The 28 Best Plains Arts in Magic Ranked

Plains | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

Basic lands are, in some ways, the core of the game. Few other cards appear in nearly every deck across formats. But the real charm of basic lands is their utility as a canvas, and a piece of worldbuilding. Basic lands are landscapes, which gives us a solid glimpse of what the plane we're visiting must look like; it also allows for striking images you might not be able to make when you need to focus on, say, a platoon of soldiers on the march.

Plains have the benefit of really being a canvas; a plains is generally quite flat and plain, which leaves plenty of room to show off features unique to that plain, like the jungles of Naya or Zendikar's hedrons.

These basics have some of the most tranquil, golden arts in the game—but which are the best?

What Makes Plains Art Good in Magic?

Plains | Illustration by Volkan Baga

I'm drawn to Plains art that either tells a story or does something distinct with the concept of a plains. Many basics settle for tranquil expanses of grass, green or golden, perhaps with rolling hills and trees to give the landscape texture. These are good. Plenty of excellent basics are built upon this template, but the best do something interesting—like make that golden field a layer of clouds, for example.

I also rank Secret Lairs and full-arts pretty highly. This isn't to say regular basics can't have excellent art, but SL and full-arts often have license to go beyond the photo-realism that dominates most modern Magic art.

#28. Outlaws of Thunder Junction #278

Plains | Illustration by Adam Paquette

Tumbleweeds were an inevitable motif in the Wild-West inspired Thunder Junction. While I wish Wizards had given the setting more depth than cowboy hats and mounts, I appreciate that this Plains didn't hold back, giving us towering tumbleweeds that make the train in the distance look small. There's something lovely about the contrast of the insignificant train crawling through these desolate plains beneath the mountains of tumbleweeds. It captures the vastness this plane deserves.

#27. Commander 2016 #339

Plains (Commander 2016) | Illustration by Kev Walker

Ruins appear frequently in Magic art, and fantasy more broadly. Sometimes they dominate the landscape, other times they're just a feature. But I can't think of another basic that envelopes its ruin quite like this Plains by Kev Walker. The fallen statue head captures the eye (was it beheaded and cast to earth, or simply swallowed by the hills?), a tiny glimpse of humanity among the wild landscape. It gives character to an otherwise flat landscape, and it makes the art pop.

#26. Avatar: The Last Airbender #0287

Plains (Avatar: the Last Airbender) | Illustration by Salvatorre Zee Yazzie

My nostalgia for Avatar: The Last Airbender influenced this pick quite a bit, but I like the tapestry of fields below Appa and how it feels more subtle than other Universes Beyond lands. The Spider-Man ones, for example, are just very bluntly New York, but this feels like a regular land that just happens to have ATLA flavor.

#25. Innistrad: Midnight Hunt #268

Plains (Innistrad: Midnight Hunt) | Illustration by Alayna Danner

I want to love the black-and-white basics from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt. Alone, in the context of an art piece, they're great. But these are game pieces, and they're pretty hard to differentiate on the other side of a cluttered table. It's weird.

But the art is stellar! This farmland looks wild, barely cultivated by human hand; the scarecrow of twisted branches has a similar tension, as though human and land are locked in constant struggle—a perfect expression of Innistrad.

#24. Dragons of Tarkir #252

Plains (Dragons of Tarkir) | Illustration by Florian de Gesincourt

This Plains stands out because it takes the concept in a direction others don't. Plains are often tranquil, involving fields of softly lit grass, often in golds and greens. I rarely think of them as desolate, yet that's the only word for this plains. Perhaps imposing, or threatening, or devoid could be substituted. Whatever you settle on, few other Plains evoke those descriptions, which makes this exceptional.

#23. Edge of Eternities #367

Plains (Edge of Eternities) | Illustration by Adam Paquette

This land gets the sense of wonder from the alien planet just right. The colors and basic topography mesh with our Earthly concept for a plain, yet the bulbous planet, arching spaceship, and strange rings in the sky provide an uncanny sense of wonder. Vistas like this work best when they mingle the unfamiliar and alien; this looks like a world I could visit, yet remain unaware of lurking danger.

#22. Zendikar Rising #266

Plains (Zendikar Rising) | Illustration by Sam Burley

One of Zendikar's most striking features is its floating lands. Islands soaring above the sea, forest-strewn rocks connected by vines and other vegetation, and so on. But I really like how this Plains does it, because the rings that rise through this art appear to be an ancient skyclave or other dwelling, broken by time and Zendikar. If there's any plane in the Multiverse that should make its sentient life feel insignificant against nature's sublimity, it's Zendikar, and this art sells that perfectly.

