All 5 Hideaway Lands in Magic Ranked

Last updated on March 28, 2024

Shelldock Isle | Illustration by Mark Tedin

The hideaway keyword was introduced in 2007’s Lorwyn, and it’s gone through some changes over the years. Originally intended as land-specific mechanic, it was expanded to nonland permanents in 2022 with the release of Streets of New Capenna. These lands have long been staples in Commander decks, appearing in multiple preconstructed decks since their inception.

But what makes the hideaway lands so special? Are they worth running in a Commander deck? I’ve ranked the five original hideaway cards here just for you! Let’s take a look.

What Are Hideaway Lands?

Windbrisk Heights | Illustration by Omar Rayyan

The hideaway lands are exactly what they sound like: Land cards with the hideaway ability. Hideaway is a triggered ability that occurs when the permanent with hideaway enters the battlefield. When it triggers, you look at the top N cards of your library, depending on what the number is following the hideaway trigger. You choose one card from the seen cards and put the rest on the bottom, exiling the chosen card. Then, after certain conditions are met, you can typically cast the exiled card without paying its mana cost.

Hideaway was first introduced in Lorwyn in 2007 on a cycle of five rare, mono-colored lands. These cards quickly became staples in any EDH deck doing remotely on-color things. Any deck that could execute some typically on-color board states could get one free spell. One single free spell might not sound like a lot, but imagine what you can do when that free spell is Triumphant Reckoning or Peer into the Abyss.

It’s important to note that not all permanents with hideaway enter the battlefield tapped. Though the “ETBs tapped” text is present in the italicized reminder text from the original hideaway cards, as of 2022 this part of the hideaway keyword has been removed. In that same update, hideaway cards were changed to reference a number, letting you dig further into your library with cards like Fight Rigging.

#5. Howltooth Hollow

Howltooth Hollow’s only got two printings out in the wild! It’s rare we see such a Commander-esque card without any reprints, especially one that doesn’t break a dollar on average. Oh wait, that’s why: its free spell is the hardest to activate. In a 1v1 match, you could certainly focus on a discard strategy and possibly activate your Howltooth Hollow within a reasonable amount of time, but in multiplayer games you’ve got to get four players topdecking (remember, it counts you, too). That’ll be quite a bit of work, even with access to some of the best discard spells around. Howltooth Hollow suffers from the same problem as the hellbent mechanic. You just don’t want to play Magic with fewer cards in hand, or else you’re needlessly kneecapping yourself.

#4. Shelldock Isle

Shelldock Isle is a full $2 more than any of the rest of the hideaway lands, perhaps because it’s a playable rare with only four printings, two of which were Secret Lairs. Shelldock Isle looks like it’ll play well with a mill deck. Milling 60% of a library can be done quickly, but not if you’re spending a turn playing a tap land. Maybe you can hit a Traumatize or Fractured Sanity, but I would’ve preferred two early Tome Scours at that rate. Despite its perceived value, Shelldock Isle has a narrow use as far as the hideaway lands go. Maybe it’s most expensive because blue has the most access to topdeck manipulation? Nothing is certain. I’ve heard Shelldock Isle sees play in Legacy and Vintage mill decks, but, according to my source, “mill players are already coping hard enough they might as well play it.”

#3. Windbrisk Heights

Windbrisk Heights is tied in my mind for the easiest-to-execute hideaway land. This land lets you cast your spell if you’ve attacked with three or more creatures this turn. White’s good at dropping a ton of 1/1s, and Windbrisk Heights just gets better when it pairs up with a red deck for access to some hasty creatures. Cards like Captain's Call and Timely Reinforcements are mono-white standards and by far not the only single source of three creatures out there.

#2. Mosswort Bridge

Mosswort Bridge has received the most reprints of any of the original hideaway lands, popping up in Commander precons all over the map from 2013 onwards. Mosswort has the second easiest access to its free spell. Getting creatures with a combined power of 10 on the board is easy in any green deck; any number of fatties can hit the field and immediately grant you that free spell. My favorites are Gigantosaurus and Ghoultree for a cheap 10 power.

#1. Spinerock Knoll

The red hideaway land is Spinerock Knoll, and it’s found its way into a number of Commander precons throughout the years. Spinerock Knoll sits comfortably at the middle of the pack of hideaway lands. Its ability isn’t too hard to activate, especially in Commander games where everyone is throwing huge haymakers left and right. The best part of Spinerock Knoll is that you don’t have to deal that 7 damage to an opponent, an opponent just needs to take 7 damage total this turn. If your exiled spell is an instant or has flash, you can cast that spell on your opponent's turn for a surprise Fireblast or what have you.

Best Hideaway Payoffs

Top Deck Manipulation

The best way to work with your hideaway lands is setting up the top of your library so you can hideaway exactly the card you want. Sensei's Divining Top is the top choice for filtering through your library, and it lets you place cards from your hand back on top of your library. Brainstorm’s another popular choice in any deck running blue. Really, anything that puts a card you’ve seen on top of your library is the move: Vampiric Tutor, Scheming Symmetry, any scry spell; these all do just fine.

Bouncing Hideaway Lands

Once you’ve cast your exiled spell, your hideaway land is more or less just a basic land without the typing. However, many landfall-themed decks run cards that let them play the same land multiple times. I’m thinking of Ramunap Excavator after using your Crop Rotation on a hideaway land, or activating Ruin Ghost just to bounce it back to the battlefield once it’s out of juice.

Wrap Up

Mosswort Bridge | Illustration by Jeremy Jarvis

The return of the hideaway mechanic was a bit of a surprise, especially in a premium Standard legal set. The hideaway lands make appearances in Commander decks across strategies and play styles, and chances are we’ll see the top three reprinted again in another Commander product.

What do you think? Are Howltooth Hollow and Shelldock Isle playable outside of 1v1 60-card matches? Is there a line of play where Shelldock can mill an opponent instantly? What are some of the best ways to enable them? Let me know in the comments, or over on Draftsim’s Twitter/X.

Thanks for reading, and don’t let your opponents know what's coming!