Cinder Barrens

Cinder Barrens was released in early 2018 as part of the Rivals of Ixalan set, a Magic: The Gathering expansion that concluded the block's exploration of a Mesoamerican-inspired plane. The card serves as a functional utility land, designed to provide players with a color-fixing option that taps for either red or black mana. Its inclusion in the set was intended to support the common-level land cycle necessary for balanced gameplay in the Limited format, specifically benefiting the Pirate-themed archetypes that defined the set's Rakdos-colored strategies.

The artwork was created by Jonas De Ro, a digital artist known for his atmospheric and immersive landscapes. In crafting the visual identity for Cinder Barrens, De Ro leaned into the hostile, volcanic environment of Ixalan, emphasizing the charred and desolate terrain that characterizes the region. His approach successfully captured the rugged, untamed aesthetic of the plane, and the card has since become a staple of budget-friendly deck building due to its straightforward utility and thematic consistency with the wider Ixalan world-building.