Dismal Backwater
Land
This land enters tapped.
When this land enters, you gain 1 life.
: Add 
or 
.
- CMC
- 0
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BU
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Starter Commander Decks
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #949
Dismal Backwater enters tapped and gains you 1 life — a small consolation for the tempo loss that defines every gain-land. It's the kind of dual land you run when your budget demands it, and in a two-color Commander deck like Gisa and Geralf where turn-one speed matters less than color fixing, that trade is acceptable.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gisa and Geralf
Gisa and Geralf is a four-mana commander that doesn't need its lands untapped on turn one, so Dismal Backwater's enter-tapped penalty barely registers — you need blue and black reliably, and this delivers both.
Anowon, the Ruin Thief
Anowon, the Ruin Thief is a rogue tribal commander that leans on a full blue-black mana base, and Dismal Backwater slots in as a no-frills dual that keeps the color count honest without straining the budget.
Otrimi, the Ever-Playful
Otrimi, the Ever-Playful runs a three-color base but still needs reliable blue-black fixing in the early turns, and Dismal Backwater is one of the cheapest ways to guarantee both colors show up on time.
Abaddon the Despoiler
Abaddon the Despoiler wants to cast spells with high mana values and trigger cascade, so the life gain from Dismal Backwater is a marginal cushion while the dual land just does the basic job of keeping both colors available.
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic synergizes with every life-gain trigger, so the 1 life from Dismal Backwater is a minor but real contribution — it's the only gain-land that actually feeds the engine while fixing blue and black.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Dismal Backwater is a budget staple — it's legal, it fixes two colors, and at 100-card singleton the enter-tapped drawback matters less than it does in faster formats. In Pauper it competes in a crowded field of common duals where it's a reasonable inclusion but rarely the first choice. In Modern, Pioneer, and Legacy, the tempo cost of entering tapped is a real problem — competitive decks in those formats demand untapped lands, and Dismal Backwater simply can't keep up with the pace.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
Dismal Backwater sits firmly in bulk territory at $0.19, and that price is stable — there's no scarcity story here, just a widely reprinted common that fills a functional role. It won't lose value because it barely has any to lose, but it also won't go up; buy a playset for under a dollar and don't think about it again.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.