Woodland CemeteryHow it works & interactions with other cards

Check Your Surroundings

Woodland Cemetery has a static ability that creates a replacement effect as it enters the battlefield. It checks if you currently control at least one permanent with the land type Swamp or Forest. This includes basic lands, but also non-basic lands that explicitly list those subtypes in their type line.

The Step-by-Step Resolution

When you play Woodland Cemetery, the game looks at your board state immediately before the land enters. If the condition is met (you have a Swamp or Forest), it enters the battlefield untapped and is ready to use. If you do not control either, it enters the battlefield tapped, and you must wait until your next untap step to use its mana.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is assuming that lands like Command Tower satisfy the requirement because they produce colored mana. Woodland Cemetery looks for land types (the words after 'Land —' on the card), not the ability to produce Black or Green mana. If a land does not explicitly say 'Swamp' or 'Forest' on its type line, it won't help Woodland Cemetery enter untapped.

Strategic Deployment

To maximize efficiency, play your basic Swamps or Forests on turns one and two. This ensures that when you play Woodland Cemetery on turn three, you have access to three mana immediately. If your hand contains only utility lands, you may need to play Woodland Cemetery early as your 'tapped' land for the turn to set up better plays later.

Interaction examples

The Missing Subtypes

Command Tower

If your only other land is Command Tower, Woodland Cemetery will enter the battlefield tapped. Even though Command Tower can produce Black or Green mana, it does not have the Swamp or Forest land types required by the check land ability.

Opponent Influence

Exotic Orchard

You control an Exotic Orchard and your opponent controls a Forest. When you play Woodland Cemetery, it will enter the battlefield tapped. The check only looks at lands YOU control, regardless of what mana your other lands are currently capable of producing via your opponents' boards.

Solo Start

If Woodland Cemetery is the first land you play in a game, it will always enter the battlefield tapped. Since you control zero permanents, you cannot satisfy the requirement of controlling a Swamp or a Forest.