Hostile Desert MTG Card
2017-07-14 - Number 178
2017-07-15 - Number 178s
2020-04-17 - Number 281
2024-02-09 - Number 266
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land — Desert |
Text of card
: Add to your mana pool. , Exile a land card from your graveyard: Hostile Desert becomes a 3/4 Elemental creature until end of turn. It's still a land.
Amonkhet's desiccated land thirsts for blood.
Cards like Hostile Desert
Hostile Desert holds a unique position within the realm of land cards in Magic: The Gathering. It echoes the sentiments of creature lands like Mutavault, with the ability to become a creature at a moment’s notice. What distinguishes Hostile Desert is its reliance on exiling a land card from the graveyard to activate its transformation into a 3/4 creature, providing tactical graveyard utilization.
Comparatively, we might look at Mishra’s Factory, another land that turns into a creature. Although less powerful, it boasts the benefit of being able to become a creature without the added step of exiling a card. Yet, Hostile Desert offers a potent threat with its significant power once it comes to life. Other similar cards include Blinkmoth Nexus, which also requires only one mana to morph into a creature, but it differs by being an artifact in addition to a land.
In the context of versatility and board presence, Hostile Desert competently holds its ground among other creature lands. Its intrinsic synergy with graveyard strategies adds a layer of depth, giving it an edge for players who can capitalize on such mechanics.
Cards similar to Hostile Desert by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: With the ability to convert lands from your graveyard into a threat, Hostile Desert serves as an unconventional but effective way to gain card advantage. It essentially recycles a resource that is usually considered spent, turning it into a potent attacker or blocker when needed.
Resource Acceleration: As a land, Hostile Desert doesn’t require mana investment to enter the battlefield, thus accelerating your resources. It fits seamlessly into your land drops and can swiftly become a creature, ensuring you don’t fall behind on board presence while managing your mana efficiently.
Instant Speed: This land’s ability to transform into a 3/4 Elemental creature can be activated at instant speed, making it a flexible combat trick or a surprise blocker. This instantaneity enables you to adapt to the flow of the game, catching opponents off-guard and maximizing Hostile Desert’s defensive and offensive potential during either player’s turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: To activate Hostile Desert’s ability to become a creature, you have to discard a land card. This can be a drawback when you’re trying to maintain card advantage or if your hand is already running low on land cards.
Specific Mana Cost: Hostile Desert requires two mana to use its creature transformation ability. Even though it’s colorless mana, this cost competes with your ability to play other cards in your turn, especially in the early game when mana is scarce.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Even though Hostile Desert can be potent in the right deck, there are times when investing two mana to turn it into a creature might not be the most efficient use of your resources. There are other utility lands available that either have a lower activation cost or provide a more immediate impact on the game without needing to dip into your mana pool so significantly.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Hostile Desert lends itself to various deck builds, particularly those that utilize lands in the graveyard. This land can easily be included in strategies that benefit from land recursion or self-mill tactics.
Combo Potential: As a land with the ability to become a creature, Hostile Desert has the potential to work in combination with cards that benefit from lands entering the battlefield or creatures being animated. It can surprise opponents with a sudden attacker or blocker, making it a valuable addition to any deck looking to utilize its unique properties.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where graveyard interaction is prevalent, Hostile Desert becomes a formidable player. It excels in environments where lands are often put into the graveyard, either through exploration, cycling, discard, or destruction effects, making it a significant threat that can adapt to ongoing meta shifts.
How to Beat Hostile Desert
Hostile Desert presents unique challenges on the battlefield as a land card that can turn into a sizeable threat. Excelling in decks that strategically use the graveyard, this card becomes a 3/4 creature until end of turn, potentially catching opponents on the back foot. To effectively neutralize Hostile Desert’s impact, it’s imperative to disrupt graveyard synergies or strip the card of its potency before transformation.
Graveyard hate cards, such as Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze, can prevent Hostile Desert from ever becoming a creature by emptying the graveyard it relies on. Land destruction spells or effects that target nonbasic lands, like Field of Ruin, offer another avenue to eliminating this desert from play directly. Additionally, instants that kill or exile creatures, used in response to its activation, can handle the desert while it’s in creature form and vulnerable.
To sum up, tackling Hostile Desert in MTG relies on cutting off its fuel source—the graveyard or dealing with it swiftly through removal while it’s in creature form. Strategic use of these methods can minimize any advantage this transforming land might provide.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Hostile Desert MTG card by a specific set like Hour of Devastation and Hour of Devastation Promos, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Hostile Desert and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
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- MTG Mint Card
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- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Hostile Desert Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-07-14 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by Josh Hass.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-07-14 | Hour of Devastation | HOU | 178 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Josh Hass | |
| 2 | 2017-07-15 | Hour of Devastation Promos | PHOU | 178s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Josh Hass | |
| 3 | 2020-04-17 | Commander 2020 | C20 | 281 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Josh Hass | |
| 4 | 2024-02-09 | Murders at Karlov Manor Commander | MKC | 266 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Josh Hass |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Hostile Desert has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Hostile Desert card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-04-18 | Desert is a land subtype with no special meaning. It doesn’t grant the land an intrinsic mana ability. Other cards may care about which lands are Deserts. |
| 2017-07-14 | If Hostile Desert becomes a creature the same turn it enters the battlefield, you can’t attack with it or tap it for mana. |