MTG Ramp vs Lands: When to Add Lands, When to Add Ramp

TLDR

Lands = consistency. Ramp = speed. If you keep missing land drops, ramp won’t save you. It just becomes an overpriced land drop that can get blown up.
If you’re missing your 3rd or 4th land drop, add lands (or cheap draw that finds lands).
If you’re hitting land drops but still behind, add ramp (especially ramp that sticks, like land ramp).
In Commander, a sane starting point is usually “enough lands to function” first, then ramp to match your commander cost and curve. Yes, “function” is a real metric. No, vibes are not.

You’re asking MTG ramp vs lands, which is basically the eternal deckbuilding argument between “I want to cast spells” and “I want to cast more spells than everyone else.” Both sides are correct. Both sides are also frequently lying to themselves.

The real question is: what problem are you trying to solve? Because lands and ramp fix different problems, and using one to patch the other is how you end up staring at a Signet you can’t cast while telling yourself you’re “mana flooded in spirit.”

Lands vs ramp in one sentence

Lands make your deck work. Ramp makes your deck faster.

A land is guaranteed progress. You can normally play one per turn, and it doesn’t ask your other cards for permission. Ramp is what you use once you’ve already built a deck that reliably hits its land drops and you want to get ahead.

So if your deck is stumbling, the first thing to diagnose is brutally simple:

Are you failing to make land drops, or are you just slower than the table?

Those are different failures. They require different fixes.

The rule people hate: ramp still needs lands

Here’s the ugly truth:

If you’re missing early land drops, your ramp becomes catch-up, not acceleration.

That’s not “ramping.” That’s paying two mana to pretend you played your third land on time.

A classic example:

You keep a 2-land hand with a 2-mana rock.
You miss your third land drop.
Now your 2-mana rock is stuck in hand.
You did not “build efficiently.” You built a small, sad museum exhibit titled “Why I Should Have Kept a Three-Land Hand.”

This is why “cut lands for ramp” is only correct after you’re sure your deck reliably hits the early turns. Ramp is a multiplier. If your baseline is shaky, ramp multiplies your problems too.

MTG Ramp vs Lands decision tree

Use this when you’re staring at your list and thinking “I have 12 ramp cards, why do I still feel broke?”

1) Are you missing land drops by turn 3 or 4?

Yes → Add lands first (or add cheap card selection/draw that helps you find them).
No → Go to #2.

Why turn 3 or 4? Because those turns decide whether your deck is participating in the game or just providing ambience.

2) Are you consistently casting your commander on the turn you want?

No → Add ramp that lines up with your commander’s mana value (more on that below).
Yes → Go to #3.

3) Do you often end games with lots of unused mana?

Yes → You might have too much ramp or not enough card draw and mana sinks.
No → Your mana package may be fine. Congratulations. Please enjoy this rare moment of peace.

4) Is your ramp getting blown up a lot?

Yes → Shift ramp toward land-based ramp (if you’re in green) or more resilient sources.
No → You can lean harder on rocks/dorks if your meta allows it.

That’s the core of MTG ramp vs lands: fix consistency first, then chase speed.

What counts as ramp (and what doesn’t)

People call a lot of things “ramp.” Some of those things are ramp. Some are just therapy.

Usually counts as ramp

Mana rocks: artifacts that tap for mana (Signets, Talismans, Sol Ring, etc.).
Mana dorks: creatures that tap for mana (Llanowar Elves and friends).
Land ramp that puts lands onto the battlefield: Rampant Growth effects, Cultivate-style effects.
Cost reduction (sometimes): it doesn’t add mana, but it effectively acts like ramp if it consistently reduces what you pay.

Usually does not count as ramp

“Put a land into your hand” effects. These help you hit land drops, but they do not increase your total mana available next turn by themselves.
Treasure that shows up inconsistently. If your deck reliably makes treasures every game, sure. If it “sometimes goes off,” treat it like a bonus, not a foundation.

One rules detail matters here: putting a land onto the battlefield isn’t the same as playing a land, and it doesn’t use up your normal land play for the turn. That’s why land-ramp is so strong when you have access to it.

Commander templates you can steal (adjust to taste)

These are not laws. They are starting points. Your pod will still find a way to punish you.

Template A: Midrange “normal Commander deck”

Lands: 37 to 40
Ramp: 8 to 12
Goal: Hit land drops through turn 4 or 5, then have enough acceleration to double-spell midgame.