#21. Dominaria #253

Plains (Dominaria) | Illustration by Mark Poole

Mark Poole's Dominaria basics create engaging art by pulling on the plane's rich history. This Plains has history. The arch, the shape of the grass, the standing stones—everything here is intentional. This area was crafted. But the crafters are long gone. The grass is overgrown, and moss coats the arch. Was this place abandoned because of the fall of the Thran? A causality of The Brothers' War? We'll never know, but we can witness.

#20. Shards of Alara #230

Plains (Shards of Alara) | Illustration by Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

This borders on forest art, with the prominence of trees in the piece. But that's only to be expected given that Naya, the shard depicted here, is primarily a vast jungle. It's actually incredible worldbuilding: That this small, overgrown clearing is only a section of Naya clear enough to label plains speaks volumes about what the rest of the shard must look like. It's also quite distinct among Plains art with the emphasis on vegetation rather than great distances.

#19. Magic 2011 #231

Plains (Magic 2011) | Illustration by John Avon

While I value Plains art that goes further than showing a tranquil expanse of grass, John Avon's Plains for Magic 2011/Commander 2018 proves that which is expected isn't bad when done incredibly well. It has two touches I especially appreciate: The small flowers in the foreground give it incredible texture while the slightly rounded trees have great character, almost reminiscent of the tree on the green forest mana symbol.

#18. Jumpstart #45

Plains (Jumpstart) | Illustration by Johannes Voss

Who's a good boy? You are! Yes, you are!

#17. Jumpstart #42

Plains (Jumpstart) | Illustration by Yeong Hao Han

What a land. Just… what a land. There are many ways one could try to capture a dreamy landscape, but this might be the best. The soft, indistinct lines of the artwork and the way they blend together give the impression of a soft, pleasant dream. The ragged, starry border makes this a picture within the picture, as though this isn't our dream but one that we peek in on like the faeries of Lorwyn.

#16. Battle for Zendikar #253

Plains (Zendikar) | Illustration by Vincent Proce

You barely see the green Plains in this full art because it's dominated by hedrons. The flat plains play with the setting nicely, falling into the background so we can appreciate the strange constructs that dominate Zendikar. The hedron in the foreground, tipped on its side, is particularly notable; we often see the hedrons from a distance, so that close-up is a welcome treat.

#15. Throne of Eldraine #253

Plains (Throne of Eldraine) | Illustration by Howard Lyon

Fairy tales often involve rules. Play by the rules, be a good child, and you're rewarded. But those who stray from the path often reap the consequences. This art captures that well, with a path that winds through a field of brambles. The reward at the end of the trail adds a mystical touch that enchants, and it gives you a reason to obey.

#14. Dominaria United #277

Plains (Dominaria United) | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

None of the stained glass full-art basics from Dominaria United were bad, but the Plains is the best. Stained glass has strong religious connotations that mesh incredibly well with white's slice of the color pie, especially considering Dominaria's history with Benelia and Serra. Though this art treatment is nice on all the basics, it fits this one.

#13. Bloomburrow Seasonal Lands

Bloomburrow‘s seasonal basics are stellar executions of an incredible concept I wish we had seen sooner and hope to see again. This one traces the path of the seasons by the grass, focusing on budding, stunning, then falling and dead leaves and flowers to trace the seasons. These are more understated than the other seasonal lands, but no less stunning.

#12. Dominaria #252

Plains (Dominaria) | Illustration by Dimitar Marinski

When I think of Plains in Magic art, I think of great golden expanses sprawling to the horizon, perhaps populated with trees and hills to make the topography more exciting. This Plains has a wonderful subversion of that; we get our golden expanse, but it's a field of clouds rather than grass, made exciting by the spires of soaring cities. It delivers what we expect in a delightful new package that makes it quite pleasing.

#11. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Japanese Print #293

Every Magic set these days gets an exclusive full-art treatment or two. Some of the best are these Japanese art prints from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. This art captures such a unique version of a Plains that it would be worth ranking if it were jank—and it's so, so much better than that.

#10. Unstable #212

Plains (Unstable) | Illustration by John Avon

Somebody told John Avon that Plains are often gold, and he pushed that as far as possible with this work from Unstable. I don't think this counts as monochrome, but the sheer amount of yellow and gold seizes the eye. The brightness and slanting sunbeams really sell that the Plains are the land of angels; it looks like a divine visitor ought to touch down any moment.

