Opt
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Instant
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Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (TDC)
Opt appears in just 4% of tracked Commander decks, but when it hits a player's hand, 72% of the time it gets cast before the game ends, with a median first-cast turn of 6.
Opt sits in 4% of the 1,774 distinct Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live. That narrow inclusion rate reflects a format truth: pure cantrips compete hard for slots in 100-card singleton, and Opt's one-for-one nature means it earns a seat mainly in spell-count and instant-speed-matters shells.
Of 115 instances brought to games, 25 were drawn and 20 were cast. That 72% draw-to-play rate is consistent with a card players are eager to resolve the moment it reaches their hand. 67% of drawn-and-cast Opts were cast on the same turn they were drawn, meaning when players see it, they tend to slam it immediately rather than hold it for a better moment.
The commander distribution tells the clearest story about where Opt belongs. Izzet spellslinger commanders like Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph and Veyran, Voice of Duality dominate the top slots. Decks that care about casting instants and sorceries, triggering prowess-style effects, or storming off are the natural home for a one-mana scry-then-draw.
- 4% inclusion rate across tracked Commander decks
- 72% of drawn Opts are cast before the game ends
- 67% of cast Opts were played the same turn they were drawn
- T6 median first-cast turn
- +4.4pp win-rate lift when cast versus when it sits in the library
- 22 of 115 instances end in the graveyard, as expected for a cantrip
First-cast turn
n=27The "good card" funnel
143 brought115 Opts were brought to games, 25 were drawn, 20 of those were cast, and battlefield stickiness is near zero as expected for a cantrip that resolves and immediately hits the graveyard.
Players who cast this card win 44% of the time (n=27) , vs 37% when it never left the library (n=106).
Final zone distribution
143 instances87 of 115 Opt instances never leave the library, a structural result of 100-card singleton rather than a sign of the card underperforming. Of the instances that did move, 22 resolved normally into the graveyard.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Vivi Ornitier
10 decks
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2
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
9 decks
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3
Alela, Cunning Conqueror
6 decks
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4
Me, the Immortal
6 decks
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5
Galazeth Prismari
5 decks
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6
Stella Lee, Wild Card
5 decks
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7
Fire Lord Azula
4 decks
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8
Kenessos, Priest of Thassa
4 decks
-
9
Ms. Bumbleflower
4 decks
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10
Queza, Augur of Agonies
4 decks
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph leads at 9 decks and Izzet commanders claim four of the top five spots, signaling that Opt is almost exclusively a spellslinger-deck include on Playgroup Live.
How often is Opt drawn in a Commander game? ▾
Across 115 deck-instances in tracked games, Opt was drawn 25 times, a 21.7% draw rate. That's broadly normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of those 25 draws, 20 resulted in a cast, giving a 72% draw-to-play rate. The gap is mostly explained by games that ended before the player could resolve it.
What turn does Opt usually get cast? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 6, with the interquartile range spanning turns 3 to 9. There is a small cluster of very early casts on turns 1 and 2, likely opening-hand or ramp-assisted plays. The spread is wide partly because Opt is often held as an instant until the end of an opponent's turn, so 'cast turn' can lag behind 'drawn turn'.
Does casting Opt actually improve your win rate? ▾
There is an early directional signal: decks that cast Opt won 40% of participations (8 of 20), versus 35.6% win rate in participations where it sat in the library all game. That 4.4 percentage-point delta is consistent with what you'd expect from a cantrip that smooths draws, but both sample sizes are small enough that we'd call this directional rather than conclusive.
Why is Opt included so much less than Sol Ring or other blue staples? ▾
Opt's 4% inclusion rate reflects its narrow fit. It needs a deck that actively rewards casting instants or simply values cheap cantrips for consistency. In midrange or creature-focused blue decks, a single scry-and-draw at one mana often loses out to more impactful draw spells like Rhystic Study or Preordain. The commanders at the top of Opt's list are almost all Izzet spellslinger builds that actively want the cantrip count.
Is Opt legal in Commander? ▾
Yes. Opt is legal in Commander and also legal across virtually every other major constructed and limited format including Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Pauper Commander. It is not legal in Old School.
Why does Opt almost never appear on the battlefield? ▾
That's expected. Opt is a cantrip instant: it resolves, scrys 1, draws a card, and goes directly to the graveyard. Of 115 instances brought to games, 22 ended in the graveyard (resolved normally) and only 2 appeared on the battlefield at game end, which likely reflects unusual zone-change effects. The final-zone chart is dominated by 'library' simply because most singleton cards never get drawn in a given game.