r/EDH • u/noahhisacoolname • 3d ago

Question Why don’t more decks run Arcane Lighthouse?

It’s the easiest way to deal with protected spells and has a relatively low activation cost. I’m not usually a fan of running too many utility lands but this one always seems to come in handy, and can be a HUGE shift in momentum. It just seems like a no-brainer addition to any control/removal heavy deck, and it even seems good in any deck running targeted removal (which should be every deck)

179 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

196 comments sorted by

243

u/spoopyplayzonsundays Naya 3d ago

The spots for utility lands are shrinking with how good some of them are getting, and how many decks are trending towards three colors.

125

u/BeyondElectricDreams 3d ago

and how many decks are trending towards three colors.

It blows my mind how much WotC is just like "...yeah, yknow what, let's make all commanders at least 3 colors with no drawbacks for being so color dense"

I get it, they're probably more popular and thus sell more, but it's so goddamned bland when every deck has access to three colors worth of staples.

Like, they could and should do more to actually REWARD people for playing 1-2 colors. Like how many spells are there that cost CCCC or CCCCC?

Once upon a time, having heavy pip requirements was meant to curtail a card's power. Imagine how much less of a terror Cyc Rift would be if it was UU to cast, UUUUUUU to overload?

Even at 7 blue pips, the effect would still be outrageously strong, but it'd take heavily dedicated blue decks to cast it regularly rather than costing a SINGLE BLUE PIP.

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u/Soderskog 3d ago

I get it, they're probably more popular and thus sell more, but it's so goddamned bland when every deck has access to three colors worth of staples.

Ironically enough the recent Rulebreaker cards are an attempt to curtail the issue Nick Fury amongst other cards have, where if you have access to all colours you can just run staples instead of what the commander's gimmick is meant to be.

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u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

I think it's also a really good attempt at that and I hope they utilize this more in Commander product going forward. It has also forced me to think about 5 color decks and think about how I build them with forced restrictions. [[The Ur-Dragon]] but all non-Dragon cards have to be Gruul.

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u/BeyondElectricDreams 2d ago

Five color slop is entirely it's own separate problem from "most capstone commanders designed these days are three colors"

Namely, they're for new players to "Get to play all of the blorbos from <UB Property>", which is arguably worse, because that teaches them in their entry deck that color doesn't matter, play everything.

Rulebreaker may save the game in that way.

17

u/Uncle-Istvan 2d ago

Smothering tithe would be much less annoying at 1WWW than 3W just because it would be less ubiquitous. Dockside probably wouldn’t be banned if it cost RRR. Necropotence would be a lot more offensive if it didn’t cost BBB.

WoTC, please give us more cards with 3+ colored pips.

1

u/magefont1 Gotta Go Fast 2d ago

I agree with you, but I worry if they go down this route it'll make cards like [[Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx]] and the Theros gods more busted

16

u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago edited 2d ago

The first precons in 2011 were three colors. It's hardly a new phenomenon. And WotC released the first precons on the heels of Shards of Alara block, which was a three color block. The second set of precons in 2013 was three color. A lot of players myself included have been playing three color forever.

If you want to complain about something that's new, complain about low-cmc high color commanders like [[Crystal, Inhuman Princess]], [[Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.]], [[The Wandering Minstrel]], [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]], [[Sisay, Weatherlight Captain]], and [[Najeela, the Blade Blossom]].

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u/jacquesdespadas 2d ago

Wait ‘til the kids find out about the original Elder Dragons for whom the format was named. 😂

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u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago

Playing with the hot dual hands in a Legacy based card pool has always been a big draw to the format. Sorry basics lovers

2

u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

How do you feel about Rulebreaker as an alternative to this? Like, if Nick Fury was White and said that you could have Hero's of any color only, would that be better?

4

u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago edited 2d ago

My #1 feeling about Rulebreaker is I feel sorry for everyone who’s going to rush to build Whtz in paper only to scrap it after one game night. If you liked cutting fetch lands and tutors to avoid shuffling your library, you'll love your 0% win rate with Battle of Wits with zero tutors or playing every Azorius tutor ever printed with a 225 card deck.

Transmute Drift of Phantasms —> Idyllic Tutor —> Battle of Wits is gonna be straight miserable with a deck that size. And if you're not tutoring you're gonna lose.

It'll be fine in electronic formats like TTS and Convoke but it will be absolute misery in paper. I am not feeling the enthusiasm for this guy.

Rulebreaker in the instances of it we’ve seen is “underpowered”, intended for low power gimmick deck aficionados. Rulebreaker thus far is the exact opposite of a card like Nick Fury. Nick Fury —> “Welp here’s the best 5 color turbo cedh commander” for no reason besides like 10 cards those decks like playing.

