Price$15.07 – $68.36
Buy on TCGplayerLand Tax
Enchantment
LegalRampRank #395
At the beginning of your upkeep, if an opponent controls more lands than you, you may search your library for up to three basic land cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle.
Why is this card good?
Land Tax is one of white's best engine pieces, but it's misunderstood as a ramp card—it's actually card advantage and deck thinning.
The trick is the condition: you need an opponent with more lands than you. In multiplayer EDH, someone almost always is, so it triggers reliably. You're not putting these lands into play; you're filling your hand with three cards per turn and thinning basics out of your library, so your future draws are gas. That's why it's elite alongside payoffs that dump your hand: Scroll Rack (the classic combo—filter the basics back, draw bombs), Smothering Tithe, or any deck that empties its grip.
Best in: white control, lands-light/low-curve decks, hatebears, and any deck running Scroll Rack. Mono-white and Azorius love it.
Don't play it if your deck runs few basics (heavy dual/fetch manabases negate the search), or if you ramp aggressively and end up with the most lands—then it just sits there doing nothing.
Related cards
Tithe
White instant that fetches basic lands when opponents have more, same catch-up ramp role.
Gift of Estates
White sorcery fetching three plains when behind on lands, near-identical effect.
Weathered Wayfarer
White creature tutoring any land when behind on lands.
Endless Atlas
White-tuned artifact card advantage engine pairing with basic-heavy decks.
Smothering Tithe
White enchantment generating treasure ramp, similar upkeep value engine.
Scroll Rack
Classic Land Tax combo to filter excess lands into fresh cards.
Mistveil Plains
Recycles fetched basics back into library, enabling repeated draws with Land Tax.
Knight of the White Orchid
White creature fetching a plains when opponents control more lands.
Printings (21)
Show all 21 printingsShow fewer
Played by these commanders
Killian, Decisive Mentor100% of 1
Mondrak, Glory Dominus100% of 1
Rulings (3)
- 2009-10-01
You shuffle your library if you search, even if you don't put any basic land cards into your hand.
- 2009-10-01
This ability has an "intervening 'if' clause." That means (1) the ability won't trigger at all unless any one of your opponents controls more lands than you, and (2) the ability will do nothing if you control at least as many lands as each of your opponents by the time it resolves.
- 2006-10-15
You can fetch any of the "Snow-Covered" lands, since they all also have the supertype basic.