Land Tax
We didn't know how broken this card was when
Legends first appeared in 1994.
Soon enough, however, there were three or four
copies in every white deck and several copies in
decks not built primarily on a white mana base.
Yup, decks were actually SPLASHING white in
order to fit Land Tax (and Swords to Plowshares,
to be honest). Back then, the first player to
successfully activate Land Tax would VERY OFTEN
win the game. The old trick was to play a Plains
and Land Tax on turn one, then to play a Strip
Mine on turn two. At the beginning of your turn
three, with your opponent controlling exactly
two lands of his own, you would sacrifice your
Strip Mine to destroy one of your opponent's
lands and then activate Land Tax, allowing Land
Tax to resolve while you had only one Plains in
play but before your sacrificed Strip Mine had
destroyed one of your opponent's two lands. This
trick worked for several years. The power of
Land Tax made it all the way to the Pro Tour,
appearing in half of the top eight decks in
Magic's inaugural professional event in 1996.
CONSTRUCTED: 4.5
CASUAL: 3.5
LIMITED: 2.5
I guess I can't complain in the least about this
card. If it hits (which is a likely event,
considering it only costs one white mana), you
not only ensure that you will have land for the
rest of the game, you can actually thin your
deck out to the point that your draws are more
relevant than your opponents, as you are less
likely to draw land and more likely to draw the
business cards. Other than that, I really can't
think of much to say about this card that hasn't
been said already / that other CotD reviewers
are saying.
One of the most retarded deck thinners EVER.
Land Tax is WAY undercosted at only W. Play it
right, and you can empty your deck of land in 6
or 7 turns...now all your draws are something
infinitely more useful, and you'll ALWAYS have a
land drop as long as you need it. Simply
ridiculous. If you found it in limited
situation, you just play it, period, if you're
going white. In casual, it's especially perfect
for building up your board and hand situation to
make something amazing happen.
