Mountain Valley 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
This land enters tapped., Sacrifice this land: Search your library for a Mountain or Forest card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
Complete guide
Mountain Valley is a classic 'slow fetch land' originally from the Mirage expansion. It provides budget-friendly mana fixing by allowing you to search for specific basic land types from your library. Because it enters the battlefield tapped, it requires careful planning to maximize your turn-by-turn efficiency.
A Gateway to Mountains and Forests
The primary function of Mountain Valley is to thin your deck and ensure you have the correct colors of mana. When you activate its ability by tapping and sacrificing it, you search your library for a card with the Mountain or Forest subtype. This is not limited to basic lands; any land card that explicitly lists 'Mountain' or 'Forest' on its type line can be retrieved.
Step-by-Step Resolution
First, Mountain Valley enters the battlefield tapped, meaning you cannot use it the turn you play it. On a subsequent turn, you pay the cost: tap the land and sacrifice it to the graveyard. This puts the activated ability on the stack. When the ability resolves, you search your library for a Mountain or Forest card and put it onto the battlefield. Finally, you must shuffle your library, regardless of whether you found a card or not.
Strategic Timing and Constraints
One common mistake is forgetting that you don't actually have to find a card. If you realize your library no longer contains a Mountain or Forest, you still complete the action of searching and shuffling. Additionally, remember that the land you fetch enters the battlefield untapped unless that specific land card has its own rule stating otherwise. This allows you to use the new mana source immediately upon resolution.
When to Play Mountain Valley
This land is best played on early turns where you don't have a proactive one-mana play, or on turns where you have excess mana and can afford the temporary loss of a land drop. It is also an excellent tool for triggering 'Landfall' abilities or clearing the top of your library after using effects that manipulate your deck's order.
Interaction examples
You play Mountain Valley as your land for the turn. It enters tapped. On your next turn, during your opponent's end step, you tap and sacrifice it to search for a basic Mountain. The Mountain enters the battlefield untapped, and you start your own turn with a fresh red mana source ready to go.
If you have a non-basic land in your library that is both a Forest and a Plain, Mountain Valley can find it because it checks for the 'Forest' subtype. You sacrifice Mountain Valley, search for that specific dual-typed card, put it onto the battlefield, and then shuffle your library.
Suppose all your Mountains and Forests are already in play or in your graveyard. You can still activate Mountain Valley to trigger a shuffle. You look through your library, find nothing (as allowed by the rulings), and then shuffle. This is useful if you know the card on top of your deck is not what you need.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Mountain Valley
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
You do not have to find a mountain or forest card if you do not want to.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Omnath, Locus of Rage + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Omnath and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Omnath trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding
. - 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying
, returning it from the battlefield to your hand. - 7Resolve the Omnath from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Rampaging Baloths + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Rampaging Baloths and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Rampaging Baloths trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding .
- 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying , returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7Resolve the Rampaging Baloths from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Scute Swarm + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Scute Swarm and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Scute Swarm trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding .
- 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying , returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7Resolve the Scute Swarm from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Tireless Provisioner + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Tireless Provisioner and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Tireless Provisioner trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding .
- 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying , returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7Resolve the Tireless Provisioner from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Tireless Tracker + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Tireless Tracker and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Tireless Tracker trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding .
- 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying , returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7Resolve the Tireless Tracker from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Zendikar's Roil + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Zendikar's Roil and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Zendikar's Roil trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding .
- 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying , returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7Resolve the Zendikar's Roil from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Springheart Nantuko + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Springheart Nantuko and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Springheart Nantuko trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding .
- 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying , returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7Resolve the Springheart Nantuko from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Kodama of the East Tree + Ghost Town + Field of the Dead + Mountain Valley
- 1Fetch a land using Mountain Valley.
- 2When the fetched land enters, Field of the Dead and Kodama trigger.
- 3Resolve the Kodama trigger, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
- 4When Ghost Town enters, Kodama and Field of the Dead trigger.
- 5Holding priority, activate Ghost Town's first abiltiy by tapping it, adding .
- 6Activate Ghost Town's second ability by paying , returning it from the battlefield to your hand.
- 7Resolve the Field of the Dead from step 4, creating a token.
- 8When the token enters, Kodama triggers, putting Ghost Town from your hand onto the battlefield.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Mountain Valley
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.