One of Magic: The Gathering’s longest-standing sticking points is the expensive nature of good mana bases. Since most decks need strong, multi-color lands to function, these cards are in perpetual demand. Wizards also tends to be particularly stingy when it comes to reprinting them, which certainly doesn’t help matters.
This week, some MTG players on social media have had enough of this trend. Pushing back against what is, arguably, one of the biggest gatekeepers to enjoying high-level MTG, players are calling for reprints of the much-vaunted Battlebond land cycle.
MTG Players Want Battlebond Land Reprints!
“The Battlebond/Crowd Lands should be printed in every single Commander Precon, full stop. No exceptions.”
ThatGuyFromTheM0vie, via r/magicTCG
What started as a simple, if passionate, post from ThatGuyFromTheM0vie on the main MTG subreddit quickly turned into a rallying cry for the community. The post has received over 370 comments so far, with tons of MTG players chiming in to offer their two cents on the Battlebond land reprints issue.
The idea that Wizards should add these lands to Commander precons isn’t a particularly controversial one. While they were actually originally designed with Two-Headed Giant in mind, the “two or more opponents” clause plays just as well in Commander. Thanks to this, not only are these some of the best lands in Commander, but they’re also very expensive, commanding prices in the $20+ range. This rubs a lot of players up the wrong way, since Battlebond Lands lack widespread playability outside of Commander.
Reprinting Battlebond lands in precons makes sense in this context, and doubly so when you consider the lack of other suitable homes for them. Wizards has majorly cut back on reprint outlets in recent years, with Masters sets and the like off the table for the foreseeable. Since it makes no sense to reprint these lands in Standard-legal sets, there are very limited options available.
Technically these lands could be reprinted as Special Guests, or part of a set’s bonus sheet. Even that’s unlikely, however, due to the implications for Limited. This really only leaves Commander precons or special products, like the Avatar Commander Bundle, as viable options. Sadly, reprints in bundle-esque products rarely make things cheaper. This means that precon reprints are the only things likely to make Battlebond Lands more accessible to players.
A Tricky Situation
Unfortunately, the chances of Wizards actually reprinting the Battlebond lands in Commander precons are fairly slim. It’s a well-established fact at this point that rare dual lands are a reliable source of reprint equity. As pointed out as recently as yesterday on Blogatog, Wizards needs desirable cards in sets to sell packs, and dual lands fit that bill perfectly. By reprinting the Battlebond lands in precons, the value of doing so later is diminished.
Of course, as several players pointed out in the comments, there don’t appear to be any sets on the horizon for Wizards to save these lands for. In that sense, not reprinting them in precons could actually be leaving money on the table. Strong reprints can drive sales of precons just like they can with packs, after all.
Ultimately, whether we’ll eventually see Battlebond lands in Commander precons or not is unclear at present. While Wizards has good reason to do it, and the community clearly wants it, there’s also a compelling counter-case, even if players don’t agree with it.
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