Last updated on September 27, 2022
Indatha Triome | Illustration by Robbie Trevino
My first introduction to Triomes was an Ikoria spoiler post captioned “they finally did it.” But I also saw a lot of people confused over why players would be so excited over 3-color tap lands. So why were players excited?
Like a lot of Magic cards, the devil here is in the details. While Triomes might appear no different than tap lands like Arcane Sanctum at first, what makes them special is their type line. These tri-lands were mechanically unique in that they actually had basic land types.
If you’re still unsure why that’s so important, don’t worry. I’m going to break down what these lands are, where you can get them, and whether or not they should be included in your deck. Ready? Let’s get started!
What Are Triomes in Magic?
Jetmir's Garden | Illustration by Kasia ‘Kafis' Zielinska
Triomes are a cycle of 3-colored lands that enter the battlefield tapped. What sets these lands apart is the fact that they each include three basic land types. Indatha Triome, for example, is a Plains Swamp Forest. These were the first lands of their kind when the first five of these came out in Ikoria.
Including basic land types sets the Triomes apart from your typical 3-color lands because they can be searched for in your deck. Fetch lands can grab these, as can cards like Farseek that search up lands of a specific type.
The Triomes all also have a cycling ability, which adds a little versatility to them later in the game.
List of Triomes
Ikoria Triomes
New Capenna Family Lands
What Sets Are Triomes From?
The first five Triomes were printed in Ikoria and were also available in the set’s promo packs. Promo packs are available from WPN stores as prize support for in-person events. These lands each had “Triome” in their name, which is where this land cycle gets its name. They’re available with their standard art as well as in the borderless style.
The second round of Triomes were printed in Streets of New Capenna and are also available in the set’s promo packs. These came in the form of the family land cycle, but even though they don’t have “Triome” in their names they’re functionally the same. They come in the standard style, in the skyscraper style, and in borderless.
This cycle of lands is relatively new, so they have yet to be reprinted outside of their original sets. We can only hope that they’ll be reprinted regularly enough to be available to all players who want them.
Are Triomes Good?
Triomes’ viability depends on the format and the type of deck that you’re playing.
Triomes are some of the better lands that you can play for multicolor decks in formats like Standard or Historic where you’re limited in the number of lands you can use across Magic’s history. Control decks especially seem to benefit from these lands since you’re slightly less concerned with speed than aggro players.
These lands are also good for Commander where games can be a bit slower. If you make use of fetch lands, Triomes are great for mana fixing. Especially if you’re running more than three colors.
Triomes are great options for your deck when drafting Ikoria or Streets of New Capenna not only for mana fixing, but also for their cycling ability.
Triomes vs. Dual Lands
When deciding whether or not to include Triomes in your deck, it’s important to compare them against the other options you have. There aren’t many tri-color lands and Triomes are strictly better than those since they can be fetched. But how do Triomes stack up against dual lands?
Triomes are going to be strictly better than most dual lands that enter tapped if you’re running three or more colors. The only exceptions would be if you’re built with a specific mechanic like lifegain or scrying in mind, in which case lifegain lands or Temples might be better options.
Being fetchable can make Triomes better than some other dual lands too. While fast lands are great in quick competitive formats, I’d give the edge to Triomes in longer formats. Knowing you can search them up and having access to an extra color make up for the chance that they might enter untapped early in the game.
And though they tap for more types of mana, I’d still say that Triomes lose out to shock lands and true duals. But they’re still great options for your multicolor decks and are much more budget-friendly.
Where to Find Triomes
So you’ve decided you want to throw some Triomes in your deck but aren’t sure where to get them. Lucky for you these lands are relatively new and from Standard sets, which means they’re more readily available.
The Ikoria Triomes are going to cost you a little bit more since they’re a couple years old at this point. These mostly float around the $15 range, with borderless versions costing about the same or a little less. It only adds about a dollar or so to the price if you’re looking to shell out a little extra for foil versions.
New Capenna’s family lands are a bit cheaper, probably since they’re from a recent set. The cheapest is Xander's Lounge, at just over $5, and the most expensive is Raffine's Tower for a little under $10. This time around the borderless treatment causes a decent price hike, with borderless copies running around $20.
So where can you buy these lands? My first recommendation for buying Triomes is to check your area for a local game store. You get to see the card and the condition it’s in before buying it, which is always a plus.
Online sellers are a good alternative to pick up Triomes if you don’t have easy access to a local game store charging a fair price then. There are a ton of great sellers on TCGPlayer, and a lot of them are local stores which means you can still support a local business while getting a good price. Just make sure to check the reviews of where you’re buying from along with the card’s listed condition. The site has great return policies too just in case something goes wrong.
Star City Games and Card Kingdom can sometimes be a little higher than market price, but you can be confident that you’re getting a good quality card from a reliable seller.
How Do Triomes Work with Fetch Lands?
Triomes’ interaction with fetch lands is what makes them good cards. Since each Triome has three basic land types, you can search them with any fetch land that searches for any of its basic land types.
For example, if you have a Misty Rainforest then you can use it to search for any Triome that’s either an Island or a Forest. That makes Triomes very easy to find since any single fetch land can search for 9 out of the 10 Triomes!
Wrap Up
Ketria Triome | Illustration by Sam Burley
Mechanically unique cards are always worth some consideration in Magic because they introduce a new element to the game. As Magic’s first lands with three basic types, the Triomes have completely shaken up how we think of land bases for 3+-color decks. They also seem to follow a new trend of Wizards completing land cycles without having to wait too long, which is good news for us all.
What do you think of Triomes? Do you think we’ll see more tri-lands with basic land types in the future? Do you think we’ll ever see true tri-lands? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or over on Draftsim’s Twitter.
I hope you’re now more confident in giving Triomes a try, and I look forward to seeing you in the next one!
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