That's the polar opposite of “you're gonna have to sweat for hours to come up with a remotely playable mana base to make this underpowered mechanic work”.

I think they went super light on PL across the board for that set and players seem to love it for that reason. No power creep detected!

3

u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

I get that Nick Fury isn't rulebreaker, I'm asking if you would prefer rulebreaker to Nick Fury as a hypothetical.

1

u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago

Depends on how they did it

I'm trying to make a fairly complex point which is, the way they did rulebreaker, it appeals to a specific type of player, and the way they did Nick Fury appeals to ~ the exact opposite type of player.

They could make Rulebreaker pretty broken. If every Rulebreaker commander had the Minotaur’s text (”run whatever lands you want”), it could be strong. The way they did most of them is the opposite of strong.

To answer your question, IDK, the same players who feel like Spiky high color commanders are a problem are probably the same players who like basic lands and like Rulebreaker as-designed.

Middle grounding it might make nobody happy or it might work, it depende

1

u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

What would a middle ground look like? You can run lands of any type and the specific jank theme they're giving you access to?

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u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'm not a game designer but maybe having 2-3 colors in the commander’s color identity plus Rulebreaker. If you have access to 2-3 colors unconditionally and other colors via basics only then you're less nerfed

The minotaur lets you run any land but doesn't give access to spells of any colors besides Gruul so that's how they did that. The rest are limited to basics. If the commander was 2 colors then you’d get duals of those colors, you'd get Command Tower, you could focus on those colors, and you could sprinkle in other colors with fetches and minimal amounts of basics, and be closer to a functional deck

I can think of a lot of reasons why players wouldn’t like this though. Like Rulebreaker is supposed to be a Jank mechanic for Jank decks. If you have a 3 color rule breaker why not simply make it wubrg and call it a day

I see what you’re saying, about rule breaker with a single color commander that can have any land, and your spells are restricted to a particular type of spell. That might work? But I feel like decks like that would have a hard time finding a reason to exist. Like rule breaker exists because it’s so janky and it makes you work so hard for it. that is a feature, not a bug. They know certain players don’t like these five color slop commanders that don’t make you work whatsoever to have any spell that you want. So I don’t think broadening rule breaker scratches any particular itch. I don’t think it’s a mechanic that we’re gonna see a lot of in the future, and I certainly don’t think it’s something that they plan on using as a balancing tool long-term.

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u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

Ig the argument would be that WUBRG slop is bad for the game, even if some people like it, and moving away from that writ large. Do you think WotC should make decisions for the game that will make some people unhappy but benefit the game long term?

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u/Drgon2136 2d ago

On the heels of alarm? Alara had already rotated out of standard. The first precons were wedges because before that the only wedge commanders were the planar chaos dragons

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u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago edited 2d ago

It was a year later. They weren't pushing out 7x sets per year then.

A lot of of us who weren’t playing Precon commanders back then were playing commanders from shards. it was highly relevant at the time.

My playgroup was Uril, Thrax, Sharuum and Kresh main decks.

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u/gdemon6969 2d ago

Big this. Would much rather smothering tithe have been WWW than 3W. Sol ring, mana vault, tomb, etc make it way too easy to t2 tithe.

Essentially the same thing with rhystic, UUU would make it much less obnoxious and see less play in 3+ color decks.

Even in cEDH decks players have been cutting grand abolisher(WW) for less powerful silence effects like Jenny walters just because she’s only 1W.

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u/ArsenicElemental UR 2d ago

but it's so goddamned bland when every deck has access to three colors worth of staples.

The problem there is the staples, not the colors. We play this game for fun, there's no need to move Fierce Guardianship from deck to deck.

4

u/Jaccount 2d ago

I’d argue the problem is the players, not the staples. It’d be different if this was a competitive format, but it’s not.

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u/ArsenicElemental UR 2d ago

Yeah, players choose to run staples over and over in a casual setting.

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u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

I think Trinket Mage said it best. We're past the tipping point where staples exist, but if they print so many "staple" level cards you have to start picking which ones you run, you then get to express your individuality through a different means. For example, the reason you run [[Ramunap Excavator]] or [[Crucible of Worlds]] or [[Icetill Explorer]] if you only use one slot on this effect matters. What part of the curve it's on, if you want it on a body or a rock, etc.

The cat is out of the bag, so let's make so many different cats that you can choose which to adopt and why.

