MTG Horizon Lands — Complete Guide
Horizon lands tap for colored mana at 1 life (like pain lands) but can also sacrifice themselves to draw a card. This makes them excellent in aggressive and low-curve decks where you want every land drop to count and never want to flood out. The sacrifice ability means your mana base effectively has built-in card draw.
All 6 Horizon Lands
| Card | Colors |
|---|---|
| Silent Clearing | White/Black (Orzhov) |
| Horizon Canopy | White/Green (Selesnya) |
| Sunbaked Canyon | White/Red (Boros) |
| Fiery Islet | Blue/Red (Izzet) |
| Waterlogged Grove | Blue/Green (Simic) |
| Nurturing Peatland | Black/Green (Golgari) |
Key Details
- Tier: Premium (1/3)
- Entry: Always enters untapped.
- Fetchable: No
- Cards in cycle: 6
Format Legality
| Standard | Pioneer | Modern | Legacy | Commander |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Legal | Not Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
Strategy
Horizon lands are premium in aggressive Modern decks. Burn decks, prowess decks, and any strategy that empties its hand by turn 4 loves the ability to sacrifice excess lands for cards. Limit to 2-3 copies because the cumulative life loss is real. In Commander, they are less attractive because the life cost adds up over a longer game.
Related Cycles
- Fetch Lands — Pay 1 life, sac: search for a land with basic land type.
- Allied Fetch Lands — Pay 1 life, sac: search for a land with basic land type. Onslaught allied pairs.
- Original Dual Lands — No drawback. Two basic land types. Reserved List.
- Shock Lands — Pay 2 life or ETB tapped. Two basic land types — fetchable.
- Fast Lands — ETB untapped if you control 2 or fewer lands.
Build Your Mana Base
Use our Mana Base Calculator to find the right mix of Horizon Lands and other duals for your deck. Paste a Moxfield or Archidekt link and get Monte Carlo-simulated land counts. See every cycle in our index of all 48 land cycles, or read the MTG Dual Lands Guide for which ones to buy first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are horizon lands worth the life cost?
In aggressive 60-card decks, absolutely. The ability to sacrifice for a card when you are flooding is worth more than the 1 life per use. In Commander or slower formats, the cumulative life loss makes them less attractive.