The Deck of Many Things: Card Frequencies, By Type and Function, Across EDH
July 5, 2022 by
MtGDS 
(Body of Knowledge | Art by Clint Cearley)
Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function?
Like most of my good ideas, this one came from someone else. A loyal EDHREC user wrote in to ask about how many of the various card types appear in the average Commander deck.
I thought it would be cool to share the answer widely, as a reference for everyone, and possibly as a snapshot of the format as it stands right now. Of course, this being a Magic Data Science column, I had to kick it up a notch!
So, I tried to think of as many different categories of cards that I thought might appear across a wide range of EDHREC decks. Those categories fell into seven supercategories: mana value, number of colors, supertypes, types, subtypes, rarity, and function. These are all pretty self-explanatory, and where they are not, I'll give more detail below.
I also wanted to provide a little more detail than just the average (or mean) number of cards per deck. The table below lists:
- The proportion of all decks that have at least one card in the category
- The mean number of cards in the category per deck
- The mode (most common) count
- The 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentile counts; this gives a fuller sense of the distribution. The 50th percentile is the median: half of decks are below and half above this number. The 5th percentile is the number below which just 1/20th of all decks fall, etc. For example, according to the table, 95% of all decks have 18 or fewer sorceries; just 1/20th of all decks run more than that.
- I also list the five commanders who run the greatest density of cards in each category. I find this interesting just to see where synergies can be found, and possibly for deckbuilding inspiration.
Anyway, most of the rest of this article is in the notes column. Happy scrolling!
| category | % any | mean | mode | percentiles | high-rate commanders | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mana value: 0 |
37.8 | 0.9 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 1 95th: 5 |
Sidisi, Undead Vizier Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain Thrasta, Tempest's Roar Maralen of the Mornsong Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle |
This counts only nonlands with MV = 0. They're most often found in decks that want artifacts and to cast multiple "cheerios" in one turn. |
| mana value: 1 |
99.4 | 8.8 | 6 | 05th: 2 25th: 5 50th: 7 75th: 11 95th: 21 |
Edric, Spymaster of Trest Octavia, Living Thesis Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest Blanka, Ferocious Friend Kari Zev, Skyship Raider |
Good if you want want to cast a lot of spells, fast. Either to trigger Prowess-like abilities, play early ramp, or just get things in your graveyard. |
| mana value: 2 |
99.7 | 15.1 | 14 | 05th: 7 25th: 11 50th: 15 75th: 19 95th: 24 |
Arcades, the Strategist Lurrus of the Dream-Den Zada, Hedron Grinder Captain Ripley Vance Anax and Cymede |
Arcades is interesting: there are just a lot of 2-MV Walls! Lurrus is obvious, and the others indicate that a lot of the own-creature-targeting spells you might want to cast are 2 MV. |
| mana value: 3 |
99.8 | 15.2 | 15 | 05th: 8 25th: 12 50th: 15 75th: 18 95th: 22 |
Obosh, the Preypiercer Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive Krenko, Mob Boss Kwende, Pride of Femeref |
This is -- narrowly -- the most common/modal mana value in most decks. Half of all decks run more than 15, half run fewer. |
| mana value: 4 |
99.4 | 9.7 | 10 | 05th: 3 25th: 7 50th: 10 75th: 12 95th: 16 |
Demonlord Belzenlok Djeru, With Eyes Open Gyruda, Doom of Depths Sakashima the Impostor Seizan, Perverter of Truth |
General rule of thumb: if a commander requires MV of X or greater, you want to run a lot of cards with MV = X. |
| mana value: 5 |
98.5 | 6.4 | 6 | 05th: 1 25th: 4 50th: 6 75th: 8 95th: 12 |
Demonlord Belzenlok Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath Iname, Death Aspect Carth the Lion Zaffai, Thunder Conductor |
See previous note. Also, planeswalker casting costs cluster around 4, 5, and 6 MV. |
| mana value: 6 |
90.6 | 3.8 | 3 | 05th: 0 25th: 2 50th: 3 75th: 5 95th: 9 |
Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty Averna, the Chaos Bloom Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded Nikya of the Old Ways Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas |
