What are the best lands for 5 color EDH decks? It is one of the trickier challenges that us EDH players face. And especially when building a 5 color deck, your budget can be a huge restriction. To put you on the right track, this guide breaks down 3 templates with the best lands for 5 color EDH decks:
- Tier A (Optimal) – $ / €
- Tier B (Suboptimal) – $ / €
- Tier C (Budget) – $ / €
Treat these as base templates. There can be variations depending on your deck’s color requirements, strategy or existing card collection.
When building any land base, there are two important qualities to consider:
- Speed: lands enter untapped and can be used right away.
- Color fixing: having access to the required colors at the right moment.
Speed
In this guide we favour speed over color fixing, and in the lower tiers we make up for color fixing by playing green ramp spells. A faster deck is a stronger deck and in our experience it is also more fun to play with. Dropping a Flood Plain to fetch a tapped dual like Fetid Pools is great for color fixing, but you have 2(!) turns that you cannot use those lands. These days that doesn’t cut it at any EDH table, even in a budget game. In short this means that we don’t run too many tapped lands.
Color fixing
Avoiding color screw in a 5 color EDH deck however is more complicated. Your land base should enable you to cast your spells, which this guide gives a good outline for. But you can also reverse this logic, the rest of your EDH deck should fit your 5 color land base. In other words, you can keep your deck more resistant against color screw if you pay attention to your card’s color requirements. For instance a Llanowar Tribe is much harder to cast than a Llanowar Elves. To check your deck’s color requirement you can use this tool.
Table of Contents
Tier A – Optimal
If you’re proxying or just have access to most of the cards in tier A, you don’t really have to worry about either speed or color fixing since both will be near perfect. Jamming in the top rainbow lands and fetch lands combined with shock lands gives us godlike color fixing. To fill up remaining land slots we pick all 10 battlebond lands. All lands (except Triomes) come into play untapped which gives us maximum speed.
Optional: We chose to include some triome lands because they are great for extra color fixing, they do enter tapped which can take away your tempo in some high performing decks. You can switch these out for basics or an untapped dual of your choice.
Fetch Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Flooded Strand | $25.64 | €23.50 | |
Windswept Heath | $21.33 | €17.05 | |
Polluted Delta | $34.14 | €28.33 | |
Bloodstained Mire | $29.78 | €24.43 | |
Wooded Foothills | $29.86 | €25.74 | |
Marsh Flats | $11.51 | €12.95 | |
Scalding Tarn | $16.41 | €19.44 | |
Verdant Catacombs | $13.79 | €15.73 | |
Arid Mesa | $12.26 | €14.47 | |
Misty Rainforest | $17.14 | €19.65 |
Shock Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Hallowed Fountain | $7.05 | €10.30 | |
Watery Grave | $9.42 | €11.40 | |
Blood Crypt | $13.06 | €15.55 | |
Stomping Ground | $9.07 | €8.91 | |
Temple Garden | $10.36 | €8.49 | |
Godless Shrine | $8.64 | €8.88 | |
Overgrown Tomb | $9.97 | €9.99 | |
Breeding Pool | $16.50 | €12.99 | |
Steam Vents | $11.16 | €9.99 | |
Sacred Foundry | $14.34 | €11.99 |
Bond Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Sea of Clouds | $6.22 | €5.39 | |
Morphic Pool | $12.86 | €10.55 | |
Luxury Suite | $9.60 | €7.98 | |
Spire Garden | $6.97 | €6.68 | |
Bountiful Promenade | $9.38 | €6.54 | |
Vault of Champions | $6.32 | €8.16 | |
Training Center | $6.23 | €5.25 | |
Undergrowth Stadium | $4.92 | €5.45 | |
Spectator Seating | $6.11 | €4.80 | |
Rejuvenating Springs | $3.45 | €3.73 |
Rainbow Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
City of Brass | $12.54 | €10.29 | |
Mana Confluence | $27.97 | €26.58 | |
Command Tower | $0.19 | € | |
Reflecting Pool | $6.18 | €7.90 | |
Forbidden Orchard | $6.02 | €3.61 |
Triome Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Indatha Triome | $15.49 | €16.37 | |
Zagoth Triome | $15.48 | €15.79 | |
Ketria Triome | $11.04 | €11.13 | |
Jetmir's Garden | $11.73 | €10.56 | |
Ziatora's Proving Ground | $5.96 | €8.81 | |
Spara's Headquarters | $8.94 | €10.45 |
Tier B – Sub-optimal
The big step down from A tier to B tier is that we’re not running the fetch lands. It does run the shock lands because they are more affordable, are great staples to have in your collection and you can expand your 5 color EDH land base later on by adding in fetch lands.
