Another one the people sometimes miss is the relative synergy with other cards that are popular in legacy.
i.e.:
Tombstalker (people play fetches in monoblack for this guy
Terravore
Knight of the Reliquary
Tarmogoyf
Crucible of Worlds
Landfall Critters (Bloodghasts, Lotus Cobra, etc.)
Posted By:
spectermonger
(6/23/2010 2:22:25 PM)
Paleopaladin:
I totally get where you were coming from, though. It took me awhile to realize just how good these fetch lands are...until you think of all the things that kowrip and Cyberium mentioned. Now I'm saving to buy some. :D
The more you know, right?
Posted By:
Lateralis0ne
(8/27/2010 9:49:09 AM)
You missed the big one. It lets you shuffle your library. This goes well with things like the top, scroll rack, counterbalance, etc... Makes hunting for the card you need far easier.
That is also thins and lets you seek out the specific dual land you need is nice but not the reason for the rating.
Posted By:
skeindubh
(2/24/2011 10:44:56 PM)
Even before landfall, search lands are very powerful.
Search lands thin your deck, which means the chance of you drawing a land is reduced every time you uses the search, i.e., the chance of you drawing a non-land is higher. If you tone your mana base right, you won't run out of mana, which makes all extra land you draw in late game pointless. Unless you have other uses with the excessive land/hand size, these search lands gives you higher chance of getting a spell you need.
Besides, if you haven't notice, this land can search for more than basic lands, which means that it can search for dual lands. Polluted Delta, for example, allow you to search for ALL lands that are swamp, that includes FOUR types among original dual lands, and you can also search for island, that's another four. Minus Underground Sea, Polluted Delta can search for SEVEN types of duel lands. Your chance of getting mana screwed is much lower with search lands.
Posted By:
Cyberium
(5/23/2010 4:32:00 PM)
Threshold, Knight of the Reliquary, and Landfall are a just a few of the reasons to use fetch lands. Many players are fond of these because they allow you to search for your dual lands (Underground Sea) or shock lands (Watery Grave), unlike Terramorphic Expanse (which is also a great card.)
Fetch lands are also good for increasing your odds of drawing nonland cards by thinning out your deck.
Say you want to splash blue into a black deck. You need islands, but you rarely want to draw them. So only put two or three in and your Polluted Delta will do the rest. Also, fetch lands shine in an environment where there is nonbasic land hate. Simply search for basic lands.
I could think of worse ways to spend 1 life.
Posted By:
Zosk
(3/30/2010 12:35:57 PM)
Paleopaladin, I'm with you on that. Other than helping landfall cards I don't see what the big deal is about this. It's not BAD, given that you can choose which of the 2 land types you need most. It's slightly better than having either an island or swamp in your hand, for the cost of 1 life.
EDIT:
Paleopaladin, not only is the current rating ridiculous but this card is going for about $25. I don't get it.
Posted By:
kowrip
(4/26/2010 11:04:33 AM)
What am I missing? Why is this card so great?
EDIT:
@Zosk: All of that sounds good, but not quite enough to justify a 4.8 rating (current rating as of this writing). I mean, sheesh, this rating is up there with dual lands!
EDIT 2:
@Cyberium - the "thinning" DOES make sense. Thanks! Unless you're a millionaire tho, I'm not too worried about planning for decks where I have these AND Underground Sea. :-P
__________________________
BTW, to whoever rated my comment way down, sheesh, lighten up! I thought it was a good question! Dork! :-P
Posted By:
Paleopaladin
(6/2/2010 11:28:05 PM)
If I were to get some friends together and clean up the delta, would it then only search for an island? Just something to think about.
Posted By:
JWolps
(12/15/2009 4:27:25 PM)
This is pretty awesome and useful,
but I would seriously consider holding off on a purchase of these right now.
With this half of the cycle not legal in Modern,
it's almost guaranteed they will reprint these so Modern doesn't just have a half-cycle of cards.
I wouldn't be surprised if they reprinted these *and* the Zendikar lands in the next block.
5/5, but I don't think this is a wise purchase at this time.
Posted By:
drpvfx
(10/24/2011 1:16:03 PM)
A friend of mine got me to sort through his old box of cards a while back, didn't really find much good, until I came across this, still in a sleeve and in mint condition. I saw it and said "Mother of god, this is worth something." Next best card was a Rout which is pretty decent.
Posted By:
Kruggles
(3/21/2012 7:06:26 AM)