Gilt-Leaf PalaceHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

Gilt-Leaf Palace is a non-basic land with a replacement effect that modifies how it enters the battlefield. It provides either Black or Green mana when tapped. To have it enter the battlefield untapped and ready for use, you must choose to reveal an Elf card from your hand as the land is being played.

How It Resolves Step by Step

When you play Gilt-Leaf Palace, you check your hand for any card with the 'Elf' subtype. You make the choice to reveal or not reveal just as the land would enter the battlefield; this does not use the stack and cannot be responded to. If you reveal a valid Elf card, the land enters the battlefield standing up. If you choose not to reveal a card, or if you have no Elf cards in hand, the land enters the battlefield tapped.

Common Mistakes

One common error is trying to reveal the Elf card after the land has already been placed on the table. The decision must be made 'as' it enters, not after. Another mistake is forgetting that 'Elf' must be a subtype on the card; a card that produces Elf tokens but does not have the Elf type itself will not satisfy the requirement.

When to Play It

This land is best played in the early turns of a game when you are most likely to have multiple creatures in hand. It allows you to cast a one-mana Green Elf on turn one and still have Black mana available for removal or other utility spells on turn two without the delay of a tapped land.

Interaction examples

Managing Your Mana Base

Command Tower

If you are playing a Black-Green Commander deck, you can play Command Tower first to get any color. On turn two, if you have an Elf in hand, you can play Gilt-Leaf Palace untapped by revealing that Elf. This gives you access to three total mana immediately, whereas playing a tapped land would have limited you to two.

Reacting to Opponents

Exotic Orchard

Suppose your opponent controls an Exotic Orchard and you control Gilt-Leaf Palace. Because Gilt-Leaf Palace can produce Black or Green, your opponent's Exotic Orchard can now also produce Black or Green mana, regardless of whether your Palace entered tapped or untapped.