#9. Scars of Mirrodin 232

Plains (Scars of Mirrodin) | Illustration by James Paick

Plains are often tranquil; it comes with the territory of rolling hills, golden grass, and plenty of sunlight that define much of the art. At a glance, this Plains from Scars of Mirrodin fits right in. Then you look closer. You see the metallic plates that cover the ground, the sharp edges of the razor grass that coats the plane, and come away feeling unsettled, in a way that feels appropriate for this artificial plane.

#8. Shadowmoor #282

Plains (Shadowmoor) | Illustration by Omar Rayyan

Shadowmoor isn't a pleasant plane, and this art captures it perfectly. There's nothing soft and golden and tranquil about this Plains; just a hostile tree line ripped from a Stephen King novel and oddly menacing grass that looks like it'll shred you before you reach those trees. I appreciate the choice to focus close on the spiky, angry grass rather than taking a broader perspective.

#7. Secret Lair #888

I love the abstract Secret Lair lands (though that should stay away from complex cards like The One Ring), but this one, from Alexander Khabbazi, has a special flair thanks to those misty eyes circling the mana symbol. Giving a Plains, the representative of the color with most of Magic's angels, “be not afraid” vibes is clever and stunning.

#6. The Brothers’ War #278

Plains (The Brothers’ War) | Illustration by Sergey Glushakov

The mecha full-arts from The Brothers’ War were fine. None of them really stood out to me, with the exception of this one, from Sergey Glushakov. Many of the others just… had mechas. The Island ones were cute because they were reminiscent of Pacific Rim, but this one fits because of the back lighting. This immense mecha towers towards the sun, harshly backlit as though it were one of white's iconic angels. But this is no angel; this is a war machine. The survivor of the battle that left these plains strewn with debris, the creation of a man whose war would bring about an ice age. It captures the horror of the war between Urza and Mishra better than any of the others; even without the background knowledge of the story, the composition is striking with that mechanical angel.

#5. Odyssey #332

Plains (Odyssey) | Illustration by Eric Peterson

I have to add the storm Plains; it's in my contract as a Magic player. Eric Peterson's illustration from Odyssey might be the most iconic non-full art Plains in the game, and it's simply stunning. Few other Plains use their flat landscape to show off another event, but we have that here with a terrifying thunderstorm laced with lightning crawling towards a solitary figure in white. So much is happening, and it's all fantastic.

#4. Wilds of Eldraine #262

Plains (Wilds of Eldraine) | Illustration by Hari & Deepti

Disney's fairy tale retellings—Cinderella (1950), Snow White (1937), etc.—smoothed away the darker edges from the stories that inspired them to make them “family friendly”, as though they hadn't been told to children for generations. But this art hasn't forgotten. I love all the abstract art from Wilds of Eldraine, but this crowns them all. Thorns are a frequent motif in fairy tales, and here they become the Plains we must cross to reach the castle in the distance. The field of brambles and the spikes that rise from the earth like teeth give this a pleasantly foreboding feel that contrasts with the typically tranquil Plains we see.

#3. Asia Pacific Land Program #4

Plains (APAC Lands) | Illustration by Ron Spears

Plains often feature flowers. They add depth and color to compositions and give them some character. A few well-placed flowers make a location pop and give it a unique flavor. This Plains dials that all the way up; these are not a feature but the whole thing, a great array of bright sunflowers.

#2. Asia Pacific Land Program #14

Plains (APAC Lands) | Illustration by Rebecca Guay

A good Plains needs a defining feature. It's not enough to just paint a flat landscape of grass. What could be a better feature than the Great Wall of China, or at least something inspired by it? It helps that Rebecca Guay can do no wrong when it comes to Magic art. Nobody else could have captured this so beautifully.

#1. Commander Masters #438

Plains (Commander 2016) | Illustration by Rebecca Guay

Though I appreciate many basic land arts, Rebecca Guay's basics from Commander 2016 are my basics of choice—though my preferred printing comes from Commander Masters, with the old border.

This Plains works off contrast. The tree and the hill it grows from have a lot going on in terms of details and colors, which makes the expansive plains and the cloudy sky feel relaxing. They complement each other. I also appreciate the perspective; there's a strong sense of story here. The shade of this tree is the perfect place to rest on your journey, looking out over the vista you have to cross.

Wrap Up

Plains (Magic 2010) | Illustration by John Avon

Though a plains seems like a simple concept, Plains have a great variety of art. It helps that a flat landscape is perfect to populate with striking features like ruins or to emphasize unique, plane-specific characteristics like hedrons and mechas. As a whole, they're just great.

This list definitely has subjective biases, so let me know what your favorite Plains are is in the comments. What did I omit that you would add? Did I overlook anything? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!