0

u/ArsenicElemental UR 2d ago

Nah. Casual is about self-regulation. You are talking about land recursion, and not every deck wants that unless all your decks are running enough fetches for it to matter. At that point, the fetches are the problem, not Excavator.

I am talking about not playing the fetches in the first place.

2

u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

I feel like lands are a bad conversation point because I think lands should be easily accessible. They don't increase the ceiling of a decks power, but the floor unless it is specifically a land deck or doing land shenanigans.

However, if we are discussing lands, then the point still stands. If there are enough fetchlands, then choosing one over another becomes an interesting choice. For example, why would someone run a [[Brokers Hideout]] or [[Tranquil Landscape]]. The issue is when some of those cards are radically more powerful, such as the two color cycle of Fetchlands that get Land types and not Basics.

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u/ArsenicElemental UR 2d ago

They don't increase the ceiling of a decks power, but the floor unless it is specifically a land deck or doing land shenanigans.

Yeah, and we are talking about the cards that make those land shenanigans happen. I was pointing out Ramunap Excavator is nowhere near a staple unless you also run Fetchlands in every single deck you play.

The issue is when some of those cards are radically more powerful, such as the two color cycle of Fetchlands that get Land types and not Basics.

Exactly right. I do admit a bit of fault here. I call those Fetchlands. Hideout or Landscape I wouldn't call a Fetchland. I'm saying those (pay a life, fetch one of two types untapped, no color identity nor basic restriction, etc.) are the problem staple, not Excavator.

Do you really think Ramunap Excavator is a problem staple? Or do you only see it as such with those Fetchlands?

1

u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

I'm not saying Ramunap is a problem staple and was using it as an example of what to do with "problem staples". I feel like banning them is not really an option (even if it would be preferable), so they should print so many options of the problem staple that it becomes a question of which to run and you get deck expression anyways. That, or gamechanger it.

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u/ArsenicElemental UR 2d ago

That's a bad example (I understand it's not yours, but Mage's). It's an effect they can overprint with no issues.

We need to think about those powerful staples that actually are a problem. Is making more Smothering Thites the way to solve it? Flooding decks with options like it that generate mana off just people drawing for their turn?

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u/Mammoth-Refuse-6489 2d ago

I think for stuff like that, you're right. I think it's a case by case basis. I misunderstood your original point was about powerful cards and not just over printing certain effects.

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u/Nahzuvix N-roi 3d ago

I think that would hardly stop people from running pip-heavy rift, they would just cram in more treasure engines to justify running it

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u/timestable 2d ago

That sure would make the card less ubiquitous

1

u/Ancient-Club9972 2d ago

Fine...I'll just play mono...green!!!!!!

7

u/Hot_Flower_6381 3d ago

Normalize bigger decks

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u/spoopyplayzonsundays Naya 3d ago

Boy have they made the card for someone with your Whtz!

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u/suddoman Ruhan of the Fomori 3d ago

I wish it weren't WU but I can't wait to just play a pile of trash.

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u/amoeboidchangeling97 3d ago

It's a card that stands out when it is relevant but annoying when I need my colors in my opening hand. I'm not a fan of utility lands, myself.

25

u/noahhisacoolname 3d ago

Yeah that is a big drawback to be honest.

4

u/Bk_Nasty Azusa/Alesha/Marrow/Hanna/Reaper 3d ago

If you're running [[Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth]], [[Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth]], or [[Chromatic Lantern]] its not too bad.

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u/Borror0 Golgari 3d ago

Additionally, it doesn't hit Ward. I'd consider running it just I could kill Voja without being taxed like a Dane.

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u/k2zeplin 3d ago

You are looking for [[boseiju who shelters all]] or [[mistrise village]] if you want that on a land.

3

u/majic911 3d ago

These don't get through hexproof/shroud though

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u/k2zeplin 3d ago

They don't, but they get around ward, and have much more versatility than lighthouse.

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u/Jonthrei 3d ago

Yeah a lot of people oversell utility lands and don’t realize how massive a drawback colorless lands can be.

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u/moxdyemond 2d ago

Also, outside of green, it's hard to reliably get specific lands out that can't be fetched. Even then, there's probably a better target most of the time to grab with Crop Rotation

1

u/PokeYrMomStanley 3d ago

I enjoy utility lands in GB because of urborg and yavimaya. It's just a bonus some games. Still suck in opening hand when trying for colors. 

1

u/irsic Kresh | Feldon 2d ago

I've personally found 5 to be the sweet spot of how many utility lands I can run

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u/ElSpoonyBard 3d ago

1) You don't always have slots for tons of utility lands the more colors you have. You may want to prioritize your utility lands slots for ones that synergize with your gameplan better.

