Landfall in MTG: Rules, History, and FAQ

Last updated on August 5, 2025

Bloodghast | Illustration by Daarken

Zendikar is one of those planes that Magic just keeps coming back to. From the original Zendikar to the more recent Zendikar Rising, landfall shows up on new cards every time we visit the plane.

Whether you want to learn how landfall works or need to see a decklist, I’ve got you covered! Let’s take a look at this mechanic in detail and the ins and outs of how it works.

Ready? Let’s get started!

How Does Landfall Work?

Scute Swarm | Illustration by Alex Konstad

Landfall is an ability that triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control. Each card’s triggered ability is different but landfall is always triggered the same way.

Which Sets Have Landfall?

Sets within the Zendikar blocks are the main places to see landfall. These include Zendikar, Worldwake, Battle for Zendikar, Oath of the Gatewatch, and Zendikar Rising. The mechanic was also a core part of the identity in Foundations.

While landfall is heavily associated with Zendikar, the mechanic has been upgraded to “deciduous” status, and now appears sparingly in many sets that don't necessarily have lands-matter themes. It does have a substantial focus in Edge of Eternities and Final Fantasy.

History of Landfall

Landfall was first introduced with Zendikar in October 2009. Functionally identical abilities were printed all the way back in 2005 with Ravnica: City of Guilds. Cards like Vinelasher Kudzu were printed before landfall was conceptualized, but have since received errata to use the landfall ability word.

Landfall's second major appearance was in Battle for Zendikar/Oath of the Gatewatch, and again as a core mechanic in Zendikar Rising. With the release of The Brothers' War, landfall was upgraded to deciduous status and previous cards that had landfall-like abilities were errata'd to include the term, like Zendikar's Roil, Tireless Tracker and Tatyova, Benthic Druid.

Additionally, landfall can now appear outside of sets with a heavy focus on lands. If there's an appropriate one-off landfall design for a set, it's fair game, as we saw with Dragonback Assault in Tarkir: Dragonstorm.

Is Landfall an Activated Ability?

No, landfall is a triggered ability and not an activated ability. Landfall reminder text uses the word “whenever,” which is the tell-tale sign of a triggered ability. Having a land enter the battlefield will cause a landfall ability to trigger and the ability will be put on the stack.

Is Landfall an ETB?

Yes, landfall is an ETB. An “enter the battlefield” (ETB) trigger happens when a certain type of permanent enters the battlefield. Since landfall triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under a player’s control, it counts as an ETB.

Notable, cards that double ETBs from lands will double up landfall triggers, as seen on cards like Ancient Greenwarden and Yarok, the Desecrated. Similarly, a card like Strict Proctor will tax landfall triggers.

Can Landfall Trigger Multiple Times in a Turn?

Yes, landfall can certainly be triggered more than once a turn and works with more than just cards that specify you can play additional lands.

Does Landfall Stack?

Yes, multiple instances of landfall will stack up and resolve from the top down like other abilities and spells on the stack.

Can You Respond to Landfall?

Yes, you can respond to landfall. Whenever a landfall ability triggers, that ability is put on the stack. Like with most other abilities, each player will have the chance to respond to it before the ability resolves. You can't respond to the act of playing a land, so it's hard to prevent landfall from triggering, but you can always respond to the trigger.

How Can You Stop Landfall?

One way to stop a landfall ability is to make sure that the ability has no targets. If a land enters the battlefield under your opponent’s control while they control Phylath, World Sculptor, you can remove all their plants with something like Radiating Lightning, meaning Phylath’s landfall ability has no targets.

Another (simpler) way to stop this is by using a special counterspell that counters triggered abilities like Stifle or Disallow.

Similarly, static effects that prevent abilities from triggering will do the trick. For example, controlling an Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines means your opponent's landfall abilities can't trigger.

How Many Lands Should a Landfall Deck Have?

My advice is to not drastically change the number of lands in your deck, even if that deck is heavily reliant on landfall abilities. I’d add one or two extra lands to a landfall deck at most, but even that’s pushing it. Let me explain.

In Commander and other Constructed formats, the best way to trigger landfall abilities isn’t to play lots of lands in your deck. Instead of increasing the number of lands in your deck, you should focus on running a lot of fetch lands to compliment your landfall commander. Fetch lands trigger landfall once when you play them and when you crack them to find a land from your deck. Not to mention that most Constructed decks want to run fetch lands anyway, so running a lot of them won’t really hurt your deck’s performance.

