History Main / SandBlaster

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there are sand-themed Ground & Rock-type moves, such as "Sand Attack" (reduces the opponent's accuracy by throwing sand in their face), "Sand Tomb" (traps the opponent in quicksand or a mini sandstorm, depending on the game), "Sandstorm" (summons a sandstorm that affects the whole field, damaging Pokémon other than Rock, Ground, and Steel types every turn) and "Scorching Sands" (deals damage and may [[StatusInflictionAttack burn]] the opponent). Additionally Pokémon with the "Sand Stream" ability, such as Tyranitar and Hippowdon, automatically produce the effects of the Sandstorm move when they enter battle.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'':
** Inaros is a pharaoh-themed Warframe who can manipulate sand at will, sucking the moisture out of his enemies, burying them in the ground for him to devour, and conjuring massive sandstorms to toss his foes around.
** Invoked with Baruuk's ultimate ability, Serene Storm, by giving him access to his Exalted Weapon, Desert Wind, knocking his foes aside with powerful bursts of sand-like energy particles.
* ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters XIV'' has Kukri, a mysterious member of the Official Invitation Team who can control sands and use them to attack, whether by dropping a lot of sand on top of his foes, suffocating them with sands, or [[DoppelgangerAttack creating sand clones that confuse his opponents]].
* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 7 XL''Pang De's Ex Attack has him using his [[DualWielding twin]] pole axes to rise a whirlwind of sand before smashing the enemies in the ground, causing a splash of red sand. His first Musou attack has him pounding the ground in front of him, sending forth an explosive burst of crimson sands.

* ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' has [[EvilSorcerer Kan-Ra]] who can fight by magically conjuring sand to attack his enemies.

* The Sand Rod in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' allows Link to create pillars of sand. The rod reappears in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' as a proper weapon.

A character has [[ElementalPowers power]] over sand, allowing them to create or control the substance. It notably differs from DishingOutDirt in that it only allows one to affect sand, meaning they're not going to be throwing around boulders or causing avalanches and earthquakes. Not that this means the power is useless in comparison. On the contrary, it can be used to be just as powerful as standard earth powers and often even quicker.

Expect users or abilities such as this to be associated with deserts in some fashion. AHandfulForAnEye may be one of their tactics. SubTrope of SingleSubstanceManipulation. Also compare BlowYouAway and SentientSands. This may or may not include ThePowerOfGlass eventually, considering that sand is the main component of glass.

-> ''"By some incredible accident, the molecules of his body merged at that [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive instant]] with the molecules of the sand under his feet, and his [[ElementalShapeShifter body took on the qualities of the sand itself]]-becoming virtually indestructible!"''

** ''{{Toys/BIONICLE2015}}'': Pohatu is able to manipulate sand through his elemental power of stone.

Expect users or abilities such as this to be associated with deserts in some fashion. AHandfulForAnEye may be one of their tactics. SubTrope of SingleSubstanceManipulation. Also compare BlowYouAway and SentientSands.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there are sand-themed Ground & Rock-type moves, such as "Sand Attack" (reduces the opponent's accuracy by throwing sand in their face), "Sand Tomb" (traps the opponent in quicksand or a mini sandstorm, depending on the game), "Sandstorm" (summons a sandstorm that affects the whole field, damaging Pokémon other than Rock, Ground, and Steel types every turn) and "Scorching Sands" (deals damage and may [[StatusAilment burn]] the opponent). Additionally Pokémon with the "Sand Stream" ability, such as Tyranitar and Hippowdon, automatically produce the effects of the Sandstorm move when they enter battle.

* In ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'', a minor character has the ability to turn her body into sand and move around freely. Her clothes indicate that she's from Saudi Arabia or a neighboring country.

* Combining this trope with SentientSands, Sandbox from ''Fanfic/Ben10Reincario'' is this. Being made of sand, Sandbox is capable of morphing his body in various ways (it's explicitly stated to be similar to a single-celled organism).

Expect users or abilities such as this to be associated with deserts in some fashion. AHandfulForAnEye may be one of their tactics. Also compare BlowYouAway and SentientSands.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there are sand-themed Ground-type moves, such as "Sand Attack" (reduces the opponent's accuracy by throwing sand in their face), "Sand Tomb" (traps the opponent in quicksand or a mini sandstorm, depending on the game), "Sandstorm" (summons a sandstorm that affects the whole field, damaging Pokémon other than Rock, Ground, and Steel types every turn) and "Scorching Sands" (deals damage and may [[StatusAilment burn]] the opponent). Additionally Pokémon with the "Sand Stream" ability, such as Tyranitar and Hippowdon, automatically produce the effects of the Sandstorm move when they enter battle.

