The Pro Tour for Outlaws and Thunder Junction concluded yesterday with a thrilling match between Yoshihiko Ikawa and Yuta Takahashi, with long-time PT contender Ikawa taking the crown while piloting Domain Ramp and a pair of impressive limited decks. The Japanese pro quickly rose to prominence after securing a spot in the top 8 in just his second career Pro Tour in San Diego, and his victory feels sweet both for those who have followed him over the years and for anyone who saw his infectious energy on camera. 

We highly recommend you catch the VODs if you are interested in seeing what it takes to be world-class at Magic: the Gathering, and the team here at Cardboard by the Numbers has the utmost respect and admiration for the coverage team, but one critical element of the weekend that is under-discussed is the choice of basic lands employed at the top tables.

In most constructed formats of Magic, there’s perhaps a dozen viable decks, and the never-ending crawl towards optimization and the prevalence of teams who align on strategy means deck construction has little opportunity for personalization. Even with the bevy of new card styles found in booster packs, you can win some style points by picking the “best” version of a card, but they don’t display your personal flair in quite the same way as basics. As of writing, there are over 1,600 unique pieces of art among the five types. 

With only a few slots dedicated to basics in the typical Standard deck, these are precious opportunities for pros to flex their personalities on Magic’s biggest stage, in what we here at Cardboard by the Numbers consider the most critical choice a player can make while sleeving up. So what did the top 8 of the pro tour choose?

1st Place: Yoshihiko Ikawa

Domain Ramp | Plains – ZEN 230 | Island – ZEN 234 | Swamp – ZEN 239 | Forest – ZEN 246

Yoshihiko Ikawa’s Domain Ramp was a delight to watch in action, unified by the latest rendition of Atraxa who was more than happy to migrate herds of beasts. Besides a trifle of triomes, Ikawa’s basics were one of the most classic choices seen on the Pro Tour: John Avon’s full-art cycle from the original Zendikar block. In each, Avon presents a mesmerizing take on the plane’s iconic floating land masses, with colors bold enough to provide a practical visual shorthand as to what mana they produce during gameplay. While every new premiere expansion has their own take on full-art lands during this era of booster fun, many Magic players have never strayed from the set that started it all, and one should expect to see the Zendikar full-art basics at the Pro Tour for years to come.

2nd Place: Yuta Takahashi

Azorius Control | Plains – GURU | Island – GURU

We’ve now been covering the basics that won the Pro Tour for over a year now here at Cardboard by the Numbers, and have considered whoever plays the super-exclusive GURU set of basics from Terese Nielsen as our favorite whenever someone’s made the top 8 with these gorgeous foils in their 75. And we do have to commend Yuta Takahashi on his exquisite taste — even without their rarity and reputation, the GURU cycle would absolutely maintain its position as one of the most-favored choices for pros. Just look at Magic Online for proof: many of your favorite players certainly use them, but you can get a full suite for a little more than a ticket. However, this PT, we have a new “champion” when it comes to basic lands. That honor belongs to…

3rd Place: Takumi Matsuura

Boros Convoke | Plains – PELP 9 | Mountain – PELP 8

Takumi Matsuura’s Boros Control was a joy to watch in action, thanks in no small part to his Euro Promo lands, featuring Netherlands and Spain respectively. Not only are these fairly uncommon choices at the top tables, but of the many basics based on real-world locations, Matsuura’s two choices are absolutely amongst my favorites.

Eric Peterson has a great run of cards from the early days of Magic, and when it comes to basics, he’s never missed. His Odyssey “lightning bolt” Plains is an all-timer that we’ve covered before in these articles, but I do strongly feel that his depiction of the Netherlands is his best work. Framed by the country’s iconic tulips, the harmony of the Plains is prominent, with the sun’s rays breaking through the dark clouds to reveal idyllic grassland, watched over by a modest windmill. So many elements to white’s identity in Magic are present while simultaneously representing the country in the romantic aesthetic popularized by the most famous Dutch artist of all, Rembrandt. 

