Shefet Dunes MTG Card
2017-07-14 - Number 183
2020-08-13 - Number 329
2024-04-19 - Number 318
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Land — Desert |
Text of card
: Add to your mana pool. , Pay 1 life: Add to your mana pool. , , Sacrifice a Desert: Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Cards like Shefet Dunes
Shefet Dunes is a versatile land card from Magic: The Gathering that offers a strategic advantage in white-based creature decks. It provides a unique blend of mana utility and a temporary boost to your creatures. Similar in function to other creature-enhancing lands such as Kabira Crossroads, Shefet Dunes has the added benefit of not entering the battlefield tapped and thus avoids delaying your tempo.
Analogous to Shefet Dunes, Sunpetal Grove stands out as it offers colored mana without coming into play tapped, provided you control a Plains or a Forest. However, while Sunpetal Grove is more flexible with mana production, it lacks the power-up ability that makes Shefet Dunes compelling in creature-heavy strategies. Emeria, the Sky Ruin also elevates creatures, but it demands a more patient setup to achieve its potential, unlike the immediate impact Shefet Dunes can have on the board.
Evaluating these lands, Shefet Dunes demonstrates its worth for tactical plays that can turn the tides of battle. Its capability to pump up a swarm of creatures on a pivotal turn, without the usual downside of entering tapped, positions it as a solid choice in various deck builds.
Cards similar to Shefet Dunes by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Shefet Dunes. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Boros Convoke | Pioneer | Boros Convoke | Pioneer Challenge 32 2024-05-05 |
 | Mono-White Humans | Pioneer | Mono-White Humans | Pioneer Challenge 32 2024-05-02 |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Shefet Dunes facilitates deck-building strategies focused on going wide with creatures. By boosting your entire board, it can effectively generate card advantage by making your individual creatures more threatening and harder for your opponent to trade with efficiently on a one-for-one basis.
Resource Acceleration: As a land, Shefet Dunes contributes to your mana base without taking a spell slot in your deck. Its ability to transform into a source of temporary power for your creatures can be seen as a form of resource acceleration, allowing you to apply pressure faster and potentially closing games sooner than expected.
Instant Speed: The power-up ability of Shefet Dunes can be activated at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to enhance your army right before damage calculation during combat, catch your opponent off guard, or decisively alter the course of blocking and attacking scenarios within the combat phase.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The card’s activated ability demands the sacrifice of a desert, which could be a sizable setback when your board presence relies heavily on land resources.
Specific Mana Cost: Shefet Dunes requires white mana for activation, thus its utility is primarily in white-centric or two-color decks that can reliably produce white mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For the boost it provides, the life payment and deserts sacrifice might be too steep when you compare it to other lands or spells able to bolster your creatures’ strength for less restrictive costs.
Reasons to Include Shefet Dunes in Your Collection
Versatility: Shefet Dunes serves both as a mana source and as a means to strengthen your creatures over time. It can be included in a wide range of white-based decks, from aggressive strategies looking to capitalize on the power boost to more defensive decks seeking flexibility in land slots.
Combo Potential: This land’s ability to pump your entire team is particularly powerful in token strategies, enabling surprise victories by amplifying the combat damage of numerous creatures simultaneously.
Meta-Relevance: As games often revolve around creature combat, Shefet Dunes gains importance by tipping the scales in your favor during crucial turns. It fits well in the current environment that values tactical advantages over opponents in battles for board supremacy.
How to beat
Shefet Dunes is a versatile land card with the power to be a game-changer in Magic: The Gathering, similar to the famed Anthems that upgrade creatures’ prowess. With an ability to bolster your creatures’ strength, it shines in decks that flood the board with numerous creatures. To tackle a card like Shefet Dunes, focus on control strategies that limit the number of creatures your opponent can amass.
Utilizing board clear spells like Wrath of God or Doomskar can nullify the advantage Shefet Dunes provides by resetting the battlefield. Similarly, countering creature heavy strategies with spot removal can keep the board state to a minimum, making the Dunes’ activation less impactful. Since Shefet Dunes requires a life payment and the sacrifice of a Desert, it’s also effective to target your opponent’s life total directly or apply pressure to exhaust their resources before they can capitalize on the extra power boost.
Land destruction, though not always a popular tactic, can directly counter cards like Shefet Dunes. Targeted land removal such as Field of Ruin can ensure this particular land doesn’t pose a threat for long. Recognize that the key to overcoming Shefet Dunes lies in proactive disruption to your opponent’s strategy, maintaining card advantage, and keeping their board state manageable.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Shefet Dunes MTG card by a specific set like Hour of Devastation and Amonkhet Remastered, 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 Shefet Dunes and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Shefet Dunes Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-07-14 and 2024-04-19. Illustrated by Yeong-Hao Han.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-07-14 | Hour of Devastation | HOU | 183 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Yeong-Hao Han | |
| 2 | 2020-08-13 | Amonkhet Remastered | AKR | 329 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Yeong-Hao Han | |
| 3 | 2024-04-19 | Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander | OTC | 318 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Yeong-Hao Han |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Shefet Dunes has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Shefet Dunes 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 a Desert has an ability with a cost of “Sacrifice a Desert,” you can sacrifice that Desert to pay the cost for its own ability. |