Playing the last entry in The Phyrexian Compleation event and I have https://mtgpq.info/cards/HostileDesert in my hand full of mana and enabled, but the spell icon is red like when https://mtgpq.info/cards/AzorTheLawbringer enters the battlefield and prevents spells for a turn. Only he hasn’t been played, the only things played are Squee and Greg’s tokens from the loyalty ability (my supports are https://mtgpq.info/cards/TriumphOfGerrardI-II and H2 loyalty).
Did you have any deserts in your graveyard?
Good question, playing Hostile Desert requires that you have other desert cards in your graveyard otherwise you’d be granting a 0/0 bonus.
Yes, thing is that MTGPQ card descriptions do not contain any specifications regarding being able to play a card or not. A good example of paper magic card that contains such a description is Hewed Stone Retainers that clearly specifies “Cast ~ only if you’ve cast another spell this turn”.
Another fine example is Feast of Blood that saw frequent play in Vampire decks but is literally useless otherwise.
Before the last update you could cast Hostile Desert without any deserts in the graveyard and thus give 0/0 but put a desert in the graveyard.
I did not have any other deserts in that deck. It’s a desert itself so I can work on subsequent copies of itself but it won’t let you get the first one in the GY.