Drowned Catacomb
Land
This land enters tapped unless you control an Island or a Swamp.
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- CMC
- 0
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BU
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Magic 2010
- Price
- $1.89
- EDHREC rank
- #111
Drowned Catacomb enters untapped whenever you control an Island or Swamp, which in any two-color blue-black shell means it functions as a dual land on turn two and beyond with essentially no setup cost. The one real constraint is the opening hand — if you're running it in a deck like Temmet, Naktamun's Will with a healthy Island and Swamp base, that condition resolves itself naturally, and you're getting a dual land for under two dollars.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Temmet, Naktamun's Will
Temmet, Naktamun's Will runs a dense blue-black mana base, so Drowned Catacomb almost always enters untapped — it's in 82% of Temmet lists for exactly that reason, smoothing out the two-color curve a token-copy strategy depends on.
The Wise Mothman
The Wise Mothman demands consistent access to both blue and black mana from turn one, and Drowned Catacomb delivers that without the life payment of a shock or the tempo loss of a tapland — 72% of Mothman lists include it.
Gonti, Canny Acquisitor
Gonti, Canny Acquisitor wants to hit early mana drops and stay ahead on the board, and Drowned Catacomb covers both colors reliably enough that 71% of Gonti builds treat it as an auto-include.
Sauron, Lord of the Rings
Sauron, Lord of the Rings runs a heavy black-blue shell where every land that enters untapped is a small tempo win — Drowned Catacomb clears that bar consistently, which is why 77% of Sauron lists pick it up.
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed needs stable blue-black mana to operate, and Drowned Catacomb is one of the cleanest budget options to provide it — 65% inclusion across more than 41,000 decks reflects how reliably it does the job.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Drowned Catacomb is one of the best budget dual lands available for any blue-black or blue-black-X deck — it enters untapped in the mid-game when it matters most and asks nothing beyond a basic Island or Swamp in play. In Modern and Pioneer, it sees occasional play in slower control shells where the turn-one limitation is acceptable, though it loses ground to fetch-shock combinations in more competitive builds. Legacy and Vintage have access to Underground Sea, so Drowned Catacomb rarely makes the cut there. It's not legal in Standard or Pauper, but in Commander — its true home — it's a staple worth running in any deck touching blue and black.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.89 cheap tier
At $1.89, Drowned Catacomb sits in the cheap tier and punches well above its price point given what it delivers — near-unconditional dual land access for blue-black decks at a fraction of what comparable lands cost. It's a stable pickup rather than a speculative one; demand is broad enough that it stays in print and unlikely to spike, which makes it a safe buy for any blue-black Commander build.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.