These lands are deceptively powerful. The drawbak is essentially "enters the battlefield tapped" and nothing more, because of the following scheme:
T1, 1 mana
T2, play Rakdos Carnarium, still 1 mana from the untap land you bounce
T3, 3 mana
Which is the same progression as if you played a etbt land like Savage Lands on Turn 2.
The reward, however, is that you just made three mana out of two cards. This is +1 card advantage, and so in raw power each land in this cycle is comparable to:
Land
Enters the battlefield tapped.
When it enters the battlefield, draw a card. (+1 CA)
Tap: add 1.
And wow, now it sure looks powerful! With some ramifications, of course, such as its color-fixing capability and that you risk drawing too much / too little mana (since they come two at a time), but then again +1 CA is +1 CA.
No wonder lots and lots of decks play a number of these lands back in the day, aggro and control alike!
Posted By:
Gabriel422
(12/31/2010 5:24:54 AM)
Consider it more like a green manaramp card. Birds of paradise for example.
You tap one. (For Lighting Bolt or somthing)
Play Rakdos.
Return tapped land to your hand.
Play returned land from your hand.
Three mana to play with Just like manaramp.
The best part about this is that land is harder to kill then a creature.
On the downside you have a one mana speed bump two if you return an untapped land for whatever reason.
Posted By:
Rifick
(6/4/2010 12:01:50 AM)
@ Darkfury: If it came into play untapped, you could tap a Swamp, and then return that Swamp to your hand. 3 mana on Turn 2.
Posted By:
Chamale
(10/22/2010 3:07:19 PM)
Works well with Terminate
Posted By:
Pillow676
(11/28/2010 12:41:26 PM)
Plus with land fall, helps to guarenty a land play each turn. or you can play him and bounce himself, you lose the mana you would gain from a land drop, but you get a even more relible land play, with the ability to play more than one land per turn, or that card that keeps everything you cast tapped untapped.
Posted By:
bijart_dauth
(2/18/2011 7:42:07 PM)
That's a funny carnival. I love the Rakdos, they're so cruel, they torture themselves, while torturing others.
Posted By:
NeoKoda
(8/16/2011 8:13:04 PM)
Another artistic home-run for John Avon.
Posted By:
SirZapdos
(3/13/2012 9:22:42 AM)
Actually, these bounce dual-lands aren't quite mana fixers, although they can be used to splash. Mainly, they provide card advantage and an easy route to untap land > infinite mana.
Posted By:
AlphaNumerical
(8/14/2009 3:51:25 AM)
Neat addition to any black-red deck as mana-fixer...
Posted By:
God_of_Destruction
(6/25/2009 8:02:44 AM)
this cycle of lands shouldnt have come into play tapped, you already have to retreive a land to play it
Posted By:
darkfury
(1/12/2010 5:48:07 PM)