Overview:

Hazezon, Shaper of Sand pilots a lands-matter deck focused on recurring Deserts to generate value through token swarms and landfall synergies. The core strategy leverages Hazezon's Desert recursion and token generation alongside redundancy in land tutors (e.g., Sylvan Scrying, Hour of Promise) and token amplifiers (e.g., Jetmir, Nexus of Revels). While lacking infinite combos, the deck can overwhelm via explosive turns with Scapeshift/Titania's Command and Field of the Dead triggers. Key weaknesses include vulnerability to graveyard hate and reliance on incremental board building.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
This deck aims to flood the board with Sand Warrior tokens by repeatedly playing Deserts from the graveyard using Hazezon’s ability. Land tutors (Realms Uncharted, Elvish Reclaimer) and recursion (Titania, Protector of Argoth, Yuma, Proud Protector) ensure Desert access, while token payoffs like Jetmir, Nexus of Revels and Champion of Lambholt convert board presence into lethal threats. Secondary value engines include Aura Shards for artifact/enchantment control and Skullclamp for card draw.

Key Phases:

1. Ramp & Setup (Turns 1-4): Deploy land accelerators (Dryad of the Ilysian Grove, Azusa, Lost but Seeking) and fetch critical Deserts (Sunscorched Desert, Dunes of the Dead).
2. Value Engine Activation (Turns 5-7): Recur Deserts with Hazezon to trigger token generation while building resilience via Heroic Intervention or Rootborn Defenses.
3. Overrun (Turns 8+): Leverage Jetmir, Nexus of Revels or Tireless Provisioner treasures to amplify tokens into lethal combat damage.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 3+ lands, including at least 1 Desert.
• Prioritize ramp (Birds of Paradise, Arcane Signet) and land tutors (Weathered Wayfarer).
• Avoid hands without early land drops or Desert recursion.

Key Tips:

• Use Zuran Orb/Sylvan Safekeeper to sacrifice Deserts for value before recurring them.
• Amulet of Vigor mitigates tapped Desert drawbacks.
• Scavenger Grounds answers graveyard strategies while fueling Hazezon.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace) shuts down Hazezon’s recursion.
• Token sweepers (Toxic Deluge, Massacre Wurm) cripple the primary win condition.

Moderate:

• Land destruction (Armageddon) disrupts synergy.
• Limited instant-speed interaction for stack-based combos.

Minor:

• Slow starts due to tapped Deserts.

Most Important Cards:

• Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
• Field of the Dead
• Scapeshift
• Hour of Promise
• Titania, Protector of Argoth
• Jetmir, Nexus of Revels
• Aura Shards
• Skullclamp
• Oracle of Mul Daya
• Yuma, Proud Protector

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• No fast mana or T3-4 combos. Wins via combat typically around T8-10 with optimized draws.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion (Bala Ged Recovery) and token regeneration (Renewed Solidarity) mitigate disruption, but over-reliance on Hazezon and graveyard makes it vulnerable to targeted hate.

Consistency: 7/10

• 10+ land tutors and redundancy in Desert payoffs ensure core strategy execution.

Interaction: 5/10

• Moderate spot removal (Swords to Plowshares, Vandalblast) but lacks free counterspells or stax pieces.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between Optimized Casual (5.0) and Focused (6.0). It outperforms precons with robust land synergy and tutor density but lacks the speed (T7-8 wins) and interaction density of true high-power decks. Its incremental value engine and vulnerability to graveyard hate align with the 5.0-5.5 range, where combat-based wins and moderate resilience are expected.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5