Okay, so there are cards that have basic land types but are not basic lands. If something refers to a basic land, can I use one of those?
It's refering to a basic so I would say no just because there land not basic land
It depends. If the spell or ability says "basic land",like on {Evolving Wilds}, then you have to look for a basic land specifically. However, cards that refer to a basic land type like Forest or Swamp, as on {Far Seek} can find non-basic lands of that type. So an {Arid Mesa} can find a {Steam Vents}, but {Harrow} can't. ðŸ"¨