Rootbound Crag
Rootbound Crag appears in 7.3% of tracked Commander decks, yet when drawn it's cast 74.5% of the time, with a median first-cast turn of 4 and 92% battlefield stickiness once it lands.
Rootbound Crag is a focused role-player. Across 183 tracked games on Playgroup Live, it sits in 7.3% of decks — limited by its strict red-green color identity — but players who draw it cast it nearly three quarters of the time.
The draw-to-play rate of 74.5% tells the honest story of a land that enters untapped reliably in decks built to support it. The card sits in hand for a median of 1 turn before being played, and 42% of the time it's cast on the very same turn it's drawn. Battlefield stickiness is 92.3%, which is expected for a land: once it resolves, almost nothing removes it.
The commander spread is broad, covering Gruul, Temur, and five-color strategies alike. Any deck that can guarantee a Forest or Mountain in play on turn one treats Rootbound Crag as a near-unconditional dual, which explains the consistent cast rate even in mixed-color shells.
- 7.3% of tracked Commander decks include Rootbound Crag
- 74.5% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T4 median first-cast turn
- 42% of casts happen the same turn the card is drawn
- 92% battlefield stickiness once cast
- 125 distinct tracked decks running the card
First-cast turn
n=50The "good card" funnel
249 broughtOf 203 Rootbound Crags brought to games, 51 were drawn, 39 of those were cast, and 36 were still on the battlefield when the game ended — a clean 92% stickiness rate for a land that draws essentially zero removal.
Players who cast this card win 34% of the time (n=50) , vs 40% when it never left the library (n=183).
Final zone distribution
249 instances152 of 203 brought copies finished in the library, a structural feature of 100-card singleton rather than any comment on the card's power — only the copies actually drawn had a chance to reach the battlefield.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Me, the Immortal
19 decks
-
2
Ureni of the Unwritten
15 decks
-
3
Auntie Ool, Cursewretch
12 decks
-
4
Bello, Bard of the Brambles
12 decks
-
5
Leonardo, the Balance
9 decks
-
6
Rin and Seri, Inseparable
9 decks
-
7
Riku of Many Paths
8 decks
-
8
Heroes in a Half Shell
7 decks
-
9
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
6 decks
-
10
Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER
5 decks
The top-10 commander list spans Gruul, Temur, Jund, five-color, and GRW shells, showing Rootbound Crag is spread broadly across every archetype that can support a R/G dual rather than concentrated in one strategy.
How often is Rootbound Crag actually drawn in a Commander game? ▾
Of 203 instances brought to games, 51 were drawn, giving a draw rate of 25.1%. That is squarely in line with what you'd expect from a singleton in a 100-card deck. The more meaningful number is the 74.5% draw-to-play rate: when players do see it, they cast it the vast majority of the time.
What turn does Rootbound Crag typically hit the battlefield? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 4, with a mean of 4.21. The interquartile range runs from turn 2 to turn 6. Four observations landed on turn 1, most likely drawn in the opening hand into a deck already holding a Forest or Mountain. The distribution is fairly spread, reflecting that lands drawn mid-game still get played promptly.
Does casting Rootbound Crag correlate with winning? ▾
Early signal here is directional rather than conclusive. Win rate when cast is 35.9% (14 wins in 39 instances), while win rate when it stayed in the library is 38.8% (59 wins in 152 instances). The delta of -2.9 percentage points is small and the cast bucket has only 39 observations, so no strong conclusion should be drawn. Mana fixing is generally a table-stake rather than a game-winning play.
Why is the inclusion rate so low at 7.3%? ▾
Rootbound Crag produces only red and green mana, so it is only useful in decks whose color identity includes both R and G. Across a broad tracked meta that includes mono-color, two-color, and five-color commanders, the eligible pool is inherently smaller. Within Gruul and Temur shells it is far more common, as the top commander list reflects.
Is Rootbound Crag legal in Commander? ▾
Yes, Rootbound Crag is fully legal in Commander with no restrictions. It is also legal in Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Historic, and most other constructed formats. It is not legal in Standard or Pauper.
How long does Rootbound Crag sit in hand before being played? ▾
Among the 38 observed instances that were both drawn and cast, the median wait was 1 turn and the average was 1.16 turns. 42% of the time it was cast the same turn it was drawn. The maximum observed hold was 7 turns, likely reflecting a game state where the player was mana-flooded or waiting for a specific setup. Overall, players treat it as a land to deploy promptly rather than a card to hold strategically.