Treefolk

Cloudcrown Oak card art

Continuing 'tribal month' (see previous post), today I look at Treefolk.

Introduction

Treefolk first appeared in Antiquities (1994); 105 unique ones have been printed to date. As you would expect, they are predominantly mono-green (82 cards), with a splash of mono-white (3 cards), mono-black (5 cards), and multi-colored (15 cards). Treefolk live in white/black/green, with only Abonimable Treefolk splashing blue and none splashing red (understandably . . . fire and wood don't mix well, from the wood's point of view).

Treefolk couldn't stand alone as a viable tribe until Lorwyn/Shadowmoor blocks (2007-2008). Those sets added 34 Treefolk to the pool and featured some powerful cards, many of which have made it into my own deck.

Staple/Sample Cards

Treefolk are expensive (so you need mana ramp, cost reduction, or delaying tactics to give you time). Treefolk Harbinger can net you a land (or Treefolk) card, Bosk Banneret makes Treefolk cheaper to play, and Leaf-Crowned Elder's ability can get some mighty creatures on the battlefield for free.

Treefolk are powerful and enjoy getting lost in the woods. Dauntless Dourbark, Dungrove Elder, and Kalonian Twingrove get stronger as you play more forests, and Timber Protector buffs (and protects) both your creatures and lands.

There are even a few Treefolk with built-in removal. Rootgrapple (an instant, but with a creature type, as Lorwyn featured) is a nice removal spell that adds card draw to boot. And Woodfall Primus can destroy two permanents thanks to its persist ability.

Deck Ideas

For Commander, Doran, the Siege Tower, Colfenor, the Last Yew, or Nemata, Primeval Warden are fun choices. (Click the card name to see Commander deck ideas and high-synergy cards from edhrec.com.)

For a casual deck, I love my mono-green Treefolk deck, based on Lorwyn cards. Since these cards are not on Arena, I cannot paste an Arena-formatted list here; the below is entered manually. In parentheses following the card is its main purpose.

Treefolk

3 Treefolk Harbinger (land or creature fetch)

4 Bosk Banneret (cost reduction)

2 Lignify (removal)

2 Sakura-Tribe Elder (mana ramp, chump blocker)

2 Rampant Growth (mana ramp)

1 Ulvenwald Tracker (removal through creature fighting)

1 Heartwood Storyteller (card draw)

3 Dungrove Elder (big hitter)

2 Cloudcrown Oak (defense)

4 Dauntless Dourbark (big hitter)

2 Leaf-Crowned Elder (creature accelerant)

1 Harmonize (card draw)

3 Rootgrapple (removal)

2 Timber Protector (buff and protection)

2 Orchard Warden (life gain)

2 Kalonian Twingrove (big hitter)

24 Forest (the Forest from Jumpstart, below, is particularly appropriate)

I'll go out on a limb and say this deck is a treet to play, wood you believe.