The Black Gate
Showing 1v1 (duel) data only. 1v1 is a different format from multiplayer Commander, so these numbers are not comparable.
The Black Gate
: Add 
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, : Choose a player with the most life or tied for most life. Target creature can't be blocked by creatures that player controls this turn.Final zone distribution
174 instancesCommanders that played this card
in tracked games-
1
Sauron, the Dark Lord
89 decks
-
2
Sauron, Lord of the Rings
53 decks
-
3
Saruman, the White Hand
13 decks
-
4
Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima
10 decks
-
5
Lord of the Nazgûl
10 decks
-
6
Magar of the Magic Strings
8 decks
-
7
The Infamous Cruelclaw
7 decks
-
8
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness
6 decks
-
9
Betor, Ancestor's Voice
6 decks
-
10
Child of Alara
5 decks
The "good card" funnel
634 brought · 286 playersOnce cast, 99% of this card is still on the battlefield at game end. This reflects how often it survives removal, not just whether it's a permanent.
Players who cast this card win 26% of the time (n=107) , vs 22% when it never left the library (n=339).
When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 28% (n=20).
Read this as correlation, not as the card's contribution. Casting a card means you lived long enough to cast it, so this gap widens with mana value across every card we track.
Observed gap +3.7pp; 95% confidence interval -1.7pp to +9.1pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.