Desert themed deck inspired by 'Dune'. Get creatures/tokens, win.
I attempted to make the deck as desert/Dune themed as I possibly could, even at the risk of making a woeful deck. I have always been fascinated by deserts, and Frank Herbert's Dune recently revived my love. I wanted to recreate the feeling I associate with the mysterious deserts of Dune. The mysterious and deadly endless sand dunes. The exotic and deadly Fremen with their unknown numbers. The giant Worms. The constant risk of dehydration.
Explanation of the cards
The Commander -
Hazezon Tamar
should be fairly obvious. He belongs in the desert and reminds me of the Fremen leaders (such as Liet-Kynes). His ability to create Sand Warriors based on the amount of lands you control is awesome and many of the cards in the deck revolve around boosting this ability.
The Creatures Some creatures are in the deck purely for flavour, regardless of their abilities. This includes
Desert Drake
(it says desert ;D),
Desert Nomads
(which are actually quite helpful and awesome representation of primitive Fremen),
Ornithopter (as seen in the novel 'Dune') ,
Osai Vultures
(the constant presence of death in the desert),
Wall of Earth
,
Phantom Nomad,
Sandstone Warrior
and
Nafs Asp
.The Wurms
Autochthon Wurm
,
Elder Land Wurm
,
Tunneler Wurm
,
Dirtcowl Wurm
,
Worldspine Wurm
(king of the Wurms ;D) and the Wurm producers
Crush of Wurms
,
Roar of the Wurm
and
Wurmcalling are there for flavour and effectiveness. Big, trampling creatures are always good ;D The spells which summon the Wurms can be paralleled with the Worms of 'Dune' and how they hear/sense irregular movement in the desert and almost sneak up on their intruders.
Dust Elemental is desert-esque and is useful for returning pacified/arrested or whatever tickles your fancy creatures to your hand. As well as being a good attacker.
Realm Razer
is there if your slippery doge of an opponent is getting you on the sly with his land acceleration, it also works well to
Path to Exile him during your opponents turn, and playing
Hazezon Tamar
when your turn comes back around.The walls and the Viashinos are just flavorsome and useful. (Much like myself *wink wink*)
The Enchantments/SorceryMana ramp, which may not seem very appropriate for a desert (nor do forests), but I figured if I want to make this deck work I would need it. It could also be said that the mana ramping could be a representation of the research facilities in 'Dune' and the hidden potential of Arrakis being unleashed. Perform the
Rites of Flourishing
,
Explore the land.
Exploration of the land allows you to find where to
Cultivate the land and get a
Rampant Growth ;D I did not focus too much on mana ramping.The
Desert Sandstorm
,
Desert Twister
,
Swirling Sandstorm
and
Savage Twister
are the harsh environment that is the desert. Destroying and damaging all that get in its war. The enchantments are largely focused on buffing and creating Warriors and Sand Warriors.
Concordant Crossroads,
Fervor
,
Fires of Yavimaya
and
Mass Hysteria
are all to give your Tokens Haste (Though the tokens produced with
Assemble the Legion already have it). Giving them haste allows you to take advantage of
Hazezon Tamar
with
Seance (if he is in your graveyard).
Intangible Virtue,
Brave the Sands and
Parallel Lives all boost the usefulness of the Tokens. Dem Sandy Warriors will get all up in your opponents grill.
Phyrexian Rebirth is also here to make use of the many Tokens you may have.
The rest of the cards should be pretty self-explanatory. Some are here for their flavour and others were too useful to be left out, regardless of whether they fit in. In the end, I know this deck isn't going to be the all that good. It probably won't even work 50% of the time. None of this worries me though. I have created this deck because of my love for 'Dune', because of my love for deserts and I hope to get enjoyment out of using it. Even if I lose every game, I'll lose knowing this deck means something to me and is special. Can you say the same? ;)
