How Many Dual Lands Are There?

by News | posted at 2010-04-07 20:07:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Legacy, Alexander Shearer, Dual Lands, GiftsUngiven

After Wizards recently announced it would continue the Reserve list and close a loophole in it (read the official announcement here and blogger Eric McCormick's response here), players became alarmed that there would not be enough of classic Legacy staples like dual lands to go around if the format continues to expand. The dual lands, core elements of Legacy, Vintage, and Extended formats of days gone by, enter the battlefield untapped, provide two colors of mana, and have basic land types (though they themselves are non-basic). Underground Sea, one of the most popular, can fetch upwards of $100, though it's price was less than half that as little as a year ago. With Legacy experiencing a renaissance of sorts thanks to Grand Prix support and the StarCityGames.com Open events utilizing the format, the number of dual lands in circulation has become a pressing issue.

In a recent article for ChannelFireball.com, Alexander Shearer stirred the pot up regarding scarcity issues. He gave the issue further study on his blog, Gifts Ungiven, where he did some rough numbers work to come up with how many approximate dual land playsets exist in the world. According to Alex? 75,000, and as he astutely pointed out, that doesn't seem like a lot if China decides to take a liking to Legacy.

Read Alex's full article including the math behind his numbers here.

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