Landwalk in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Last updated on August 31, 2023

Lord of Atlantis (Judge Gift Promos) | Illustration by Gabor Szikszai

Some mechanics are instant classics, used forevermore once they’re introduced into the game. Others fall by the wayside after some time and are phased out of use. Landwalk is in the latter category, and while it was once quite commonly seen on creatures, it’s all but defunct now.

Still, it’s an important line of text on some creatures, and you could well see it and need to know how it works if you’re playing a format which uses some of the oldest cards in the game, like Commander. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back!

How Does Landwalk Work?

Inkwell Leviathan | Illustration by Anthony Francisco

Landwalk is a collective ability which groups together very similar abilities. If a creature has a landwalk ability, a player who controls a land of that type isn’t able to block the creature. Most often this is one of the basic land types, like Swamp or Island (swampwalk and islandwalk, respectively), but we’ve also seen alternatives like legendary landwalk, artifact landwalk, and nonbasic landwalk.

It should be noted that with the likes of islandwalk, the defending player doesn’t need a basic island for the creature to be unblockable, but a land with the land subtype, like a Watery Grave or Tropical Island.

The History of Landwalk in MTG

Landwalk appeared in the very first MTG set, now known as Alpha, where it appeared on eight cards. It was used pretty regularly in the early days of Magic but fell out of favor over time along with other abilities that punished specific colors. It eventually officially fell out of use around the time of Magic Origins.

We’ve seen it in Modern Horizons 2, though, with the first use of artifact landwalk on the card Vectis Gloves. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it pop up again in future in a similar supplemental set or a Commander deck if the flavor fits the card.

Does Landwalk Work on Dual Lands?

Landwalk abilities like forestwalk work with dual lands that have the relevant basic land type (Forest for forestwalk). If they don’t have that type, it won’t be counted. A creature with forestwalk can be blocked by a player who only has Blossoming Sands, but it can’t be blocked if they have a Breeding Pool, which has the Forest subtype.

What Is Legendary Landwalk in MTG?

Legendary landwalk is a version of landwalk seen on two cards, Ayumi, the Last Visitor and Livonya Silone. It applies only to lands with the legendary supertype, which has been used less and less recently, but was a great inclusion in both the original Legends set as well as the original Kamigawa block, both of which had heavy legendary themes to them.

The unique thing here is that legendary is a supertype rather than a subtype, which is the case with the basic land types used on most landwalk cards. Other than that, it works in much the same way. If an opponent controls a legendary land, such as Boseiju, Who Endures, they can’t block a card with legendary landwalk.

What if You Have Multiple Landwalk Abilities?

A creature can have multiple instances of a landwalk ability like islandwalk, but this won’t change how it works. A bit like if a creature has multiple instances of flying, it doesn’t get super-flying. Similarly, the creature won’t get super-islandwalk. You can, however, give a creature multiple different landwalk abilities, so the same creature could have islandwalk and mountainwalk.

Does Landwalk Stack?

A creature can have multiple instances of a landwalk ability like islandwalk, but this won’t change how it works. A bit like if a creature has multiple instances of flying, it doesn’t get super-flying. Similarly, the creature won’t get super-islandwalk. You can, however, give a creature multiple different landwalk abilities, so the same creature could have islandwalk and mountainwalk.

Best Landwalk Cards

The best landwalk cards are generally ones that give landwalk to other creatures, as it makes your whole team unblockable and you can go wide, not tall. Cards like Master of the Pearl Trident and Lord of Atlantis for merfolk, Zombie Master for zombies, and Eladamri, Lord of Leaves for elves are great examples of this, and are super useful in tribal decks.

A great example of a landwalk creature that’s powerful on its own is cube favorite Inkwell Leviathan. Having shroud, this beater can close out the game and is incredibly difficult to deal with. It takes a bit longer to finish a game in Commander, but it can certainly do enough there in the right circumstances.

Decklist: Momir Vig Landwalk in Commander

Momir Vig, Simic Visionary | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

It’s pretty tempting to play a lands-matter commander with this deck and try for as many colors as possible, but really it’s the creatures that matter here. Momir Vig, Simic Visionary is a pretty good way to head it up. Adding to this, blue and green have a lot of different landwalkers between them, making this work in an odd way.

The name of the game here is to get out a bunch of creatures, then drop something like Craterhoof Behemoth or Nissa, Ascended Animist and swing for unblockable lethal. It might be a glass cannon, but if you aren’t winning with combat damage in a landwalk deck, how are you winning?

Landwalking into the Sunset

Master of the Pearl Trident | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

We rarely see landwalk these days, but it’s certainly left an impression on Magic. Most of the cards have the issue of being from a time when creatures just weren’t particularly powerful, but we still see some cards with landwalk from those first years that are still played.

We once saw protection drop off design, but it’s come back occasionally recently and it has many of the same issues as landwalk. I can see a chance of a small resurgence in design if there’s a need for it.

What about you? Do you like landwalk? Or is it a blight on card design in your eyes? Where could landwalk go in modern Magic? Let me know in the comments or over on Twitter!

Until next time, may your opponents have the right kind of basics for you!