Live Play Data

Ancient Copper Dragon

· Creature — Elder Dragon · Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

1383

Decks Running

590

Median Cast Turn

6.0

Drawn → Played

73%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

38% of games where Ancient Copper Dragon resolved ended in a win for its controller, a +13.4 percentage-point lift over the 25% baseline recorded when the Dragon never left the library.

Ancient Copper Dragon lands on the battlefield and wins games. Across 1292 tracked multiplayer Commander games on Playgroup Live, decks that resolved this 6-mana Elder Dragon won 38% of the time, compared to 25% when it stayed buried in the library. That +13.4 percentage-point gap is a consistent early signal in our dataset, though both sample sizes should grow before calling it conclusive.

The Dragon sits in 590 of 10851 tracked decks, a focused 5% inclusion rate that reflects its mono-red color identity and high mana cost. Players who draw it cast it 73% of the time. The median first cast lands on turn 6.0, right as the game is shifting into its mid-to-late phase and combat damage starts mattering most. Its d20 Treasure trigger can produce anywhere from 1 to 20 Treasures per hit, making a single connection potentially game-altering.

The commander distribution skews toward big-creature and dragon tribal shells. The Ur-Dragon leads all commanders by deck count, followed by Mr. House, President and CEO, whose Treasure synergies pair naturally with the Dragon's trigger. The data is well-spread across 481 unique players, with the single heaviest contributor accounting for just 3% of all tracked instances, which lends meaningful breadth to these numbers.

At a glance

5% of tracked Commander decks include Ancient Copper Dragon
73% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T6.0 median first-cast turn, deep into the mid-game
38% win rate in games where the Dragon resolved
58% battlefield stickiness once cast
481 unique players represented in the tracked dataset

First-cast turn

n=264

14%

15%

57%

T6-9

T10+

Median 6.0 P25 5 · P75 7 · max 16

On curve 61% (65 / 264 cast on T6) Cast same turn as drawn 36%

The "good card" funnel

1383 brought · 481 players

Brought to game

1383

Ever drawn

364

Reached battlefield

264

Still on board at game end

152

73%

Of 1383 Ancient Copper Dragons brought to games, 364 were drawn, 264 of those were cast, and roughly half stayed on the battlefield through the end of the game.

≥ +7.2pp

Players who cast this card win 38% of the time (n=236) , vs 25% when it never left the library (n=838).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 20% (n=87) — about the same as leaving it in the library. Those players survived long enough to draw it, so the gap above is about the card resolving, not just about surviving.

Observed gap +13.4pp; 95% confidence interval +7.2pp to +19.7pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

399 instances

3.8%

Library

38.1%

Battlefield

23.8%

Graveyard

11.8%

Exile

Most tracked copies of Ancient Copper Dragon end in the graveyard or on the battlefield, reflecting a card that gets cast and interacted with rather than sitting undrawn in the library for the whole game.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

The commander spread is wide, led by The Ur-Dragon and Mr. House, but reaching across dragon tribal, Treasure synergy, and mono-red aggro builds, showing Ancient Copper Dragon earns inclusion in multiple distinct archetypes.

Card text

Ancient Copper Dragon

Creature — Elder Dragon

Flying Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, roll a d20. You create a number of Treasure tokens equal to the result.

6 / 5

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB) · Mythic · Illustrated by Antonio José Manzanedo

Frequently Asked

How often is Ancient Copper Dragon drawn in a Commander game?

In 1292 tracked multiplayer games where the Dragon was in the deck, it was drawn 26% of the time. That draw rate is typical for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 364 copies that reached a player's hand, 73% were cast before the game ended. The remainder largely reflects games that ended before the player found a window to attack.

What turn does Ancient Copper Dragon usually get cast?

Median first cast lands on turn 6.0, with the bulk of casts clustered between turns 4 and 8. The card's mana value is 6, so most casts come on or after the curve. However, 61% of casts landed exactly on curve, and a meaningful cluster arrived ahead of schedule through ramp. If you're building around it, fast mana dramatically improves how early it connects in combat.

Does casting Ancient Copper Dragon actually help you win?

The data offers a directional yes. Win rate when the Dragon resolved is 38%, versus 25% when it never left the library. That +13.4 percentage-point gap holds across 236 cast observations and 838 library observations. Both buckets are large enough to treat the signal as meaningful, though Playgroup Live's dataset is still growing and we'd call this consistent rather than definitive.

How sticky is Ancient Copper Dragon once it hits the battlefield?

58% of resolved copies were still on the battlefield at end of game. That stickiness is moderate for a mythic creature at this price. The dragon lacks built-in protection, so removal and board wipes claim a real share. Pairing it with haste enablers or protection spells improves the odds of connecting in combat before opponents react.

Which commanders run Ancient Copper Dragon most often?

The Ur-Dragon leads all commanders in the tracked dataset, which is expected given five-color Dragon tribal's natural fit. Mr. House, President and CEO places second, leaning into the Treasure synergy the d20 trigger provides. Kaalia of the Vast rounds out the top three, where the Dragon can be cheated into play during combat, bypassing its 6-mana cost entirely. Mono-red commanders like Smaug the Magnificent and Jaws, Relentless Predator also appear prominently.

Is Ancient Copper Dragon legal in Commander?

Yes. Ancient Copper Dragon is fully legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, Duel Commander, Brawl, and Oathbreaker. It is not legal in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. In Commander, its color identity is mono-red, restricting it to decks whose commander is red or colorless.