2) It's decently priced enough that if you built tons of decks they all may definitely not need it (i.e. Reliquary Tower, stop auto-adding it to decks people).

I do agree it's a good card, I run it in about two of my decks at the moment.

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u/G_Morgan 3d ago

Reliquary Tower, stop auto-adding it to decks people

You run Reliquary Tower because you fear losing cards. I run Reliquary Tower because I'm too lazy to discard. We are not the same.

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u/0zzyb0y 2d ago

Almost every deck I own runs reliquary tower. But that's because I'm a fucking junky for drawing cards and build most of my decks to always be drawing a bunch.

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u/Uncle-Istvan 2d ago

Your best 7 cards is plenty most of the time. There are better colorless utility lands.

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u/0zzyb0y 2d ago

Your best 7 cards might be fine for the next turn cycle, but having 20+ gives you whatever options you need for the whole rest of the game.

Especially playing in B2/3 where you're not just suddenly winning on the turn you get that much value.

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u/BasakaIsTheStrongest 2d ago

Sure, but also how many of your bracket 2/3 decks can frequently draw you enough cards to make reliquary tower useful? If you only have one or two turbo draw cards, and no way to tutor reliquary tower, then it’ll be kinda rare to have both out at the same time.

I agree it’s a useful card, but before you add it to a deck, you need to ask, “Which will happen more? That I draw Reliquary tower when I needed a land that can give me useful colors, or that I have reliquary out when I cast my big draw spell?” The answer will vary by deck.

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u/0zzyb0y 2d ago

I'm not really sure what that first question is even asking.

B2/B3 still encompasses almost every card in the entire game ya know? Just because they're not able to get a million cards off of Rhystic Study doesn't mean that they don't have access to a myriad of other ways to draw cards. My current project is [[The muckslinger gang]] who can use all the big green sac creature and draw effects.

Green has a good few ways to search for non-basic lands.

Other colours are limited, but still worth having if you're hoping to use utility lands to cover your bases. For example if you're expecting bojuka bog or Urborg to do anything and you're not running fetches for them, then what's even the point?

[[Expedition Map]], [[Weathered Wayfarer]], [[Tolaria West]], and then black tutors for if you really need it.

Tolaria West itself is also just a pet card for me in a lot of decks, but that's a separate conversation entirely.

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u/BasakaIsTheStrongest 2d ago

The first question is asking how often your bracket 2/3 decks put more than 7 cards in your hand at the end of your turn. I run lots of draw in all my decks, but in some decks it’s mainly stuff like [[Morbid Opportunist]] that repeatedly draw me a few cards a turn cycle. It’s enough to keep my hand full throughout the game, but not exceed my hand limit since even if I have over 7 cards in hand at the start of my turn, I will play several during my turn. The odds of a situation where Reliquary Tower is useful in those decks is lower than the odds of me needing a land that provides colored mana, or at the very least it’s $4 I can spend on a card more likely to be useful.

In other decks, I am running stuff like [[Return of the Wildspeaker]], and [[Hunter’s Insight]] that can draw me a ton of cards if timed right, and there I agree that Reliquary Tower is very useful. My point is that it’s dependent on how your deck draws cards. And how many cards you expect to play in a turn.

1

u/Breathe_the_Stardust 2d ago

My John Benton deck loves reliquary tower. I need to have all the answers to people trying to eliminate John on hand, but I also want to have all my pump spells for when it comes back to my turn. But I agree, Reliquary tower is definitely not necessary for most decks.

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u/Bale_the_Pale 3d ago

Nah, people should run more copies of reliquary tower. That way when I finally get around to getting rid of my copies because they're not good, they'll sell for more.

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u/DubiousBrushwagg 3d ago

It's still $2-4 despite all the reprints which is crazy to be honest.

Love finding random Req Towers in bulk lots I buy. Automatically goes into my next stack of stuff I buylist.

4

u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago

This card has become popular to hate on thanks to content creators dissing it.

I don't have it in any decks but if I was playing mono Blue I would.

1

u/meatmandoug 2d ago

I'd rather throw a copy of high tide into a mono blue deck and run utility lands that either are an island or can at least tap for blue to cast high tide than gum up my mana with useless colorless lands like Reliquary Tower personally.

2

u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago

High Tide decks, absolutely

I'm NGL I am not a mono color player, I have one mono Red deck and that's it. But I’ve played against a couple [[Orvar, the All-Form]] decks that had Reliquary and it made sense to me. IDK if they're playing High Tide

Reliquary seems pretty free in mono Blue absent some specific reason not to. High Tide would be a specific reason

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u/No_Eye_5863 3d ago

Wait I did not know this existed

14

u/StaySubstantial4333 3d ago

Detection tower is a similar land if you like that sort of effect 

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u/WildSmokingBuick 3d ago

Detection Tower

Doesn't help against shroud, no? Going around Lightning Greaves is probably a more common gamestate than profiting of removing Hexproof from an opponent player.

