Mind Stone
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Artifact
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Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)
Mind Stone appears in 15% of tracked Commander decks and converts 77% of drawn copies into casts, but its negative win-rate delta suggests players reach for it most when their deck needs the safety valve, not the ramp.
Mind Stone sits in 15% of the 1,790 distinct Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live, a moderate footprint that reflects the card's role as a flexible, colorless utility piece rather than a universal staple. Its defining appeal is the exit clause: pay one mana, sacrifice it, draw a card. In a format where mana rocks can become dead draws in the late game, that built-in cantrip keeps Mind Stone relevant long after the ramp was useful.
When drawn, players cast it 77% of the time. That number is healthy but not reflexive: the 53% same-turn cast rate means players do pause and think before tapping it down. Median first cast lands on turn 4, which skews later than the card's two-mana cost would suggest. Only 19% of casts land exactly on curve, with 69% arriving behind it. For a two-drop in Commander, late draws are the norm, and Mind Stone's sacrifice ability is likely why players still bother casting it on turn 7 or 8.
One number deserves context: the win-rate delta is negative (-6.2 percentage points), meaning decks where Mind Stone stayed in the library won more often than decks where it hit the battlefield. The library bucket has 273 observations and the cast bucket has 88, so the signal is directional, not conclusive. One plausible read is deck composition: the decks that most need a two-mana rock with an escape hatch may already be leaning on weaker card pools, while powerful decks that draw it late simply sacrifice it for a fresh card and win anyway.
- 15% inclusion rate across 1,790 tracked Commander decks
- 77% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T4 median first-cast turn, despite costing just two mana
- 53% same-turn cast rate — players weigh their options before tapping it
- 58% battlefield stickiness, lowest among common mana rocks, reflecting deliberate sacrifice for card draw
- –6.2pp win-rate delta when cast vs. when left in library (directional, n=88 cast)
First-cast turn
n=97The "good card" funnel
469 broughtOf 393 copies brought to games, 111 were drawn and 88 were cast — a 77% draw-to-play rate — but stickiness drops to 58%, leaving 51 copies on the battlefield at game's end and 39 in the graveyard, evidence that the sacrifice-for-card-draw line is being taken regularly.
Players who cast this card win 35% of the time (n=97) , vs 37% when it never left the library (n=337).
Final zone distribution
469 instances273 of 393 brought copies end the game still in the library — expected for a 100-card singleton — but 39 graveyard finishes confirm the sacrifice ability is being used frequently and intentionally.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Quintorius, History Chaser
36 decks
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2
Terra, Herald of Hope
12 decks
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3
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
12 decks
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4
Krang, the All-Powerful
10 decks
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5
Dragonlord Ojutai
8 decks
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6
Sauron, Lord of the Rings
8 decks
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7
Szarekh, the Silent King
8 decks
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8
Alela, Cunning Conqueror
7 decks
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9
Bello, Bard of the Brambles
7 decks
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10
Elesh Norn // The Argent Etchings
7 decks
Quintorius, History Chaser dominates the list at 30 decks, nearly triple the next entry, while the remaining nine commanders span five different color identities, showing Mind Stone's colorless utility pulls it into very different archetypes.
How often is Mind Stone drawn in a Commander game? ▾
In the 390 deck-participations tracked on Playgroup Live, Mind Stone was drawn in 28% of instances. That is slightly above the baseline expectation for a singleton in a 100-card deck, consistent with some players actively digging for it via tutors or card draw. Of the 111 times it reached a hand, 88 copies were eventually cast, giving a draw-to-play rate of 77%.
What turn does Mind Stone typically hit the battlefield? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 4, and the mean sits at 4.76. The interquartile range runs from turn 2 to turn 7, so the distribution is wide. Only 19% of casts land on curve — turn 2 for a two-mana card — with 10 instances arriving even earlier through ramp or cost reduction. The majority, 61 of 88, arrive late. That spread reinforces Mind Stone's reputation as a late-game sacrifice target as much as an early ramp piece.
Is Mind Stone worth casting late in the game? ▾
The stats suggest yes. Battlefield stickiness is only 58%, the lowest among common Commander mana rocks in our dataset, precisely because players actively sacrifice it via the {1}, {T} ability to draw a card. A two-mana artifact that replaces itself with a fresh card on turn 9 is still a net-positive play. The wide cast-turn distribution and the high frequency of graveyard final zones (39 instances) confirm players are using the exit clause deliberately.
What does the negative win-rate delta mean for Mind Stone? ▾
Decks where Mind Stone was cast won 33% of games; decks where it stayed in the library won 39%. The difference is -6.2 percentage points. With 88 cast observations and 273 library observations, this is an early, directional signal rather than a firm conclusion. A likely factor is deck composition: decks that lean hardest on two-mana colorless ramps may already have thinner overall card quality, while stronger decks that draw Mind Stone late just sacrifice it and move on.
Which commanders most often run Mind Stone? ▾
Quintorius, History Chaser leads the list with 30 decks, a notable concentration relative to the other commanders on the list. Krang, the All-Powerful comes in second at 10 decks, followed by Sauron, Lord of the Rings and Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls at 8 each. The spread across mono-color, two-color, and three-color identities confirms Mind Stone's colorless nature makes it a genuine cross-archetype pick.
Is Mind Stone legal in Commander? ▾
Yes. Mind Stone is legal in Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Pauper Commander, Brawl, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Historic, Gladiator, and several other formats. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Alchemy, or Pauper Commander's restricted predecessor formats. There are no bans or restrictions on Mind Stone in Commander as of this writing.