Original MTG Dual Lands: Complete Guide
No cards in Magic: The Gathering history are more coveted — or more expensive — than the ten original dual lands.
Printed in Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited back in 1993 and 1994, these ten lands produce two colours of mana without any drawback. No life payment. No entering tapped. No conditions. Just two colours, always available, from turn one.
Thirty years later, they remain the best lands ever printed in Magic. And because of the Reserved List, they will never be reprinted. Prices only move in one direction.
This guide covers everything you need to know about the original dual lands — what makes them so powerful, why they are so expensive, which ones belong in your deck, and why proxy dual lands have become the standard solution for most Commander and Legacy players.
What Are the Original MTG Dual Lands?
The ten original dual lands are a cycle of lands from Magic's earliest sets that produce two colours of mana with no drawback. Unlike every land printed since, they have both basic land subtypes — meaning they can be fetched by cards like Polluted Delta and Misty Rainforest — and they enter the battlefield untapped under all circumstances.
That combination of features has never been replicated. Shock lands enter tapped unless you pay two life. Check lands require another land already in play. Fetch lands thin the deck but cost a life and require sacrifice. The original duals do none of that. They simply produce two colours of mana, every turn, for free.
The ten cards in the cycle are:
- Underground Sea (Island + Swamp)
- Volcanic Island (Island + Mountain)
- Tundra (Plains + Island)
- Tropical Island (Forest + Island)
- Bayou (Swamp + Forest)
- Taiga (Mountain + Forest)
- Savannah (Plains + Forest)
- Scrubland (Plains + Swamp)
- Badlands (Swamp + Mountain)
- Plateau (Plains + Mountain)
Why Are Dual Lands So Expensive?
Three factors combine to make original dual lands the most expensive non-Power Nine cards in Magic.
They Are on the Reserved List
In 1996, Wizards of the Coast made a public commitment to never reprint certain cards in their original form. The Reserved List covers all ten original dual lands, among hundreds of other cards. Supply has not grown since the Unlimited print run ended in the early 1990s.
With no new copies entering the market, the only way to acquire an original dual land is through the secondary market — at whatever price existing owners choose to sell for.
Demand Has Only Increased
The Magic player base has grown significantly since the early 1990s. Commander, which did not exist until 2011, has become the most popular format in the game and uses dual lands extensively. Legacy, Vintage, and competitive Commander all demand the same finite pool of cards.
More players competing for the same number of cards means prices rise over time. A Underground Sea that cost €50 in 2005 costs €500 today. There is no reason to expect that trend to reverse.
They Are Genuinely the Best Lands Ever Printed
Price reflects quality here. The original duals are not expensive due to nostalgia alone — they are objectively the best dual-colour lands in the game. Any competitive deck that can run them benefits from doing so. Demand is sustained because the cards are worth playing.
The Complete Guide to Each Original Dual Land
Underground Sea — Island + Swamp
Market price: €400–€700
The most played of the ten original duals. Blue-black is one of the strongest colour combinations in both Legacy and Commander, and Underground Sea is the cornerstone of any Dimir or Grixis mana base. It is essential in Legacy Reanimator, Grixis Control, and BUG Delver strategies, and it anchors blue-black Commander builds of every description.
If you play blue and black in any format, Underground Sea belongs in your mana base. At €400–€700 for an original, it is also the clearest possible case for proxying.
Volcanic Island — Island + Mountain
Market price: €350–€600
Blue-red is the colour of control, tempo, and combo. Volcanic Island is essential in Legacy Delver, Izzet Tempo, and any strategy combining blue and red spells. In Commander it anchors Izzet and Grixis mana bases and pairs naturally with fetchlands that find Islands or Mountains.
One of the most consistently expensive duals due to the enduring strength of blue-red in competitive formats.
Tundra — Plains + Island
Market price: €350–€550
The Azorius dual. White-blue control is one of the oldest and most consistent archetypes in Legacy, and Tundra is its foundation. In Commander it is essential in any deck combining white and blue — which covers an enormous number of popular Commanders across creature-based, control, and combo strategies.
