easily available due to basic set reprints (particularly the Ice Age painlands, which appear in 6th Ed - 10th Ed).
Cons: Unable to produce coloured mana without pain. Other lands in the same price range are probably better.
$2.30. Comes into play untapped and gives you both colours on the second turn. If they printed a cycle of these, there wouldn't be too many unhappy people. Dropping in price, too.
Cons: Situational. Outside of the appropriate tribal deck, they become glorified Invasion dual-lands. Primal Beyond in particular is useless outside of an Elemental deck. Murmuring Bosk has become a little more expensive than the others.
Pros: Brilliantly cheap for their function. Guaranteed three colours on the second turn, which is more than enough for most decks. Strictly better than the Invasion duals. Pretty copies of FNM foil Savage Lands are available cheaply too.
Pros: Exceptional in a dual colour deck where one of the colours is black. Very good for its price. Amazing next to Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth . Immune to Modern-induced price rises, so will likely remain budget.
Cons: Needs a swamp in play next to it for full benefits. Not good in a deck with many nonbasic lands.
Around $1.75. Not as good as Exotic Orchard , which is also from Conflux, but still very useful in the right decks. Shiny copies from FNM and the Slivers deck available for around $2.
Pros: Capable of producing any colour. Shiny copies from Slivers foil deck available cheaply and easily, as well as Commander reprints. Good with proliferate.
Cons: Enters the battlefield tapped. Only able to produce all colours for a limited time.
Pros: Guaranteed three colours on the second turn. Good with some of the common Zendikar lands that have enter-the-battlefield effects. Somehow becoming even cheaper (likely because they're not Modern-legal).
Pros: Guaranteed two colours on the second turn. Reprinted in 8th Ed and duel decks, so easy to find. Reprints from Planechase or Phyrexia vs. Coalition are especially cheap and easy to pick up.
Cons: Comes into play tapped. Strictly worse than the Guildgates and Snow Duals.
Pros: The cheapest fetches money can buy. Not limited to basic land, so they can fetch Revised Duals and Ravnica shocks. Don't have to pay life to use them. Flood Plain and Grasslands have some cheap and easy-to-find modern-bordered reprints from Duel Decks.
Cons: Enters the battlefield tapped, so slow to use.
Pros: Very cheap. Capable of producing large amounts of coloured mana. Great with Doubling Season and proliferate. Some available as Commander reprints.
Cons: Needs another land alongside to work. Slow to use.
Pros: Very cheap. Produces double mana, so gives the illusion of playing with more land than you actually are. All available as a multitude of Archenemy, Commander or Planechase reprints.
Cons: Needs another land alongside to work. Comes into play tapped.
Pros: Really cheap. Capable of both colours on the first turn. Can give colourless mana without drawback. Strictly better than the Ice Age depletion lands they were based on, despite being half the cost.
Cons: ...and nasty. Can't produce coloured mana until turn two. Can't produce two of the three colours until turn three. Slow and expensive to use. For some reason, these have gone up in price over the last twelve months (probably due to the increase in the overall player base, and having new players looking for budget dual options)... don't be fooled by these, they're not worth the 25c you're shelling out for them. There are far better options available at the same price point.
Cons: Comes into play tapped. Sacrifices to give what is essentially two enemy colours' worth of mana. Really only useful in Shards-style tricolour decks.
Pros: Ridiculously cheap. Comes into play untapped. The land you want second turn (albeit after a land drop). Can give mana on the first turn (albeit colourless). Can fetch three different basic land types, as opposed to the more common two.
Cons: Needs another land to work alongside. Slower than traditional fetch lands. Limited to basic lands (so can't fetch Revised Duals and Ravnica shocks).
15c - 30c. The basic land you want, the same turn. Common, and yet better than half the fetches printed. If they ever print a version that brings the land into play untapped, it'll easily be a $20 card.
15 - 25c. A turn's pain, followed by many turns of joy. While essentially losing two mana the turn it comes into play, eating this for a turn is more manageable in multiplayer, so it is strictly better in this environment.
Now I can reply to my own wall of text. I am becoming more and more of a fan of the Shadowmoor filter lands. Judging by using the few that I have, having to wait for a second land to end up alongside them is a small price to pay in a multiplayer environment. Of course, they're a little bit more expensive than the old favourites...
... the Shards tri-lands and the Invasion duals have long been staples in my decks. But having to wait that turn to untap them... maybe I'm getting impatient in my old age or something.
Saves a lot of us the work of going through all the lands in gatherer everytime we want to build a new deck. (Yes, I pretty much always do that just to check that I am playing the right lands for the deck).
edit: missed the comment on still needing to do the common lands.
Kamikazegerbil wrote: Coke Spill Level 1 Encounter Attack Power Trigger: You must be pouring yourself a drink Range: Close Blast 1D10 from Player Target: All creatures and objects within blast Attack: Any vs. Reflex Hit: 1d6 Fizzy damage and target is wet (save ends) Aftereffect: Target is sticky (save ends)
A pro of the Snow-duals is that they can be fetched with Into the North ; not the greatest bonus, but nice, considering how few cards fetch nonbasics that do not also count as Forests or other land types.
I just wanted to say that my experiences with Murmuring Bosk in a non-treefolk deck have been awesome. Despite that fact that it will always come into play tapped, the three colors of mana it gives you access to makes it solid. The land is also a Forest, which can get you tons of advantages/way to actively search for it.
Fear Of The Dark, Fear Of The Dark, I Have A Constant Fear That Something's Always Near; Fear Of The Dark, Fear Of The Dark, I Have A Phobia That Someone's Always There- Iron Maiden
Fear of the Dark shall be feared no longer! Let him be praised instead! (Many, many thanks for all your hard work!) - darkwarlock
I'm both instinctive and emotional. I value my own instincts and desires, and either ignore or crush anything that stands in my way; planning and foresight are unnecessary. At best, I'm determined and fierce; at worst, I'm headstrong and infantile.
Check out my DnD blog! www.artificersintuition.blogspot.com
Now that I've typed the whole thing out, the ones that really surprised me in terms of their budgetness... The Tainted cycle of lands. The Zendikar Refuges. Exotic Orchard . Gee these bad boys are good for their price. Especially the Tainted lands - if you already have a swamp out (or Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth !), they act, behave and even smell like dual lands.
I just noticed that Grove of the Burnwillows ' price has fallen into the second category. It's price range on Blackborder.com is now $2.75 - $4.94 (average is $3.53). It also might be good to mention its interaction with Punishing Fire to repeatedly stock your hand with burn.
"Do not concern yourself with my origin, my race, or my ancestry. Seek my record in the pits, and then make your wager." --Arcanis the Omnipotent
I'm both selfish and rational. I'm scheming, secretive and manipulative; I use knowledge as a tool for personal gain, and in turn obtaining more knowledge. At best, I am mysterious and stealthy; at worst, I am distrustful and opportunistic.
Before they banned the format out of existence, I was a proud supporter of Modern.
costs!
Proliferate w/ 
Elves)