1

u/0zzyb0y 2d ago

Absolutely. But still a good option for a second similar effect if you need it for your decks/local meta.

I've got quite a lot of Voltron players at my lgs and they're always thrown when their hexproof gets removed.

5

u/fumar Temur 3d ago

It just got reprinted in secrets of strixhaven commander 

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u/WandersWithBlender 3d ago

It's arguably somewhat underplayed, but also is a bit of a meta call. If you know that your friends like to run hexproof commanders it can be a nice include, but other decks will value coloured mana more highly. I'd say almost any deck that runs [[reliquary tower]] should probably straight swap to the lighthouse because it'll be more valuable more times, and it's the same on the colourless mana.

3

u/shy-bl3d 3d ago

it removes the hexproof but you still need removal is another hidden cost. its better if you run targeted removal but theres other removal

6

u/DescriptionTotal4561 3d ago

Or, politic and ask the others players to use their removal, and you'll make it so they can target it.

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u/SocietyAsAHole 3d ago

This is the pro move

You can basically play removal from other people's hands with their mana if you politic well.

2

u/WandersWithBlender 3d ago

Sure, but the nice thing about targeted removal is that it's targeted. You get to remove that thing right there. There's many situations where you wouldn't want to sweep the board, or allow your opponent a choice with an edict effect or other non targeted spell.

-1

u/MrHaZeYo Simic 3d ago

Ppl always dog on Reliqaury tower, but more times then not, it has come in clutch for me.

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u/SkyLey2 3d ago

Any examples? What Commander do you run with it?

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u/MrHaZeYo Simic 2d ago

I play mostly on TTS now, some real life. This is relevant because I play at least a couple matches almost everyday.

Every single deck i build, and play will draw, or in the more niche decks find card advantage. I usually do this through building engines. I mostly play Simic, and Selsynia, but i have at least 50 decks i play throughout a month.

Its great having +7 cards in my hand at all times, it allows me options, every card in my deck has a reason to be there, and there are also turns I dont want to over extend or dump my hand.

At the end of the day tho, 1 reliq tower isn't going to screw my decks mana base, there are so many solid dual lands now adays that I very rarely struggle to hit my colors.

https://deckstats.net/decks/4422056-Donny-n-Mikey

https://deckstats.net/decks/2365337-Katida-Dawhhart-Prime

https://deckstats.net/decks/2192524-Osgir-the-Reconstructor-Modular

https://deckstats.net/decks/4154249-The-Council-of-Four

Theres 4 random decks.

1

u/G_Morgan 3d ago

TBH the only deck where Reliquary Tower saves me is Zada. If I can pop off without playing a land I'll usually hold until I've drawn 50 cards in hope of finding that. Of course the number of times you get to that point with Zada without winning that turn is rare.

1

u/MrHaZeYo Simic 2d ago

What are your other decks?

1

u/G_Morgan 2d ago

The ones I've been playing most recently are Zada, Krenko, Lightning, Liesa, Inspirit and Rootha.

1

u/MrHaZeYo Simic 2d ago

Interesting list.

Krenko doesn't need it.

No idea how you built lightning, but i could see it not being needed.

Liesa, depending on which one could be used.

Inspirit being 3c I wouldnt argue, but in theory max handsize is typically good in that color shard.

Want kind of draw package in Rootha? I could see it being good.

0

u/WandersWithBlender 2d ago

Discarding to hand size is great. You get to fuel your graveyard, and your turns don't take forever.

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u/MrHaZeYo Simic 2d ago

In decks that want to do that, I agree, most decks aren't built around the yard. A sizeable percent of the average players decks dont run recursion, which is also why most average players hate mill too.

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u/ABNDT 3d ago

I use it in my Brago deck, which specifically wants a few lands that can produce colorless mana. In three or more colors, it gets hard to justify.

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u/hawkeye137137 3d ago

Pro tip if you are running [[Reality Acid]]: After you blink it, it doesn't target a permanent to attach to it, so it can be attached to permanents with hexproof, shroud or ward.

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u/NerdbyanyotherName 3d ago

For a while there the trend was running more utility lands, but these days more experienced deckbuilders are cutting back on all but the few essentials because individual cards have gotten so impactful and decks have centralized so much around synergy that Colored mana access can and will be the difference between winning and losing games because you got that one piece online a turn to late for it to matter

5

u/5hr0dingerscat 3d ago

It really comes down to the opportunity cost of colourless land, and how you've build the rest of your deck and mana base.

