Tainted Wood
Land
: Add 
.: Add 
or 
. Activate only if you control a Swamp.
- CMC
- 0
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BG
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Commander 2015
- Price
- $0.56
- EDHREC rank
- #427
Tainted Wood taps for black or green mana without any hoops — as long as you control a Swamp or Forest, which every black-green deck does by turn two. It's a strict upgrade over basics in Golgari and any wedge or shard that includes both colors, and Disa the Restless decks run it as a matter of course.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Disa the Restless
Disa the Restless needs consistent black and green mana to operate her Lhurgoyf-reanimation engine on curve, and Tainted Wood delivers both without entering tapped or requiring basic land types.
The Wise Mothman
The Wise Mothman distributes -1/-1 counters across the board and wants black and green open on the same turn repeatedly; Tainted Wood is reliable dual mana in a shell that stacks Swamps and Forests naturally.
Winter, Cynical Opportunist
Winter, Cynical Opportunist runs a tight Sultai shell where every land that enters untapped matters, and Tainted Wood fills the Golgari pip requirements without a tempo penalty.
Hazel of the Rootbloom
Hazel of the Rootbloom is a clue-and-token engine that needs green mana early and black mana on demand, and Tainted Wood covers both without competing with the fetchland suite.
Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa
Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa spreads poison counters and wants to cast threats on each opponent's end step, so Tainted Wood's unconditional black-green production keeps the mana free for interaction.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Tainted Wood is a Commander card through and through — in a 100-card singleton format where you're nearly guaranteed to have a Swamp or Forest in play by turn three, it functions as a dual land for the cost of nothing. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but irrelevant; the Tainted cycle can't compete with Bayou, Badlands, or the fetchland-dual infrastructure those formats run. Oathbreaker is the one other format where it sees real play, for the same reason as Commander: the mana bases lean on basics, which makes the condition trivially satisfied.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.56 bulk tier
At $0.56, Tainted Wood sits firmly in bulk territory and is one of the better deals in the Golgari land slot — you're getting near-unconditional dual mana for less than a pack of gum. Bulk dual lands with consistent demand tend to hold this floor, so there's no urgency to stockpile, but picking up copies for any black-green deck is a no-brainer at this price.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.