Modern Times - Fetchlands

Hello all! Today’s rendition of Modern Times takes a look at the state of some very important Modern staples. What staples would these be, you might ask? The fetchlands. Ally-colored and enemy-colored, the fetchlands remain a format barrier for many budget-sensitive MTG players.

 

Enemy Fetches

Originally printed in Zendikar, the enemy-colored fetchlands consist of Marsh Flats, Arid Mesa, Verdant Catacombs, Misty Rainforest, and Scalding Tarn. In some way, shape, or form, each and every one of these fetches has a place in Modern. Even the most affordable two, Marsh Flats and Arid Mesa, find their way into decks like Hammer Time, Burn, Indomitable Creativity, and other meta decks.

 

 

For a time, the enemy fetches were brutally expensive. This was, in part, due to the fact that the ally-colored fetches wouldn’t see the light of Modern until five years after Zendikar’s release, in Khans of Tarkir. The format inaccessibility of the ally fetchlands made the Zendikar fetchlands priceless. Cards like Scalding Tarn at one point were valued well over $100 with Misty Rainforest not too far behind.

 

 

Thankfully, two things happened to stabilize the prices of the Zendikar fetchlands: firstly, Khans of Tarkir’s release brought with it the first accessible reprints of the ally fetchlands, immediately doubling the total amount of fetchlands in the format; and secondly, a few years later Modern Masters 2017 released with a fresh reprint cycle of the enemy fetchlands.

 

 

While Modern Masters 2017 wasn’t super successful at bringing down the prices of the Zendikar fetchlands, it opened the door for future reprints, with the most impactful reprint set being Modern Horizons 2, whose large print run and reasonable MSRP flooded the market with Zendikar fetchlands with multiple variants in art, foiling and so forth.

 

 

Today, Scalding Tarn from Zendikar is around $25, Misty Rainforest sits around $23, and all remaining enemy fetches are under $20. Looking at the price trends for the enemy fetches, they all seem to have bottomed out towards the end of 2022, and beginning of 2023. Through today, the price points seem to be holding steady. There’s really not a better time to pick up playsets of these fetches. Their price points can only go up from where they are currently, and given how dynamic Modern’s meta has been, it’s tough to gauge when any one enemy fetchland could, on the margin, see an uptick in Modern demand.

 

Arid Mesa	CardKingdom $17.99	TCGPlayer $15.50
Misty Rainforest	CardKingdom $22.99	TCGPlayer $20.96
Marsh Flats	CardKingdom $16.99	TCGPlayer $12.99
Verdant Catacombs	CardKingdom $20.99	TCGPlayer $16.99
Scalding Tarn	CardKingdom $22.99	TCGPlayer $21.97

 

Ally Fetches

The ally-colored fetchlands, unlike the enemy fetches, are a much different - and more complicated - story in terms of speculative value. Originally printed in Onslaught, predating Modern’s inception, the ally fetches consist of Polluted Delta, Wooded Foothills, Flooded Strand, Bloodstained Mire, and Windswept Heath. With the exception of Windswept Heath, almost all ally fetches from their printing in Khans of Tarkir sit just under $40 each with Polluted Delta and Flooded Strand seeing the highest demand across both Modern and Legacy.

 

 

The ally fetchlands were a well-appreciated and welcomed reprinting in Khans of Tarkir that helped to round out landbases in Modern, but they came at an unexpected cost: dismay in Standard. Five fetchlands in a format with a card pool as limited as Standard made for some discontent and unhappy Standard players. While the ally fetches made Khans a high expected value set, it set Standard up for one of its most uninteresting Pro Tour runs in ages with cards like Siege Rhino, Thoughtseize, and their supporting fetchlands running the format. The ability of fetchlands to enable otherwise inconsistent three-color builds to become super-consistent caused some uproar at the time.

While not stated in writing, it’s understood that the likelihood of ally fetches seeing reprints in a Standard-legal set is close to zero. This makes the accessibility of these game pieces limited for many Modern players. On top of this, it’s been almost ten years since Khans of Tarkir was printed, leaving many speculators reluctant to invest in the ally fetches for fear they might be reprinted in the near future.

 

 

Looking ahead in the 2023 calendar year, if we assume that ally fetches won’t be in Standard-legal sets, the only realistic opportunity for a large-scale reprint would be in Commander Masters, which comes out in August.

This makes the prospect of investing in ally fetches difficult to forecast, which is unfortunate given their widespread use in Modern, Legacy, and Commander. Personally, I would be reluctant to invest in any ally fetchlands until after Commander Masters is spoiled. Outside of Commander Masters, there is an outside chance fetchlands could be reprinted in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, as it is a direct-to-Modern set. However, I doubt this will be the case, despite being a terrific opportunity to do so.

 

Bloodstained Mire	CardKingdom $44.99	TCGPlayer $38.96
Flooded Strand	CardKingdom $39.99	TCGPlayer $36.88
Polluted Delta	CardKingdom $42.99	TCGPlayer $40.20
Windswept Heath	CardKingdom $25.99	TCGPlayer $26.09
Wooded Foothills	CardKingdom $44.99	TCGPlayer $38.92

 

The Bottom Line

This article, in a way, serves as an opportunity to revisit some of the most important staples in the Modern format: the fetchlands. The storied history of the fetchlands, their original printings, and some of their recent reprints makes for some polarizing financial perspectives.

For enemy fetchlands, there is not a better time than now to pick up your playsets for your Modern, Legacy, or Commander builds. On the other hand, the ally fetchlands sit at an inflated price level that’s, on average, double the prices of the enemy fetches. This makes speculation and investing risky particularly as time passes, and the inevitability of reprints rears its head around the corner.

 

 

For the calendar year of 2023, there are only two realistic opportunities to see a mass reprinting of the ally fetchlands: Commander Masters, and Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-Earth, with Commander Masters being the most realistic. Even so, while the fetchlands are useful for Commander, the Battlebond lands are much, much more appealing reprint opportunities along with the Ikoria triomes in a Commander-oriented set.

At the very least, one should approach speculation of the ally-colored fetchlands with caution during the Commander Masters and Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle Earth spoiler seasons.

Check out these other articles:

On Small Sample Anomalies by Corey Williams  

Modern Times - Former Wallet Sculptors by Corey Williams  

Over and Under - March 2023 by Harvey McGuinness