Wastes

Wastes first appeared in the 2016 expansion Oath of the Gatewatch as the first colorless basic land in the history of Magic: The Gathering. Its introduction was a mechanical necessity to support the set's new colorless mana symbol, allowing players to pay for costs that specifically required colorless mana rather than generic mana from any source. The design features a stark, desolate landscape that emphasizes the corrupted influence of the Eldrazi titans, shifting the game's traditional color pie by establishing colorless as a distinct, mana-producing entity.

The artwork for this specific iteration, collector number OGW-183, was created by Jason Felix, who utilized a haunting, painterly style to evoke the feeling of a world drained of vitality. When the card was later included in The List—a rotating selection of reprints curated by Wizards of the Coast for their Set Boosters—it served to keep this utility card accessible to new players long after the original set had rotated out of standard play. It is widely regarded by players as a foundational piece of deck-building technology for Commander formats.