6 MV seems to be a sweet spot for wanting to cast cards for free. |
| mana value: 7 |
74.9 | 2.0 | 1 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 3 95th: 6 |
Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded Kaalia of the Vast Ilharg, the Raze-Boar |
Note that the average deck runs only only sevenish cards at MV >= 6. Big ramp decks are the exception, but be mindful of this when deciding what your curve looks like. |
| mana value: 8+ |
64.0 | 1.6 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 2 95th: 6 |
Volrath the Fallen Jhoira of the Ghitu Jodah, Archmage Eternal Jacob Hauken, Inspector Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty |
If you're hard-casting one of these, you should hope to be winning in short order. Otherwise, I hope you've found a way to get a discount or cheat them into play... |
| mana value: X |
62.3 | 1.5 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 2 95th: 5 |
Zaxara, the Exemplary Rosheen Meanderer Hinata, Dawn-Crowned Gargos, Vicious Watcher Vadrik, Astral Archmage |
Some commanders specifically ask for cards with {X} in their casting costs. Some commanders (and data scientists) love Hydras. |
| n colors: colorless |
99.7 | 17.1 | 13 | 05th: 5 25th: 11 50th: 15 75th: 21 95th: 35 |
Emrakul, the Promised End Hope of Ghirapur Karn, Silver Golem Kozilek, Butcher of Truth Kozilek, the Great Distortion |
No surprise that the commanders which run the most colorless cards are themselves colorless, but I am quite surprised that 1/6th of the average deck is colorless! |
| n colors: monocolor |
99.3 | 48.4 | 51 | 05th: 32 25th: 44 50th: 50 75th: 55 95th: 62 |
Seton, Krosan Protector Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig Renata, Called to the Hunt Ezuri, Renegade Leader Yeva, Nature's Herald |
My theory for why the top five here are all green is that green cards themselves produce {G}, whereas other colors don't produce {that color} as frequently. |
| n colors: 2 color |
81.1 | 14.2 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 8 50th: 15 75th: 21 95th: 29 |
Niv-Mizzet Reborn General Ferrous Rokiric Rienne, Angel of Rebirth Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice Kamiz, Obscura Oculus |
Commanders that want multicolored spells tend to run multicolored spells. |
| n colors: 3 color |
36.9 | 1.3 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 2 95th: 6 |
Ramos, Dragon Engine Jegantha, the Wellspring The Ur-Dragon Cromat Jodah, Archmage Eternal |
I wouldn't have predicted it, but it makes sense that most of the commanders that run a lot of three-color spells either add {WUBRG} or let you cast anything for {WUBRG}. |
| n colors: 4 color |
1.2 | 0.0 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 0 95th: 0 |
Horde of Notions Ramos, Dragon Engine Jegantha, the Wellspring Esika, God of the Tree Progenitus |
There just aren't that many four-color cards! Just 1.2% of decks run at least one. |
| n colors: 5 color |
5.0 | 0.1 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 0 95th: 1 |
Jodah, Archmage Eternal Sliver Overlord The Ur-Dragon Ramos, Dragon Engine Jegantha, the Wellspring |
Even the decks that run a lot of five-color cards, relatively speaking, don't run that many. A lot of the Sliver commanders run all of the other legendary Slivers: Sliver Overlord, Sliver Hivelord, The First Sliver, Sliver Queen, and Sliver Legion. |
| supertype: Legendary |
98.7 | 8.4 | 6 | 05th: 2 25th: 5 50th: 7 75th: 11 95th: 18 |
Reki, the History of Kamigawa Kethis, the Hidden Hand Arvad the Cursed Captain Sisay Carth the Lion |
No surprises among the top-five commanders here, but is anyone else a little surprised that the average deck runs more than eight legendary cards? |
| supertype: Basic |
98.9 | 20.0 | 20 | 05th: 5 25th: 13 50th: 20 75th: 26 95th: 35 |
Child of Alara Lord Windgrace Kozilek, the Great Distortion Emrakul, the Promised End Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
The average deck is 1/5th basic lands! |
| supertype: Non-Basic Land |
99.9 | 18.3 | 16 | 05th: 4 25th: 11 50th: 18 75th: 25 95th: 33 |
Child of Alara Lord Windgrace Kozilek, the Great Distortion Emrakul, the Promised End Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
And the commanders that run a lot of basics also run a lot of nonbasics. |
| supertype: Snow |
22.6 | 0.5 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 0 95th: 3 |
