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Rules Answers › Mana, Costs & Casting

Does a land with a basic land type tap for mana of that type even without a printed mana ability?

Short answer
Yes. CR 305.6 grants any land with a basic land type an intrinsic mana ability matching that type, regardless of printed text.

A land that has one of the five basic land types — Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest — automatically gains a corresponding mana ability by rule, even if the card itself says nothing about producing mana. This is established in CR 305.6.

The five granted abilities are: Plains gives {T}: Add {W}; Island gives {T}: Add {U}; Swamp gives {T}: Add {B}; Mountain gives {T}: Add {R}; Forest gives {T}: Add {G}. These are intrinsic to the type, not printed on the card.

This matters most for non-basic lands that are given a basic land type through other effects. For example, if a Breeding Pool is somehow given the type Forest by a continuous effect, it would gain the ability to tap for {G} in addition to whatever its printed abilities say.

A classic in-game example: the card Godless Shrine has the basic land types Plains and Swamp. Even if you somehow removed all of its printed text, it would still tap for {W} or {B} because those abilities are granted by the rules based solely on its land types.

Note that having a basic land type is different from being a basic land. A land can have a basic land type without being basic (e.g., shock lands), and the mana ability still applies either way per CR 305.6.

HIGH confidence CR 305.6
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Unofficial fan resource — not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. Answers are AI-generated estimates grounded in the Comprehensive Rules and are not a substitute for an official judge. Verify anything match-critical.