Wood Elves MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 25 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Elf Scout
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Wood Elves secure land advantage, placing a Forest into play for a lasting impact on the game.
  2. Ramping up mana resources, they set the stage for powerful plays ahead of the curve.
  3. Flash synergies and elf combos reveal the diverse tactical utility of Wood Elves.

Text of card

When Wood Elves comes into play from your hand, search your deck for a forest and put that card into play. Shuffle your deck afterwards.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Landing a Wood Elves onto the battlefield translates to not only a creature presence but also the immediate benefit of searching your library for a Forest card. This effect sets you up for subsequent turns, ensuring you’ve got the lands needed for future spellcasting and strategies.

Resource Acceleration: Wood Elves help you ramp up your mana resources. By fetching that extra Forest, you’re effectively advancing your mana curve, enabling you to play more impactful spells sooner than your opponent may anticipate. This can give you a serious edge, especially in the early to mid-game stages.

Instant Speed: While Wood Elves doesn’t technically operate at instant speed, its enter-the-battlefield effect is a staple in strategies that look to maximize the use of creatures with similar abilities. It synergizes with cards that allow you to cast creatures as though they had flash, thus potentially surprising your opponents and disrupting their plans at crucial moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Though Wood Elves allow you to search for a Forest card and put it onto the battlefield, it doesn’t have a discard requirement. This section does not apply to the Wood Elves card as there is no additional cost in terms of card discard.

Specific Mana Cost: Wood Elves has a casting cost that includes one green mana. This restricts it somewhat to green-themed decks or multi-colored decks that can reliably produce green mana. It may not be as versatile for decks that do not focus on green mana or for those that don’t support a dual-color strategy including green.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Some players might find the three total mana cost (one green and two of any color) for a creature that merely fetches a Forest card a bit steep. In a mana curve, they might prefer lower-cost creatures for the early game or ensure more impactful plays for three mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Wood Elves is a utility card that earns a spot in various Green-based decks, as it allows you to search for a Forest card, ensuring you’re not falling behind on land drops. Not limited to basic forests, it can also fetch dual lands that have the Forest type, optimizing your mana base and opening up your ability to play multicolored spells on curve.

Combo Potential: Upon entering the battlefield, Wood Elves can be the linchpin in setting off landfall triggers or acting as a catalyst in elf-themed synergies. This can significantly enhance strategy execution, especially in decks that leverage these interactions for powerful effects and board presence.

Meta-Relevance: As the gameplay leans towards ramping strategies or elf tribal builds, Wood Elves remains a pertinent choice. It ensures a smooth acceleration in the early to mid-game phases, which can be critical when facing decks that capitalize on explosive starts or overwhelming resources.


How to beat

Wood Elves is a staple in green decks for its ability to ramp up mana by searching for a Forest card and putting it onto the battlefield. This creature effectively thins your deck, increasing the odds of drawing non-land cards in later turns. To counteract the advantage Wood Elves provides, consider cards that disrupt your opponent’s mana base or remove creatures from the game as they enter the battlefield.

Cards like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares efficiently handle the Wood Elves without allowing the opponent to get a land. In other strategies, leverage board wipes like Wrath of God to address a swarm of creatures if Wood Elves are used as part of a larger creature-heavy tactic. If you can prevent or delay your opponent from expanding their mana base or take advantage of their ramp-up strategy by using land destruction methods, you can mitigate the Wood Elves’ impact and maintain control of the game’s pace.

Ramping is a fundamental part of MTG strategies, and Wood Elves exemplify this with their straightforward yet powerful effect. Matching this with smart removal or land disruption can be key to ensuring they don’t tip the scales in your opponent’s favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

As you weave your way through forests of MTG’s intricate ecosystem, Wood Elves stands out as a fine thread in the tapestry of green mana strategies. Sow the seeds of victory by integrating this efficient creature into your deck, securing land stability and synergy with landfall or elf synergies. Your journey to triumph can be rooted in the knowledge you cultivate here. Join us in a deeper exploration of MTG tactics and deck-building wisdom. Embrace the versatility of Wood Elves and other strategic staples to grow your prowess across the battlefield. Learn more and cultivate your path to becoming an adept player in the verdant realms of MTG.


Cards like Wood Elves

Wood Elves is a card that firmly establishes its worth in green decks within Magic: The Gathering. It is akin to cards like Elvish Mystic and Llanowar Elves in its ability to accelerate mana. However, Wood Elves offers a singular benefit – it directly fetches a Forest card from your deck and puts it into play. While Elvish Mystic and Llanowar Elves provide a temporary mana boost, Wood Elves ensures a permanent addition to your land base.

Farhaven Elf shares the same land-search mechanic, but with a more flexible option to search for any basic land type. In contrast, Wood Elves is restricted to finding a Forest card. Furthermore, Sakura-Tribe Elder presents a slightly different twist by allowing you to sacrifice it at any time to search for a basic land, giving you control over the timing of the land boost.

To sum up, though cards like Farhaven Elf and Sakura-Tribe Elder offer nuances that distinguish them, Wood Elves holds a unique niche. By immediately ramping up your mana with a Forest, it is not just a card that complements green strategies in MTG, but is a staple for its efficiency and synergy with land-based gameplay.

Elvish Mystic - Magic 2014 (M14)
Llanowar Elves - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Farhaven Elf - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Sakura-Tribe Elder - Junior Super Series (PSUS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wood Elves MTG card by a specific set like Portal and Exodus, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Wood Elves and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Wood Elves Magic the Gathering card was released in 21 different sets between 1997-05-01 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by 5 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-05-01PortalPOR 1951997normalblackRebecca Guay
21998-06-15ExodusEXO 1301997normalblackRebecca Guay
31999-07-01Starter 1999S99 1531997normalwhiteRebecca Guay
42001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 284★1997normalblackChristopher Moeller
52001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 2841997normalwhiteChristopher Moeller
62002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 360942003normalblackRebecca Guay
72002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 625272015normalblackJosh Hass
82003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 289★2003normalblackChristopher Moeller
92003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 2892003normalwhiteChristopher Moeller
102005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 2832003normalwhiteChristopher Moeller
112005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 283★2003normalblackChristopher Moeller
122006-01-01Gateway 2006PGTW 12003normalblackRebecca Guay
132006-01-02DCI PromosPDCI 12003normalblackRebecca Guay
142007-11-16Duel Decks: Elves vs. GoblinsDD1 182003normalblackChristopher Moeller
152010-11-08Magic Online Theme DecksTD0 A911997normalblackRebecca Guay
162014-11-07Commander 2014C14 2262015normalblackChristopher Moeller
172014-12-05Duel Decks Anthology: Elves vs. GoblinsEVG 182015normalblackChristopher Moeller
182015-11-13Commander 2015C15 2122015normalblackChristopher Moeller
192016-09-02Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob NixilisDDR 252015normalblackJosh Hass
202017-06-09Commander AnthologyCMA 1702015normalblackChristopher Moeller
212019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 11012015normalborderlessOmar Rayyan
222021-02-05Kaldheim CommanderKHC 802015normalblackJosh Hass
232022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 3212015normalblackJosh Hass
242023-04-21March of the Machine CommanderMOC 3162015normalblackJosh Hass
252023-06-23Tales of Middle-earth CommanderLTC 2632015normalblackInka Schulz

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Wood Elves has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Wood Elves card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2004-10-04 Because the "search" requires you to find a card with certain characteristics, you don't have to find the card if you don't want to.

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