Live Play Data

Archaeomancer's Map

· Artifact · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

970

Decks Running

493

Median Cast Turn

Drawn → Played

62%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

Archaeomancer's Map is in 6% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, resolves a median turn 5, and 62% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends.

Archaeomancer's Map sits in 6% of the 7801 Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live, appearing across 493 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 62% 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 32% 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 31% 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

6% of tracked Commander decks include Archaeomancer's Map
T5 median first-cast turn across observed games
62% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
78% battlefield stickiness once the Map resolves
427 distinct players have brought the Map to a tracked game
32% of casts land exactly on curve at three mana

First-cast turn

n=143

23%

13%

11%

28%

T6-9

15%

T10+

Median 5 P25 3 · P75 8 · max 15

On curve 32% (33 / 143 cast on T3) Cast same turn as drawn 31%

The "good card" funnel

971 brought · 427 players

Brought to game

971

Ever drawn

232

Reached battlefield

143

Still on board at game end

111

62%

Of 971 Maps brought to games, 232 were drawn, 143 of those were cast, and the large majority remained on the battlefield through end of game.

≥ -4.6pp

Players who cast this card win 28% of the time (n=129) , vs 25% when it never left the library (n=585).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 29% (n=78) — 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 +3.3pp; 95% confidence interval -4.6pp to +11.2pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

259 instances

2.3%

Library

42.9%

Battlefield

27.0%

Graveyard

6.2%

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

1 Y'shtola, Night's Blessed 105 decks
2 Quintorius, History Chaser 63 decks
3 Giada, Font of Hope 33 decks
4 Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer 14 decks
5 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines 14 decks
6 Avacyn, Angel of Hope 8 decks
7 The Sentry, Golden Guardian 6 decks
8 Darien, King of Kjeldor 5 decks
9 Mister Negative 5 decks
10 Silverquill, the Disputant 5 decks

The commander list spans mono-White, Boros, Azorius, and Esper, with no single commander dominating. Data comes from 427 distinct players, giving the distribution meaningful breadth.

Card text

Archaeomancer's Map

Artifact

When this artifact enters, search your library for up to two basic Plains cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle. Whenever a land an opponent controls enters, if that player controls more lands than you, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.

Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC) · Rare · Illustrated by Ovidio Cartagena

Frequently Asked

How often is Archaeomancer's Map drawn in a Commander game?

Across 932 tracked games where the Map was in the deck, it was drawn 24% of the time. That is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 232 copies that reached a player's hand, 62% 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 129 participations where the Map reached the battlefield, the normalized win rate was 28%, compared to 25% when the card stayed in the library. The delta is +3.3 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 427 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.