Live Play Data

Avenger of Zendikar

· Creature — Elemental · Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander (ECC)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

902

Decks Running

469

Median Cast Turn

Drawn → Played

62%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

7% of tracked Commander decks run Avenger of Zendikar, and when it resolves the caster wins 41% of the time, a +19.6 percentage-point lift over games where it never left the library.

Avenger of Zendikar sits in 7% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, appearing in 469 of 6443 distinct decks that have played a tracked game. That places it firmly in the role of go-wide finisher for green-based landfall and ramp strategies.

The win-rate signal is the strongest number here. Games where Avenger resolves end in a win for the caster 41% of the time, compared to 22% when the card never interacts with the game, a +19.6 percentage-point gap on samples of 126 and 573 respectively. Both buckets are well-populated, so this reads as a real effect rather than noise. The card does what it promises: resolving a 7-mana creature that immediately floods the board with Plant tokens changes game states in a measurable way.

At 7 mana, Avenger lands on turn 7 at the median. Green ramp shells push 56% of casts on curve or earlier, and the broad commander spread, led by five-color goodstuff lists like Ashling, the Limitless alongside dedicated land-matters commanders such as Aesi and Azusa, confirms that Avenger earns its slot across multiple archetypes rather than riding a single popular list.

At a glance

7% of tracked Commander decks include Avenger of Zendikar
T7 median first-cast turn across tracked games
41% win rate in games where Avenger resolved
+19.6pp win-rate lift versus games where it stayed in the library
62% of drawn copies reached the battlefield before the game ended
61% battlefield stickiness once cast

First-cast turn

n=139

65%

T6-9

18%

T10+

Median 7 P25 6 · P75 9 · max 16

On curve 56% (30 / 139 cast on T7) Cast same turn as drawn 34%

The "good card" funnel

909 brought · 404 players

Brought to game

909

Ever drawn

223

Reached battlefield

139

Still on board at game end

62%

Of 909 Avengers brought to tracked games, 223 were drawn, 139 of those were cast, and 61% of resolved copies were still on the battlefield when the game ended.

≥ +11.2pp

Players who cast this card win 41% of the time (n=126) , vs 22% when it never left the library (n=573).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 23% (n=81) — 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 +19.6pp; 95% confidence interval +11.2pp to +28.0pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

264 instances

2.7%

Library

32.2%

Battlefield

31.4%

Graveyard

6.4%

Exile

Most Avengers never leave the library, a structural reality of 100-card singleton, but among observed copies the battlefield is the most common final resting zone, reflecting how often the card closes games once it resolves.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

Ashling, the Limitless leads with 49 decks and land-matters commanders like Aesi and Azusa follow close behind, showing Avenger earns its slot across five-color goodstuff and dedicated landfall builds alike.

Frequently Asked

How often is Avenger of Zendikar drawn in a Commander game?

Across 845 tracked games where Avenger was in the deck, the draw rate is 25%. That is typical for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 223 copies that reached a player's hand, 62% were cast before the game ended. The remainder were largely held at end of a game that concluded before the mana was available or the window opened.

What turn does Avenger of Zendikar usually resolve?

Median first-cast turn is 7, with the distribution peaking at turn 7 (the on-curve turn for a 7-mana spell) and a long tail out to turn 16. The 25th percentile sits at turn 6, reflecting green ramp decks that accelerate into it. 56% of casts landed on curve or earlier, which is a strong showing for a 7-drop and a direct result of the ramp-heavy commanders that most commonly run Avenger.

Does casting Avenger of Zendikar actually help you win?

The data is directional and the sample is now large enough to take seriously. Games where Avenger resolves show a win rate of 41% (n=126), versus 22% (n=573) in games where it never interacted with the board. The +19.6 percentage-point gap is controlled for deck quality by comparing only participations from the same decks. It is consistent with Avenger functioning as a genuine board-state pivot rather than just a large spell.

Which commanders most commonly run Avenger of Zendikar?

Ashling, the Limitless leads the list with 49 tracked decks, followed by Teval, the Balanced Scale (35 decks) and Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait (21 decks). The spread is wide: the single heaviest contributor accounts for only 5% of all tracked instances, and 404 distinct players have brought Avenger to a tracked game. That breadth makes the stats more representative than a card dominated by one pilot.

Is Avenger of Zendikar legal in Commander?

Yes. Avenger of Zendikar is legal and unrestricted in Commander. It is also legal in Legacy, Vintage, Modern, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, and PreDH. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Alchemy, Pauper, or Brawl formats.

How long does Avenger of Zendikar stay on the battlefield once cast?

61% of Avenger casts end with the card still on the battlefield at the close of the game. A 7-mana Elemental without built-in protection is a removal target, but the Plant tokens it creates continue to apply pressure even if Avenger itself is answered, which may reduce the urgency opponents feel to remove it immediately.