Live Play Data

Goldspan Dragon

· Creature — Dragon · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

760

Decks Running

408

Median Cast Turn

6.0

Drawn → Played

69%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

69% of drawn Goldspan Dragons are cast before the game ends, and decks that resolve it win 30% of the time across 118 tracked participations.

Goldspan Dragon lands in 7% of the 5956 Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live. Across 724 multiplayer games, it has been cast 124 times with a median first-cast turn of 6.0. That late-game timing reflects its 5-mana cost and the ramp it often demands.

The draw-to-play rate of 69% is strong for a 5-drop. When Goldspan Dragon hits a player's hand, it makes it to the battlefield the large majority of the time. The median copy sits in hand for 2 turns before being cast, and only 31% of drawn copies are played the same turn they are drawn. That patience makes sense: players tend to hold it until they can protect it or until an attack is immediately profitable.

The data is well-spread across 351 distinct players, with the single heaviest contributor accounting for just 2% of all tracked instances. That breadth gives the numbers here more signal than a one-player skew would. Red dragon synergy commanders dominate the top-commander list, but Goldspan also appears across Treasure-matters and copy-spell shells, reflecting the versatility of its attack trigger and doubled Treasure ability.

At a glance

7% of tracked Commander decks include Goldspan Dragon
69% of drawn copies reach the battlefield before the game ends
T6.0 median first-cast turn across all tracked games
30% win rate in games where Goldspan Dragon resolved
56% battlefield stickiness once the Dragon hits play
351 distinct players have brought Goldspan Dragon to a tracked game

First-cast turn

n=124

13%

23%

45%

T6-9

T10+

Median 6.0 P25 5 · P75 8 · max 15

On curve 46% (29 / 124 cast on T5) Cast same turn as drawn 31%

The "good card" funnel

760 brought · 351 players

Brought to game

760

Ever drawn

181

Reached battlefield

124

Still on board at game end

69%

Of 760 Goldspan Dragons brought to games, 181 were drawn, 124 of those were cast, and 56% of resolved copies survived to end of game.

≥ -4.6pp

Players who cast this card win 30% of the time (n=118) , vs 27% when it never left the library (n=513).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 15% (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 +3.5pp; 95% confidence interval -4.6pp to +11.7pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

196 instances

4.1%

Library

35.2%

Battlefield

30.6%

Graveyard

5.1%

Exile

Most Goldspan Dragons end games on the battlefield or graveyard rather than stranded in the library, a sign that the card sees active play rather than sitting undrawn in most participations.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

Dragon tribal leads the count with The Ur-Dragon, but Rootha and Mr. House show that Goldspan Dragon earns slots in copy-spell and Treasure-matters shells well beyond pure dragon decks.

Frequently Asked

How often is Goldspan Dragon drawn in a Commander game?

In 724 tracked multiplayer games where Goldspan Dragon was in the deck, it was drawn 24% of the time. That is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of 181 instances that reached a player's hand, 69% were cast before the game ended.

What turn does Goldspan Dragon usually hit the battlefield?

Median first-cast turn is 6.0, with the 25th–75th percentile spanning turns 5 through 8. The distribution clusters hard around turn 5, which is its natural mana cost, but a significant tail stretches into turns 7-9 for copies drawn later. 46% of casts land exactly on curve, with many others coming in ahead of schedule thanks to ramp.

Does casting Goldspan Dragon actually improve your chances of winning?

Directionally, yes. Games where Goldspan Dragon resolved show a 30% win rate across 118 participations, compared to 27% across 513 participations where it stayed in the library. That is a +3.6 percentage-point gap. Both buckets are reasonably sized, but treat this as a consistent early signal rather than a definitive claim. Deck quality and pod context also drive win rates.

How sticky is Goldspan Dragon once it resolves?

56% of Goldspan Dragons that hit the battlefield are still there at end of game. That is lower than many staple creatures, which reflects how much removal and board wipes target a 5/4 flier that immediately threatens to generate Treasure on attacks. Flying and haste give it one guaranteed swing, but opponents often prioritize removing it before a second attack.

Which commanders play Goldspan Dragon most?

The Ur-Dragon leads the raw deck-count list, followed by Rootha, Mastering the Moment and Mr. House, President and CEO. The spread across dragon tribal, Treasure-matters, and copy-spell commanders shows that Goldspan Dragon earns its slot in multiple archetypes. Its attack trigger feeds Treasure synergies, while its interaction-triggered Treasure generation makes it resilient against targeted removal.

Is Goldspan Dragon legal in Commander?

Yes. Goldspan Dragon is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, Duel Commander, and several other formats. It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, Pauper Commander, or Premodern. Its red-only color identity means it slots into any Commander deck that runs red.