What is vital for the B Tier to work (and even more so for Tier C) is to run green land ramp spells, they will help you make up for the lack of fetch lands. We’re running the shock lands and triomes that can be fetched by our ramp. Except for the triomes, everything enters untapped. Note that for B tier the ramps spells need to fetch the land types, since we are not running any basic lands.
Ramp | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|
Three Visits | $5.22 | €3.88 |
Skyshroud Claim | $1.30 | €1.30 |
Farseek | $1.16 | €0.98 |
Nature's Lore | $1.73 | €1.19 |
Spoils of Victory | $1.55 | €1.02 |
Wood Elves | $0.21 | €0.30 |
Ranger's Path | $0.16 | €0.20 |
Spoils of Victory | $1.55 | €1.02 |
Hunting Wilds | $0.27 | €0.22 |
Mwonvuli Acid-Moss | $1.25 | €0.85 |
We’re running 10 ramp spells that fetch us a forest or other land type.
Shock Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Hallowed Fountain | $7.05 | €10.30 | |
Watery Grave | $9.42 | €11.40 | |
Blood Crypt | $13.06 | €15.55 | |
Stomping Ground | $9.07 | €8.91 | |
Temple Garden | $10.36 | €8.49 | |
Godless Shrine | $8.64 | €8.88 | |
Overgrown Tomb | $9.97 | €9.99 | |
Breeding Pool | $16.50 | €12.99 | |
Steam Vents | $11.16 | €9.99 | |
Sacred Foundry | $14.34 | €11.99 |
Bond Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Sea of Clouds | $6.22 | €5.39 | |
Luxury Suite | $9.60 | €7.98 | |
Spire Garden | $6.97 | €6.68 | |
Bountiful Promenade | $9.38 | €6.54 |
Slow Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Deserted Beach | $2.61 | €2.11 | |
Shipwreck Marsh | $3.02 | €3.06 | |
Rockfall Vale | $0.86 | €0.98 | |
Overgrown Farmland | $2.67 | €2.66 | |
Deathcap Glade | $9.85 | €10.07 | |
Sundown Pass | $4.83 | €3.18 | |
Dreamroot Cascade | $2.00 | €1.88 |
Pain Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Adarkar Wastes | $4.16 | €3.98 | |
Sulfurous Springs | $3.00 | €3.79 | |
Karplusan Forest | $1.64 | €1.52 | |
Caves of Koilos | $0.37 | €0.63 | |
Shivan Reef | $0.70 | €1.10 | |
Llanowar Wastes | $1.04 | €1.84 | |
Battlefield Forge | $0.95 | €1.25 | |
Yavimaya Coast | $0.52 | €0.89 |
Rainbow Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Command Tower | $0.19 | € | |
Exotic Orchard | $0.16 | €0.27 | |
Grand Coliseum | $4.50 | €2.07 | |
Path of Ancestry | $0.11 | €0.12 | |
Forbidden Orchard | $6.02 | €3.61 | |
Reflecting Pool | $6.18 | €7.90 |
Triome Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Jetmir's Garden | $11.73 | €10.56 | |
Ziatora's Proving Ground | $5.96 | €8.81 | |
Spara's Headquarters | $8.94 | €10.45 | |
Indatha Triome | $15.49 | €16.37 |
Tier C – Budget
Although this 5 color land base template is more dependant on green ramp than A or B tier, it will almost always give you access to all 5 colors by turn 4 or 5, without losing too much speed. Pretty great at this pricepoint. Note that basic lands make their entrance in this tier and the reason they work is because we build our ramp package around them.
