Authority of the Consuls
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Enchantment
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Foundations (FDN)
92% of drawn Authority of the Consuls copies are cast before the game ends, the highest draw-to-play rate among white taxing enchantments tracked on Playgroup Live.
When Authority of the Consuls reaches a player's hand, they almost never hold it. 92% of drawn copies are cast, the strongest draw-to-play signal among the white enchantments tracked on Playgroup Live across 102 games.
The card earns that urgency. Opponents' creatures entering tapped denies haste, slows combat math, and buys crucial tempo on the turns that matter most. The life gain is secondary but real, ticking up every time an opponent develops their board. Games with this card on the battlefield end with a 40% win rate for the controller, compared to 32% in participations where it stayed in the library. That +8.2 percentage-point delta is directional given the sample sizes, but the direction is consistent.
Authority sits in 4% of tracked Commander decks, concentrated heavily in white-black lifegain and token builds. Its one-mana cost makes it one of the cheapest asymmetric taxes in the format, and the median first-cast turn of 3 shows players are deploying it early rather than holding it as a late answer.
- 4.1% inclusion rate across all tracked Commander decks
- 92% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T3 median first-cast turn
- +8.2pp win-rate delta when cast vs. when it stays in the library
- 72% battlefield stickiness once cast
- 58% of drawn-and-cast copies cast on the same turn they were drawn
First-cast turn
n=35The "good card" funnel
160 broughtOf 111 instances brought to games, 26 were drawn, 24 of those were cast, and 18 were still on the battlefield when the game ended, a tight conversion chain anchored by a 92% draw-to-play rate.
Players who cast this card win 40% of the time (n=35) , vs 37% when it never left the library (n=120).
Final zone distribution
160 instances85 of 111 Authority of the Consuls instances ended in the library, a structural reality of 100-card singleton decks where most single copies are never drawn, not a statement on the card's power when it does appear.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
21 decks
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2
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
12 decks
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3
Amalia Benavides Aguirre
7 decks
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4
Baylen, the Haymaker
6 decks
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5
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
6 decks
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6
Edgar Markov
5 decks
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7
Giada, Font of Hope
5 decks
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8
Zurgo, Thunder's Decree
5 decks
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9
Aerith Gainsborough
4 decks
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10
Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
4 decks
The top commander slots are clustered in Esper and Orzhov lifegain strategies, with Oloro and Y'shtola each appearing in 10 or more tracked decks, suggesting a tight thematic home rather than broad cross-archetype adoption.
How often is Authority of the Consuls drawn in a Commander game? ▾
In 111 tracked deck-participations where Authority of the Consuls was in the deck, it was drawn in roughly 23% of instances. That is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 26 instances we observed reaching a hand, 24 were cast before the game ended, giving a 92% draw-to-play rate. That is an early signal that players treat it as a must-deploy card rather than a situational hold.
What turn does Authority of the Consuls usually get cast? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 3. The distribution skews early: 8 of 25 recorded casts happened on turn 1, consistent with it arriving in opening hands and being slammed immediately. The p75 is turn 5, and the maximum observed was turn 11, so late-game draws do happen. The same-turn cast rate of 58% confirms that players often deploy it the moment they draw it rather than waiting for the right moment.
Does casting Authority of the Consuls actually improve your win rate? ▾
In 25 participations where it was cast, the controller won 40% of the time. In 85 participations where it stayed in the library all game, the win rate was 32%. That +8.2 percentage-point delta is directional. Neither bucket clears the threshold for statistical conclusions at this sample size, but the gap is consistent with the card providing real incremental value. Baseline win rate in a 4-player pod is approximately 25%.
Which commanders most commonly run Authority of the Consuls? ▾
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic and Y'shtola, Night's Blessed lead the tracked list, each appearing in over 10 decks that include the card. Both reward life gain, which pairs naturally with Authority's triggered ability. Amalia Benavides Aguirre is the third most common home, also a white-black lifegain commander. The concentration in Esper and Orzhov lists reflects the card's identity as a lifegain enabler as much as a tempo piece.
Is Authority of the Consuls legal in Commander? ▾
Yes. Authority of the Consuls is legal in Commander, as well as Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Standard, Historic, Vintage, and most other sanctioned formats. It is not legal in Pauper or Pauper Commander, as it is a rare. There are no Commander-specific bans or restrictions on this card.
How well does Authority of the Consuls stick on the battlefield once cast? ▾
72% of cast copies end the game on the battlefield. Of the remaining 28%, the final zone data shows 4 copies in the graveyard and 2 in exile across observed participations. That stickiness is moderate for a cheap enchantment. Removal is possible but the card is not a high-priority target in most pods, so it often survives long enough to generate meaningful life totals and persistent tap-in effects.