EDH Optimizer
Old Man Willow
Legendary Creature — Treefolk · 2BG
Color identity: Black · Green · Golgari
Old Man Willow is Golgari (black and green): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Old Man Willow's power and toughness are each equal to the number of lands you control.
Whenever Old Man Willow attacks, you may sacrifice another creature or a token. When you do, target creature an opponent controls gets -2/-2 until end of turn.
Reference price of the card: €0.09
Average lands in decks for Old Man Willow: 38
Lands MatterRampLandfallTokens+1/+1 CountersTreefolkAristocratsReanimator
Build your Old Man Willow deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Old Man Willow 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Old Man Willow deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: B (70/100)
- Consistency90
- Speed63
- Interaction29
- Resilience75
- Closing95
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 38 lands (12 nonbasic, 3 Swamp, 23 Forest)
Cultivate · Sol Ring · Rampant Growth · Entish Restoration · Arcane Signet · Garruk's Uprising · Explore · Kodama's Reach · Fangorn, Tree Shepherd · Quickbeam, Upstart Ent · Sakura-Tribe Elder · Druid Class · Harrow · Putrefy · Rise of the Witch-king · Scute Swarm · Ashaya, Soul of the Wild · Yedora, Grave Gardener · Deathsprout · Dungrove Elder · Nature's Lore · Tireless Provisioner · Traverse the Outlands · Blackblade Reforged · Farseek · Avenger of Zendikar · Rampaging Baloths · Beanstalk Giant // Fertile Footsteps · Assassin's Trophy · Azusa, Lost but Seeking · Beast Within · Generous Ent · Kalonian Twingrove · Dryad of the Ilysian Grove · Many Partings · Mirkwood Bats · Rishkar's Expertise · Sapling Nursery · Swiftfoot Boots · Cultivator Colossus · Exploration · Springbloom Druid · Wood Elves · Conduit of Worlds · Nemata, Primeval Warden · Three Visits · Crystalline Armor · Dauntless Dourbark · Eternal Witness · Harmonize · Llanowar Elves · Revive the Shire · Lightning Greaves · Oracle of Mul Daya · Return of the Wildspeaker · Brawn · Heroic Intervention · Last March of the Ents · Six · Sméagol, Helpful Guide · Ulvenwald Hydra · Command Tower · Evolving Wilds · Jungle Hollow · Woodland Cemetery · Rogue's Passage · Golgari Rot Farm · Terramorphic Expanse · Bojuka Bog · Reliquary Tower · Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth · Overgrown Tomb · Myriad Landscape
🃏 Recommended cards for Old Man Willow
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Old Man Willow, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Entish Restoration | 44% | +40% |
| Fangorn, Tree Shepherd | 37% | +37% |
| Explore | 39% | +35% |
| Quickbeam, Upstart Ent | 33% | +33% |
| Garruk's Uprising | 40% | +33% |
| Druid Class | 31% | +29% |
| Yedora, Grave Gardener | 29% | +28% |
| Dungrove Elder | 28% | +28% |
| Ashaya, Soul of the Wild | 29% | +27% |
| Traverse the Outlands | 28% | +26% |
| Blackblade Reforged | 27% | +25% |
| Kalonian Twingrove | 24% | +24% |
| Beanstalk Giant | 25% | +24% |
| Generous Ent | 24% | +23% |
| Harrow | 31% | +23% |
| Deathsprout | 28% | +23% |
| Sapling Nursery | 23% | +22% |
| Rampaging Baloths | 26% | +22% |
| Cultivator Colossus | 22% | +21% |
| Azusa, Lost but Seeking | 24% | +21% |
| Dauntless Dourbark | 20% | +20% |
| Crystalline Armor | 20% | +20% |
| Dryad of the Ilysian Grove | 23% | +20% |
| Avenger of Zendikar | 26% | +20% |
💰 The best cards for your Old Man Willow deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Entish Restoration
- Fangorn, Tree Shepherd
- Explore
- Quickbeam, Upstart Ent
- Garruk's Uprising
- Druid Class
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Traverse the Outlands
- Cultivator Colossus
- Azusa, Lost but Seeking
- Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
- Exploration
- Scute Swarm
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
- Last March of the Ents
- Timber Protector
- Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Old Man Willow
- Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Lotus Cobra → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Lotus Cobra → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Peregrin Took + Nuka-Cola Vending Machine → Infinite card draw, Infinite draw triggers, Near-infinite tapped Treasure tokens
- The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage → Infinite self-mill, Near-infinite self-discard triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Old Man Willow's color identity?
Old Man Willow is Golgari (black and green): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Old Man Willow come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Old Man Willow deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 38 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 4.2 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 91 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 20 % of the time and floods 7 %. Deck health: B (70/100).
How many lands should a Old Man Willow deck run?
Real Old Man Willow decks run 38 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Old Man Willow?
The three highest-synergy cards are Entish Restoration, Fangorn, Tree Shepherd, Explore. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Old Man Willow decks.
What combos does Old Man Willow have?
Old Man Willow has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Old Man Willow deck cost?
You can start cheap: Entish Restoration, Fangorn, Tree Shepherd, Explore are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.