Sulfurous Springs — Magic: The Gathering card

Sulfurous Springs

Land

{T}: Add {C}.<br>{T}: Add {B} or {R}. Sulfurous Springs deals 1 damage to you.

Set Ice Age
Rarity Rare
Artist Phil Foglio

Why Play Sulfurous Springs

Aggressive Rakdos decks benefit from the immediate mana fixing without entering tapped, allowing consistent turn-one plays like Monastery Swiftspear or Fatal Push. The 1 damage cost becomes negligible in fast strategies that aim to end games quickly, and the colorless option provides flexibility for utility spells or artifacts. Consider this land when your manabase needs reliability over life total preservation, particularly in decks running low-cost spells that demand specific colors early.

Format Notes

Modern and Pioneer see the most play from Sulfurous Springs, where speed often trumps the life loss in competitive Rakdos Midrange and Burn variants. Legacy occasionally features it in budget builds, though dual lands typically take priority in optimized lists. Commander players frequently include it as affordable mana fixing in casual Rakdos builds, where the incremental damage matters less in multiplayer games with higher life totals.

Combos & Synergies

Pain lands naturally complement aggressive strategies alongside cards like Bump in the Night and Lightning Bolt, where the self-damage is offset by quick victories. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth eliminates the drawback entirely by making Sulfurous Springs tap for black without penalty while still producing red when needed. Manaforge Cinder and similar creatures that benefit from taking damage can turn the downside into an occasional upside, though this interaction remains niche.

Learn More

Land Modern Pioneer Commander

Cards That…

Deal Damage
Frequently asked questions about Sulfurous Springs →

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