Tree Monkey MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Monkey
Abilities Reach
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Tree Monkey’s ability to draw cards provides players with consistent card advantage throughout duels.
  2. It can expedite resource acquisition with land synergies, enhancing mana availability significantly.
  3. Instant speed utility allows strategic plays during combat, giving players a tactical edge.

Text of card

Tree Monkey can block creatures with flying.

"They serve the world best on a platter with shallots and onions." —Talas sailor


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When you deploy Tree Monkey, its intrinsic ability can offer a consistent draw mechanism, significantly contributing to card advantage. Keeping your hand replenished ensures you have responses to opponents’ moves and sustains your momentum throughout the duel.

Resource Acceleration: This card excels at ramping up your resources swiftly. If Tree Monkey’s summoning conditions align with land-based synergies or effects that trigger upon creature casts, it can markedly accelerate your board state and provide the upper hand in mana availability.

Instant Speed: The versatility of Tree Monkey shines at instant speed. This capability allows for strategic plays during the combat phase or in response to an opponent’s actions, keeping them guessing and providing a tactical edge by making optimal use of your mana each turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Tree Monkey card demands that players discard another card in order to activate certain abilities. This stipulation can be particularly restrictive when a player’s hand is already depleted, forcing tough decisions on whether to use the card and sacrifice other potential plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Tree Monkey features a mana cost that necessitates a specific combination of forest (green) mana. This requirement can constrain deck-building options, as it becomes essential to have a sufficient green mana base or mana-fixing capabilities to consistently cast the card on curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its higher mana cost relative to its abilities, the Tree Monkey may not always provide the best value compared to other creatures in its mana range. In a game where efficiency is key, the mana invested in playing Tree Monkey could potentially be allocated to more impactful creatures or spells that offer a greater benefit for the same or lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tree Monkey offers a flexible role in a variety of decks. Its ability to tap and potentially disrupt opponent’s flyers can integrate seamlessly into decks that require a tactical edge over aerial threats.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with effects that care about tapping or untapping creatures. Its synergy with cards that benefit from creature control can be a game-changer in tight situations.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment dense with flying creatures, the Tree Monkey’s utility increases. As a part of your arsenal, it can serve as an unexpected foil to popular flying strategies, keeping your deck adaptive and competitive.


How to beat

The Tree Monkey card in Magic: The Gathering posits an interesting challenge due to its ability to disrupt opponents’ strategies with its reach and potentially advantageous interactions in a forest-based deck. To successfully navigate around this pesky primate, focusing on removal that outpaces the Monkey’s mana curve can be key. Cards such as Shock or Fatal Push offer cost-effective ways to remove the Tree Monkey before it can affect board control or leverage its synergies.

Furthermore, evasion tactics can render the Tree Monkey’s reach ability moot. Creatures with flying are naturally poised to soar over the Tree Monkey, while enchantments like Unholy Strength can help your non-flyers punch through. Additionally, in a game where timing is everything, instant-speed spells grant the flexibility to react accordingly during the opponent’s turn, either by removing the Tree Monkey or nullifying its block with a well-placed combat trick.

Adapting to the dynamics of the battlefield and having a diverse toolkit to address threats such as the Tree Monkey are essential components in crafting a winning strategy in Magic: The Gathering. With the right approach, you can ensure that this arboreal adversary doesn’t swing the game in your opponent’s favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the ins and outs of MTG involves not just deck building, but also an analytical assessment of each card’s strengths and weaknesses. Tree Monkey offers a nuanced blend of advantages that can enhance your gameplay in both expected and surprising ways. Whether it’s leveraging the card’s ability to secure card advantage, ramp up your resources, or flex its versatility at instant speed, Tree Monkey can be a pivotal addition to your deck. However, it’s crucial to weigh the card’s demands such as its discard requirement and specific mana cost. Keen to deepen your strategic edge with cards like Tree Monkey? Embark on this journey with us and discover how to optimize your MTG plays for any match.


Cards like Tree Monkey

The Tree Monkey card is a unique creature in the lore of MTG, bringing its own quirks to the gameplay. It shares some common ground with other low mana cost creatures, especially for players looking to quickly populate the board. When we examine Arbor Elf, a staple in green mana acceleration decks, both cards aid players in establishing early game presence, but the Elf provides the added advantage of untapping forests for extra mana usage.

Another card that often gets compared with Tree Monkey is Llanowar Elves, arguably one of the most iconic one-mana green creatures in MTG history, which directly generates an additional green mana. While Llanowar Elves offer this reliable mana source, Tree Monkey may bring alternative benefits that can be leveraged in certain deck types or situations in the game.

Tree Monkey can also rub shoulders with Flying Men in terms of being a cost-effective evasion creature. Although they share a similar cost and can quickly pressure an unprepared opponent, Flying Men offers the advantage of flight, often making it unblockable against decks lacking in aerial defense.

Overall, while Tree Monkey might not be the powerhouse in terms of mana generation like some of its counterparts, it nonetheless contributes to strategies centered around rapid board development and particular synergies that elevate a player’s position during the early turns of a match.

Arbor Elf - MTG Card versions
Llanowar Elves - MTG Card versions
Flying Men - MTG Card versions
Arbor Elf - Worldwake (WWK)
Llanowar Elves - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Flying Men - Arabian Nights (ARN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tree Monkey MTG card by a specific set like Portal Second Age and Ninth Edition, 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 Tree Monkey and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Tree Monkey Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-06-24 and 2005-07-29. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-06-24Portal Second AgeP02 1481997normalblackUna Fricker
22005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 2752003normalwhiteJohn Matson
32005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 275★2003normalblackJohn Matson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tree Monkey has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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