Kor Haven – MTG Throwback Thursday (2000)

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Kor Haven was intended to be a sort of “fixed” version of Maze of Ith, but it’s actually almost as powerful under the right circumstances. Two mana is not an exorbitant cost for a deck designed to go to the long game, and while its legendary status means that it’s theoretically possible to beat it with numbers under the right circumstances, most control decks will have a plan to try and stop that from happening. It didn’t become too oppressive in its Standard day because of the popularity of Dust Bowl and resilient or overwhelming threats like Blastoderm and Fires of Yavimaya, but it can take over games in modern casual settings.

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

A sort of retooled version of Maze of Ith, Kor Haven is a land that can do a lot of powerful things. It can stop an enemy from hitting you…but it also does not untap them in the process, and it also lets you win combat against them all the same if you choose to block. The trade-off is that it costs two mana (and tapping Kor Haven) to actually get it working, and it also only hits one creature (making it a lot weaker against an army). All the same, though, it makes for a good weapon against strategies revolving around one creature getting through and doing damage, albeit one that lacks the power needed to keep up in Legacy.

It has shown up in one recent set: part of Oath of the Gatewatch‘s tranche of Zendikar Expeditions. It’s pretty insane in Limited for the most part, even if you’re extremely unlikely to ever play with it there (since Mercadian Masques Limited is not a thing anymore).

Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 4