Tropical Island — Forest + Island
Market price: €350–€550
Blue-green is the colour of value and ramp. Tropical Island sees extensive Legacy play in BUG and Sultai strategies and is a staple in Simic Commander builds. It pairs with both Island-fetching and Forest-fetching fetchlands, giving it exceptional flexibility in multi-colour mana bases.
Bayou — Swamp + Forest
Market price: €300–€500
The Golgari dual. Black-green strategies — Rock, BUG, and Jund — have been Legacy staples for years, and Bayou is their mana base anchor. In Commander it is essential in any Golgari, Sultai, or Jund build looking for a consistent two-colour land that can be fetched by either Swamp or Forest fetchlands.
Taiga — Mountain + Forest
Market price: €280–€450
The Gruul dual. Red-green creature strategies have a long Legacy history, and Taiga is the cornerstone of any Gruul or Naya mana base. In Commander it is widely used in stompy, ramp, and aggressive strategies combining red and green — one of the most popular colour pairings in the format.
Savannah — Plains + Forest
Market price: €250–€400
The Selesnya dual. White-green is the colour of creature tokens, lifegain, and enchantments — all popular Commander archetypes. Savannah is foundational in Legacy Maverick and Death and Taxes variants and anchors Selesnya, Naya, and Abzan Commander mana bases.
Scrubland — Plains + Swamp
Market price: €250–€400
The Orzhov dual. White-black is the colour of removal, reanimation, and life drain. Scrubland sees Legacy play in Death and Taxes variants and Stoneblade strategies, and it is a staple in Orzhov, Esper, and Mardu Commander builds. Particularly popular in aristocrats and reanimator Commander strategies.
Badlands — Swamp + Mountain
Market price: €250–€380
The Rakdos dual. Black-red is the colour of discard, burn, and aggression. Badlands sees Legacy play in Storm, Reanimator sideboard packages, and Jund strategies, and it anchors Rakdos, Grixis, and Mardu Commander mana bases. One of the more affordable duals due to the relative scarcity of pure black-red competitive strategies.
Plateau — Plains + Mountain
Market price: €200–€350
The Boros dual. White-red is the colour of aggression, burn, and equipment strategies. Plateau is the most affordable of the ten duals due to the relative weakness of white-red in Legacy, but it remains essential in Boros, Naya, and Mardu Commander mana bases. Often the last dual that players acquire — and the most frequently proxied precisely because buying an original is hard to justify at that price for casual play.
Dual Lands Compared: Which Do You Need?
| Dual Land | Colours | Guild | Market Price | Legacy Tier | Commander Demand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underground Sea | U/B | Dimir | €400–€700 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Volcanic Island | U/R | Izzet | €350–€600 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Tundra | W/U | Azorius | €350–€550 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Tropical Island | G/U | Simic | €350–€550 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Bayou | B/G | Golgari | €300–€500 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Taiga | R/G | Gruul | €280–€450 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Savannah | W/G | Selesnya | €250–€400 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Scrubland | W/B | Orzhov | €250–€400 | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Badlands | B/R | Rakdos | €250–€380 | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Plateau | W/R | Boros | €200–€350 | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Dual Lands vs Shock Lands vs Fetch Lands
Players new to Legacy or high-powered Commander often ask how the original duals compare to the more accessible land cycles. Here is the honest breakdown.
Original Dual Lands
Enter untapped with no conditions. Produce two colours. Have basic land subtypes — fetchable by Polluted Delta, Scalding Tarn, and all other fetchlands. No drawback whatsoever. The best dual lands ever printed, full stop.
Shock Lands
Enter untapped only if you pay two life — or enter tapped for free. Have basic land subtypes so they are fetchable. The closest modern equivalent to original duals. Affordable and widely available, but the two-life payment adds up in aggressive metas and multi-shock mana bases. Excellent for Commander and Modern; not quite good enough for optimal Legacy mana bases.