The same rule applies if you’re playing Limited. Cards like Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse are probably available if fetch lands aren’t. Straying too far away from the standard 17 lands in Limited might do more harm than good, but if you're very heavy into it, you can play an extra one or two.

MDFC lands are a great way to organically inflate the number of lands you have access to without actually overloading on lands. These cards occupy a spell slot but can act as lands when needed, which ups your land count but makes sure you're still drawing action on a regular basis.

Does Landfall Target?

Landfall abilities only target if the ability specifically uses the word “target.” Plated Geopede, for example, gets +2/+2 with landfall, but the ability doesn't target, so you would still get the bonus even if your Geopede had protection from red, for example. Retreat to Valakut, however, does target, so you'll have to choose a legal target when you trigger its landfall ability.

Similarly, you couldn't deal damage to a hexproof opponent with Akoum Hellkite since the landfall ability targets, but Spitfire Lagac would deal damage since its ability doesn't target.

Does Flipping a Land Face Up Trigger Landfall?

No, if you manage to flip or transform a land face up does not trigger landfall. This is because the land did not enter the battlefield. Another way to explain this is that the card changed it's state rather than its zone.

For example, if I get Havengul Laboratory / Hawkins National Laboratory to transform into Havengul Mystery / The Upside Down, it never changed zones. However, many cards that transform exile or die, and then are returned to the battlefield as lands will indeed trigger landfall.

Does Torpor Orb Stop Landfall?

The simple answer is no, Torpor Orb doe not stop landfall abilities from triggering. But there is an exception to this.

If a land is also a creature as it enters the battlefield (Dryad Arbor is a weird card), then Torpor Orb will stop that landfall ability from triggering.

Does a Land Token Trigger Landfall?

Any kind of land triggers landfall, regardless of what other card types that land may be. Creating an Everywhere token with Overlord of the Hauntwoods will trigger landfall, for example, as will creating a token copy of a land with Replication Technique.

Notable Landfall Cards

Ride the Shoopuf, Bristly Bill, Spine Sower and Scythecat Cub are surprisingly similar cards that dish out +1/+1 counters as you trigger landfall. Shoopuf has a later payoff, and the other two sport ways to double counters on your creatures. Bristly Bill's the more reliable of the two, since the counter-doubling ability is a simple mana sink, while Scythecat requires triggering landfall multiple times per turn.

Retreat to Coralhelm looks pretty underwhelming on its own for . But I had to mention this enchantment because it works so well with Knight of the Reliquary. You can continuously use Knight’s ability and then untap it with Coralhelm’s landfall ability with both cards in play at the same time. This is one of those cards I wish I didn’t have to include, but it’s just too strong to not mention. Scute Swarm teaches you the true power of exponential growth. Bloodghast is one of those cards that lets graveyard strategies flourish. If your opponent tries to kill Bloodghast the old-fashioned way, it won’t be long until they have to deal with the creature again.

You know a card is good when it shows up on the banned list. Omnath, Locus of Creation was deemed too powerful for Standard, and is the kind of meta-warping card that leaves your opponent in tears. We have a whole Commander deck built around Omanth here.

There are still other powerful strategies too long to list here, so head over to the best landfall cards when you're done here.

Decklist: Aesi Landfall in Commander

Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait | Illustration by Viktor Titov

Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, is a big serpent that does what Simic commanders do best, and that is play lands, draw cards and overpower opponents. One aspect of this deck that makes things click is that the commander's abilities are found on multiple cheaper cards, so the strategy is applicable as early as Azusa, Lost but Seeking or Tatyova, Benthic Druid.

One more appealing point is the ability to move this deck up or down in Commander brackets since many landfall pieces are interchangeable, including the lands themselves. Bounce lands like Coral Atoll and Simic Growth Chamber shine in this build, so add your own flavor, style and attitude and build that landfall deck you always wanted.

Wrap Up

Omnath, Locus of Creation | Illustration by Chris Rahn

I think landfall is a really well-designed mechanic. Being empty-handed and getting mana screwed or flooded with lands is a frustrating experience, and landfall at least gives you something to do with all those extra lands you draw. WotC sometimes goes overboard with cards like Omnath, Locus of Creation, but hey, blame the card, not the mechanic.

So, do you like landfall? Whatever your opinion, feel free to start up a conversation with us on any of our social media. You can find Draftsim on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

As always, stay safe, and good luck with your landfall deck!