Card in Review - Overlaid Terrain

Between forums, up-to-the-minute strategy articles and online repositories for decklists, it's easier than ever to tap into the well of fine-tuned net tech. Everyone in a play environment will know the best cards, the strongest strategies and the most degenerate combos to look out for. More often than not, the top 8s in high-level play will be a series of mirror matches, with each player running a slight variation of the same damn deck once it's identified as the most optimal choice. We end up seeing the same cards over and over, always being used in the same ways as part of the same strategies.

By gum, one gets tired of optimized play after a while. I want to see some rubbish!

In today's episode of Card in Review, we're also dipping our toes into the well of Bad Card Made Good - a feature that hasn't been given a nod in a long time but which is often one of the most fun exercises in deckbuilding. So who's the lucky loser for today's feature?

One of the manliest cards ever printed - if you have the stones to try and capitalize on Overlaid Terrain, then you are made of stronger stuff than the rest of us.

So, Overlaid Terrain is part of an unofficial mini-cycle of "clean slate" cards, including Heightened Awareness and Death Pit Offering - you throw away everything of one type, but from then on, the enchantment boosts cards of that type. The problem is, having no creatures or no cards in hand is the type of thing that can happen over the course of a typical game. It's not a good place to be, but it certainly happens. Having no lands is something that should stop as of your first main phase and not resume for the rest of the game. If for some reason you lose all of your lands partway through a game, well, that's a game you're going to lose.

So if you can start to rebuild your mana base after dropping the Terrain, the returns are pretty good. Getting two mana per land, and of any colour you choose, is certainly above the norm. You need to play at least two lands - totaling four mana - to break even with what you sacrificed in the first place, or three lands to turn a profit. But here's the thing: had you not played Overlaid Terrain in the first place, you'd have had six or seven lands, respectively, and thus still more mana than you have now. So arguably you have to play four lands after the Terrain comes out to break even, and five to turn a profit of even a single measly mana. Colour-fixing aside, that's not much bang for your buck. What's the best way to make the effect worthwhile and in short order to boot? Why, by sidestepping that drawback in the first place!

It's important to note that Overlaid Terrain making you sacrifice everything isn't an additional cost (such as on Gaea's Balance) or a triggered ability (such as on Desolation Angel,) so you can't avoid it by cheating the card into play or hitting it with Stifle. There's not really any way to avoid taking that hit - but it can be minimized or undone easily enough.

It's also worth noting that unlike a lot of "mana doublers," such as Mana Reflection or Mirari's Wake, the Terrain doesn't increase the output of pre-existing mana abilities, but it rather tacks on a new one. So the original mana abilities are still intact: a Forest can still tap for one green mana or two mana of any colour, meaning you'll never have to fear mana burning yourself on odd mana costs, or not having access to colourless mana for any Eldrazi running around. Speaking of, it's lands without mana abilities that benefit the most: fetchlands can now be kept around and tapped for mana, Arena and Maze of Ith are now without any drawback, and Eye of Ugin can single-handedly provide a staggering four mana towards a colourless Eldrazi spell. Suddenly Scorched Ruins isn't looking too hot in comparison, is it?

Of course, what lands you're playing after the Overlay is the easy part. It's what you're throwing away to get it out there in the first place that's a bigger concern. Thankfully, there are some lands that play nicely with being sacrificed. Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai gives you a 1/1 when you sac it, and Dunes of the Dead a 2/2 - not much, but a whole lot more than most lands. More impressive is Flagstones of Trokair, which immediately replaces itself with another land. That's a big step up in rebuilding your mana base! Drownyard Temple can be brought back into play for a fee, after which its only making colourless stops being a drawback, and Dakmor Salvage can be dredged, which at least guarantees your next card will be a land. Riftstone Portal is normally a superstar for lands that belong in the graveyard, but seeing as the Terrain grants twice the effect and then some, you can probably give it a pass this time.


We Can Rebuild Them

After Overlaying, the cheapest way to get all of your (basic) lands back is Planar Birth - at just two mana, you'll only need to drop a single land to pay for it, whereupon you'll get those four (or more) lands you lost back, tapped but otherwise ready to tap for two mana for the rest of the game. Rather keep it monocolour, or using nonbasics? Splendid Reclamation grabs all of your lands for twice as much mana, and doesn't have the side effect of bringing back any lands of your opponents. Still, you're already slowing yourself down with the Terrain - wouldn't it be nice to not have to wait for those lands to untap? Second Sunrise and Faith's Reward will bring all of your lands back untapped, so long as you drop them the same turn as the Terrain. Picture this: if you float seven mana, then drop Overlaid Terrain followed by Second Sunrise, you immediately have access to fourteen mana!