Basic Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
8 Forest | $0.04 | €0.07 | |
3 Plains | $0.03 | €0.08 | |
3 Mountain | $0.03 | €0.04 | |
3 Island | $0.03 | €0.04 | |
3 Swamp | $0.04 | €0.04 |
We are running 20 basic lands, 8 forests in order to cast our ramp and 3 of each other color.
Ramp | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|
Cultivate | $0.45 | €0.58 |
Rampant Growth | $0.32 | €0.21 |
Kodama's Reach | $0.76 | €0.91 |
Springbloom Druid | $0.24 | €0.21 |
Sakura-Tribe Elder | $1.03 | €0.80 |
Beneath The Sands | $0.03 | €0.09 |
Farhaven Elf | $0.12 | €0.10 |
Grow From The Ashes | $0.27 | €0.17 |
Harrow | $0.37 | €0.22 |
Farseek | $1.16 | €0.98 |
Search for Tomorrow | $0.14 | €0.20 |
Explosive Vegetation | $0.39 | €0.32 |
Nature's Lore | $1.73 | €1.19 |
Migration Path | $0.26 | €0.17 |
Nissa's Pilgrimage | $0.27 | €0.22 |
You get the message here. Green is our friend for fixing colors and we should be running all the cheap ramp we can find, especially the ones that fetch basic lands, some forest fetchers are ok too. We run 15 in total, having one in your opening hand is very much recommended.
Basic Fetch Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Evolving Wilds | $0.06 | €0.12 | |
Terramorphic Expanse | $0.10 | €0.10 |
Fetching basics is what we want so run both of these.
Tango Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Prairie Stream | $0.15 | €0.18 | |
Sunken Hollow | $0.18 | €0.32 | |
Smoldering Marsh | $0.26 | €0.27 | |
Cinder Glade | $0.17 | €0.30 | |
Canopy Vista | $0.10 | €0.39 |
These can be fetched by some of our forest fetch ramp spells, and they come into play untapped from turn 3 and onwards when we have enough basics.
Vivid Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Vivid Meadow | $0.19 | €0.18 | |
Vivid Creek | $0.13 | €0.17 | |
Vivid Marsh | $0.58 | €0.49 | |
Vivid Crag | $0.26 | €0.25 | |
Vivid Grove | $0.14 | €0.11 |
Tapping for any color is still the best mana fixing in slot, so we run the whole Vivid cycle. You could switch these out for the Thriving Lands cycle if you don’t like the charge counters.
Rainbow Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Command Tower | $0.19 | € | |
Exotic Orchard | $0.16 | €0.27 | |
Path of Ancestry | $0.11 | €0.12 | |
Aether Hub | $0.13 | €0.17 |
No-brainer here, these are fantastic budget rainbow land and indispensable in a budget 5 color mana base for EDH.
Pain Lands | Mana | USD | EUR |
---|---|---|---|
Karplusan Forest | $1.64 | €1.52 | |
Llanowar Wastes | $1.04 | €1.84 | |
Yavimaya Coast | $0.52 | €0.89 |
We can run some of the cheaper untapped duals, like these pain lands. We went for the green ones in order to be able to cast our ramp spells.
Closing Remarks
This guide sets three base templates with some of the best lands for 5 color EDH decks. Please use these as an outline or inspiration, every 5 color land base should ultimately be tailored to match its own EDH deck.
We intend to update this guide when new cards or reprints appear please don’t hesitate hit us up if you have question or feedback.