Shivan Reef

A staple land. It really is. Nonbasic land always has a drawback, because it is so useful for giving you more than one color. But all these lands that originally came from Apocalypse. They were good then, and they have not lost any of their potency since. Why are they so good?

Well, because there isn't much of a drawback when you look at the land. It doesn't come in tapped. It still gives you a colorless mana at the very least. And it can give you an option of 2 different colors. 1 life is definatly not too high a price to pay for such a good land. Two thumbs up!