Jorn, God of Winter Narfi, Betrayer King Moritte of the Frost Svella, Ice Shaper Runo Stromkirk |
Most of these are pretty obvious. Runo Stromkirk seems to want snow lands primarily to cast Icebreaker Kraken. |
| type: Land |
100.0 | 35.9 | 36 | 05th: 30 25th: 34 50th: 36 75th: 37 95th: 41 |
Child of Alara Lord Windgrace Kozilek, the Great Distortion Emrakul, the Promised End Kozilek, Butcher of Truth |
Here's the statistic you've all been waiting for: 36 is the typical land count. If my count is accurate, and this article from early 2019 is accurate, this represents a huge increase! |
| type: Creature |
99.6 | 24.6 | 30 | 05th: 8 25th: 18 50th: 25 75th: 31 95th: 40 |
Nikya of the Old Ways Ruric Thar, the Unbowed Nylea, Keen-Eyed Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro Ezuri, Renegade Leader |
Creatures compose one quarter of the average deck, which feels about right to me. I've never played Nikya of the Old Ways, but it looks really fun. |
| type: Artifact |
99.2 | 12.9 | 9 | 05th: 3 25th: 7 50th: 11 75th: 15 95th: 33 |
Oswald Fiddlebender Traxos, Scourge of Kroog Hope of Ghirapur Bosh, Iron Golem Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient |
Artifact synergy commanders run a lot of artifacts! |
| type: Instant |
97.9 | 10.0 | 7 | 05th: 2 25th: 5 50th: 9 75th: 13 95th: 24 |
Baral, Chief of Compliance Talrand, Sky Summoner Chun-Li, Countless Kicks Toshiro Umezawa Kaho, Minamo Historian |
Some of these specifically indicate instants over sorceries, others reward playing spells on other players' turns... |
| type: Sorcery |
98.9 | 9.2 | 8 | 05th: 2 25th: 6 50th: 9 75th: 12 95th: 18 |
Wort, the Raidmother Codie, Vociferous Codex Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant Birgi, God of Storytelling Jadzi, Oracle of Arcavios |
These either specifically name sorcery or reward playing spells on your own turn! |
| type: Enchantment |
98.3 | 8.5 | 6 | 05th: 2 25th: 5 50th: 7 75th: 10 95th: 20 |
Aphemia, the Cacophony Eutropia the Twice-Favored Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice Sythis, Harvest's Hand Tuvasa the Sunlit |
Lots of Constellation and Enchantress synergy here. |
| type: Planeswalker |
56.9 | 1.4 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 2 95th: 5 |
Carth the Lion Djeru, With Eyes Open Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh Mila, Crafty Companion Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider |
This is a list of "superfriends" commanders, but I also think it's charming when decks run all of the different planeswalkers of a given type, like Chandra here. |
| subtype: Equipment |
64.8 | 2.1 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 2 95th: 7 |
Kemba, Kha Regent Valduk, Keeper of the Flame Balan, Wandering Knight Sram, Senior Edificer Catti-brie of Mithral Hall |
Equipment: The Other Boros Archetype. |
| subtype: Aura |
50.8 | 1.6 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 2 95th: 6 |
Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice Kaima, the Fractured Calm Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor Uril, the Miststalker Siona, Captain of the Pyleas |
These are fun, not particularly Spiky, commanders. |
| subtype: Saga |
12.1 | 0.2 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 0 95th: 1 |
Satsuki, the Living Lore Chisei, Heart of Oceans Ghen, Arcanum Weaver Aphemia, the Cacophony Rona, Disciple of Gix |
These have become much more popular, and somewhat more competitive, in the wake of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. |
| subtype: Vehicle |
4.0 | 0.1 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 0 95th: 0 |
Kotori, Pilot Prodigy Depala, Pilot Exemplar Greasefang, Okiba Boss Shorikai, Genesis Engine Cosima, God of the Voyage |
Even less widely played than Sagas: only 4% of decks play any Vehicles at all. |
| rarity: common |
100.0 | 40.2 | 39 | 05th: 24 25th: 33 50th: 40 75th: 47 95th: 59 |
Grunn, the Lonely King Zada, Hedron Grinder Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker Talrand, Sky Summoner Fynn, the Fangbearer |
It appears we've found some Pauper Commanders! Would y'all be interested in a future article about the most paupular legendary uncommon commanders and the commons that populate their decks? |
| rarity: uncommon |
100.0 | 27.3 | 28 | 05th: 16 25th: 23 50th: 27 75th: 32 95th: 38 |
