Lake of the Dead is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
If this land would enter, sacrifice a Swamp instead. If you do, put this land onto the battlefield. If you don't, put it into its owner's graveyard.: Add
.
Complete guide
Lake of the Dead is a high-risk, high-reward land that can catapult your mana production to extreme levels in a single turn. It is a staple for mono-black strategies looking to cast massive spells far ahead of the curve. However, its power comes at a steep price, requiring a steady supply of Swamps to function.
What it Does
Lake of the Dead is a non-basic land that provides explosive mana acceleration. Unlike most lands, it has a replacement effect that triggers as it attempts to enter the battlefield, forcing you to sacrifice a Swamp just to keep it. Once in play, it can tap for a single black mana like a normal Swamp, or you can choose to sacrifice an additional Swamp to add four black mana to your mana pool.
How it Resolves Step by Step
When you play Lake of the Dead, or if an effect tries to put it onto the battlefield, a replacement effect occurs. First, you must choose whether to sacrifice a Swamp you already control. If you sacrifice the Swamp, Lake of the Dead enters the battlefield successfully. If you choose not to, or if you don't control any Swamps, the land is put directly into its owner's graveyard instead of entering the battlefield. Once it is on the battlefield, the sacrifice required for its second mana ability is part of the cost; you cannot respond to the sacrifice to save the land.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is assuming you can play Lake of the Dead as your first land; because it requires a sacrifice to even enter, you must already have a Swamp in play. Another mistake involves timing. Since the sacrifice for the second ability is a mana ability, it does not use the stack and cannot be countered. Players also often forget that the sacrifice requirement applies regardless of how the land enters, including through effects like 'Rampant Growth' style spells.
When to Play It
This land is best used in the mid-to-late game when you have a surplus of Swamps and a game-ending spell in hand. It is particularly effective when you need to jump from five mana to nine mana in a single turn. Be cautious of land destruction, as losing Lake of the Dead after sacrificing multiple Swamps can leave you significantly behind in resources.
Interaction examples
You have three Swamps in play. You play Lake of the Dead from your hand. As it would enter, you sacrifice one of your three Swamps. Lake of the Dead enters the battlefield. You now have two Swamps and one Lake of the Dead.
Command TowerIf your Commander is black, you can tap Command Tower for black mana to help cast other spells, then tap Lake of the Dead and sacrifice a Swamp to generate four black mana. Note that you cannot sacrifice Command Tower to Lake of the Dead, as Command Tower is not a Swamp.
Exotic OrchardIf an opponent controls Lake of the Dead and a Swamp, your Exotic Orchard can tap for black mana because the opponent's land could produce black. However, Exotic Orchard remains a non-Swamp land and cannot be used as fuel for your own Lake of the Dead's sacrifice costs.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Lake of the Dead
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
The tap and sacrifice counts as tapping the land for mana.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You have to sacrifice a swamp before this card is put onto the battlefield. And you have to do this no matter how it is put onto the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
The Necrobloom + Cultivator Colossus + Lake of the Dead
- 1Cast Cultivator Colossus by paying
. - 2When Cultivator Colossus enters, it triggers, attempting to put Lake of the Dead from your hand onto the battlefield. Choose to instead put Lake of the Dead into your graveyard.
- 3Afterwards, continue resolving the Cultivator Colossus trigger, causing you to mill two cards and return Lake of the Dead from your graveyard to your hand due to its dredge ability. Then, repeat the process, attempting to put Lake of the Dead from your hand onto the battlefield. Choose to instead put Lake of the Dead into your graveyard.
- 4Repeat step 3.
Stone-Seeder Hierophant + Lake of the Dead + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Drownyard Temple
- 1Activate Lake of the Dead's second ability by tapping it and sacrificing Drownyard Temple, as it's a Swamp due to Urborg, adding .
- 2Activate Stone-Seeder Hierophant by tapping it, untapping Lake of the Dead.
- 3Activate Drownyard Temple's second ability by paying
, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield. - 4When Drownyard Temple enters, Stone-Seeder Hierophant triggers, untapping it.
- 5Repeat.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Lake of the Dead
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.