MTG Pain Lands — Complete Guide
Pain lands always enter untapped. Tap one for colorless at no cost, or for either of its two colors and take 1 damage. There are ten: five allied-color pain lands from Ice Age (1995) and five enemy-color ones from Apocalypse (2001), all reprinted many times since. All ten are legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy and Commander; none is in Standard right now.
All 10 Pain Lands
| Card | Colors |
|---|---|
| Adarkar Wastes | White/Blue (Azorius) |
| Caves of Koilos | White/Black (Orzhov) |
| Battlefield Forge | White/Red (Boros) |
| Brushland | White/Green (Selesnya) |
| Underground River | Blue/Black (Dimir) |
| Shivan Reef | Blue/Red (Izzet) |
| Yavimaya Coast | Blue/Green (Simic) |
| Sulfurous Springs | Black/Red (Rakdos) |
| Llanowar Wastes | Black/Green (Golgari) |
| Karplusan Forest | Red/Green (Gruul) |
What a Pain Land Does
Every pain land has the same text apart from its colors. Adarkar Wastes reads: “{T}: Add {C}. {T}: Add {W} or {U}. This land deals 1 damage to you.”
- No tapped entry, ever. There is no condition to check, so a pain land is always untapped on the turn you need it.
- Colorless is free. Spending it on generic costs costs no life, so in practice you take damage only for colored pips.
- No basic land types. Fetch lands can’t find them, and they don’t count for check lands or other land-type conditions.
Pain Lands vs. Shock Lands and Tempest Duals
A shock land costs 2 life once to enter untapped and has basic land types, so fetch lands can find it. A pain land costs 1 life each time you tap it for a color, which is cheaper in a short game and more expensive in a long one where you tap it for colored mana every turn. The Tempest pain duals work the same way but enter tapped and are legal only in Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
Key Details
- Tier: Premium (1/3)
- Entry: Always enters untapped.
- Fetchable: No
- Cards in cycle: 10
Format Legality
| Standard | Pioneer | Modern | Legacy | Commander |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
Strategy
Pain lands are the best budget dual lands in the game. In aggressive decks, the 1 damage per colored use is negligible because you plan to win before it matters. In control or Commander, the cumulative damage can add up over 10+ turns, but the tempo advantage of always entering untapped outweighs it. We recommend pain lands as the first dual land cycle for any new player building a collection.
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 Pain 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 pain lands better than shock lands?
No. Shock lands have basic land types (fetchable) and only cost 2 life once. Pain lands cost 1 life every time you tap for colored mana. However, pain lands are much cheaper to buy ($1-5 vs $8-20) and are a strong budget alternative.
How much damage do pain lands actually deal?
In a typical 60-card game, you tap a pain land for colored mana 3-5 times, dealing 3-5 damage to yourself. In Commander, it can be 5-10 damage over a long game. Compare to shock lands which deal a flat 2 damage once.
Which sets were pain lands first printed in?
The five allied-color pain lands come from Ice Age (1995) and the five enemy-color ones from Apocalypse (2001). All ten have been reprinted many times since.
Are pain lands legal in Standard?
Not right now. All ten are legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy and Commander.