Talisman of Hierarchy
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Artifact
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Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)
74% of drawn Talisman of Hierarchy copies are cast before the game ends, with a median first-cast turn of 3, making it one of the faster mana rocks to hit the table in Orzhov and Esper pods on Playgroup Live.
Talisman of Hierarchy sits in 8% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live. That focused inclusion rate reflects its color restriction: it belongs only in decks that can use white or black mana, and those pods snap it up as a reliable two-drop rock.
The headline number is draw-to-play: 74% of the 43 instances drawn were cast. Players don't hold it. Median first cast falls on turn 3, one turn ahead of the baseline for two-mana rocks, a sign that it often arrives via an opening hand or early draw. Of the 33 total casts tracked, 4 came before turn 2, suggesting occasional ramp-assisted early plays.
The win-rate delta is worth a note. Games where Talisman of Hierarchy stayed in the library show a higher win rate (39%) than games where it was cast (27%). Both sample sizes are small enough that this signal is directional rather than conclusive, but it is consistent with the broader pattern in which mana rocks alone don't win games. The decks running this card are evenly spread across a range of Orzhov, Esper, and Mardu commanders.
- 8% inclusion rate across all tracked Commander decks
- 74% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T3 median first-cast turn for Talisman of Hierarchy
- 76% battlefield stickiness once cast
- 144 distinct decks running this card in Playgroup Live's dataset
- 22% draw rate, typical for a singleton in a 100-card deck
First-cast turn
n=35The "good card" funnel
231 brought194 Talismans were brought to games, 43 were drawn, 33 of those were cast, and 25 were still on the battlefield when the game ended, a 74% draw-to-play rate and 76% stickiness once it resolved.
Players who cast this card win 31% of the time (n=35) , vs 43% when it never left the library (n=178).
Final zone distribution
231 instances147 of 194 Talismans never left the library, the expected outcome for any singleton in a 100-card deck and not a reflection of the card's power when it does show up.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Killian, Decisive Mentor
40 decks
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2
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
20 decks
-
3
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
11 decks
-
4
Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos
8 decks
-
5
Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima
8 decks
-
6
Kaalia of the Vast
6 decks
-
7
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
5 decks
-
8
Queza, Augur of Agonies
5 decks
-
9
Saruman of Many Colors
5 decks
-
10
Silverquill, the Disputant
5 decks
Killian, Decisive Mentor accounts for 40 decks, more than twice any other commander in the list, showing a clear concentration at the top while the rest of the distribution spreads across Esper and Mardu builds.
How often is Talisman of Hierarchy drawn in a Commander game? ▾
Across 194 deck-participations tracked, it was drawn in 22% of instances. That is roughly in line with what any singleton in a 100-card deck should expect. Of those 43 drawn copies, 33 were cast, giving a draw-to-play rate of 74%. That figure is on the higher end for mana rocks, consistent with players treating it as an immediate priority when they see it.
What turn does Talisman of Hierarchy usually get cast? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 3. The interquartile range runs from turn 2 to turn 7, meaning half of all observed casts landed between those turns. Four copies were cast on turn 1, likely enabled by other ramp, and the distribution has a second cluster in turns 6–8, representing copies drawn late in the game. The 2-mana cost makes an on-curve turn-2 cast possible when it's in the opening hand.
Does casting Talisman of Hierarchy actually help you win? ▾
The data here is directional, not conclusive. Games where the Talisman was cast showed a 27% win rate across 33 observations. Games where it sat in the library the whole game showed 39% across 147 observations. The cast-vs-library delta is -12 percentage points. Both buckets are small enough that we can't draw firm conclusions, but the pattern is consistent with mana rocks providing infrastructure rather than determining game outcomes on their own.
Which commanders most commonly run Talisman of Hierarchy? ▾
Killian, Decisive Mentor leads by a wide margin with 40 decks, more than double the next entry. Y'shtola, Night's Blessed (14 decks), Oloro, Ageless Ascetic (11 decks), and Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima (10 decks) round out the top four. The spread covers Orzhov, Esper, and Mardu color identities, all of which can use white and black mana. No single commander dominates the distribution.
Is Talisman of Hierarchy legal in Commander? ▾
Yes. Talisman of Hierarchy is legal in Commander, Duel Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, Gladiator, Oathbreaker, and Brawl. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, or Pauper Commander, and it has no special restrictions or bans in Commander.
How quickly do players cast Talisman of Hierarchy after drawing it? ▾
Among the 32 instances where the Talisman was both drawn and cast, the median delay between drawing and casting was 1 turn. The average was 0.88 turns and the maximum observed delay was 4 turns. Only 34% of those instances were cast on the same turn they were drawn, which is notably lower than faster zero- or one-mana rocks. The 1-turn median suggests players usually have to wait for their next turn to deploy the mana they need to cast it.