Pointed Discussion

Nice. Just... nice.

I love using this one in splashed white decks - if I have enough white mana I can get rid of it and draw another card.

So I have this and Tranquil Thicket. Commander introduced me to these lands, and their alliteration made me curious about the others. For no particular good reason, I was hoping the entire cycle had the same. But, alas, this is not the case.

Lonely Sandbar, Forgotten Cave, and Barren Moor are the rest of the cycle, and all they have in common (as one commenter already said) is that they all sound a bit depressing. I guess that's what allows you to throw them away.

You know what, Bastian? You're right, they could easily have made it an alliterative cycle.

Isolated Isle / Lonely Lake
Forgotten Fen
Pristine Peak / Misty Mountain / Quarantined Quarry

Some of those suck but that literally took no more than 30 seconds, so I'm sure a proper Creative Team member could have done better. Maybe they just thought it would be too gimmicky?

I always replace four plains with a playset of these in my mono-white decks. Most people don't appreciate the value of these lands.

This would actually be a good card if it were more like the cycle with Seachrome Coast. It could have "Secluded Steppe enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or fewer other lands," along with its cycling ability. Then you could put these in your deck without them possibly ruining your first two turns.

If fastlands had cycling they'd easily be as playable as Horizon Canopy.

Great combo with lands like Orzhov Basilica. Allows you to cycle this later in the game when your mana base is big enough. They even pay their own cycle costs that way. Tap it, play Orzhov, cycle with the 1 mana.

Part of a five card cycle:
Secluded Steppe <-- You are here.
Lonely Sandbar
Barren Moor
Forgotten Cave
Tranquil Thicket

See also: Drifting Meadow