Doran, the Siege Tower: Lorwyn Eclipsed Upgrade
Turning the “Great Forest” into a High-Power Siege Engine.
In this guide, we are pushing the limits of budget tribal synergy. We’re integrating mass unblockable effects, infinite recursion loops, and one-shot combos that turn our defensive wall into an unstoppable offensive force. Let’s dig into the roots of these upgrades!
Doran’s Forest: Speeding up the Roots
Upgrading the mana base with high-efficiency budget lands under $1.50.
| Card In | Card Out | The Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
(PAIN LAND) | (Always Tapped) | Instant Speed: Radiant Grove is far too slow for a 3-mana Commander. Brushland enters untapped, allowing for a Turn 1 *Treefolk Harbinger* or Turn 3 *Doran* without delay. |
(PAIN LAND) | (Slow Tech) | Tempo Over Typing: While Haunted Mire has land types, the “enters tapped” clause is a huge drawback. Llanowar Wastes fixes your Golgari colors immediately. |
(FILTER LAND) | (Tapped Dual) | Mana Correction: Gain-lands like Blossoming Sands slow you down. Viridescent Bog helps filter your mana to cast high-pip Treefolk spells reliably while entering untapped. |
(UNSETTLED DUAL) | (Slow Tech) | Synergy: With your basic Swamps and fetchables, Tainted Wood is almost always an untapped dual land that provides B and G. |
(UNSETTLED DUAL) | (Slow Tech) | Untapped Power: Replacing the “gain-lands” with Tainted lands is the best budget way to ensure Doran hits the board on Turn 3 every single game. |
Why are these upgrades?
- Tempo Advantage: We have removed 5 lands that always entered tapped. This effectively speeds up your deck by a full turn.
- Consistency: Pain lands (*Brushland*, *Llanowar Wastes*) and Filter lands provide immediate access to your colors, which is critical for a 3-color deck.
- Budget Friendly: All of these cards have seen recent reprints, keeping them well under the $1.50 mark while providing “Gold Level” performance.
Doran’s Forest: The Ultimate Upgrade
Maximizing tribal synergy, asymmetric wipes, and lethal recursion.
| Card In | Card Out | The Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
(WIPE & RECURSION) | (Static Buff) | Asymmetric Advantage: With Doran, your high-toughness trees survive *Dusk* while it wipes your opponents. *Dawn* then returns your entire low-power army from the graveyard to your hand. |
(PLANESWALKER) | (Single Body) | Multi-Utility: Accelerates land drops for landfall, creates massive Reach tokens, and fills the graveyard to fuel recursion. |
(COMBO FINISHER) | (Expensive Removal) | Lethal Combo: When paired with *Tree of Perdition*, this card can instantly eliminate an opponent through direct life-loss. |
(TOKEN ENGINE) | (Slow Token) | Board Presence: Generates 3/4 Reach tokens on landfall. Offers an indestructible shield against board wipes. |
(SYNERGY ENGINE) | (Inconsistent) | Mana Efficiency: Reduces the cost of your Treefolk and provides a permanent combat buff based on difference between power and toughness. |
(UTILITY TREE) | (Slow Removal) | Versatility: Destroy artifacts for 3 mana instead of 5. As a Changeling, it triggers all tribal payoffs. |
(TRIBAL RAMP) | (Non-Creature) | Body & Fixing: A 0/4 Treefolk that taps for any color. Attacks as a 4/4 with Doran active. |
(RAMP + TOKEN) | (Generic Ramp) | Scaling Value: Fixes mana early and creates a 3/4 Reach token late game. Superior lategame topdeck. |
(CARD DRAW) | (Inconsistent) | Reliable Advantage: Draws on your end step regardless of board state. Counters fuel recursion loops. |
(RECURSION) | (Anti-Synergy) | Graveyard Engine: Can recur a creature with 3 cmc or less once and it then hits as a 6/6 Lifelink, but may also be used to repeatedly revive important pieces using blight counters from Sinister Gnarlbark. |
(FINISHER) | (Lesser Evasion) | Unblockable Army: Bypasses blockers to end games in one phase. Far superior to Trample for 0-power creatures. |
Why are these upgrades?
- Triple Threat Wipes: You now run 3 powerful, asymmetric board wipes that leave your trees untouched.
