Elder. The rarest wand wood of all, and reputed to be deeply unlucky, the elder wand is trickier to master than any other. It contains powerful magic, but scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of his or her company; it takes a remarkable wizard to keep the elder wand for any length of time.

In the lore of the Wizarding World and the mechanics of the Hogwarts Legacy and Wizarding World (formerly Pottermore) quizzes, the Elder Wand is the rarest and most powerful wand in existence, traditionally made of Elder wood with a Thestral tail hair core. However, for a player's personal wand, Poplar is statistically cited as one of the rarest wood types to be assigned via the official personality quiz. According to Ollivander’s notes, Poplar wands seek owners with "clear moral vision" and are known for their consistency and strength. In terms of cores, the Phoenix Feather is the rarest of the three "Supreme Cores" because it is the most selective and capable of the greatest range of magic, though it is also the hardest to tame. A wand combining Elder or Poplar wood with a Phoenix Feather core and a "Unyielding" flexibility is often considered the most difficult combination to naturally obtain, representing a wizard or witch of immense potential and complex character.