collections_bookmark Part of Final Fantasy
Archaeomancer's Map card art
Live Play Data

Archaeomancer's Map

{2} {W} · Artifact · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)
7%
Live Inclusion
Times Brought
679
Decks Running
352
Median Cast Turn
5
Drawn → Played
63%
Format

Archaeomancer's Map is in 7% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, resolves a median turn 5, and 63% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends.

Archaeomancer's Map sits in 7% of the 5373 Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live, appearing across 352 distinct lists. That figure reflects the card's White-only color identity: it cannot slot into the majority of decks, so a raw inclusion rate in the low single digits is expected. Within decks that can run it, the Map is a genuine staple.

The draw-to-play rate of 63% means roughly six out of every ten drawn copies reach the battlefield. Median first cast lands on turn 5, consistent with players waiting to untap with mana open rather than slamming it on curve. The on-curve rate of 31% confirms this: most casts arrive after turn 3, when players are catching up on lands rather than racing ahead. The hand-to-cast data shows a median one-turn delay between drawing the Map and casting it, with 35% of drawn copies cast the same turn they were seen.

The card's function is straightforward but powerful in Commander: enter-the-battlefield tutors for up to two basic Plains, then passively catches you up on lands whenever an opponent plays one while ahead of you. White's historical weakness in ramp makes the Map a structural fix, which explains its spread across mono-White, Boros, Esper, and Azorius commanders alike.

At a glance
  • 7% of tracked Commander decks include Archaeomancer's Map
  • T5 median first-cast turn across observed games
  • 63% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
  • 78% battlefield stickiness once the Map resolves
  • 308 distinct players have brought the Map to a tracked game
  • 31% of casts land exactly on curve at three mana

First-cast turn

n=105
1%
T1
6%
T2
25%
T3
13%
T4
10%
T5
30%
T6-9
15%
T10+
Median 5 P25 3 · P75 8 · max 15
On curve 31% (26 / 105 cast on T3) Cast same turn as drawn 35%

The "good card" funnel

679 brought · 308 players
Brought to game
679
Ever drawn
168
Reached battlefield
105
Still on board at game end
82
63%

Of 679 Maps brought to games, 168 were drawn, 105 of those were cast, and the large majority remained on the battlefield through end of game.

≥ -4.0pp

Players who cast this card win 30% of the time (n=97) , vs 25% when it never left the library (n=438).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 33% (n=58) — 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 +5.4pp; 95% confidence interval -4.0pp to +14.7pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

189 instances
3.2%
Library
43.4%
Battlefield
25.4%
Graveyard
7.4%
Exile

The library bucket is small here because most undrawn copies simply never moved. Artifacts that resolve tend to stick: 78% of cast Maps end the game still on the battlefield.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

The commander list spans mono-White, Boros, Azorius, and Esper, with no single commander dominating. Data comes from 308 distinct players, giving the distribution meaningful breadth.

Frequently Asked

How often is Archaeomancer's Map drawn in a Commander game?
Across 653 tracked games where the Map was in the deck, it was drawn 25% of the time. That is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 168 copies that reached a player's hand, 63% were cast before the game ended. The remainder mostly reflects games that ended before the player found a window to cast it.
What turn does Archaeomancer's Map usually get cast?
Median first cast is turn 5, with the 25th percentile at turn 3 and the 75th percentile at turn 8. The most common single turn is turn 3 (on curve), but many casts cluster between turns 4 and 6 as players deploy other pieces first. The mean is higher, pulled by a tail of late-game casts reaching turn 15 in longer pods.
Does casting Archaeomancer's Map actually improve your win rate?
In 97 participations where the Map reached the battlefield, the normalized win rate was 30%, compared to 25% when the card stayed in the library. The delta is +5.4 percentage points. Both sample buckets are moderately sized, so treat this as a directional signal rather than a definitive conclusion. The lift is consistent with what you would expect from a card that accelerates your mana base.
Is Archaeomancer's Map legal in Commander?
Yes. Archaeomancer's Map is legal in Commander, Duel Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker. It is not legal in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, Pauper, Historic, or any Brawl variant. The card first appeared in the Secrets of Strixhaven Commander product, printed specifically for the Commander format.
Which commanders most commonly run Archaeomancer's Map?
On Playgroup Live, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed leads the list with the highest deck count, followed by Quintorius, History Chaser and Giada, Font of Hope. The spread across Esper, Boros, and mono-White commanders reflects the Map's value in any White deck that wants Plains-based ramp. The data covers 308 unique players, so the commander distribution is well-spread rather than driven by a single group's preferences.
How sticky is Archaeomancer's Map once it resolves?
78% of cast copies are still on the battlefield at the end of the game. That is relatively high for a three-mana artifact with no built-in protection, and it reflects the Map's low threat profile. Opponents generally have higher-priority permanents to remove. The final zone data shows a meaningful number of copies ending in the graveyard, likely from board wipes rather than targeted removal.