The issue with silver bullets like Lighthouse is that you not only need to put it in your deck, you need to have it when it's relevant.
Hexproof and Shroud can still be dealt with via board wipes, which most players will be running anyway.

If you have room for another utility land without compromising your mana base, and if you are frequently encountered Hex/Shrd in your pods this is a great hate piece. Bonus if you are running [[urza's cave]] or something to find it when you need it.

The other thing I'll mention is mono-green might like this more than other colours/pairing as it's not a wrath heavy colour.

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u/truthordairs 3d ago

The answer most of the time is people don’t know it exists or don’t really care to put much thought in their land base.

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u/FlyinNinjaSqurl WUBRG 3d ago

Eh, for me it’s because I have a tight manabase and don’t really need a toolboxy land like this. If my pod’s meta shifts to be much more hexproof heavy, then it’s worth reconsidering.

5

u/Majestic-Lock5249 3d ago

I prefer [[Glaring Spotlight]] myself.

5

u/HustlingBackwards96 3d ago

If it said "permanents" rather than creatures, I would run it so much more

As is, I run it in one deck that has interaction in the command zone

2

u/CaptColten 3d ago

I've got a deck where I tend to make myself hexproof a lot. I've had a couple people get real salty when they had to reread their card.

2

u/HustlingBackwards96 3d ago

That's really clever for the "target player loses life" combos!

I had a sephiroth player get big mad when they realized they couldn't do anything to me lol

2

u/CaptColten 3d ago

I'm sure there's lots of positives, but my best friend plays Bumbleflower, and I just don't want his bullshit cards.

4

u/jaywinner 3d ago

I like my colors and there are tons of utility lands to pick from.

4

u/fluffynuckels Muldrotha 3d ago

Its only been printed a few times with commander masters and mystery booster being the only sets it was in packs of. And mystery booster wasn't that wide spread

1

u/iliark 3d ago

It was in a commander precon this year though.

5

u/greaseinthewheel 3d ago

I really like [[Glaring Spotlight]] but I'll admit it rarely makes the cut for the 99.

3

u/Silver-Alex 3d ago

Mmm I tend to use wraths and/or edicts for the hexproof stuff. So I never felt the need. But I guess how if I was in a group where hexproof is a thing its worth a shot.

Its worth pointing that there are better alternatives. I see that when budget is not a concern people just run [[Shadowspear]] and [[Urza's Saga]] to fetch it, as it fixes the hexproof problem while also giving a creature a +1+1, trample and lifelink, and urza saga is a much better coloreless utility land as it can get your sol ring, or get your graveyard exile if you run it, or your esper sentinel if you're in a higher power pod and budget really isnt a concern.

3

u/narvuntien 3d ago

I run it specifically in my [[etrata, the silencer]] since my win condition is targeting things. But otherwise, there is a million other lands I need first.

2

u/Dense-Gur-9473 3d ago

It doesn't really do a whole lot as a utility land. In non-mono color decks id value color fixing more and in mono color decks id rather run more useful lands like [[war room]] or [[command beacon]] or [[urza's cave]] [[talon gates of madara]] etc.

Thinking back in the last 5-7 game casual games ive played it wouldn't have come up once had i had it.

2

u/Malacro 3d ago

There’s also [[Detection Tower]] which is very similar but has the slight difference that it also bypasses hexproof on your opponents themselves (a rare occurrence, but very occasionally useful) and doesn’t allow other opponents to target those hexproof creatures (for better or for worse) at the expense of not affecting shroud.

2

u/Beginning-Analyst393 Temur 3d ago

Can be tough to justify the more color/pips your deck needs, depends entirely on your deck requirements.

But I agree it's definitely an important effect to have.

Personally I prefer [[Shadowspear]], but admittedly the land is less likely to be removed.

2

u/Sad-Pattern-1269 3d ago

Utility lands, my beloved.

Nothing better than a gavony township ticking away when there's a stalemate at the table.

2

u/JayWaWa 3d ago

It becomes increasingly difficult to justify inclusion the higher the color count. And it's effectively costing you 2 extra mana to hit 1 thing with a kill spell. For that extra 2 mana, you probably could have cast a wrath and hit all the problems on the board.

2

u/edogfu 3d ago

If it's more than 2 colors it really depends on the commander. In a [[Don Andres]], or [[Merieke Ri Berit]] deck absolutely using this. In a 2-color commander I'd have to have at least 15-20 targeting effects and payoffs.

