MTG Surveil Lands — Complete Guide
Surveil lands always enter tapped but let you surveil 1 when they do, providing card selection alongside color fixing. Surveil is strictly better than scry for decks that care about the graveyard. These are the newest tap land cycle, printed in Duskmourn: House of Horror.
All 10 Surveil Lands
| Card | Colors |
|---|---|
| Meticulous Archive | White/Blue (Azorius) |
| Shadowy Backstreet | White/Black (Orzhov) |
| Elegant Parlor | White/Red (Boros) |
| Lush Portico | White/Green (Selesnya) |
| Undercity Sewers | Blue/Black (Dimir) |
| Thundering Falls | Blue/Red (Izzet) |
| Hedge Maze | Blue/Green (Simic) |
| Raucous Theater | Black/Red (Rakdos) |
| Underground Mortuary | Black/Green (Golgari) |
| Commercial District | Red/Green (Gruul) |
Key Details
- Tier: Premium (1/3)
- Entry: Always enters tapped.
- Fetchable: Yes (has basic land types)
- Cards in cycle: 10
Format Legality
| Standard | Pioneer | Modern | Legacy | Commander |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
Strategy
Surveil lands are a strict upgrade over gain lands and guildgates if your deck has any graveyard synergy. In Standard, they are a solid budget option. In Pioneer and Modern, other cycles are generally better, but the surveil trigger has value in Phoenix and Delirium strategies. In Commander, they are acceptable in casual builds.
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 Surveil 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 surveil lands better than scry temples?
It depends on your deck. Surveil puts cards into the graveyard, which is better for graveyard strategies (flashback, delve, reanimation). Scry puts unwanted cards on the bottom, which is better for decks that do not use the graveyard. If your deck has any graveyard synergy, surveil lands are strictly better.