Price$0.28 – $7.26
Buy on TCGplayerCastle Ardenvale
Land
LegalRank #685
This land enters tapped unless you control a Plains.
: Add 
.
, : Create a 1/1 white Human creature token.
Why is this card good?
Castle Ardenvale is one of the best "free" upgrades you can make to a white deck. It's essentially a Plains that, in the late game when you're flooding out, converts excess mana into a steady stream of 1/1 Human tokens. That's pure value with virtually no downside.
The activation cost (4 mana) is steep, so don't expect to spam tokens early — but in grindy games it gives you something productive to do with mana that would otherwise be wasted. It shines in token decks, go-wide aristocrats builds, and anywhere a single white body matters: sacrifice fodder, populate (Trostani), convoke, or fodder for anthems and Skullclamp.
The only real cost is it enters tapped if you don't control a Plains, which can occasionally slow a turn-one play. In heavily nonbasic or multicolor manabases that's a minor nag.
Skip it only in fast combo decks that win before mana sinks matter. For nearly every other white deck, it's a free include.
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Printings (13)
Played by these commanders
Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser100% of 1
Neyali, Suns' Vanguard100% of 1
Kitt Kanto, Mayhem Diva100% of 1
Mondrak, Glory Dominus100% of 1
Ellivere of the Wild Court100% of 1
Zurgo Stormrender100% of 1
Zinnia, Valley's Voice100% of 1
Tokens & Emblemsthis card creates
Rulings (2)
- 2019-10-04
Once the common lands (such as Mystic Sanctuary) enter the battlefield tapped, there's no way to untap them with a spell or ability to make their last ability trigger.
- 2019-10-04
Although the common lands have basic land types, they aren't basic lands.