A shock land is a two-colour land with two basic land types that enters untapped if you pay 2 life as it enters, and tapped if you don't. There are ten, one for each colour pair: Steam Vents is an Island and a Mountain, Overgrown Tomb a Swamp and a Forest. Because they have land types, fetch lands and spells like Farseek can find them.
All ten shock lands
| Shock land | Land types | Taps for | First printed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overgrown Tomb | Swamp, Forest | {B} or {G} | Ravnica: City of Guilds (2005) |
| Sacred Foundry | Mountain, Plains | {R} or {W} | Ravnica: City of Guilds (2005) |
| Temple Garden | Forest, Plains | {G} or {W} | Ravnica: City of Guilds (2005) |
| Watery Grave | Island, Swamp | {U} or {B} | Ravnica: City of Guilds (2005) |
| Godless Shrine | Plains, Swamp | {W} or {B} | Guildpact (2006) |
| Steam Vents | Island, Mountain | {U} or {R} | Guildpact (2006) |
| Stomping Ground | Mountain, Forest | {R} or {G} | Guildpact (2006) |
| Blood Crypt | Swamp, Mountain | {B} or {R} | Dissension (2006) |
| Breeding Pool | Forest, Island | {G} or {U} | Dissension (2006) |
| Hallowed Fountain | Plains, Island | {W} or {U} | Dissension (2006) |
The text is the same on all ten. Steam Vents says: "({T}: Add {U} or {R}.) As this land enters, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters tapped." They first appeared across the three sets of the original Ravnica block, and our set data shows them reprinted many times since, including five in Edge of Eternities (2025) and the other five in Lorwyn Eclipsed (2026). Players call them shock lands because the 2 life matches the 2 damage of the instant Shock.
How the 2 life works
- You choose as the land enters. "As this land enters" is a replacement effect, not a triggered ability (Comprehensive Rules 614.1c). Nothing goes on the stack, and no one can respond to the payment.
- You get the choice however the land arrives. Played from your hand or found by a fetch land, the same text applies as it enters (Comprehensive Rules 614.12).
- Paying can't untap a land that was told to enter tapped. Farseek puts the land onto the battlefield tapped. Paying 2 life then gains you nothing, so keep the life.
- You need the life. You can pay 2 life only if your life total is 2 or more (Comprehensive Rules 119.4).
- You pay once. The choice happens only as the land enters. A shock land that entered tapped untaps during your next untap step like any other land.
What the land types do
A shock land has two basic land types and no basic supertype. Each type gives it the matching mana ability (Comprehensive Rules 305.6), and the pair explains most of how the land plays:
- Fetch lands find them. Scalding Tarn searches for an Island or Mountain card, and Steam Vents is both. See fetch lands.
- Spells that search by land type find them. Farseek asks for "a Plains, Island, Swamp, or Mountain card" and Nature's Lore for "a Forest card"; neither asks for a basic land. Nature's Lore doesn't say "tapped", so the shock land's own choice applies: pay 2 life and it enters untapped.
- They aren't basic lands. A card that searches for a "basic land card", like Evolving Wilds, can't find one (Comprehensive Rules 305.8). Under Blood Moon ("Nonbasic lands are Mountains.") a shock land loses its own types and abilities and taps only for red (Comprehensive Rules 305.7).
- Commander adds two limits. One copy of each (Comprehensive Rules 903.5b), and only in a deck whose commander's colour identity includes both colours the land can make (Comprehensive Rules 903.5d).
Where shock lands are legal
| Format | Status |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Standard | Legal |
Read from our card database on November 9, 2026. Standard legality follows the sets currently in rotation, so check it again before a tournament.
Frequently asked questions
Can you fetch a shock land?
Yes. A fetch land searches for a land type, and every shock land has two. Flooded Strand (a Plains or Island card) finds Hallowed Fountain, and the shock land then offers its usual choice: 2 life, or it enters tapped.
Do you pay 2 life every turn?
No. You choose once, as the land enters. After that it is a land that taps for either of its two colours at no cost.
Are shock lands basic lands?
No. Shock lands have basic land types, but any land without the basic supertype is a nonbasic land (Comprehensive Rules 305.8). In Commander that means one copy of each.
How do shock lands compare with the original dual lands?
They share the same ten pairs of land types, so the same cards find both. The original dual lands ask for nothing as they enter. Shock lands ask for 2 life or enter tapped, and in our card data they are legal in Standard, Pioneer and Modern, where the original dual lands are not.
Build the mana base
Add your shock lands to a Commander deck in the Mana Grove deck builder, and the Validation tab checks every land against your commander's colour identity. To settle how many lands the deck needs first, use the Commander lands calculator. Create a free account to start; every plan includes the full deck builder, and plans and pricing shows what the paid plans add.
Sources
- Comprehensive Rules, effective September 25, 2026, rules 119.4, 305.6, 305.7, 305.8, 614.1c, 614.12, 903.5b and 903.5d: https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules, read on November 9, 2026.
- Mana Grove card database, MTGJSON card text, printings and format legality, read on November 9, 2026.
