Haunted Ridge
16% of Black-Red Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live run Haunted Ridge. When drawn, 83% of copies are played before the game ends, with a median first-play turn of 4.
Haunted Ridge is a consistent fixture in Black-Red and three-color Commander shells on Playgroup Live, appearing in 316 of the 2018 distinct tracked decks for an inclusion rate of 16%. That figure reflects decks where Black and Red overlap in color identity, making it one of the more commonly slotted dual lands in the relevant color combinations.
The practical story is in the play rate. Of 150 drawn copies across 565 tracked games, 83% were played before the game concluded. Median first play lands on turn 4, consistent with the card entering untapped when two or more other lands are already in play. Players are getting Haunted Ridge down early and reliably. 92% of cast copies remained on the battlefield at game's end, which is expected for a land with no built-in sacrifice clause.
The data comes from 257 distinct players, and the single heaviest contributor accounts for 6% of all instances. That spread is healthy and means the numbers are not dominated by any one pilot's preference. Haunted Ridge fits comfortably alongside the fast dual land cycle, and the tracked data reinforces its reputation as a clean, low-friction mana source for its color pair.
- 16% of tracked Commander decks in the B/R color space include Haunted Ridge
- 25% draw rate across tracked games, consistent with a singleton in a 100-card deck
- 83% of drawn copies were played before the game ended
- T4 median first-play turn, early enough to contribute to curve development
- 92% of played copies were still on the battlefield at game's end
- 257 distinct players contributed Haunted Ridge data, giving the sample healthy spread
First-cast turn
n=125The "good card" funnel
601 brought · 257 playersOf 601 Haunted Ridge copies brought to tracked games, 150 were drawn and 125 of those were played, with the large majority staying on the battlefield through the end of the game.
Players who cast this card win 22% of the time (n=122) , vs 24% when it never left the library (n=412).
When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 28% (n=24) — 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 -1.3pp; 95% confidence interval -8.9pp to +6.3pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.
Final zone distribution
167 instancesMost Haunted Ridge copies that were observed ended the game on the battlefield, reflecting what you would expect from a land with no sacrifice effect. The small library count comes from the few copies that were never interacted with at all during the game.
Commanders that played this card
in tracked games-
1
Mr. House, President and CEO
17 decks
-
2
Kuja, Genome Sorcerer // Trance Kuja, Fate Defied
13 decks
-
3
Davros, Dalek Creator
11 decks
-
4
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
11 decks
-
5
Edgar Markov
10 decks
-
6
Kaalia of the Vast
9 decks
-
7
Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor
9 decks
-
8
Deadpool, Trading Card
8 decks
-
9
Nekusar, the Mindrazer
7 decks
-
10
Magar of the Magic Strings
6 decks
The top-commander list spans Rakdos, Mardu, Grixis, and Jund color identities, confirming that Haunted Ridge is a generic Black-Red mana staple rather than a card tied to any specific strategy or commander.