Wildwood Escort MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Elf Warrior |
| Released | 2023-04-21 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | March of the Machine |
| Set code | MOM |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 216 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Taras Susak |
Text of card
When Wildwood Escort enters the battlefield, return target creature or battle card from your graveyard to your hand. If Wildwood Escort would die, exile it instead.
With Eldraine's human knights called away to defend the courts, lost travelers were surprised to find themselves whisked to safety by the secretive folk of the wilds.
Cards like Wildwood Escort
Wildwood Escort carves its niche in the green creature lineup of MTG with a distinctive focus on protecting elf permanents. Similar to cards like Sylvan Safekeeper, it offers a safeguard for your valuable creatures. Sylvan Safekeeper allows you to sacrifice a land to give a creature shroud, which can be a steep price for protection. Wildwood Escort, however, requires no such sacrifice, but instead, it focuses on elf-centric decks with its elf-specific ability.
Comparing it to Heroic Intervention, another card that offers protection, we see differences in scope and mana cost. Heroic Intervention provides indestructibility and hexproof to all your permanents for just two mana but is a one-time use instant. Wildwood Escort demands more strategic deployment, offering a repeatable effect as long as it’s on the field, specifically targeting elf allies.
Considering the long game, Wildwood Escort shines when elf synergy is paramount. It might not have the broad protective sweep of Heroic Intervention or the land-heavy demands of Sylvan Safekeeper, but for players wielding elf decks, Wildwood Escort is a fine-tuned tool to shield their forest kin from targeted threats.
Cards similar to Wildwood Escort by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Wildwood Escort excels in providing a sustainability boost on the battlefield. Its ability to protect key creatures from being destroyed or exiled offers a unique kind of card advantage. By safeguarding your important creatures, you maintain your board presence and avoid potential loss of creature-based resources.
Resource Acceleration: This card can be considered a form of indirect resource acceleration. While it doesn’t generate mana or additional lands, ensuring the survival of your mana dorks or creatures with tap abilities leads to a more consistent performance of your mana engine, thus accelerating your resource development throughout the game.
Instant Speed: One of the most significant attributes of Wildwood Escort is its ability to be played at instant speed. This feature allows you to react swiftly to threats posed by opponents during their turns, making it a versatile card that can disrupt your opponent’s strategies when they least expect it.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: With Wildwood Escort, you have to meet an additional requirement to gain its benefits. It compels players to discard another card, which could sometimes mean sacrificing future plays or crucial strategies.
Specific Mana Cost: This card has a mana cost that includes green mana symbols. This specific cost can restrict its inclusion to green-centric or multicolor decks, potentially reducing its versatility in a broader range of deck types.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Wildwood Escort’s effect – protecting your creatures from a particular type of spell or ability – could be valued differently depending on the gameplay situation. However, considering its mana expenditure, players might find other cards offering more impactful effects at a lower cost, refining their deck’s efficiency.
Reasons to Include Wildwood Escort in Your Collection
Versatility: Wildwood Escort fits seamlessly into various green-centric decks that prioritize creature-based strategies. Its ability to protect a wide array of other creatures makes it a useful tool against control-heavy opponents.
Combo Potential: This card can work in synergy with other creatures and effects that capitalize on avoiding targeted removal. This also includes mechanics that facilitate enter-the-battlefield triggers, further enhancing your board presence.
Meta-Relevance: Given the fluctuating nature of the meta, Wildwood Escort’s role to safeguard key creatures is crucial when navigating an environment filled with spot removals and board sweeps, maintaining your tactical advantage.
How to beat
Wildwood Escort is a card that brings a unique dynamic to Magic: The Gathering games. Its ability to protect creatures from spells or abilities your opponents control can be quite troublesome if you’re on the other side of the table. Overcoming this card requires a mix of strategy and timing. The key is to wait for the opponent to tap out their resources or use their removal spells with care to avoid triggering the card’s protective ability.
Board wipes that don’t target, like Shatter the Sky or Damnation, can circumvent Wildwood Escort’s safeguarding nature since they don’t single out specific creatures. Alternatively, one could employ effects that change the base power and toughness of creatures to zero, such as Mass Diminish or Sudden Spoiling, effectively neutralizing the Escort without targeting it directly.
Let’s not overlook the value of counter spells which can manage Wildwood Escort before it even lands on the battlefield. Once in play, strategies involving non-targeted removals or overarching effects become essential. Adjusting your play to anticipate and mitigate the escort’s capabilities can ensure that it doesn’t become a game-defining problem for you.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Wildwood Escort MTG card by a specific set like March of the Machine, 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 Wildwood Escort and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Wildwood Escort has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |