City of Brass — Magic: The Gathering card

City of Brass

Land

Whenever City of Brass becomes tapped, it deals 1 damage to you.<br>{T}: Add one mana of any color.

Set Chronicles
Rarity Rare
Artist Mark Tedin

Why Play City of Brass

Aggressive multicolor decks prioritize speed over life total, making the 1 damage per activation a manageable trade-off for perfect mana fixing. Five-color strategies and combo decks that need precise mana requirements on early turns benefit significantly from unconditional access to any color. The self-damage becomes irrelevant in games where you're racing to execute your strategy before life totals matter, particularly in formats where games end quickly.

Format Notes

Legacy sees the most competitive play due to its role in fast combo decks and aggressive multicolor strategies where the life loss is negligible compared to the speed gained. Modern adoption is more limited since painlands and checklands often provide safer alternatives, though it still appears in some five-color builds. Commander players frequently include it in multicolor decks despite the repeated damage, as the long-game format allows more time to offset the life loss through other means.

Combos & Synergies

Fastbond creates a powerful engine by allowing multiple land drops per turn, letting you convert life into explosive mana development. Life gain effects like Kitchen Finks or Rhox Faithmender help offset the accumulated damage over longer games. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth provides additional utility by making City of Brass tap for black mana without the damage when you only need that color.

Learn More

Land