Circuitous Route
Sorcery
Search your library for up to two basic land cards and/or Gate cards, put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Guilds of Ravnica
- Price
- $0.41
- EDHREC rank
- #1707
Circuitous Route puts two Gate or Forest-typed lands onto the battlefield tapped for four mana — a two-for-one that accelerates both your mana base and any landfall or Gate-matters payoff in a single cast. The cost is real: four mana is slow, and decks without a dedicated Gate package or land-synergy payoff should look at cheaper ramp first. In Nine-Fingers Keene, that cost evaporates — fetching two Gates is the whole point.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Nine-Fingers Keene
Nine-Fingers Keene cares specifically about Gates entering the battlefield, and Circuitous Route drops two of them at once — that's double the triggers, double the land count, and exactly the density Keene needs to close games. It shows up in over 90% of Keene lists for a reason.
Radha, Heir to Keld
Radha, Heir to Keld wants lands entering the battlefield to fuel her combat damage trigger, and Circuitous Route delivers two at once for a clean tempo play on turn four. The Forests it fetches also feed her green mana requirements without any awkward color issues.
Ruby, Daring Tracker
Ruby, Daring Tracker rewards land drops with counters and pressure, so Circuitous Route's two-land haul translates directly into a wider board presence. Fetching Forests keeps the curve honest while doubling the landfall payoff in a single turn.
Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor
Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor turns every land drop into a threat, and Circuitous Route provides two in one shot — that's two pumps or two animates depending on how the triggers resolve. It's a reliable mid-game refueling option in a deck that wants to hit land drops every turn.
Archelos, Lagoon Mystic
Archelos, Lagoon Mystic slows everything down for opponents, but Circuitous Route's lands still enter tapped on your side — which matters less when you're already dictating the pace of the game. The two-land swing helps Archelos decks maintain mana advantage while the table crawls.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Circuitous Route is a Commander card through and through — the two-for-one land grab is worth four mana in a 100-card singleton format where consistency is scarce and hitting land drops matters all game long. Outside Commander, it doesn't see meaningful play: competitive Modern, Pioneer, and Legacy formats demand ramp that costs two mana or less, and a four-mana sorcery that just puts lands into play tapped is too slow to compete. The Gate typing on the fetched lands is irrelevant in non-Commander contexts, which strips away the card's main upside in Keene or Gate-matters shells. In Oathbreaker, it's a fine budget option for green decks that want extra land consistency, though the smaller starting hand size makes the four-mana ask tighter.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.41 bulk tier
At $0.41, Circuitous Route is deep bulk — you'll find it in bulk boxes or pick it up for next to nothing in any trade. That price is stable; it's a common with a narrow but loyal audience in Commander Gate decks, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.