Land drop

The land drop is the one land you are allowed to play every turn in a game of Magic: The Gathering, as opposed to any other lands you may be able to get onto the battlefield.
==Description==
Once per turn, the active player may play a land from their hand during the main phase while the stack is empty. This is considered a special action which does not use the stack.
Playing lands is part of developing your board. Each land you play provides you one more mana every turn for the rest of the game. This is why progressive turns become more powerful, with wilder tempo swings as the game progresses. This is also why missing a land drop is so devastating; you fall behind on tempo right away and your ability to recover tempo on future turns is also damaged. 
===History===
For Zendikar, R&D played around with the land drop as a cost or resource. What if a spell was much cheaper than normal and the additional cost was you had to use your land drop for the turn? The problem they quickly ran into is that the times you want the cheaper spells are the same time you need to be playing land. Players who opted to use the mechanic had slower mana development and tended to get beaten by the players with more mana. They then tried a kicker variant where the land drop didn't make it cheaper but increased the effect. They assumed early in the game you'd cast the cards for their smaller effect and later when you didn't have land to play, you could get the free upgrade. In playtesting, they found players were greedy and kept upgrading the spells even when they needed the land development more.
In 2024, the Mystery Booster 2 test card further explored this idea. It introduced , a cost that can be paid by giving up a land drop. 
====Example====
==Rules==
==Rulings==
* represents an additional cost, not a mana symbol. {D} can be paid for by giving up one potential land play you have remaining this turn. Boulder Jockey's mana value is 3.
*To determine how many land drops you have remaining this turn, compare the number of lands you can play (which is normally one but can be increased by other effects) with the number of lands you've played and land drops you've given up this turn. If the number of lands you can play is greater, you can play a land or give up a land drop. You can't give up a land drop you don't have. You can never pay for when it's not your turn.
==References==
Category:Turn structure
Category:Test cards
Category:Magic slang