What land count and mana sources should one play when splashing a color in Draft & Sealed in Magic: The Gathering? We’ve got the ultimate guide for you! At MTG Insider, we’ve analyzed hundreds of tournament results for recent drafts and collected data from the winning decks to give you the best answer.
For this guide, we will be looking at how many land and mana sources should be run when splashing 1, 2, and 3 cards. For splashing 4 or more cards, one is leaning heavy into the third color, which is for a different guide.
In this article we cite statistics for decks that have trophied (won 7 matches) in the MTG Arena ranked Draft format.
NOTE 1: Do not run any double pip cards as a splash. This was rarely effective and only appeared in winning decklists when those cards could be played in different ways, such as cycling and reanimating without having to hard cast.
NOTE 2: It is ok to splash low mana value cards. A single splash for a two-mana impactful card did not require any more mana sources than a four-mana splash for instance.
Without further ado, here is our guide on land count and How to Splash in MTG Draft & Sealed Limited Formats:
How to Splash One Card in Draft & Sealed
TL;DR – Play 3 lands, with at least 1 dual land and no more than 2 basics. 1 non-land mana source is optional, but not required. At least 1 non-land mana source can be substituted for the 3rd land. No more than 4 total mana sources are needed.
Ideal winning decks ran three lands and zero to one non-land mana source for splashed color.
Do NOT run less than 3 mana sources for splashed color. Virtually no decks won that only ran 2 or less mana sources. Some decks won that ran 5, and almost none won that run 6 or more.
Land Count: 3 lands is optimal (44% of decks), with 4 lands also being viable (28% of decks).
Basic Land Count: 0 to 1 is ideal (78% of decks). 2 basics is less common but workable (22% of decks). 3 basics is rare and not recommended for a 1-card splash as it compromises your main colors.
Dual Land Composition: 1 dual land is most common (41% of decks), though 2 is also effective. At least 75% of successful decks had at least 1 dual land.
Modal Land Composition: 0 modal lands is preferred (66% of decks). 1 is acceptable (25% of decks); however, virtually no decks succeeded with more than 1 modal land.
Non-Land Mana Sources: 0-1 non-land sources is optimal. More decks ran 0 (38%) than 1 (31%), suggesting these sources should be included for their overall value to the deck rather than exclusively for the splash.
Substituting: Non-land cards that generate mana can effectively substitute for a land at a 1:1 ratio when you have at least 2 lands supporting your splash. For example, running 2 lands and 1 non-land source was viable, though slightly less common than 3 lands with no non-land sources.
Overall Pattern: The most successful configuration was 3 lands (typically 1 basic and 1-2 duals) with either 0 or 1 non-land source, for a total of 3-4 mana sources dedicated to the splash color.
How to Splash Two Cards in Draft & Sealed
TL;DR – Play 3 to 4 lands, with 1-2 dual lands and 1-2 basics. Include 1-2 non-land mana sources. Total mana sources should be 4-5. Do not run 3 basics.
Two card splashes require a more robust mana base with approximately one more mana source than a 1-card splash, while not exceeding 2 basic lands.
Ideal Land Count: 3 lands is the most common approach (47% of decks), with 4 lands also being very common (28% of decks).
Ideal Basic Land Count: 1-2 basics is ideal (81% of decks). Running 0 basics is rare (6% of decks). 3 basics is uncommon but can work in some decks.
Ideal Dual Land Composition: 1 dual land is most common (41% of decks), with 2 dual lands also being effective (25% of decks). At least 1 dual land is strongly recommended.
Ideal Modal Land Composition: 0 modal lands is most common (59% of decks). 1 modal land is acceptable (25% of decks). More than 1 modal land is uncommon in winning decks.
Ideal Non-Land Mana Sources: 2 non-land sources is most common (41% of decks), with 0-1 also being common (28% each). Two-card splashes rely more heavily on non-land sources than single-card splashes.
Substituting: Non-land cards that generate mana can be substituted as a mana source, but unlike 1-card splashes, it’s better to have both lands AND non-land sources rather than substituting one for the other. For 2-card splashes, having redundancy and multiple types of mana sources is more important.
Overall Pattern: The most common successful configuration was 3 lands plus 1-2 non-land sources, for a total of 4-5 mana sources dedicated to the splash colors.
Notable Differences from 1-Card Splash
Higher Ceiling: The upper limit for total sources is higher – some successful 2-card splash decks use 6-7 total sources.
More Total Sources: For 2-card splashes, the average total sources is 4.6 (vs. ~3.7 for 1-card splashes).
Greater Land Commitment: More decks run 4-5 lands (41% combined) compared to 1-card splashes.
More Basics: 2-card splash decks are more likely to run 2 basics (41% vs. 19% for 1-card splashes).
More Non-Land Sources: 2-card splashes more commonly use 2 non-land sources (41% vs. 28% for 1-card splashes).
Modal Land Usage: While still not the norm, modal lands appear slightly more often in 2-card splashes.
Substitution: The substitution of non-land sources for lands still applies, but with 2-card splashes, having both is more common.
Common Pattern Shift: The most common mana pattern for 2-card splashes is 3 lands + 1-2 non-land sources, whereas 1-card splashes often rely on just 3 lands with no non-land sources.
How to Splash Three Cards in Draft & Sealed
TL;DR – Play 4-5 lands, with 2 dual lands and 1-3 basics. Add 1 non-land mana source when possible. Total mana sources should be 5-6.
Ideal winning decks ran four to five lands and typically had one non-land mana source for splashed colors.
Do NOT run less than 4 total mana sources for three splashed cards. While some decks succeeded with only 3 sources, they were the exception (11% of decks). Most successful decks used 5 or more total sources.
Ideal Basic Land Count: 1 is most common (39% of decks), but 3 basics is also viable (28% of decks). The data shows more flexibility with basic land counts for 3-card splashes.
Ideal Dual Land Composition: 2 is ideal (found in 39% of decks), with 1 dual land also being common (33% of decks). Nearly all successful 3-card splash decks had at least 1 dual land.
Ideal Modal Land Composition: 0 is most common (61% of decks) but 1 modal land is also frequently used (39% of decks). Few successful decks used more than 1 modal land.
Ideal Non-Land Mana Sources: 1 is ideal (44% of decks), but 0 is also common (39% of decks). Unlike 1-card splashes, non-land sources appear to be more important for 3-card splashes, though not strictly required.
Substituting: While substituting non-land sources for lands is possible, the data suggests it’s better to have both a strong land base AND non-land sources rather than relying too heavily on either. For 3-card splashes, consistency is key, and redundancy in mana sources helps achieve this.
Overall Pattern: The most common successful configuration was 4 lands (typically 1 basic, 2 duals, and sometimes 1 modal) plus 1 non-land mana source, for a total of 5 mana sources dedicated to the splash color.
That’s everything! Now that you know how the experts splash a third color, you’re drafting success will be significantly improved. Being able to play a third color or splash a bomb rare that gets passed to you can greatly improve a decks odds of winning.
Check out other MTG Insider guides for more tips and tricks.