* In ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen'', a minor character has the ability to turn her body into sand and move around freely. Her clothes indicate that she's from Saudi Arabia or a neighboring country.

** Gaara can control both environmental sand, and his personal supply of sand that's been seeped with his [[{{Mana}} chakra]], the latter being more powerful and moving automatically to protect him from attacks. When away from the desert, he can also sneak some of his sand underground to secretly grind up a larger supply of sand for himself underneath the battlefield. This comes from having Shukaku, one of the [[{{Kaiju}} Tailed Beasts]], sealed inside of him at birth, though he retains this ability after Shukaku is removed (with it later being revealed that the sand's automatic movements to protect him come from [[ThePowerOfLove his dead mother's love]]). Because they both control physical matter (not ElementalBaggage) and have their own will, Gaara's sand techniques are immune to being [[AntiMagic negated]], [[EnergyAbsorption absorbed]] or controlled by others, which combined with the sand's incredible speed and durability has earned them the title of [[WorldsBestCharacter "The Absolute Defence"]]. Curiously his sand control is eventually described as using the [[MagnetismManipulation Magnet Release]] chakra nature, created by fusing [[DishingOutDirt Earth]] and [[BlowYouAway Wind]] chakra.

** Gaara can control both environmental sand, and his personal supply of sand that's been seeped with his [[{{Mana}} chakra]], the latter being more powerful and moving automatically to protect him from attacks. When away from the desert, he can also sneak some of his sand underground to secretly grind up a larger supply of sand for himself underneath the battlefield. This comes from having Shukaku, one of the [[{{Kaiju}} Tailed Beasts]], sealed inside of him at birth, though he retains this ability after Shukaku is removed (with it later being revealed that the sand's automatic movements to protect him come from [[ThePowerOfLove his dead mother's love]]). Because they both control physical matter (not ElementalBaggage) and have their own will, Gaara's sand techniques are immune to being [[AntiMagic negated]], [[EnergyAbsorption absorbed]] or controlled by others, which combined with the sand's incredible speed and durability has earned them the title of [[WorldsBestCharacter "The Ultimate Defence"]]. Curiously his sand control is eventually described as using the [[MagnetismManipulation Magnet Release]] chakra nature, created by fusing [[DishingOutDirt Earth]] and [[BlowYouAway Wind]] chakra.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Gaara can control sand with such ease that he doesn't have to even move to guide it and it will even automatically protect him from attacks. He can even grind hard rocks down into more sand. This is a result of having the Ichibi (One-Tailed Beast) sealed inside of him at birth. Curiously it's revealed much later on that this ability uses the [[MagnetismManipulation Magnet Release]] chakra nature.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there are sand-themed Ground-type moves, such as "Sand Attack" (which reduces the opponent's accuracy by throwing sand in their face), "Sand Tomb" (which traps the opponent in quicksand or a mini sandstorm, depending on the game), and "Sandstorm" (which summons a sandstorm that affects the whole field, damaging Pokémon that are not Rock, Ground, or Steel type every turn). Additionally, Pokémon with the "Sand Stream" ability, such as Tyranitar and Hippowdon, automatically summon a sandstorm when brought out in battle.

[[caption-width-right:350:Asking him to bring you a dream might not work out for you.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Asking him to bring you a dream might not work out for you.]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/NarutoUltimateNinjaBlazing https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_gaarasand.png]]]]

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', there are sand-themed Ground-type moves, such as "Sand Attack" (which reduces the opponent's accuracy by throwing sand in their face), "Sand Tomb" (which traps the opponent in quicksand or a mini sandstorm, depending on the game), and "Sandstorm" (which summons a sandstorm that affects the whole field).

* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' has two, probably because sand is everywhere. Sadira manipulates more conventional sand, while Mozenrath has the Black Sand his kingdom is named for that seems for all intents and purposes to be ''sentient quicksand''.

** Toph initially has difficulty bending sand. Because she [[BizarreAlienSenses "sees" via ground vibrations]], sand makes everything fuzzy and was a major factor in her letting Appa get captured (which Aang chewed her out for, never mind that she was trying to ''prevent the library from sinking into the sand'' at the time). Later in the series, she's seen sandbending a perfect replica of Ba Sing Se out of sand to show off her progress.

* The Sand Rod in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' allows Link to create pillars of sand.
** The rod reappears in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' as a proper weapon.

* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 7 XL''Pang De's Ex Attack has him using his [[DualWielding twin]] [[OneHandedZweihander pole]][[AnAxeToGrind axes]] to rise a whirlwind of sand before smashing the enemies in the ground, causing a splash of red sand. His first Musou attack has him pounding the ground in front of him, sending forth an explosive burst of crimson sands.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'': Iggy's Stand "the Fool" can control the sand in his environment. It is exceptionally useful in the desert.