Live Play Data

Caves of Koilos

Land · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)

Deck Inclusion

Games Tracked

253

Decks Running

197

Median Cast Turn

Drawn → Played

80%

Caves of Koilos appears in 8% of all tracked Commander decks, but in decks that can run it, 80% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends — one of the higher draw-to-play rates for any land on Playgroup Live.

Caves of Koilos sits in 8% of all 1,696 tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live. That low headline rate is entirely a color-identity gate: the land only slots into decks touching both White and Black, which narrows the eligible pool considerably. Within that pool, it is a quiet workhorse.

The standout figure is draw-to-play: 80% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends. Lands rarely get stranded in hand, and Caves of Koilos is no exception. Players who open or draw it tend to play it the next opportunity. Median first-cast turn is 4, consistent with a land that often sits in a hand for a turn or two before it becomes the most useful mana source available. The battlefield stickiness number is 97%, meaning once it hits play it almost never leaves — lands get removed far less often than spells.

The win-rate delta is worth noting with appropriate caution. Participations where the card stayed in the library all game actually show a higher win rate than participations where it was cast. Both sample sizes are below the threshold for strong conclusions, so treat this as a directional signal rather than a verdict. The simpler read is that Caves of Koilos is functional mana fixing, not a win condition, and its presence or absence tracks loosely with the overall strength of the deck around it.

At a glance

8% inclusion rate across all tracked decks, gated by W/B color identity
80% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T4 median first-cast turn across 38 observed casts
97% battlefield stickiness once the land enters play
137 distinct tracked decks include Caves of Koilos
25% draw rate, in line with a singleton in a 100-card deck

First-cast turn

n=55

11%

27%

13%

25%

T6-9

T10+

Median 4 P25 2 · P75 6 · max 15

Cast same turn as drawn 37%

The "good card" funnel

294 brought

Brought to game

294

Ever drawn

Reached battlefield

Still on board at game end

80%

Of 179 instances brought to games, 45 were drawn and 38 of those were cast, a clean 80% draw-to-play rate that places Caves of Koilos among the more consistently deployed lands in the dataset.

-8.6pp

Players who cast this card win 33% of the time (n=55) , vs 41% when it never left the library (n=218).

Final zone distribution

294 instances

74.1%

Library

17.7%

Battlefield

2.7%

Graveyard

2.0%

Exile

128 of 179 Caves of Koilos instances never leave the library — standard for a singleton land in a 100-card deck, not a signal that the card underperforms.

Top commanders running this card

by deck count

Killian, Decisive Mentor accounts for 35 of the 137 tracked decks, a concentration that reflects his popularity as an Orzhov commander on Playgroup Live rather than any special synergy with the land itself.

Frequently Asked

How often is Caves of Koilos drawn in a Commander game? ▾

In the 179 deck-participations tracked on Playgroup Live, Caves of Koilos was drawn in about 25% of instances. That is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck with no tutoring specifically for lands. Of the 45 instances that reached a hand, 38 were eventually cast, giving an 80% draw-to-play rate.

What turn does Caves of Koilos usually enter the battlefield? ▾

Median first-cast turn is 4, with the interquartile range sitting between turns 2 and 5. A cluster of early casts on turns 1 and 2 likely reflects opening-hand keeps where the land enables colored mana immediately. The max observed cast turn is 8, so late-drawn copies are still being deployed rather than held.

Why does Caves of Koilos have such a low overall inclusion rate? ▾

The 8% figure is measured against all 1,696 tracked Commander decks, including thousands that run zero White or Black. Commander's color-identity rule means Caves of Koilos is only a legal inclusion for decks whose commander has at least one W or B pip. Within the eligible color pairs and shards — Orzhov, Esper, Mardu, Abzan, and five-color — its real inclusion rate is meaningfully higher than 8%.

Does casting Caves of Koilos actually improve your odds of winning? ▾

Early data points the other direction. Participations where the card was cast show a win rate of 37%, while participations where it stayed in the library all game show 41%. The cast bucket has only 38 observations and the library bucket 128, so neither number is statistically robust. The directional read is that the land itself is not a win driver. Decks that win without needing to deploy Caves of Koilos may simply be ahead on other resources.

Is Caves of Koilos legal in Commander? ▾

Yes. Caves of Koilos is legal in Commander and in most other Constructed formats including Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Historic. It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, or Pauper Commander, and has no Commander-specific ban or restriction.

Which commanders most commonly run Caves of Koilos? ▾

Killian, Decisive Mentor leads the list by a wide margin with 35 tracked decks, reflecting that Killian is a popular Orzhov (W/B) commander in the Playgroup Live community. Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is next at 10 decks, followed by Olivia, Opulent Outlaw at 7. The spread across the rest of the top-10 list is fairly even at 4 to 5 decks each, covering Esper, Mardu, and five-color commanders that all include a W/B axis.