Desert of the Indomitable MTG Card
2017-07-14 - Number 172
2020-08-13 - Number 289
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Land — Desert |
| Abilities | Cycling |
Key Takeaways
- Cycling Desert of the Indomitable trades it for a new card, subtly boosting long-game card advantage.
- As a nonbasic land, it aids mana acceleration but comes with a specific cycling cost and enters tapped.
- The land’s instant speed cycling maintains player momentum and adapts to evolving board states efficiently.
Text of card
Desert of the Indomitable enters the battlefield tapped. : Add to your mana pool. Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Desert of the Indomitable may not directly grant additional cards, but cycling it offers the opportunity to draw a card while the land is not required for mana. This flexibility can be a subtle form of card advantage, as it lets you replace the card with potentially more relevant spells during longer games.
Resource Acceleration: As a land card, Desert of the Indomitable contributes to your resource acceleration by increasing your land count. Although it enters the battlefield tapped, this land is still a vital part of your mana base, ensuring you meet the color requirements for your spells in the long game.
Instant Speed: The cycling ability of Desert of the Indomitable can be activated at instant speed, providing you the flexibility to adapt to the board state on your opponent’s turn. This can be critical for maintaining momentum and making efficient use of your mana during each cycle of turns.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Desert of the Indomitable can become a drawback if it necessitates discarding from your hand. Having this as part of its cycling cost can place you at a disadvantage, especially in scenarios where card advantage is crucial for maintaining control of the game.
Specific Mana Cost: Activating the cycling feature of Desert of the Indomitable requires one colorless and one green mana. This specific requirement can be difficult for multicolored decks that might struggle with mana base consistency, therefore it can be less favorable for players who cannot guarantee the mana needed.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While having a land that serves additional functions can be handy, the cost for cycling Desert of the Indomitable might be considered high compared to other cards offering similar benefits. This could deter players from including it in their decks when options that consume less mana are available, affecting deck efficiency in competitive play.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Desert of the Indomitable can serve as a valuable inclusion for decks that seek resilience in land slots. Its ability to cycle away adds flexibility, allowing you to dig through your deck for other needed resources while also contributing to land count when necessary.
Combo Potential: This card can be a hidden gem in land-based combo decks, providing an additional desert card type that may interact with cards designed to exploit deserts. The cycling ability also enables graveyard synergies, making it a multifaceted enabler for various strategies.
Meta-Relevance: Given the shift towards resource efficiency and graveyard strategies in recent metas, a card like Desert of the Indomitable could become increasingly relevant. It ensures your lands are rarely dead draws and supports archetypes that thrive on every card in the deck being a potential resource or enabler.
How to beat
Desert of the Indomitable is an intriguing land card in Magic: The Gathering, providing both mana stability and cycling ability. Beating this card requires strategic play and understanding its role in a deck. This card fits well in strategies looking to play the long game, so the key is to apply pressure early. Force decisions between using the mana or cycling for card draw.
To counteract Desert of the Indomitable, fast aggro decks can be particularly effective. These put your opponent on a clock, making the cycling feature less tempting as they need to stabilize the board or face defeat. Additionally, land destruction and cards that target nonbasic lands can disrupt the utility Desert of the Indomitable brings to the table, hampering your opponent’s strategy and mana curve.
Ultimately, maintaining board control and keeping the tempo high will minimize the impact of this card. Always be aware of your opponent’s potential to cycle for better options, and adjust your tactics accordingly to maintain your advantage and neutralize Desert of the Indomitable’s benefits to their gameplay.
Cards like Desert of the Indomitable
Desert of the Indomitable holds ground in the Magic: The Gathering landscape as a unique land card. Among lands that produce colorless mana, it shares a bond with cards like Wastes, which also offer colorless mana without the benefit of any additional effects. Yet, Desert of the Indomitable stands out with its cycling ability, allowing players to exchange it for a new card when it’s less needed.
Elsewhere in the mana-generating echelon, we encounter Zhalfirin Void. It allows scrying upon entry, fine-tuning upcoming plays, albeit without the card replacement feature. Moreover, Blighted Cataract presents a similarity in utility; in exchange for sacrificing the land and some mana, it provides a burst of card draw. This, however, is more resource-intensive than the cycling trait of Desert of the Indomitable which requires only the land itself and two mana of any color.
In evaluating the usefulness of varied mana resources, Desert of the Indomitable ideally fits within the decks craving a balance between land availability and card fluidity, thereby demonstrating its worth in flexibility without compromising on deck consistency.
Cards similar to Desert of the Indomitable by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Desert of the Indomitable 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 Desert of the Indomitable and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Desert of the Indomitable Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-07-14 and 2020-08-13. Illustrated by James Paick.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-07-14 | Hour of Devastation | HOU | 172 | 2015 | Normal | Black | James Paick | |
| 2 | 2020-08-13 | Amonkhet Remastered | AKR | 289 | 2015 | Normal | Black | James Paick |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Desert of the Indomitable has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Desert of the Indomitable 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. |