Blind Seer Araumi of the Dead Tide Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle Whisper, Blood Liturgist Emry, Lurker of the Loch |
I don't really have an explanation for why these commanders run a high concentration of uncommons... |
| rarity: rare |
100.0 | 52.8 | 51 | 05th: 29 25th: 44 50th: 53 75th: 62 95th: 77 |
Gaddock Teeg Thalia, Guardian of Thraben Angus Mackenzie Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Captain Sisay |
Nor why these run a lot of rares (do you?). But I am surprised that the average deck on EDHREC runs almost 53 rares! Note that the percentages of commons, uncommons, rares, and mythics doesn't sum to 100, because many cards have been printed at different rarities. |
| rarity: mythic |
99.2 | 17.2 | 10 | 05th: 3 25th: 9 50th: 15 75th: 23 95th: 40 |
Carth the Lion Esika, God of the Tree Kaalia of the Vast Djeru, With Eyes Open Jodah, Archmage Eternal |
These are a little easier to explain: planeswalkers, legends, and high-casting cost multicolor spells are more likely to be mythics. |
| function: ramp |
99.5 | 12.7 | 11 | 05th: 4 25th: 9 50th: 12 75th: 16 95th: 24 |
Omnath, Locus of Mana Seton, Krosan Protector Godo, Bandit Warlord Patron of the Orochi Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger |
The rest of these categories rely on Scryfall tagger classifications, for example: ramp. I am pleasantly surprised to see that the average deck runs over twelve ramp cards! |
| function: draw |
99.1 | 7.6 | 7 | 05th: 2 25th: 5 50th: 7 75th: 10 95th: 14 |
Gavi, Nest Warden Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse Minn, Wily Illusionist Atemsis, All-Seeing Alrund, God of the Cosmos |
The "draw" tag is fairly all-encompassing, and it includes cards with Cycling. I think the 7.6 per-deck average is a little below the recommended amount, but it's higher than I was expecting! |
| function: non-Land tutor |
79.2 | 3.0 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 1 50th: 2 75th: 4 95th: 9 |
Saffi Eriksdotter Urza, Lord High Artificer Koll, the Forgemaster Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero Chainer, Dementia Master |
This is an eclectic group of commanders, but the interesting finding here, to me, is that the typical deck runs just three non-land tutors. |
| function: sweeper |
86.9 | 2.7 | 2 | 05th: 0 25th: 1 50th: 2 75th: 4 95th: 7 |
Kazarov, Sengir Pureblood Toralf, God of Fury Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer Daryl, Hunter of Walkers Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh |
The sweeper tag is quite broad, ranging from Blasphemous Act to Shadowstorm. I have also separated out the non-damage-based sweepers, below, to remove the Tremor cognates from the count. |
| function: non-damage sweeper |
79.7 | 2.1 | 1 | 05th: 0 25th: 1 50th: 2 75th: 3 95th: 5 |
Avacyn, Angel of Hope Numot, the Devastator Djeru, With Eyes Open Zetalpa, Primal Dawn Zurgo Helmsmasher |
So you can expect about eight sweepers at a typical four-person table. |
| function: removal |
99.5 | 8.5 | 7 | 05th: 3 25th: 6 50th: 8 75th: 11 95th: 16 |
Gisa, Glorious Resurrector Toshiro Umezawa Mari, the Killing Quill Sarulf, Realm Eater Tergrid, God of Fright |
This is spot removal, as opposed to the sweepers we counted above, and includes creature removal with every other kind. Almost 1 in 12 cards in the average deck are spot removal. |
| function: removal-creature |
97.1 | 5.1 | 3 | 05th: 1 25th: 3 50th: 4 75th: 7 95th: 12 |
Gisa, Glorious Resurrector Toshiro Umezawa Mari, the Killing Quill Tergrid, God of Fright Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet |
These look like fun decks to build, and they're not all "Destroy target creature": there are a lot of "each player sacrifices" effects, which are quite mana-efficient in a four-player game. |
| function: any token |
97.3 | 7.1 | 3 | 05th: 1 25th: 3 50th: 5 75th: 9 95th: 19 |
Bennie Bracks, Zoologist Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun Thalisse, Reverent Medium Vazi, Keen Negotiator |
7% of cards in the average deck create some type of token... |
| function: creature token |
94.3 | 5.4 | 2 | 05th: 0 25th: 2 50th: 4 75th: 7 95th: 16 |
Bennie Bracks, Zoologist Thalisse, Reverent Medium Thromok the Insatiable Thelon of Havenwood Akim, the Soaring Wind |
...and most of those are creature tokens... |
| function: treasure token |
34.1 | 0.7 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 0 75th: 1 95th: 3 |
