Spotlight: Skyshroud Claim

Skyshroud Claim is one of those ramp cards that's maybe on the maybe-list for every green deck. Heck, it's probably on the probably-list for every green deck.

Green is the color of "getting lands from your deck and putting them onto the battlefield." This does two things: ramps and color-fixes.

One of the rules of the game is "one land per turn." Getting around this rule is called ramping, because you are ramping up to have more mana available than you should so that you can cast bigger spells earlier than you should. Consider Rampant Growth.



Well, lookie there. It has the word "ramp" in its name. For the cost of two mana, one of which is green, you get to look around in your library for a basic land and put it directly into play tapped. It costs you some mana and a card, but it lets you put two lands into play on a single turn. On the next turn, you are now one land up from where you would have been. Get ready for the big stuff.

Color-fixing is where you might have a couple of different colors in your deck and you want to make sure that you have access to both of them by a certain turn. You can use a spell like Rampant Growth to guarantee that when you untap, you will be untapping a basic land that produces the color you are looking for that turn. In other words, you trade away a card in your hand and maybe even your entire second turn to make sure that you have the color of mana you need on the third turn.

Compare Rampant Growth to Nature's Lore, for example.



Both spells ramp, since they both let you put an additional land into play. But, while Rampant Growth only lets you get a basic land and put it into play tapped, Nature's Lore places no such restrictions. Instead, you only have to search for a Forest card and it doesn't even come into play tapped. You can use the land you get that turn to make mana. It costs two mana to cast, but gives you back access to one mana right away.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, Skyshroud Claim is a lot like two Nature's Lore spells stapled together. It costs four mana instead of two mana, and it gets two Forest cards instead of one Forest card. And just like with Nature's Lore, the Forest cards you get with Skyshroud Claim come into play untapped and ready for action.

Nature's Lore is better ramp than is Rampant Growth because you get to use the land right away. Skyshroud Claim, doubly so.

"But, wait mister," I can hear you say, "I can only get forests with those spells. What about color fixing?"

One of the beautifully frustrating things about this game is how technical it can be. You see, there's a big difference between a basic Forest and a Forest card.

A card has a "supertype." In this case "land." It's the thing that makes the card a land in the first place. Otherwise, it's just a piece of cardboard. But then it also has a "type." In this case "Forest." Some Forests are "basic" and some are not. These two Forests are basic lands.



These next two Forests are not basic lands.



They are still Forests, they just aren't basic lands. So, you can find them with Nature's Lore, but not with Rampant Growth. Makes perfect sense right?

You know what's even more beautifully frustrating? These two lands are not Forests at all, despite having the word "forest" in the name.



That's right. You would not be allowed to find these lands with Rampant Growth or with Nature's Lore, since they are not basic and they are not Forests.

But! There are several lands that indeed count as a Forest, but that tap for two colors of mana. Here are a few examples.



You can find these lands with Nature's Lore or Skyshroud Claim, no problem. As long as these are the lands you are looking for, Skyshroud Claim ramps and color-fixes, all in one neat package.

There are several other cards in green that do something similar to Skyshroud Claim. For example, if Skyshroud Claim is a double Nature's Lore, Explosive Vegetation is a double Rampant Growth.



Hunting Wilds is similar to Skyshroud Claim, except you give up the ability to get mana back right away for the option of kicking the spell and animating the forests.

Ranger's Path, on the other hand, puts the forests onto the battlefield tapped with no other options.



But none of those spells are Skyshroud Claim. Skyshroud Claim is in the sweet spot for Commander, ramping for two at a cost of four. Playing this spell early sets you up for seven mana on turn five, potentially fixing whatever color problems you are having along the way. If you draw it mid- or late-game, you still have a decent bump in mana.