Scott Bailey’s art in Magic has mostly consisted of basic lands. Like Peterson, he was also responsible for a trio from the Euro land promos and his depiction of the Pyrenees in Spain is perhaps his most striking. The raw rock revealed by glaciers give way to iconic patterns not replicated elsewhere, and Bailey’s representation captures these iconic  mountain faces with romantic gusto not dissimilar from Peterson. Matsuura’s tastes are impeccable here, and I’m happy to declare him the winner for “best basics of the PT”.

4th Place: Arne Huschenbeth

Esper Midrange | Plains – SLD 1468 | Island – SLD 1469

As of writing, WotC’s DTC effort Secret Lair has brought 116 new basic lands to the game. Many of these are amongst the most radical and compelling of the game’s history, as the Secret Lair program’s model not only allows for but encourages more divisive, experimental, and novel art than the mass-market booster products can bear. However, we’ve seen much less representation of Secret Lair lands at top tables than I would’ve expected over the last few years. 

Arne Huschenbeth is here to reverse that trend. With a Plains and Island from the “Pixel Lands 2.0” drop by pixel artist Jubilee, Huschenbeth was able to fight his way to the top 4 of the Pro Tour with the Windows 95 aesthetic to guide him.

5th Place: Rei Zhang

Four-Color Legends | Swamp – MKM 274

Rei Zhang’s four-color legends deck did not have room for many basics! However, for their sole Swamp, they opted for a recent pick that was received more decisively by the Magic community: Murders at Karlov Manor’s booster fun styling, a full-art Ravnican expanse vaguely in the style of MC Escher. I’m always pleased to see the new hotness at the Pro Tour top tables, which are typically dominated by more “old-fashioned” picks since most players 

6th Place: Lucas Duchow

Esper Midrange | Plains – LEB 288

As we’ve discussed in previous tournament reports, it’s hard to fault players rocking Beta basics. Their iconic status is earned both by the 30+ years of history they represent and their gorgeous art that’s stood the test of time. Lucas Duchow’s Esper Midrange only fielded a single basic land, but if you’re going to have just one, the classic Jersper Myrfors Plains is a strong one to sleeve up.

7th Place: Jason Ye

Four-Color Legends | Swamp – THB 252

Jason Ye also wielded four-color legends to the Pro Tour’s top tables, and like Zhang, it opted for only a single Swamp. Theros: Beyond Death’s “Pokémon energy cards” from Sam Burley have been some of the most in-demand suites of basics since their release in 2020, and Ye’s choice here only further cements their “modern classic” reputation in the community.

8th Place: Sean Goddard

Temur Analyst | Island – UGL 85 | Mountain – UGL 87 | Forest – UGL 88

For his Temur Analyst deck, Sean Goddard needed a lot of basic lands. Luckily, he knew where to look for an aesthetically pleasing bunch: the first set of “full-art” lands, the Unglued basics. With their old-school look, Unglued provides a similar effect to later “un”-sets in feeling more premium than lands found in a normal booster, but compared to Unhinged, Unstable, or even Unfinity — all of which are auspiciously absent from this top 8 — the Unglued five have a unique 90s vibe that even WotC’s best efforts have been unable to recapture in the years since.

What are your favorite lands of the bunch? Who do you think is the style winner of PT OTJ? Let us know in the comments or on our social channels, and thanks so much for reading! We have basic land coverage on the regular as well as new Magic: the Gathering infographics and analysis every week, so if you’ve enjoyed this article, sign up for our newsletter and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Threads!!

Miles Atherton is the editor-in-chief of “Cardboard by the Numbers” and has been playing Magic since 2006. Since studying Agricultural Economics at UC Davis, he’s built a career as an award-winning marketing executive in the entertainment industry with a love of data journalism and now consulting for White Box Entertainment. He’s also written for Anime Trending, Anime Buscience, Anime News Network, and Crunchyroll News, serving as Executive Editor of the latter from 2016 to 2021.