The landfall mechanic in Magic the Gathering is one of the most crucial in the entire game: every time a land falls onto the board, an ability is triggered.
Read on below and explore the MTG best landfall cards!
Emeria Shepherd
The first of many great landfall cards on our list is perfect for any landfall deck with white mana in it. Whenever a land enters the battlefield, you get to return a target nonland permanent card from your graveyard back into your current hand.
Even more, when the land enters the battlefield, if it’s a Plains, you get to return a card to the battlefield from your graveyard, rather than returning it to your hand.
Emeria Shepherd is a 4/4 white Angel with Flying in addition to having one of the best trigger landfall abilities for returning cards from the graveyard.
As far as other white cards with the landfall keyword go, the best of them provide extra lands, buffs, and up to three life points per pop.
Color: White
Type: Creature
CMC: 7
Rarity: Rare
Omanth, Locus of Creation
The legendary Elemental, Omnath, Locus of Creation is the next card on our list, and it has just as impressive of a landfall ability as the previous card.
That said, don’t expect any elemental tokens from this card. Plus, you’ll need all the other lands but black to cast it.
When the card enters the battlefield, the card draw ability kicks in, for a single card. Next, its three landfall triggers kick in:
- As long as the card is on the board, whenever a land enters the battlefield, you gain 4 life.
- The second land that enters each turn adds one mana of red, green, white, and blue to your pool for the turn.
- The third landfall triggers 4 damage to each opponent and Planeswalker controlled by everyone but you
For the mana cost, there are few early game creatures with more powerful landfall triggers, even in the most aggressive decks.
Color: Red, green, white, and blue
Type: Legendary Creature
CMC: 4
Rarity: Mythic Rare
Roil Elemental
Roil Elemental is a Flying 3/2 Elemental creature with a sound landfall ability of somewhat high mana cost. That said, if you’ve never seen landfall work, this card will blow your mind.
Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you get to take control of any creature you wish. You remain in control of the creature until Roil elemental leaves the battlefield.
Think of all the ways you can deal damage while owning your opponent’s creatures.
Pretty rad, right? We certainly think so too! That said, a great alternative blue creature with landfall is Ruin Crab.
Color: Blue
Type: Creature
CMC: 6
Rarity: Rare
Scute Swarm
The first card on our list for green decks is Scute Swarm, a 1/1 creature with a 3 CMC mana cost.
Whenever you play lands, you may create a 1/1 insect creature token. That’s right, you get tokens multiple times for no extra cost.
But, the really, really cool part? Once you have six tokens? You get to create a copy of Scute Swarm!
Talk about epic class landfall abilities. The craziest part about this card is that it doesn’t even have a high mana cost.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 3
Rarity: Rare
Akoum Hellkite
Next up on the list is a Rare red Dragon card that takes six or more lands (CMC 6) to cast: Akoum Hellkite. It is also the inspiration of much unofficial fan content, like artworks and stories.
It is one of the most popular red flyers used in landfall decks. When playing lands with this card on the board, you get to deal 1 damage to a target creature and player.
If the basic lands you play are mountains, you may deal 2 damage instead. Sure, it’s not a lightning bolt spell, but the damage from the triggered abilities of this card is free!
If you have multiple lands to play in one turn, the opponent’s going to feel the pain.
Color: Red
Type: Creature
CMC: 5
Rarity: Rare
Lotus Cobra
This Rare green Snake costs just two mana to cast and has a power level of 2 and toughness level 1. Whenever a land enters the field under your turn, you get to add 1 extra mana to your pool for the remainder of the turn. A big benefit is that it takes very few lands to get this creature on the board.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 2
Rarity: Rare
Phylath, World Sculptor
Perhaps the most popular red and green multicolored card played in landfall decks, this legendary creature is an Elemental with 5 power and 5 toughness.
The Phylath, World Sculptor creates a 0/1 green Plant creature token, for each basic land you have in play under your control.