The timing of spells too fiddly? Don't want to risk waiting for more lands to show up? You can also lay down some preparation to see those lands again real quick. Crucible of Worlds and its Magus equivalent, Ramunap Excavator, allow you to simply replay those sacrificed lands, quickly undoing your card disadvantage. Life from the Loam is even slower, putting the lands into your hand, but can be tricky with its Dredge ability. Tilling Treefolk likewise returns two lands to your hand while providing a 1/3 body, and the new World Shaper can bring back all your lands on his death, with the potential to even throw in some bonus lands, depending on what he mills. Titania, Protector of Argoth can recur one of your lands when she shows up, but I'm much more interested in what happens if she shows up before you drop Overlaid Terrain - you get a 5/3 token for each land you control! Or, well, controlled. Use all of that newfound mana for an Echoing Courage, Overrun or Triumph of the Hordes and things should be over in short order.


Land on Your Feet

While trying to bring back all the lands you lost in the first place is a worthwhile pursuit, you will be dedicating fewer slots in your deck to setup if you approach the problem in a different manner - such as, say, minimizing the sacrifice in the first place. An easy way to do this is to remember that mana can come from nonland sources, too. For instance, an early Sol Ring, Gaea's Touch, Llanowar Druid or Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary can mean you only sacrifice two lands upon playing Overlaid Terrain. Even a simple Llanowar Elves or Mind Stone is worthwhile for saving you a land and still making mana to help you re-stabilize afterwards. Likewise, if you're more interested in rebuilding than restoring, then sacrificing a bunch of lands likely gave you Threshold - in which case a timely Far Wanderings can immediately set you six mana ahead, and Krosan Restorer provides six mana just by tapping.

Okay, so there are a number of ways to undo the damage of dropping an Overlaid Terrain. But what if we'd rather capitalize on its drawback? There are certainly ways to take advantage of those lands in your graveyard. Terravore, Knight of the Reliquary and Centaur Vinecrasher all draw strength from your sacrifice, and if you're feeling really sadistic, you only need a single land to follow your Overlay up with Balance. See who recovers faster when both you and your opponent are cut down to one land.

Once you're in the position of having lands that tap for two mana, some exciting opportunities open up. Anything that untaps X lands for X mana - literally, as with Magus of the Candelabra, or functionally, as with Cloud of Faeries or Turnabout - actually produce more mana. Anything that untaps lands, from the lowly Arbor Elf and Voyaging Satyr all the way up to the mighty Garruk Wildspeaker or Patron of the Orochi now do double-duty, providing you with twice the returns.


Sky's the Limit

So you dropped Overlaid Terrain, found a way to minimize its drawback or just make do, and now you have The Super Mana. What to do with it?

Well firstly, try not to cry when your opponent casually responds with a Disenchant or, worse yet, Steal Enchantment. I know it's hard, but there's no crying in baseball.

Anyways, since you're in green, the obvious choice might seem like a big fat creature, particularly one with X in its mana cost. But don't forget that you have access to every colour once the Terrain is out, so card draw, burn and even board wipes are now available. A paltry four lands can afford you a Decree of Pain, buying you some breathing room by clearing the board and hopefully drawing into a way to win in the coming turns. Depending on if and how you got your lands back, and especially how easy it would be to do it again, Desolation Angel is a rather playful choice - see how your opponent likes being run out of lands as well! Super-specific mana costs, such as those on Cruel Ultimatum, Phyrexian Obliterator or even Progenitus are no impediment, so you can capitalize on cards that are super colour-heavy but otherwise undercosted. I think Decree of Justice is an especially practical choice - you can cycle it early on to draw into a combo piece, or use it as a finisher after you've Overlaid. Plus, it's just psychologically satisfying under Overlaid Terrain: you tap two lands up front, then each land past that means a 4/4 angel. Not bad, huh?


Terrain Down in Africa

We've looked at plenty of decent cards that need to be built around for maximum impact, but there's a special thrill in building around a rather bad card and having something flashy to show for it. Sure, there will be games where your mana base never recovers afterwards, or where the Terrain gets immediately blown up, but it will all be worth it when you bulldoze your foe with boatloads of rainbow mana using a card he's never heard of.