Vazi, Keen Negotiator Kalain, Reclusive Painter Jolene, the Plunder Queen Admiral Beckett Brass Magda, Brazen Outlaw |
...and Treasure tokens have not (yet) taken over the format. This might be interesting to check back in on in a year, or to study as a time-series. |
| function: mana producer |
96.3 | 5.0 | 4 | 05th: 1 25th: 3 50th: 5 75th: 7 95th: 11 |
Godo, Bandit Warlord Syr Carah, the Bold Kozilek, Butcher of Truth Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre Emrakul, the Promised End |
At first, I was surprised that red commanders topped this list -- I was expecting more of a green/rampy slant -- but looking at the data for Godo reminded me that red is very big on rituals! |
| function: add counter |
93.9 | 4.8 | 2 | 05th: 0 25th: 2 50th: 3 75th: 6 95th: 15 |
Perrie, the Pulverizer Hamza, Guardian of Arashin Mowu, Loyal Companion Daghatar the Adamant Kodama of the West Tree |
Perrie, the Pulverizer is the Volo, Guide to Monsters of counters, and Hamza, Guardian of Arashin is the Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver of counters. Some like heterogeneity, some like homogeneity. |
| function: recursion |
93.4 | 4.7 | 2 | 05th: 0 25th: 2 50th: 4 75th: 6 95th: 13 |
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame Quintorius, Field Historian Syr Konrad, the Grim Kokusho, the Evening Star Sidisi, Brood Tyrant |
I was surprised that to see the average deck running almost five recursion spells, but recursion is a very broad category that spans the color pie. |
| function: evasion |
90.8 | 4.6 | 2 | 05th: 0 25th: 2 50th: 4 75th: 6 95th: 13 |
Sephara, Sky's Blade Kangee, Aerie Keeper Satoru Umezawa Kaalia of the Vast Lyra Dawnbringer |
The vast majority of evasive creatures have flying... |
| function: flying |
86.4 | 4.3 | 1 | 05th: 0 25th: 1 50th: 3 75th: 6 95th: 13 |
Donal, Herald of Wings Kangee, Sky Warden Kangee, Aerie Keeper Soraya the Falconer Isperia the Inscrutable |
...but I also wanted to count fliers specifically, to guide your decisions about running flying hate. |
| function: lifegain |
85.3 | 3.3 | 1 | 05th: 0 25th: 1 50th: 2 75th: 4 95th: 9 |
Tivash, Gloom Summoner Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose Trelasarra, Moon Dancer Dina, Soul Steeper Karlov of the Ghost Council |
These are some of my favorite kinds of decks; lifegain just isn't that powerful, but building an engine around cheap or incidental lifegain is really making lemonade. |
| function: counterspell |
54.0 | 2.4 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 4 95th: 10 |
Baral, Chief of Compliance Talrand, Sky Summoner Azami, Lady of Scrolls Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir Naru Meha, Master Wizard |
This is pretty much a list of commanders who aren't fun to play against. Decks run about two counters on average. Seems about right. |
| function: modal |
74.0 | 1.6 | 1 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 2 95th: 4 |
Ramos, Dragon Engine Velomachus Lorehold Niv-Mizzet Reborn Hinata, Dawn-Crowned General Ferrous Rokiric |
It just so happens that modality and multicoloredness correlate; hence this list of top commanders. I think we need a commander with an ability like, "Change the text of spells you cast by replacing all instances of 'Choose one' with 'Choose two'." Not sure about the templating, but you get the idea... |
| function: graveyard hate |
54.9 | 0.9 | 0 | 05th: 0 25th: 0 50th: 1 75th: 1 95th: 3 |
Umbris, Fear Manifest Arvinox, the Mind Flail Phenax, God of Deception Aphemia, the Cacophony Prosper, Tome-Bound |
Not a lot of graveyard hate out there, but when it works it really works! |
Thoughts? Questions? Critiques? Suggestions?
There are a huge number of other ways we could slice and dice the card pool. These categories were just the ones I thought would be most common and comprehensive. If there's something obvious I left out, or something that would be useful for the community to know more about, please tell me! As always, I'd love to hear what you think, and if you aren’t already, follow me on Twitter!
MtGDS
MtGDS (AKA Magic Data Science) is pretty new to the game, but is trying to understand it as best he can through data. He loves making graphs and finding new ways to measure things. You can read his non-Commander articles at http://mtgds.wordpress.com, and he's worth a follow on Twitter @MtG_DS.
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