Tendershoot Dryad is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.) At the beginning of each upkeep, create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token. Saprolings you control get +2/+2 as long as you have the city's blessing.
Complete guide
Tendershoot Dryad is a powerhouse in any token-based strategy, offering a relentless stream of reinforcements. By utilizing the Ascend mechanic, this Dryad transforms small 1/1 tokens into significant threats that can quickly take over the game. Understanding how the City's Blessing interacts with your board state is key to mastering this card.
What It Does
Tendershoot Dryad has two primary functions: generating Saproling tokens and buffing them. At the start of every upkeep—yours and your opponents'—it creates a 1/1 green Saproling. Additionally, it features the Ascend keyword. If you control ten or more permanents, you gain the City's Blessing for the rest of the game, which permanently grants all your Saprolings a +2/+2 bonus as long as the Dryad is on the battlefield.
How It Resolves
The token generation is a triggered ability that goes on the stack at the start of each upkeep. However, Ascend is a static ability that checks the number of permanents you control. If Tendershoot Dryad is your tenth permanent, you gain the City's Blessing immediately without using the stack; your opponents cannot respond to stop you from gaining the blessing once the tenth permanent is already on the field. Once earned, the City's Blessing cannot be lost, even if your permanent count later drops below ten.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is forgetting that the +2/+2 bonus is tied to Tendershoot Dryad being on the battlefield. While you keep the City's Blessing forever, the Saprolings only get the boost if the Dryad is alive to provide it. Also, remember that damage stays on creatures until the end of the turn. If a 3/3 Saproling (boosted by the blessing) takes 1 damage and Tendershoot Dryad is destroyed later that turn, the Saproling becomes a 1/1 with 1 damage marked on it and will immediately die due to state-based actions.
When to Play It
Tendershoot Dryad is most effective when you can reach ten permanents quickly. Because it triggers on every upkeep, it is significantly stronger in multiplayer games like Commander, where it can generate a massive army before your next turn begins. Protect it at all costs, as it is a high-priority target for removal once the Saprolings start becoming 3/3 threats.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf you control eight permanents and cast Solemn Simulacrum, its enters-the-battlefield ability triggers. When that ability resolves and you put a land onto the battlefield, that land becomes your tenth permanent. You immediately gain the City's Blessing. Because Ascend checks continuously, you don't need to wait for a new phase or turn.
Roaming ThroneIf you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield and chose 'Dryad' as its type, Tendershoot Dryad's upkeep ability will trigger twice. This means you will create two 1/1 green Saproling tokens at the beginning of every single upkeep. Furthermore, Roaming Throne counts as a permanent toward your Ascend total.
Saproling
City's BlessingOnce you have the City's Blessing, every 1/1 Saproling token created by Tendershoot Dryad enters the battlefield and immediately receives the +2/+2 bonus. If an effect triggers when a creature with power 3 or greater enters the battlefield, the boosted Saproling will trigger that effect because the bonus from the City's Blessing is applied instantly.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Tendershoot Dryad
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If your tenth permanent enters the battlefield and then a permanent leaves the battlefield immediately afterwards (most likely due to the "Legend Rule" or due to being a creature with 0 toughness), you get the city's blessing before it leaves the battlefield.
Card named in this ruling
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Because damage remains marked on a creature until it's removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to a Saproling you control may become lethal if Tendershoot Dryad leaves the battlefield during that turn.
Card named in this ruling
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Some cards get power, toughness, and/or abilities once you have the city's blessing. If another card has an ability that triggers when creatures with certain characteristics enter the battlefield (such as Mentor of the Meek or Elemental Bond do), use the entering permanent's characteristics after you have the city's blessing to determine whether those abilities trigger. This is true even if the entering permanent is your tenth permanent.
Card named in this ruling
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Ascend on a permanent isn't a triggered ability and doesn't use the stack. Players can respond to a spell that will give you your tenth permanent, but they can't respond to getting the city's blessing once you control that tenth permanent. This means that if your tenth permanent is a land you play, players can't respond before you get the city's blessing.
Card named in this ruling
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast a spell with ascend, you don't get the city's blessing until it resolves. Players may respond to that spell by trying to change whether you get the city's blessing.
Card named in this ruling
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
A permanent is any object on the battlefield, including tokens and lands. Spells and emblems aren't permanents.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If you control ten permanents but don't control a permanent or resolving spell with ascend, you don't get the city's blessing. For example, if you control ten permanents, lose control of one, then cast Golden Demise, you won't have the city's blessing and the spell will affect creatures you control.
Card named in this ruling
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Once you have the city's blessing, you have it for the rest of the game, even if you lose control of some or all of your permanents. The city's blessing isn't a permanent itself and can't be removed by any effect.
Card named in this ruling
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