It was a wild flurry when tens of thousands of Battle for Zendikar packs were opened with hopes of discovering Expeditions. Now that the craze has settled and the new land templates are widespread, it’s important to remember which cards are legal in the current Standard format. Even though you may have opened that Scalding Tarn or Hallowed Fountain in BFZ packs, it does not make them Standard legal. The expeditions that you could have opened that are standard legal are the new “battle lands” which include: Sunken Hollow, Canopy Vista, Cinder Glade, Prairie Stream, and Smoldering Marsh; as well as the “fetchlands” that were printed in Khans of Tarkir and are still legal in Standard for a while (until April 8, 2016).

These new lands are only the third set of true “Dual Lands” to have ever been printed in the 20+ year history of Magic. This means that there are only two other land cycles that carry two basic land types (the last two being the Ravnica/RTR Block “Shock Lands” and the original “Dual Lands” from Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised). What does this mean for you? A lot, actually… Even in Standard! When you activate a “Fetchland” like Flooded Strand, you no longer have to get a basic Island or Plains; you can get a Sunken Hollow, Canopy Vista or a Prairie Stream because each has at least one land type that Flooded Strand cares about. In other formats, cards that care about specific land types coming into play will also trigger from the new “Battle Lands” and they will count towards your Domain relevance as well. Be sure to read your card though, these lands are not basic lands and cannot be “fetched” by things that specify the land you grab needs to be basic, even if it meets the land type criteria otherwise. Check out our other rules tips about lands if you want to learn more!

Today’s Rules Tip written by Daniel Clarke