Originally written by Josh & Toby for HappyHomarid.com 24/02/2025. Updated 25/02/2025.
This entry into the thralls of BDSM (That is Big Dumb Spec Mentions) has a little bit of a funky twist. I figured it’d be cool to ask fellow Seaman Toby to give his insight into a card that I’ve been eying up. After researching and mulling it over I pulled the trigger and copped around 50 copies of this card, and feel like it has a little room to grow.
Enter; Accursed Duneyard. This card might seem underwhelming at first, but for a successful spec it’s important to identify the format it would supposedly slide into. No surprise that the format in question here is EDH. With the casual nature of Commando in mind, I think it’s a sure-fire inclusion in a number of our favourite ‘pet’ tribal decks. I know I’m not the only basic buoy with an obsession with Tribal decks!
An obvious, but significant pro with Accursed Duneyard is that it comes into play untapped. For me, it’s a big no no to have lands that come into play tapped if you’re looking to keep pace with the big boys. I just don’t like getting a slow start to the game.. or even worse? Drawing into a slow land later on in the game when I’d rather not draw a land at all.
Next pro: this card has utility oozing from every orifice. If we look at any of the great hall of fame land from our beloved Reserve List there’s a good chance it does something alongside producing mana. Some of these beasts even forgo mana production altogether (see Maze of Ith, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale to name a few).
Surely lands that don’t tap for mana is sheer madness!? The thing that’s worth trading mana production for in a land is utility. In Magic, the true power of the hand you hold is in its versatility. How can you adapt to your opponent’s plays? Can you rebuild your engine after the opponent board wipes you? Well.. land destruction seems to be mega-haram in most pods. The fact that mass land denial is a defining factor in the new Bracket tier system speaks for itself. If land destruction isn’t on the menu, it adds further value to utility lands. The honest truth is that utility lands are overpowered because people refuse to play or allow land removal spells. If this card offered the same utility in an enchantment or artifact form; would I still be preaching? Absolutely not. It’d be underwhelming.
Toby makes a great point in observing that it adds a beneficial function to your deck without taking away from your precious 99, since you’d be putting lands in the deck regardless.
From his lofty perch in his Ivory Tower, Toby casts a Shadow of Doubt on stockpiling Accursed Duneyard. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he exclaims “What tribal deck would be willing and able to hold up three mana, just in case one of their zombies or vampires gets assaulted?”.
Accursed Duneyard gives a 2cost regenerate (3 mana tapped in total) to the following creature types; Wraith
Skeleton
Vampire
Zombie
Shade
Last but not least… the infamously overlooked SPECTER TRIBE!
Just kidding. Even *I’m* not building a Specter deck. All jabbing at lowly tribes aside, this card does provide a feature that’s almost as old as the game itself. Toby points out the card might not be such a wonderful draw in multicoloured decks:
Toby wipes a sticky booger under his chair at work and continues to speak ill of the Duneyard. “It’s colorless mana! Not great, especially in three color decks. But at least it enters the battlefield untapped. 5/10. Pfffteugh”.
The Regenerate mechanic is quite outdated. It isn’t quite as good as providing hexproof or indestructible. It’ll be pretty obvious when you’re able to utilise this land and when you can’t. Your opponents will know what to expect if they see this untapped with access to the mana for the Regenerate ability. I say let your opponents know! They may well opt not to use the removal spell in their hand on your creature and instead play it on someone else’s creature – get in!
Generally speaking, people don’t like to take a chance on wasting spells, and the possibility of nullifying their spell may well act as a deterrent to targeting your board at all.
The other point I’d like to make is that this card on the board may encourage you to play in a manner that is advantageous for card advantage. Example; You have Accursed Duneyard in play, with one Swamp and one Island and a creature you actually care about (say your Commander, who happens to be a Skellington). You have a 3CMC creature card in your hand.. nothing special, nothing that’ll change the tide of war by being played. Instead of just slamming the creature mindlessly onto the board, it makes more sense to hold the card and pass the turn (thus creating card advantage). The reward for holding off on your play? You have the mana necessary to regenerate something important.
If you’re a real jank tank, perhaps you could even untap this land to utilise more than once.. but we’re pushing it a little there.
We hope you’ve enjoyed BDSM with Toby and Josh. Stay tuned for more Big Dumb Spec Mentions in the very near future!
King Kookus & Toby.