Dig Through Time
·
Instant
·
Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)
60% of games where Dig Through Time resolved ended in a win for its controller, compared to 41% when it sat uncast in the library. That +18.7-point delta is the strongest directional signal in its dataset so far.
Dig Through Time sits in just 4% of tracked Commander decks, but when it resolves, the controller wins 60% of the time. Across 128 tracked games, that's a +18.7-point win-rate delta over games where the card never left the library.
The delve mechanic is the story. Dig's nominal cost is eight mana, but 60% of observed casts landed ahead of that curve, with players exiling enough graveyard cards to fire it on turn 6 or earlier. Median first-cast turn is 7, and 33% of drawn copies are cast the same turn they're picked up, suggesting players hold it briefly while they fill the graveyard rather than slamming it immediately. Draw-to-play rate sits at 62%, meaning roughly 4 in 10 drawn copies never resolve, likely because the game ends or the graveyard isn't deep enough to make the cost manageable.
Its color restriction to blue keeps it out of most pods entirely, and the commander spread confirms it clusters heavily in blue spellslinger and blue-red Izzet shells. The win-rate numbers are directional, not conclusive, given the sample sizes, but the early signal is consistent: resolving this card is a strong game-state advantage.
- 4.1% inclusion rate across all tracked Commander decks
- 60% win rate when Dig Through Time was cast, across 20 observed casts
- +18.7 percentage-point win-rate lift versus games where it stayed in the library
- T7 median first-cast turn, despite a nominal cost of 8 mana
- 60% of casts were cast ahead of curve, reflecting graveyard delve fuel
- 62% draw-to-play rate: about 3 in 5 drawn copies are cast before the game ends
First-cast turn
n=20The "good card" funnel
159 broughtOf 142 Dig Through Time copies brought to games, 29 were drawn, 20 of those were cast, and just 1 remained on the battlefield at game end, since Dig resolves and moves to the graveyard immediately as an instant.
Players who cast this card win 60% of the time (n=20) , vs 40% when it never left the library (n=124).
Final zone distribution
159 instances109 of 142 brought copies finished in the library, which is expected for a 4% inclusion card in a 100-card singleton format. The 19 in graveyards reflect Dig's own resolution putting five of seven cards to the bottom, plus other discard effects.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Rootha, Mastering the Moment
27 decks
-
2
Galazeth Prismari
17 decks
-
3
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
15 decks
-
4
Quandrix, the Proof
11 decks
-
5
Shorikai, Genesis Engine
9 decks
-
6
Dragonlord Ojutai
8 decks
-
7
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
7 decks
-
8
Magnus the Red
6 decks
-
9
Alela, Cunning Conqueror
5 decks
-
10
Atemsis, All-Seeing
4 decks
The top ten commanders are heavily concentrated in blue-red Izzet shells, with Rootha at 24 decks and Galazeth at 17 pulling well ahead of the rest of the list.
How often is Dig Through Time actually drawn in a Commander game? ▾
In 128 tracked games where Dig Through Time was in a deck, it was drawn in 20.4% of deck-participations. That is consistent with a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 29 instances we observed reaching a hand, 20 were cast before the game ended, giving a draw-to-play rate of 62%.
What turn does Dig Through Time usually resolve? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 7, with the middle 50% of casts falling between turns 6 and 8. The nominal mana value is 8, but 60% of observed casts landed ahead of curve due to delve exiling graveyard cards. One cast appeared as early as turn 3, which suggests a very fast graveyard-fill line in that specific game.
Does casting Dig Through Time actually help you win? ▾
Early data says yes, clearly. Win rate when the card was cast is 60% across 20 observations, versus 41% when it sat uncast across 109 observations. That is a +18.7-point delta. Both sample sizes are small enough that we label this directional rather than conclusive, but the direction is consistent and the magnitude is notable. Baseline win rate in a four-player pod is roughly 25%.
Is Dig Through Time banned in Commander? ▾
No. Dig Through Time is legal and unrestricted in Commander. It is banned in Legacy and Modern, and restricted to one copy in Vintage, where its ability to dig seven cards deep for as little as two mana with enough graveyard fuel was deemed format-warping. Commander's singleton constraint and slower game pace make it powerful but not broken.
Why does Dig Through Time have such a low inclusion rate if it's so powerful? ▾
The blue color identity is the primary ceiling. Only decks with blue in their commander can include it, which already limits the pool. Within that pool, it competes with cheaper draw spells. Delve also requires meaningful graveyard depth to be cost-efficient, so it fits best in spell-heavy decks that fill the graveyard quickly. That is a real deck-building constraint, not just a perception problem.
Which commanders play Dig Through Time most? ▾
Rootha, Mastering the Moment leads with 24 decks in our sample, followed by Galazeth Prismari at 17 and Quandrix, the Proof at 11. All three are spellslinger or spell-value commanders that naturally fill the graveyard with instants and sorceries, giving Dig the fuel it needs to land well ahead of its eight-mana base cost.