712.3b While the two cards of a meld pair are on the battlefield as a melded permanent, the object represented by those cards has only the characteristics of the combined back face, except that its converted mana cost is the sum of the converted mana costs of its front faces
These give you the option of playing additional lands during your turn
Lands (11) Spells (49) 1 Tendrils of Agony 4 Brainstorm 1 Yawgmoth's Bargain 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Mystical Tutor 4 Duress 1 Necropotence 1 Mana Vault 1 Wheel of Fortune 1 Sol Ring 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Time Walk 4 Dark Ritual 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Mana Crypt 1 Windfall 1 Timetwister 4 Burning Wish 1 Mind's Desire 1 Memory Jar 3 Chromatic Sphere 1 Demonic Consultation 1 Tinker 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Diamond 1 Lotus Petal 4 Lion's Eye Diamond 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire Long.dec and the numerous descendants like Grim Long derive their name from the archetypes original architect, legendary deckbuilder Mike Long (which, of course, led to Burning Wishs restriction)
It doesnt take much of a bonus at all, and once in a while, people play Disperse
Because dual land cards are so versatile and green-blue MTG decks are consistently popular among players, Tropical Island is usually in high demand
