Willow Dryad MTG Card

Portal (POR)
1997-05-01 - Number 193

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number POR-193

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Dryad
Abilities	Forestwalk
Power	1
Toughness	1

Key Takeaways

Willow Dryad’s forest land synergy improves card efficiency, enabling more strategic plays and resource use.
While not commanding board presence, it can offer a tactical edge with the right land interactions and buffs.
Consider your deck’s needs and the metagame when evaluating Willow Dryad’s quiet potential against flashier alternatives.

Text of card

Forestwalk (If defending player has any forests in play, Willow Dryad can't be intercepted.)

Some think that dryads are the dreams of trees.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While the Willow Dryad may not directly allow you to draw additional cards, its presence on the battlefield enhances your card efficiency. By providing consistent access to forest land abilities, it ensures that your valuable land cards are always active and contributing to your strategy.

Resource Acceleration: Willow Dryad offers a form of resource acceleration through forest land optimization. By tapping for mana with a forest, you can potentially play more powerful spells earlier in the game, giving you a significant edge over opponents who are still ramping up their resources.

Instant Speed: Although Willow Dryad is a creature card that does not fit the instant category, the acceleration it provides can free up your mana, enabling you to keep mana open for instant-speed responses. This flexibility can be critical, allowing for more dynamic play and the ability to surprise your opponent with unexpected moves.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Willow Dryad doesn’t necessitate discarding cards from your hand, its place in decks can sometimes affect hand economy negatively. Especially in green decks that favor creature and land plays over card draw, every card held is a potential source of power on the battlefield. Introducing a card like Willow Dryad might not synergize well with such strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Willow Dryad demands green mana to come into play. This specific mana requirement can be restrictive, primarily when your deck is multicolored or if you’re facing mana-fixing issues. Additionally, green-based mana ramp decks tend to have a plethora of choices for one-mana creatures, and including Willow Dryad might not always be the most versatile or impactful option.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its low absolute cost, when you compare Willow Dryad to other cards available at a similar mana value, it might fall short in terms of impact and versatility. In a game where efficiency is key, there are other one-mana creatures that bring more to the table, be it through stats, abilities, or other forms of utility, making Willow Dryad a less competitive choice for that precious spot in your deck.

Reasons to Include Willow Dryad in Your Collection

Versatility: Willow Dryad offers a seamless fit into green-based decks, especially those hinging on forestwalk or strategies that put a premium on land-centric abilities. With its low casting cost, it’s a nimble and accessible option for adjusting the pace of the game in your favor.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize in decks that use land type modifications to turn opponent’s lands into Forests, therefore guaranteeing an unblockable avenue for damage. Its synergy with cards that benefit from creature count or type, such as elves or druids, expands its combo range.

Meta-Relevance: In metagames where nonbasic lands are prevalent, Willow Dryad’s ability provides an unexpected edge. As it insidiously interacts with seemingly harmless cards that alter land types, it fits uniquely into strategies looking to exploit weaknesses in enemy defenses.

How to beat

Within the diverse world of Magic: The Gathering, the Willow Dryad card embodies subtlety and a unique approach to game strategy. This card, while not overwhelmingly powerful on its own, presents a strategy to claim control over Forest lands, gradually tipping the scales in your favor and denying your opponent crucial resources. Overcoming the Willow Dryad requires a blend of strategic removal and preemptive measures.

The key to disbarring this subtle Dryad lies in timely removal spells. Cards like Shock and Fatal Push are effective at sending the Willow Dryad away before it can establish a presence on the battlefield. Since it depends on Forests for its land-grabbing ability, ramping up your land count with non-Forest lands or utilizing land destruction spells can also mitigate the Dryad’s influence on the game. When facing this feeble trickster, remember that an early counter or an aggressive stance can effectively neutralize the slow, accumulating threat it poses to your territory on the board.

In essence, thwarting the Willow Dryad’s magic hinges on readiness and maintaining pressure. By leveraging suitable removal resources or adjusting your land strategy, you can ensure that the Dryad’s effect remains a whisper in the woods, rather than a shout across the battlefield.

Cards like Willow Dryad

Willow Dryad is a lesser-known gem within the realm of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. It’s interesting to compare this card to its forest-dwelling counterparts such as Scryb Sprites and Shanodin Dryads. Both the Willow Dryad and Scryb Sprites offer players one-power creatures for a single mana. However, Scryb Sprites have the added benefit of flying, granting it better evasion against ground-based blockers.

Meanwhile, Shanodin Dryads share the same mana cost and power as Willow Dryad but come with forestwalk, allowing it to be unblockable as long as the opponent controls a Forest. This particular ability can provide a tactical edge in formats where Forests are prevalent. Willow Dryad stands out by offering plain simplicity – a straightforward one-cost creature without additional abilities. This may not always match the capabilities of its cousins but can be a humble addition to decks focusing on one-mana creatures.

When weighing the unique niche each card occupies, Willow Dryad sits in a spot for MTG enthusiasts who appreciate the straightforward approach to creature deployment, prioritizing ease of use over more complex battlefield tactics.

Cards similar to Willow Dryad by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Willow Dryad MTG card by a specific set like Portal and The List, 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 Willow Dryad and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Willow Dryad Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1997-05-01 and 1997-05-01. Illustrated by D. Alexander Gregory.