Further, when lands enter the game under your control, you get to put an impressive 4 individual +1/+1 counters on a target Plant that you control.
For non-black decks, with no swamp lands, and no Ob Nixilis the Fallen, this big boy works well(especially decks with plenty of multicolored lands)
Color: Red and green
Type: Legendary Creature
CMC: 6
Rarity: Rare
Moraug, Fury of Akoum
This 6/6 Minotaur Warrior is a legendary creature with a casting cost of 6 mana and requires at least two red lands. As long as it’s on the board, you get a +1/+0 for each creature every time it attacks an opponent. The counters are permanent, not just for the round.
When lands come into play, you take an additional combat phase after the first one. The real kicker is that you also get to untap all creatures you control before the extra combat phase.
Color: Red
Type: Legendary Creature
CMC: 5
Rarity: Mythic Rare
Skyclave Shade
The Skyclave Shade is a Rare black Shade creature card with a costing cost of one black mana and one colorless mana. So, you can play it even if you only have two lands on the board.
The card also has a kicker cost of 2 colorless and one black mana.
If you pay the kicker price, you may put two +1/+1 counters on the card as it enters the field. Plus, when you play a land card on your turn, you may cast this card from the graveyard.
One other thing? Skyclave Shade can’t block other creatures. It’s no Eternity Vessel,
Color: Black
Type: Creature
CMC: 2
Rarity: Rare
Nissa of Shadowed Boughs
A black and green Mythic Rare Planeswalker that enters the game with 4 loyalty counters on it, Nissa of Shadowed Boughs cost four mana to cast.
When lands enter the game under your control, you get to add an extra loyalty counter every time.
Nissa’s abilities include adding 1 loyalty counter to untap a target land that you control and turn it into a 3/3 Elemental creature with haste and menace as well as staying a land and paying 5 loyalty counters to play a creature from your hand or graveyard with two +1/+1 counters on it.
Color: Black and green
Type: Legendary Planeswalker
CMC: 4
Rarity: Mythic Rare
Akoum Hellhound
What sort of landfall decks would be complete without the Akoum Hellhound? We certainly don’t know of any! Pack a few copies of this hellhound, fireball, and searing blaze, all into a single deck and you’re golden.
This classic card from Wizards of the Coast Llc is one of the classics. Unlike most creatures that have 0 power, this one gains a +2/+2 every time a land falls under your control.
The best part is that amazingly low price of not three mana, not two mana, but just one single red mana.
Color: Red
Type: Creature
CMC: 1
Rarity: Common
Kazandu Mammoth
The Kazandu Mammoth, a 3/3 green Elephant is a Rare landfall card that deserves a place in any landfall decks that contain green mana, as well as other decks that are green.
When a land enters the field, under your control, this Mammoth gets +2/+2 until the end of the turn. That means it becomes a 5/5 several times! It is even possible for it to become a 7/7 or 9/9 for the turn depending on the other cards in your deck.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 3
Rarity: Rare
Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted
The next card on our list of the best landfall cards is a legendary Planeswalker: Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted. At first, you wouldn’t connect it with a landfall deck but look again.
The loyalty counter ability allows you to dray two cards if used properly.. and the chances one of those cards is a land card is pretty high. Even if they aren’t land cards, they get you two cards closer to the next one!
That said, Ob Nixilis is unlike most Planeswalkers, having only one loyalty counter ability rather than three.
Color: Black
Type: Legendary Planeswalker
CMC: 5
Rarity: Mythic Rare
Skyclave Pick-Axe
A quick and affordable green card to play in landfall decks is the Skyclave Pick-Axe, an uncommon Artifact Equipment.
When it enters the game, you may attach it to a creature on the field for free. Whenever a land comes into the game? The said creature gets an additional +2/+2 until the end of your turn.
Color: Gren
Type: Artifact
CMC: 1
Rarity: Uncommon
Valakut Exploration
This Rare red Enchantment is another affordable choice for red landfall collections.
At the beginning of your turn, if it’s on the board, you get to put exiled cards into the owner’s graveyards, then deal that amount of damage to each opponent.
Plus, when land falls, you may exile the top card of your deck. As long as it is exiled, you can play it.
Color: Red
Type: Enchantment
CMC: 3
Rarity: Rare
Dreadwurm
The Dreadwurm is surprisingly a common Wurm Horror, which makes you wonder what an Uncommon, Rare, or Mythic Rare Wurm Horror might look like.
Its landfall ability is to gain indestructible until the end of the turn. AS a 5/4 creature, indestructible is huge card advantage.
Color: Black
Type: Creature
CMC: 5
Rarity: Common
Skyclave Geopede
Another great Skyclave card is the Uncommon Geopede Insect creature card. It comes into play with Trample, landfall (+2/+2 until eot), 3 power, and 1 toughness. For three mana? You want this card in your deck.
Color: Red
Type: Creature
CMC: 3
Rarity: Uncommon
Sporemound
The Sporemound is a great card that should be in any landfall deck with green cards. It is a great blocker and has a strong basic attack as well.
The card’s landfall ability is putting a 1/1 green Aproling creature onto the board under your control.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 5
Rarity: Common
Spitfire Lagac
This 3/4 Lizard creature card costs CMC 4 and comes into play with 3 power and 4 toughness. When lands come into play? The card deals 1 damage to each opponent in the game each time.
Color: Red
Type: Creature
CMC: 4
Rarity: Common
Territorial Scythecat
The Territorial Scythecat is a Cat creature with Trample and Landfall (+1/+1 counter), 2 power, and 1 toughness. It costs 3 CMC to put into play.
This is one of the creepier of green landfall creatures out of all the new cards we’ve seen, artwise.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 3
Rarity: Common
Fearless Fledgling
The Fearless Fledging is a 1/1 white Griffin with Landfall but not flying. That said, its landfall ability is to gain a +1/+1 until the end of the turn as well as Flying. Not too shabby for 1/1 that costs two mana, eh?
Color: White
Type: Creature
CMC: 2
Rarity: Uncommon
Territorial Baloth
Every. Single. Green. Landfall. Deck. Needs. This. Card.
Territorial Baloth is a rare balance of raw power, great ability, and fair casting cost.
When land falls, the creature gains an additional +2/+2 to power and toughness until eot.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 5
Rarity: Common
Canopy Baloth
Canopy Baloth is a common green landfall beast with 4 power and 3 toughness. It gains a+2/+2 until eot when land comes into play. Its base power and toughness are 4 and 3.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 4
Rarity: Common
Felidar Retreat
The last of the white landfall cards on our list of potentials to add to your next deck is Felidar Retreat, a Rare white Enchantment.
When land falls, choose to create a 2/2 creature token, or to add a +1/+1 on all your creatures (if you choose the counters, the creatures also gain vigilance for the turn).
For white decks? Few landfall effect type cards under six mana have such an impact in a single turn.
Color: White
Type: Enchantment
CMC: 4
Rarity: Rare
Avenger of Zendikar
Another humongous card you want to play before your opponent’s turn is the Avenger of Zendikar. No matter how much of an army they may have, even in the late game, this card triggers fear and anxiety from the other players.
It allows you to create 0/1 peon green Plant creature tokens, as well as buffing them with +1/+1 counters with its landfall ability.
Oh yeah, and its basic power and toughness are an impressive 5/5 by itself which is great for attacking and blocking nearly any creature.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 7
Rarity: Rare
Tireless Provisioner
The last card on our list is the Tireless Provisioner, an Elf Scout of Uncommon status. It is a 3/2 creature with a casting cost of 3 CMC.
The card’s landfall ability is creating food tokens or treasure tokens. You may sacrifice said tokens to gain life or add mana of any color to your pool.
It makes a decent attacker and blocker as well as a mana source in a pinch, even though the best part about it is gaining life for free.
Color: Green
Type: Creature
CMC: 3
Rarity: Uncommon