CliffgateHow it works & interactions with other cards

Choosing Your Color

As Cliffgate enters the battlefield, you must choose a color other than red: white, blue, black, or green. This is a replacement effect, not a triggered ability, meaning it does not use the stack and cannot be responded to. Once chosen, Cliffgate will permanently provide that color in addition to red for as long as it remains on the battlefield.

Tapped Entry and Mana Production

Cliffgate enters the battlefield tapped, so you typically cannot use it the turn you play it. When you tap it for mana, you choose whether to produce red mana or one mana of the color you selected upon entry. Because it has the Gate subtype, it also counts toward any effects that check for the number of Gates you control.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is forgetting that the color choice must be made 'as' it enters. If you blink the land or it enters via a ramp spell, you still make the choice immediately. Additionally, remember that Cliffgate does not have basic land types, so you cannot fetch it with cards that specifically search for a Mountain or a Plains.

Interaction examples

Flexible Color Identity

Command Tower

If you are playing a multi-color Commander deck, you can play Cliffgate and choose a color your Command Tower cannot yet produce if your Commander is not on the field. While Command Tower checks your Commander's identity, Cliffgate's chosen color is fixed upon entry, providing stable fixing regardless of your Commander's status.

Opponent Interaction

Exotic Orchard

If you control a Cliffgate with Blue chosen as the second color, an opponent's Exotic Orchard can now produce either Red or Blue mana. This is because Exotic Orchard checks what colors your lands could produce, and Cliffgate's static ability defines its mana-producing capabilities.