Treetop Sentries 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
Reach When this creature enters, you may forage. If you do, draw a card. (To forage, exile three cards from your graveyard or sacrifice a Food.)
Complete guide
Treetop Sentries is a versatile Squirrel Archer that provides both aerial defense and card advantage. By utilizing the forage mechanic, this creature ensures your hand stays full while keeping the skies clear of threats. It is an excellent addition to any green deck that utilizes the graveyard or produces Food tokens.
Understanding Reach and Forage
Treetop Sentries features the Reach keyword, allowing it to block creatures with Flying despite not having Flying itself. Its primary utility comes from its enters-the-battlefield trigger, which allows you to 'forage.' To forage, you must either exile three cards from your graveyard or sacrifice a Food artifact. If you successfully complete one of these actions, you draw a card.
Resolution Step-by-Step
When Treetop Sentries enters the battlefield, its ability is put onto the stack. When the ability begins to resolve, you first choose whether or not you want to forage. If you choose to forage, you select three cards from your graveyard to exile OR sacrifice one Food. Once this choice is made and the cost is paid, the 'If you do' condition is met, and you immediately draw a card. Note that you cannot forage if you have fewer than three cards in your graveyard and do not control a Food.
Timing and Interference
A common mistake is trying to respond to the choice of foraging. Once the ability starts resolving and you announce you are foraging, your opponent cannot take actions (like exiling your graveyard) to stop you. They must respond to the trigger while it is still on the stack. Additionally, remember that you cannot sacrifice the same Food token to forage and to its own life-gain ability simultaneously; you must choose one or the other.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf your Solemn Simulacrum was destroyed earlier in the game, it provides one of the three cards needed in your graveyard to forage. When you play Treetop Sentries, you can exile the Simulacrum along with two other cards to draw a card. This allows you to convert spent resources into fresh draws.
Eternal WitnessSuppose you have Eternal Witness and two other cards in your graveyard. You cast Treetop Sentries and choose to forage by exiling all three cards, drawing a card. While this clears your graveyard, making Eternal Witness unavailable for future recursion, it provides an immediate replacement in hand to keep your momentum going.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Treetop Sentries
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Food is an artifact type. Even though it appears on some creatures, it's never a creature type.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You can't sacrifice a Food to pay multiple costs. For example, you can't sacrifice a Food token to activate its own ability and also to activate Maraleaf Rider's ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Whatever you do, don't eat the delicious cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If you don't have enough cards in your graveyard or a Food on the battlefield, you can't choose to forage.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
Once you announce that you're casting a spell or activating an ability, players can't take actions until you've finished doing so. Notably, opponents can't try to remove cards from your graveyard or Foods you control to stop you from foraging.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Treetop Sentries
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