Desolate Mire
45% of games where Desolate Mire hit the battlefield ended in a win — 14 points above the win rate when it stayed in the library, an early directional signal that casting it matters.
Desolate Mire sits in 4.7% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, a niche but consistent pickup for White-Black and three-color Mardu or Esper strategies. In 128 tracked games it appeared in 96 distinct decklists, and the cast-vs-library win-rate delta of +13.9 points is one of the stronger directional signals we see for a utility land.
The draw-to-play rate of 63% is lower than instant-speed staples but expected for a tapped dual land: players sometimes hold lands while waiting for better timing, and the hand-to-cast data backs that up. The median delay between drawing and casting is 1 turn, meaning most players who draw it do deploy it quickly rather than sitting on it. 41% cast it the same turn they drew it, while the rest wait a turn or two.
Color identity limits where Desolate Mire can go: it only fits Black-White and any superset. Within that slice, Killian, Decisive Mentor decks dominate its inclusion list by a wide margin, with 38 decks tracked. The card is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Duel Commander, and Oathbreaker.
- 4.7% inclusion rate among all tracked Commander decks
- 63% of drawn copies get cast before the game ends
- +13.9pp win-rate delta when cast vs. when it stays in the library
- T3 median first-cast turn
- 91% battlefield stickiness once the land resolves
- 41% of drawn copies cast the same turn they were drawn
First-cast turn
n=28The "good card" funnel
149 brought132 copies were brought to games, 35 were drawn, 22 of those were cast, and 91% of cast copies remained on the battlefield when the game ended — a tight, sticky chain for a utility land.
Players who cast this card win 46% of the time (n=28) , vs 30% when it never left the library (n=106).
Final zone distribution
149 instances95 of 132 Desolate Mires stayed in the library all game — structurally normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck, and the 20 that reached the battlefield stayed there 91% of the time.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Killian, Decisive Mentor
43 decks
-
2
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
20 decks
-
3
Terra, Herald of Hope
11 decks
-
4
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw
7 decks
-
5
Amalia Benavides Aguirre
6 decks
-
6
Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos
5 decks
-
7
Mr. House, President and CEO
5 decks
-
8
Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
4 decks
-
9
Eriette of the Charmed Apple
4 decks
-
10
Caesar, Legion's Emperor
3 decks
Killian, Decisive Mentor holds a commanding lead at 38 decks, more than double the next entry, signaling that dedicated Orzhov builds are the card's primary home on Playgroup Live.
How often is Desolate Mire drawn in a Commander game? ▾
Across 128 tracked games with Desolate Mire in the deck, it was drawn in 26.5% of deck-participations. That is slightly above the baseline expectation for a singleton in a 100-card deck, which sits around 20-25% depending on deck draw power. Of the 35 instances drawn, 22 were cast — a draw-to-play rate of 63%.
What does the win-rate delta actually tell us? ▾
When Desolate Mire was cast, the pilot won 45% of the time across 22 observations. When it sat in the library all game, win rate was 32% across 95 observations. The +13.9 percentage-point gap is directional evidence that getting the land into play correlates with better outcomes. The cast bucket has only 22 observations, so treat this as an early signal rather than a definitive conclusion.
Why is the draw-to-play rate only 63%? ▾
For most action spells, a low draw-to-play rate signals that players are choosing to hold the card. For lands, the picture is more nuanced. Desolate Mire enters tapped and costs {1} to activate, so players occasionally delay deploying it while managing their mana curve. The hand-to-cast data shows a median delay of 1 turn and a same-turn cast rate of 41%, so most players do play it promptly. The 37% that never reach the battlefield are largely late-game draws in finished or near-finished games.
What turn does Desolate Mire typically come down? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 3, with the 25th percentile at turn 1 and the 75th at turn 5. The distribution skews slightly early: 6 of 22 casts happened on turn 1, consistent with players keeping it in opening hands as a dual-color source. A small tail extends to turn 10, reflecting late-game draws.
Which commanders play Desolate Mire most? ▾
Killian, Decisive Mentor leads by a significant margin with 38 decks tracked on Playgroup Live. Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is second at 16 decks, followed by Terra, Herald of Hope at 12. The spread across Orzhov, Esper, and Mardu commanders reflects that the card's WB color identity fits any deck with both White and Black in its identity.
Is Desolate Mire banned anywhere? ▾
Desolate Mire is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Duel Commander, and Oathbreaker. It is not legal in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, Pauper, Brawl, or Historic. No bans are listed for the formats where it is legal. Pauper Commander does not permit it due to rarity — it is a rare printing from Secrets of Strixhaven Commander.