What Druid can best fake being a Wizard?

[Mr Adventurer]

I've long had an idea around practitioners of "the Old Ways", when magic was more a part of the land and the arcane/divine divide has less impact on how magic was practiced. Slightly LotR Wizard vibes or, like, witches in the wood (and slightly like how Pratchett Witches are a different practitioner of the same fundamental magic as Wizards, too, now I think of it).

I think I can probably do this idea justice in 5e just by giving a Druid the Ritual Caster (Wizard) feat. But what sort of Druid would best serve this concept?

Land Druid is more focused on spells, which is appropriate. It would be good to pick a Land which added some quintessential arcane spells to the list. Coast adds Mirror Image and Misty Step, perhaps?

[heavyfuel]

Wild Fire Druid (UA) can cast Fireball, which is pretty Wizardy by D&D standards

They also have a pet fire elemental, which, again, is pretty Wizardy by D&D standards

[Evaar]

I'd lean Grasslands as a Land Druid - invisibility, haste, divination, and dream all very thematic "old magic" spells to have added to your list. If you can, even though this doesn't give a Wisdom buff, you may consider a Mark of Hospitality Halfling. That grabs you Prestidigitation, Purify Food and Drink, and Unseen Servant for free. It also adds a few other pretty thematic and useful Wizard spells to your list like Leomund's Tiny Hut or Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum. Given that the Ghallanda Halflings of Eberron who carry the Mark of Hospitality are from the Talenta Plains, all of this hangs together quite nicely lore-wise.

But you're probably not playing in Eberron, because you would've mentioned it. Your DM may still allow you to use the subrace, though, just as a Halfling who has a knack for this kind of thing. It's definitely not overpowered.

There's also the Mark of the Sentinel Human, but the only Wizard-y things you get from that are 1 use of Shield per long rest and added Counterspell and Bigby's Hand to your spell list. Nice spells, not sure it's what you're looking for.

And someone will probably want to add Mark of Warding Dwarf, which gets you Alarm, Arcane Lock, Mage Armor, Knock, Glyph of Warding, Leomund's Secret Chest, and Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound. Pretty thematic spells with some winners mixed in.

I'd also look at the Mountain Druid. They get Passwall, which seems like an extremely Gandalf spell. Lightning Bolt also is a pretty nice one to add to your list.

[Unoriginal]

I've long had an idea around practitioners of "the Old Ways", when magic was more a part of the land and the arcane/divine divide has less impact on how magic was practiced. Slightly LotR Wizard vibes or, like, witches in the wood (and slightly like how Pratchett Witches are a different practitioner of the same fundamental magic as Wizards, too, now I think of it).

I think I can probably do this idea justice in 5e just by giving a Druid the Ritual Caster (Wizard) feat. But what sort of Druid would best serve this concept?

Land Druid is more focused on spells, which is appropriate. It would be good to pick a Land which added some quintessential arcane spells to the list. Coast adds Mirror Image and Misty Step, perhaps?

If UA is allowed, the Star Druid is the one I would go for.

[Naanomi]

If UA is allowed, the Star Druid is the one I would go for.
Or if you can wait a few months for the Tasha's book

[Fable Wright]

I'd lean Grasslands as a Land Druid - invisibility, haste, divination, and dream all very thematic "old magic" spells to have added to your list. If you can, even though this doesn't give a Wisdom buff, you may consider a Mark of Hospitality Halfling. That grabs you Prestidigitation, Purify Food and Drink, and Unseen Servant for free. It also adds a few other pretty thematic and useful Wizard spells to your list like Leomund's Tiny Hut or Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum. Given that the Ghallanda Halflings of Eberron who carry the Mark of Hospitality are from the Talenta Plains, all of this hangs together quite nicely lore-wise.

Right, but this concept doesn't quite work in Eberron because the origins of both Druidic and Arcane magic are quite well-known. (And the wizard traditions are older by many millenia; Eberron is a weird setting.)

I would agree that Grasslands Druid is the best way to go, though—where would agriculture start but in an open field? I imagine that Grasslands Druids and Coast Druids working together on a river floodplain would be the origins of agriculture, and be slowly domesticated into Wizards themselves. Eventually, a very intelligent kid would come along and learn how to interleave Coast and Grassland, and become the first shepherd of civilization—the Wizard.