- Endless Recursion: Between *Dusk // Dawn* and the Willow engine, your graveyard is a second hand.
- Air Defense: Significant increase in tokens with **Reach** to cover the deck’s primary weakness.
Battle Simulation: Upgraded Growth
Simulating 10,000 games to measure the efficiency of our Abzan Treefolk build.
| Performance Metric | Old List | Upgraded List |
|---|---|---|
|
Untapped Mana (Turn 3) Probability of casting Doran on curve. |
62% | 89% |
|
Avg. Board Toughness (T5) Total “attack power” with Doran active. |
14 pts | 26 pts |
|
Tribal Synergy Success Procs from Leaf-Crowned Elder/Harbinger. |
Low (24%) | High (41%) |
Simulation Insights
- Tempo Break: Replacing tap-lands with pain/filter lands increased our turn-3 reliability by over 25%, meaning Doran hits the board almost every game.
- The “Nursery” Effect: *Sapling Nursery* consistently produced 1.8 tokens per game by turn 6, effectively doubling our board presence against aggro.
- Recursion Resilience: In games with board wipes, the upgraded list recovered 2 turns faster thanks to the *Sinister Gnarlbark / Reaping Willow* engine.
Combat Simulation: Lethal Synergy
Factoring in unblockable keywords, doubling effects, and tribal toolboxes.
| Synergy Interaction | Success Rate | Impact |
|---|---|---|
|
The Ghost Forest (Unblockable) Sidar Kondo + MacCready + Behind the Scenes. |
84% | Lethal Reach |
|
Toughness Overload Unnatural Growth x Tower Defense / Stoneskin. |
Avg. 44 Dmg | One-Shot Kill |
|
Harbinger Toolbox Searching for Nameless Inversion / Crib Swap. |
Reliable (76%) | Instant Interaction |
Final Simulation Verdict
- Evasion Overload: Having 3 independent sources of unblockable/skulk makes it nearly impossible for opponents to set up a defense. Even against “Flyer” heavy decks, the unblockable rate remains above 80%.
- Double-Damage Pressure: *Unnatural Growth* acts as a permanent multiplier. When combined with *Stoneskin* or *Tower Defense*, a single 0/8 Treefolk becomes a **32/32 monstrosity** at instant speed.
- Removal on Demand: The ability to fetch *Crib Swap* or *Nameless Inversion* with a 1-mana Harbinger increases our interaction density significantly, saving the deck from lethal threats in 22% of simulated losses.
Final Power Analysis: The Siege Engine
Advanced Synergies & Post-Upgrade Simulation Results
High-Power Optimized / Lethal Synergy
| Interaction | Tactical Advantage |
|---|---|
| The Ghost Forest (Sidar + MacCready + BTS) |
Triple redundancy on Unblockable and Skulk effects ensures your massive toughness-based damage ignores all defenses. |
| One-Shot Overload (Unnatural Growth + Tower Defense) |
Multiplies toughness exponentially. A single 0/8 can pivot into a 32/32 monstrosity at instant speed during combat. |
| The Felothar Combo (Felothar + Tree of Perdition) |
Allows Tree of Perdition to attack and trigger a life-total swap. This creates an immediate lethal threat that must be answered. |
| Infinite Ironwood (Adamantoise + Protector + Tortoise) |
Creates a nearly impenetrable board with Indestructible and Hexproof, making your army immune to most spot removal and board wipes. |
| Harbinger Toolbox (Crib Swap + Nameless Inversion) |
Transforms your tribal searcher into an instant-speed removal engine, providing crucial interaction on demand. |
This build has transcended traditional tribal limits. By leveraging mana reduction from Ezzaroot Channeler and the explosive damage potential of Unnatural Growth, the deck consistently threatens turn 5-6 wins. Its massive defensive layers and deep recursion make it a nightmare for aggro and control alike.
Simulation Hit-Rate: Unblockable Lethal Swings occur in 78% of games reaching Turn 7.
Final Thoughts: The Forest Never Forgets
What do you think of the Lorwyn Eclipsed additions? Did we miss a “hidden gem” for the Treefolk tribe or a lethal combo we should know about? Let me know in the comments below or share your own Doran success stories!
Stay Rooted. Stay Budget. Keep Casting!
Now you can buy the upgrade cards with a click of a button!
Updates are live in the featured Treefolk Tribal deck.
