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Orzhov Basilica card art
Live Play Data

Orzhov Basilica

Land · Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander (DSC)
11%
Live Inclusion
Buy on TCGplayer
Times Brought
563
Decks Running
306
Median Cast Turn
4.0
Drawn → Played
71%
Format
Multiplayer 1v1

11% of tracked Commander decks in Orzhov's color identity run Orzhov Basilica. When drawn, 71% of copies reach the battlefield, with a median first-cast turn of 4.0.

Orzhov Basilica is a consistent fixture in White-Black Commander decks on Playgroup Live. Across 545 tracked multiplayer games, 11% of decks in the dataset include it, with 306 of 2747 distinct tracked decks sleeving it up.

The bounce-land mechanic means the Basilica arrives tapped and costs you a land drop on entry, but players keep casting it. 71% of drawn copies reach the battlefield before the game ends, and once it resolves, it sticks: 92% stickiness reflects how rarely it gets answered once on the table. Median first cast lands on turn 4.0, consistent with a land players are happy to play in the early game despite the tempo cost.

The spread of commanders running the Basilica tells the real story. It appears across White-Black shells and Esper (Blue-White-Black) lists alike, turning up under aggressive vampire builds, aristocrat engines, and value-focused control decks. The data is well-distributed: 284 distinct players have brought it to tracked games, and the single heaviest contributor accounts for only 3% of all instances, a sign of genuine format spread rather than one player skewing the numbers.

At a glance
  • 11% of tracked Commander decks run Orzhov Basilica
  • 71% of drawn copies reach the battlefield before the game ends
  • T4.0 median first-cast turn
  • 92% battlefield stickiness once the land resolves
  • 284 distinct players have brought it to a tracked game, signal of broad adoption

First-cast turn

n=106
11%
T1
17%
T2
17%
T3
9%
T4
8%
T5
32%
T6-9
5%
T10+
Median 4.0 P25 2 · P75 7 · max 14
Cast same turn as drawn 42%

The "good card" funnel

566 brought · 284 players
Brought to game
566
Ever drawn
149
Reached battlefield
106
Still on board at game end
98
71%

Of 566 Orzhov Basilicas brought to tracked games, 149 were drawn, 106 of those were cast, and 92% of cast copies ended the game on the battlefield.

≥ -2.0pp

Players who cast this card win 32% of the time (n=102) , vs 24% when it never left the library (n=362).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 31% (n=39) — 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 +7.4pp; 95% confidence interval -2.0pp to +16.7pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

167 instances
0.6%
Library
58.7%
Battlefield
22.2%
Graveyard
3.6%
Exile

The vast majority of Orzhov Basilicas never leave the library, the structural reality of a singleton in a 100-card deck. Among the copies that were seen, most ended on the battlefield, reflecting the card's low interaction footprint once it resolves.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

The commander list spans White-Black aggro, aristocrat, and Esper control builds, with no single archetype dominating, consistent with a utility land that earns its slot across many strategies.

Frequently Asked

How often is Orzhov Basilica drawn in a Commander game?
In 545 tracked multiplayer games where Orzhov Basilica was in the deck, it was drawn 26% of the time. That figure is in line with what you'd expect from a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 149 copies that reached a player's hand, 71% were played before the game ended.
What turn does Orzhov Basilica typically hit play?
Median first-cast turn is 4.0 across 545 tracked games. The distribution is relatively flat from turns 1 through 7, reflecting that this is a land players play as soon as they have it rather than hold strategically. The hand-to-cast data shows a median of 1 turn sitting in hand before being played, and roughly 42% of instances were played on the same turn they were drawn.
Is Orzhov Basilica banned anywhere?
No. Orzhov Basilica is legal in Commander, Pauper Commander, Duel Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, Oathbreaker, and PreDH. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Historic, Alchemy, Brawl, Gladiator, or their variants. Its availability across Pauper Commander and Pauper reflects its uncommon rarity and straightforward effect.
Does casting Orzhov Basilica actually help you win?
Games where the Basilica was cast show a normalized win rate of 32% across 102 observations. Games where it stayed in the library show 24% across 362 observations. The raw delta is +7.4 percentage points, but the confidence interval on this dataset crosses zero, so treat it as a directional early signal rather than a proven edge. Decks that include and cast the Basilica are at minimum not being harmed by the tempo cost.
Which commanders most commonly run Orzhov Basilica?
Edgar Markov and Teysa Karlov each lead the multiplayer list, followed by Temmet, Naktamun's Will, Aminatou, Veil Piercer, Kaalia of the Vast, and Oloro, Ageless Ascetic. The spread across aggressive, aristocrat, and control commanders reflects how broadly useful a dual-producing bounce-land is in any White-Black shell, regardless of strategy.
Why do players accept the tempo loss of a bounce-land in Commander?
Orzhov Basilica enters tapped and requires returning another land to hand, a real cost early. Commander's 40-life format and slower average game pace reduce the punishment for one tapped land, and the Basilica's ability to produce both White and Black mana from a single slot is worth the bounce in decks that want consistent access to both colors. The 71% cast rate when drawn is consistent with players treating it as something they're happy to land at most stages of the game.