Fetch Lands
Polluted Delta, Scalding Tarn, Misty Rainforest, and the rest do not produce mana directly — they find other lands. Their value lies in mana fixing, deck thinning, and synergy with shuffle effects. In a dual land mana base, fetchlands are the delivery mechanism that finds whichever dual you need. Used together, original duals and fetchlands form the optimal mana base in Legacy and high-powered Commander.
How to Build a Dual Land Mana Base for Commander
The right dual lands for your Commander deck depend entirely on which colours you are playing. Here is a quick guide by colour combination.
Two-Colour Decks
Simple. Run the one dual that covers your colours, paired with the relevant fetchlands. For a Dimir (blue-black) Commander deck: Underground Sea plus Polluted Delta and Misty Rainforest is already a significant upgrade over shock lands alone.
Three-Colour Decks
Three-colour Commander decks use three dual lands — one for each colour pair. A Grixis (blue-black-red) deck wants Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, and Badlands. At original prices that is €1,000–€1,700 for three lands. As proxies from our catalogue, it is a fraction of that.
Four and Five-Colour Decks
Four and five-colour Commanders want all ten duals — or at least the six to nine most relevant ones. At original prices, a full set of ten costs between €2,800 and €5,000+. This is precisely why five-colour Commander decks are almost exclusively built with proxy dual lands at the casual level. Buying originals for a casual Commander deck is simply not a reasonable financial decision.
Why Proxy Dual Lands Instead of Buying Originals
The case for proxying dual lands is stronger than for almost any other card in Magic.
Originals are expensive beyond what is reasonable for casual play. The Reserved List guarantees no reprint will ever reduce that price. And the gameplay difference between a proxy dual land and an original is exactly zero — the card functions identically regardless of which version you are holding.
The only situations where buying original dual lands makes sense are:
- You play in sanctioned Legacy or Vintage events where proxies are not allowed
- You are a collector who values the original printings as objects
- You view them as a financial investment and expect continued price appreciation
For casual Commander and Legacy players — which describes the vast majority of Magic players — proxy dual lands are the practical, sensible choice. You get identical gameplay, immediate availability, and the ability to run the correct mana base in every deck you build.
Browse all ten original dual lands in our full catalogue, or use our decklist search tool to find exactly which duals your deck needs in seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions About MTG Dual Lands
Why are the original dual lands so expensive?
Three reasons: they are on the Reserved List so supply will never increase, the Magic player base has grown enormously since they were printed, and they are genuinely the best dual-colour lands ever made. Supply is fixed, demand grows, prices rise. That trend has continued uninterrupted for thirty years.
Will Wizards of the Coast ever reprint dual lands?
No. The Reserved List is a public commitment that Wizards has maintained since 1996 despite significant community pressure to abandon it. Wizards has stated repeatedly that they consider the Reserved List a binding promise to collectors. Functionally equivalent cards — like shock lands — exist, but true reprints of the original ten are not coming.
What is the difference between dual lands and shock lands?
Original dual lands enter untapped with no conditions and have basic land subtypes. Shock lands enter untapped only if you pay two life, and also have basic land subtypes. In practice, shock lands are excellent alternatives for Commander and Modern, but the life payment matters in competitive Legacy where life totals are under more pressure. Original duals are strictly better.
Can dual lands be fetched?
Yes. Because original dual lands have basic land subtypes (Island, Swamp, Forest, Mountain, or Plains), they can be found by any fetchland that searches for those basic types. Polluted Delta can find both Underground Sea and Tropical Island, for example. This fetchability is a large part of what makes them so much better than non-basic dual lands without subtypes.
Which dual lands should I get first?
Start with the duals that cover your most-played colour combinations. If you play multiple Commander decks, prioritise the duals that appear in the most of them. Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, and Tundra cover blue strategies which are the most common in Commander. If you play green-heavy decks, Tropical Island and Bayou are the priority.
How many dual lands does a Commander deck need?
A two-colour deck needs one dual land. A three-colour deck uses three. A four-colour deck can use up to six. A five-colour deck can use all ten. In practice, most Commander players proxy the two or three duals relevant to their main deck and add more as they build additional decks.
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