Live Play Data

Dryad of the Ilysian Grove

· Enchantment Creature — Nymph Dryad · Commander Masters (CMM)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

647

Decks Running

335

Median Cast Turn

Drawn → Played

66%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

66% of drawn Dryad of the Ilysian Grove copies are cast before the game ends, with a median first-cast turn of 5 across 614 tracked multiplayer Commander games on Playgroup Live.

Dryad of the Ilysian Grove sits in 6% of the 5406 distinct Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live, appearing in 335 unique lists. That modest inclusion rate reflects its color-identity constraint: the Dryad is mono-green, so it only slots into decks that can cast a 3-mana green creature.

When the card does reach a player's hand, 66% of those copies are cast before the game concludes. Players hold it a median of one turn before casting, and 32% of first casts land exactly on curve at turn 3. The rest skew later, a pattern consistent with players drawing it after the early ramp window has already closed.

The Dryad pulls double duty: an extra land drop each turn stacks directly with landfall commanders, while the basic land type grant unlocks fetchland synergies and domain strategies across any deck that can support it. That broad utility explains why it shows up across a wide spread of commander archetypes rather than concentrating in one shell.

At a glance

6% of tracked Commander decks include Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
66% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T5 median first-cast turn
63% battlefield stickiness once cast
292 distinct players have brought this card to a tracked game
32% of first casts land exactly on curve at turn 3

First-cast turn

n=123

10%

20%

10%

15%

37%

T6-9

T10+

Median 5 P25 3 · P75 7 · max 13

On curve 32% (25 / 123 cast on T3) Cast same turn as drawn 42%

The "good card" funnel

648 brought · 292 players

Brought to game

648

Ever drawn

187

Reached battlefield

123

Still on board at game end

66%

Of 648 Dryads brought to games, 187 were drawn, 123 of those were cast, and 63% of cast copies remained on the battlefield through end of game.

≥ -3.4pp

Players who cast this card win 28% of the time (n=120) , vs 23% when it never left the library (n=404).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 33% (n=54) — 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 +4.5pp; 95% confidence interval -3.4pp to +12.4pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

205 instances

3.4%

Library

37.6%

Battlefield

29.3%

Graveyard

4.4%

Exile

Most Dryad of the Ilysian Grove copies end the game on the battlefield or in the graveyard, with very few stranded in the library, a sign that players who draw it almost always find a turn to cast it.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

The commander list spans Naya, Temur, Simic, and five-color shells, showing the Dryad is not locked to a single archetype but spreads across any strategy that rewards extra land drops or basic land type grants.

Frequently Asked

How often is Dryad of the Ilysian Grove drawn in a Commander game?

Across 614 tracked multiplayer games where the Dryad was in the deck, it was drawn 29% of the time. That figure is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 187 instances that reached a player's hand, 66% were cast before the game ended. The remainder reflects games that ended before the player found a window to cast it, not a deliberate choice to hold it.

What turn does Dryad of the Ilysian Grove usually get cast?

Median first cast lands on turn 5. The distribution clusters between turns 3 and 7 (p25 to p75), with a mode of turn 3, which is exactly on curve for a 3-mana card. The long tail out to turn 13 reflects copies drawn deep into longer games. Players who have it in the opening hand tend to deploy it on curve; those who draw it later sit on it for a median of one turn before casting.

Does casting the Dryad actually help you win?

The cast win rate is 28%, compared to 23% when the card never left the library. That's a +4.5 percentage-point gap. However, with 120 cast observations and a confidence interval that crosses zero, this result is directional rather than conclusive. The data is consistent with a positive effect, but the sample isn't large enough to rule out noise.

How sticky is the Dryad once it hits the battlefield?

63% of cast copies end the game still on the battlefield. That's a meaningful stickiness rate for a 3-mana enchantment creature with no inherent protection. The graveyard is the next most common final zone, reflecting targeted removal rather than the Dryad being sacrificed or exiled routinely. Once it resolves, players can expect it to stay in play through most of the game.

Which commanders most commonly run Dryad of the Ilysian Grove?

On Playgroup Live, Toph, the First Metalbender and Flubs, the Fool lead the deck count, followed by Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, Go-Shintai of Life's Origin, and Omo, Queen of Vesuva. The spread across Naya, Temur, Simic, and five-color commanders reflects the card's dual role: extra land drops reward landfall strategies, while the basic land type grant fuels domain and fetchland synergies in multi-color shells.

Is Dryad of the Ilysian Grove legal in Commander?

Yes. Dryad of the Ilysian Grove is legal in Commander, as well as Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Historic, and several other formats. It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. It has never been banned in Commander, and its mono-green color identity means it can slot into any Commander deck that includes green.