Because they are the second best duals in the game, only worse than the original duals .
The original duals aren't legal in Modern or Standard, so they are played in every multicolor deck in those formats. They might even be played in budget Legacy decks, since the manabase is the most expensive part of most Legacy decks.
The reason these duals in particular are the second best, is because like the original duals, they have actual basic land subtypes like Swamp and Mountain , This means that in Modern you can fetch them with cards like Arid Mesa which search for one of two different basic land subtypes. There is a dual for every color pair. This means that off of one fetch land you can fetch seven different duals. For example, Misty Rainforest can get you Breeding Pool , Hallowed Fountain , Overgrown Tomb , Steam Vents , Stomping Ground , Temple Garden , or Watery Grave . In Standard you don't have fetch lands, but you have a lack of dual lands since the format always rotates. These are still amazing because they come into play untapped always when you need them to, including on turn one. Also they work very well with current core set duals that check for basic land types like Plains and Island .
The original duals are better than both of their basic land counterparts, the ravnica duals are second best because they are the same except for the life payment, which is barely annoying (either you don't pay because you don't need it or you do because you want to cast something).
Them being reprinted is a good occasion to get playsets because the prices went down a bit.
Rules question? Have you read the Basic rulebook already? No? Why not take some time to do that?
How to autocard (do this to specify a card in your posts): Type [c]Black Lotus[/c] to get Black Lotus . Type [c=Black Lotus]The Overpowered One[/c] to get The Overpowered One .
Okay. But do you know why they're so valuable? I got 3 of them at the prerelease and together they are worth almost $50.
Because you can search them easily. For example, Liliana of the Dark Realms can search for Blood Crypt , because she does not specify if it must be a Basic Swamp . Any card that searches for specific land types without specifying "Basic" can find them.
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Yeah shocklands are the best lands in standard atm and since standard is much slower than other formats next to block the 2 life is barely a drawback. Also, $50 is not that much when you spent probably $30-$40 at the pre-release easily
Yeah shocklands are the best lands in standard atm and since standard is much slower than other formats next to block the 2 life is barely a drawback. Also, $50 is not that much when you spent probably $30-$40 at the pre-release easily
In fast formats its good too. You could argue that in slow formats having an untapped land turn one or two is less important. In fact, I'd say Shocks are more useful in a fast format, where you need the option of an untapped land (Scars lands are good for that too though).
The U.S. Army: The best job in the world, working with some of the best people in the world, for one of the worst employers you could ever imagine.
Here's a shout out for Scholars' Books & Games in Bridgewater, MA, and for Paladin's Place in Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany where I was stationed for two years. Support your FLGS!
Attacking the darkness since 1987, turning creatures sideways since 1994.
