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Field of Ruin is more expensive and you really only want to crack it with Leonin Arbiter in play, but you don't have to wait until the opponent has four lands like with Tectonic Edge. And despite being 1 mana more to crack, it also can replace itself if you can pay your Arbiter tax (or don't have it in play).
Is this worth trying out?
I don't think so. By the time you can afford to spend mana on activating the land you would likely be in Tectonic Edge range anyways. However, that's not the biggest reason it isn't as good as Tec Edge (in my opinion.) The biggest reason against it as that its only good with Arbiter in play, so they don't replace the land (and you no longer get the land either, so its the same as sacrificing a Tec Edge.) Tec Edge will *always* make sure they are down a land. The activation cost is prohibitive as well, so it means you are much more reliant on early Aether Vials to make sure you can get creatures onto the field while using your mana for disruption. For mono-white D&T I don't think it fits.Quote:
Originally Posted by RobNC
It might be better in a deck like Jeskai Control, where they are playing draw-go already with tons of mana open. Tectonic Edge in that deck is more designed to win grinding matches like Jund and mirrors. Honestly, Tec Edge has been very scarce as of late simply because its too slow. Ghost Quarter is much more efficient at doing its job of just killing man-lands or disrupting tron/eldrazi. The basic land isn't the point, its the uncounterable, 'free' source of disruption that attacks specific mana-bases.
Also, people somehow forget that Encroaching Wastes is a card, but sees no play. Yes it costs 4 to activate, but it doesn't have a land number clause and it doesn't replace the land with basics like GQ/Field of Ruin. It's arguably better, especially if you're playing mana-dorks. But the activation cost is too prohibitive. Tectonic Edge is close to being too prohibitive itself, I haven't seen it in ages other than as a 1-2-of in D&T.
Honestly, I think the best thing to do is just stick with Ghost Quarter and add in Tectonic Edge in some number if you want 5+ sources of land-based disruption.
I'm not a fan of Field of Ruin in DNT, but I also don't play Tec Edge. I just like Ghost Quarter in mono white. I do think that Field of Ruin will be pretty solid in the G/W Valuetown decks though, where you can recur it with Ramunap Excavator and run them out of basics relatively quickly with Path and Ghost Quarter.