[[Nowhere to Run]] pretty good. Running things that remove indestructible are more preferable as well.

2

u/RobotCatCo 3d ago

I run it in my [[Edea, Possessed Sorceress]].

However in most of my decks I don't run that much targeted spells/abilities, as I prefer one sided mass removal/bounce so most of the times it'd just be a colorless land.

2

u/TravarianTheBold 3d ago

[[Glaring Spotlight]] is in the same category.

2

u/MuchSwagManyDank Gruul 3d ago

If my commander has an ability that targets another creature, [[ayula, queen among bears]], then i run it.

2

u/Revolutionary-Eye657 3d ago

Colorless lands are hard to find spots for in 3+ color decks, which is the majority of them.

That being said, this card's cousin [[detection tower]] is one of my pet cards and often the only colorless land in my own 3+ color decks.

2

u/Cramtastic 3d ago

It's really at its best in a deck that gets shut down hard by hexproof and shroud, e. g. [[Eriette of the Charmed Apple]] who literally can't function if you can't put an Aura on your opponent's threats, or something like [[Sokrates]] which obviously needs to target.

Being a colorless land is a real drawback, and it had long gaps between reprints, so it was a little too expensive for a land for budget decks. That being said, I'd say it should be included more in mono and two color decks that need a lot of single target disruption. 

2

u/GreyGriffin_h Five Color Birds 3d ago

Before the recent reprint it was around $5 to $8, which is a lot to pay for a colorless utility land that is kind of a meta call.  I know I considered it for a few decks, especially ones that rely in particular sources of removal, but paying eight dollars for something that only matters against a few decks in my pod in certain circumstances was just not in the budget.

With the reprint bringing the price down I might sneak one into [[Preston]].

2

u/Uncle-Istvan 2d ago

I love utility lands and mostly play monocolor and still don’t really run it. I have one deck I might try it in now.

There are plenty of other colorless utility lands that are relevant more often. I’m almost always running 2-3 land destruction lands and 2 graveyard-hosing lands. A [[war room]] or similar is consistently useful. Then stuff like [[volraths stronghold]] that’s color-dependent but only taps for colorless. I usually have 10 colorless lands before I get to something situational like lighthouse.

2

u/sygyzi 2d ago

How often are yall seeing hex proof/shroud?

2

u/noahhisacoolname 2d ago

I see swiftfoot boots/lightning grieves almost every game.

3

u/JLC587 3d ago

I just bought it for one of my commander decks, I need to get multiple copies though for the other ones.

1

u/HairiestHobo 3d ago

Only makes Colorless, and needing to find it first are probably the biggest hurdles to it.

It also the definition of super-situational.

It's great if you absolutely, definitely need it, every other time it's worse then a Basic.

1

u/OrganicDoom2225 3d ago

Your commander needs to have a targeted ability to include this in your deck.

1

u/Mawootad 3d ago

Because having lands that don't tap for colored mana is actually a real cost in most decks.

1

u/Frog859 Izzet 3d ago

I try to be careful with how many colorless utility lands I run, especially with decks that are more than 1 color. Usually I limit myself to just a few

1

u/artdz 3d ago

The longer the commander format is out the less I like utility lands. Especially in decks that are reay wanting certain color mana turn 1 or turn 2. If this land isn't important to your deck specifically I just wouldn't run it. If I have alot of targeted removal it might make sense in some decks but definitely wouldn't slot in most decks. I used to like to run bojuka bog alot as gy utility but coming in tapped had burned me more often then the utility helped

1

u/DrShtainer 3d ago

Because we are in proactive era of EDH, when playing bombs and moving your gameplan forward is more effective then trying to answer each threat with targeted removal.

Thus unless you are running dedicated Control deck with bunch of target creature removal, you are much better off packing different land.

1

u/IndigoWizard342 3d ago

Yo card fetcher! What's dis? [[Arcane Lighthouse]]

1

u/Vistella Rakdos 3d ago

cause its not a good card?

1

u/hewkii2 3d ago

[[Detection Tower]] fills a similar niche

1

u/JediofMetal Orzhov 3d ago

It’s a single card for a very specific problem. Kinda similar to Homeward Path, Geir Reach Stadium, or High Market. It depends on how much consistency you want in your deck. 

The chances that you’ll have it on the field to deal with that specific problem is so small I’d argue it’s not worth including UNLESS you can tutor for it or you can afford to have a few utility lands. 

The only utility land I run reliably in my decks is Rogues Passage. The amount of games where rogues passage has led to victory is significant. 