If you’re unsure, start here. It’s boring, but so is not casting spells.

Template B: Low-curve deck (cheap commander, lots of 1-2 drops)

Lands: 34 to 37
Ramp: 6 to 10 (often lighter)
Goal: You don’t need tons of ramp if your deck already plays multiple cheap spells a turn. You need consistency and card flow.

Also, if your whole deck costs two mana, drawing a mana rock on turn seven feels like finding a coupon for a store you already left.

Template C: Big-mana “battlecruiser” or expensive commander

Lands: 39 to 42
Ramp: 10 to 15
Goal: You are trying to get to 6+ mana without playing the world’s slowest fair game. More lands helps your early stability, and more ramp helps you actually reach the top end.

This is where land count gets weirdly important. Big spells don’t care that you “almost got there.”

Template D: Non-green deck that leans on artifacts

Lands: 35 to 38
Ramp: 12 to 18 rocks
Reality check: You’re faster, but you’re also one overloaded Vandalblast away from learning humility.

If your meta packs artifact hate, don’t build your mana like it’s indestructible.

Matching ramp to your commander cost (so it actually matters)

Ramp is best when it changes what turn you can do the thing you built your deck to do.

A quick rule of thumb:

4-mana commander: 2-mana ramp matters a lot (it can land your commander a turn early).
5-mana commander: 2- or 3-mana ramp both help you hit turn 4 commander.
6-mana commander: you want enough ramp that you’re not waiting until turn 6 to play your “plan.”

Ramp that doesn’t change your timing is still fine, but now it’s about total mana later, not early tempo. That’s a different job. Don’t confuse them.

When cutting lands is actually fine

Cutting lands is not automatically wrong. It’s just usually done by people who are feeling brave and aren’t the ones paying for it later.

You can cut lands if most of these are true:

Your deck has real card flow (not “one draw spell I like”).
You have cheap interaction, so you don’t lose instantly when you stumble.
Your ramp is cheap enough and dense enough that you consistently see it early.
You’re willing to mulligan for functional hands (Commander multiplayer rules give you some breathing room here, but don’t use that as permission to keep nonsense).

If you cut lands and then keep 2-land hands because “I have ramp,” you are not optimizing. You are gambling. And not even with a fun payoff.

Proxies: the smartest way to solve MTG ramp vs lands

Mana packages are the perfect thing to test with proxies because the fix is often boring:

+1 land
-1 cute six-drop
swap a 3-mana rock for a 2-mana rock
add two pieces of cheap land-ramp

Nobody wants to buy cards just to learn “wow, I should have played 39 lands.” Proxies let you iterate quickly for casual play, playtesting, budget, and accessibility.

Quick legal and social clarity:

Casual games: ask your pod, be readable, be chill.
Sanctioned events: you need authentic cards, with limited judge-issued proxy exceptions for damage during the event. Don’t build your plan around “I’ll just use proxies.” That’s not how it works.

A quick checklist

If you only do one thing after reading this, do this:

If you missed land drops in your last few games, add 1–2 lands first.
If you hit land drops but couldn’t keep up, add 2 pieces of ramp that match your curve.
If you “ramped” but still couldn’t cast spells, you probably needed lands, not more ramp.
If you had tons of mana and nothing to do, you probably need card draw or mana sinks, not more ramp.

Dry conclusion: your deck is allowed to be powerful. It just has to be functional first.

FAQs

Is ramp a replacement for lands in Commander?

Not really. Ramp works best when you’re already reliably making land drops. If you’re cutting lands and missing early turns, your ramp becomes catch-up, not acceleration.

How many lands should I run if I have lots of mana rocks?

Usually still more than you think. Rocks help, but they’re also easier to remove than lands, and they don’t help if you can’t cast them. Many decks do fine around the high 30s for lands and then tune from there.

What’s the best type of ramp?

It depends on your colors and meta. Land-ramp tends to be resilient. Rocks are universal but fragile. Dorks are fast but die to wipes. Treasure can be great if your deck produces it consistently.

Does card draw let me run fewer lands?

Sometimes, yes, because you see more of your deck and find lands more often. But card draw is not a magic coupon that lets you keep 2-land hands forever.

What counts as a land for deckbuilding math?

Real lands are lands. Some effects that put lands onto the battlefield can function like “virtual lands” for hitting mana thresholds, but be careful: if they cost mana, they are not the same as simply drawing a land.

References

Internal (ProxyKing)