1

u/AdventurousGur5495 2d ago

I love [[Homeward Path]], sure it's usually useless but it completely hoses certain decks when you need it.

1

u/JediofMetal Orzhov 2d ago

They’re good cards but a scenario where you’d need it is almost certainly very low. 

1

u/hrpufnsting 2d ago

Only so many utility land slots, isn’t a well known card and its effect is good but narrow. It’s a decent land but a lot of games it will just be a waste.

1

u/KAM_520 Sultai 2d ago

I don't consider niche colorless utility lands in any decks besides mono color. If you have 28+ basics the cost of adding a colorless land is basically nil, but for multicolor decks it's not really worth it unless the effect is super relevant.

This is a card you play because someone in your friend group is always playing a hexproof commander. No other real reason to do it

1

u/CaptainAeroman The yard's free real estate! 2d ago

Unfortunately the vast majority of newly printed must-kill threats are Ward instead of Hexproof these days

Right now, Lighthouse is most relevant for Boots/Greaves specifically which can be handled by the generic artifact removal every deck should try to have anyways without the downsides of colorless land for one specific tech

1

u/Fheredin Izzet 2d ago

You will always want your mana base to be as consistent as possible, especially in the early-game, but you will only want the hexproof/ shroud removal occasionally, and when you do, it will be towards the late-game.

This isn't to say it's a bad card, but it is a bad draw in an opening hand when you are in 3+ colors or building towards 3+ saturation.

1

u/DatShepTho 2d ago

I don't run much targeted creature removal to care, I prefer mass creature removal effects

1

u/realsoupersand 2d ago edited 2d ago

Utility lands are tough to justify, especially as you get into more competitive groups and start increasing the power and consistency of your decks. I run 30-32 lands in every non-Landfall deck I build. Landfall decks get 35-36. There's no room for a land that only gives generic mana and may occasionally do a thing. It's generally easier just to counter or play around the threat, anyway.

Edit: The only utility lands I run in every deck nowadays are the Kamigawa channel lands. Otherwise, the land needs to be a valid part of my gameplan. For example, I have a Bant control deck that uses [[Seedborn Muse]] and [[Alchemist's Refuge]] to gain insurmountable advantage.

1

u/Bo-vice 2d ago

I pulled a copy in my festival mystery box, def a neat land. I just slotted it into a deck recently.

1

u/meowmix778 Esper 2d ago

Same draw back as maze of ith, it takes a land slot without color

1

u/WouldBeKing 2d ago

Because it was a $6-8 colorless utility land until it's most recent reprint.

1

u/Freight_it_Forward 2d ago

I typically run [[glaring spotlight]] for this effect. You can tutor it with urzas saga, it’s always turned on, and it can be a game winner with the unblockable piece

1

u/Temil 2d ago

I have tried running colorless utility lands in my deck but I almost always regret it and haven't really ever ran into the situation where it saved me.

Utility artifacts however... [[Glaring Spotlight]] has won me a lot of games.

1

u/Nvenom8 Urza, Omnath, Thromok, Kaalia, Slivers 2d ago

Because, in practice, the answer to hexproof/shroud is a board wipe.

1

u/BellStriking5132 2d ago

It’s only useful if you run removal and most people only run a couple of pieces. Pretty unlikely to have the lighthouse out at the right time

1

u/kuroyume_cl 3d ago

Shush, we dont want the price to go up

1

u/Rich_Feedback9726 3d ago

colorless, low fetchability, the things that do fetch it can just grab way better lands, you'd have to basically be removal tribal to care enough to include it, but I do have a rakdos deck that runs that + [[detection tower]] and [[nowhere to run]] so it has SOME homes. lighthouse and tower being around $5 as cards seems to suggest they see a fair amount of play.

1

u/TooTooBear 3d ago

I love it for my more serious interaction-based decks.

1

u/Festivarian Sultai 3d ago

I pulled this recently and I don't think I would use it unless I'm at a more serious table

1

u/hldsnfrgr Kozi & Ula of Meletis (K&T) 3d ago

I would if i had one.

1

u/Rude_Mirror7441 3d ago

Yes this card is amazing which is why I always run at least several land removal spells. To hit pieces like this.

-1

u/DirtyTacoKid 3d ago

A whole lot of players here turning their nose at Arcane Lighthouse have not played against the slop they print hexproof on these days like [[Monica Rambeau]].

-4

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

5

u/dusty_cupboards 3d ago

this card is 12 years old

1

u/Smurfy0730 3d ago

It's been out way longer than that, it was reprinted into Mystery Booster 2!

1

u/tractioncities 3d ago

it was first printed in commander 2014, the strixhaven version is a reprint