CommanderTestLabor DE
Price
€99.90of €100.00
Overall win rate
14%35 wins in 257 scored games
Games
270 (13)played in 27 tournaments, 13 not scored (time limit)
Rank
53in the rankings up to €100 · Elo 1364 (start 1500)
Cards
100incl. commander · 36 lands, 14 of them basic
Game Changer
1of at most 3 allowed
Combos
1complete in the deck
Rules check
Passed100 cards, colors, banlist

At most €100 including the commander. If prices rise above that, the shopping list is rebuilt automatically.

grey: role in the deckGame Changer counts for the bracketCombo part of a comboAI can't play replaced in tournamentsAI limited played weakly by the AI

Commander (1)

Creatures (19)

Instants (12)

Sorceries (13)

Artifacts (13)

Enchantments (6)

Lands (36)

Sauron, the Dark Lord
Card image: © Wizards of the Coast, via Scryfall

Combos in the deck (1)

Detected from the decklist (Commander Spellbook): theoretically possible, see Spellbook for requirements. Whether a combo actually came together in games is shown above under “What the games show”.

  • Fall of Cair Andros + Blasphemous Act → Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Near-infinite damage to creatures

Adjusted for the Forge AI

The list above is the best tested version, the way you would play it in real games. The Forge AI can't play a few cards – they were replaced in the tournament (the deck builder also rearranges other slots within the budget). The win rate comes from games with these replacements; the original cards themselves were not tested by the AI.

In the list (original cards)
  • Decree of Pain: AI can't play it
  • Dimir Signet: AI can't play it
  • Faithless Looting: AI can't play it
  • Rakdos Signet: AI can't play it
Played instead in the tournament
  • Bilbo, Retired Burglar: replacement
  • Consider: replacement
  • Languish: replacement
  • Worn Powerstone: replacement

What the games show

From 257 analysed games in 27 tournaments (tournament lists as played by Forge). Games that hit the time limit don't count, just like in the rankings. Values in brackets: average of all decks in the same price class. “logged”: recorded in the game log. “indication”: recurring pattern, but no proof of cause and effect.

Play style: wins through combat – 90% of the damage to opponents is combat damage

Strengths

No clear strength in the logs.

Weaknesses

  • Attacks often get blocked: 27% of attackers blocked (all-deck avg: 19%) logged (1826 attackers in 217 games)
  • Often eliminated first: in 34% of games (all-deck avg: 25%) logged (88 of 257 games)
  • Depends on its commander: only 3% wins without it, 15% with it indication (29 games without, 228 with commander)

Damage per game all games

Total damage to opponents ÷ all 257 games – what the card contributes over the whole test

  1. Orc Army Token avg 9.6hit in 153 of 257 games
  2. Sauron, the Dark Lord avg 6.6hit in 131 of 257 games
  3. The Great Goblin avg 2.9hit in 39 of 257 games

Damage when used when it hits

Total damage ÷ games in which the card dealt damage – its strength when used

  1. The Great Goblin avg 19.1hit in 39 of 257 games
  2. Fiery Inscription avg 16.3hit in 10 of 257 games
  3. Orc Army Token avg 16.2hit in 153 of 257 games

Top finishers eliminates opponents

Cards that most often knocked an opposing commander out of the game

  1. Orc Army Token 46×257 games in deck
  2. Sauron, the Dark Lord 19×257 games in deck
  3. The Great Goblin 18×257 games in deck

Best interaction answers threats

Opposing cards destroyed, exiled, bounced or countered when this card resolved (tokens excluded)

  1. Sauron, the Dark Lord 287×avg 1.1 per game · 257 games in deck
  2. Living Death 130×avg 0.8 per game · 171 games in deck
  3. One Ring to Rule Them All 116×avg 0.5 per game · 257 games in deck

Biggest walls blocks the most

Opposing cards that blocked this deck's attackers most often – 27% of 1826 attackers blocked in total, 11% of those by flyers or reach

  1. Thopter Token 16×blocked in 7 games
  2. Insect Token 9×blocked in 4 games
  3. Soldier Token 7×blocked in 6 games

Rarely cast candidates to cut

Cards in this list that were cast least often in their games – often too expensive or too slow (lands excluded)

  1. Foray of Orcs 0%cast in 0 of 257 games
  2. My Precious // Allure of Power 0%cast in 0 of 257 games
  3. Sauron's Ransom 0%cast in 0 of 257 games

Wins by turn speed

On which own turn the 35 wins came

  • by turn 70%
  • turns 8–93%
  • turns 10–1129%
  • turns 12–1337%
  • turn 14+31%

Combos in play logged Fall of Cair Andros + Blasphemous Act: all pieces cast in 6 games, 3 won

Mana curve without lands

Average 3.14

0
6
1
23
2
14
3
8
4
8
5
6
4
7+

Roles in the deck

Ramp
12 / 9
Card draw
9 / 6
Removal
12 / 10
Board wipe
3 / 3
Protection
3 / 3
Strategy
24 cards no target

Count / target from the EDHREC average deck (the line), red means clearly below. Strategy: the remaining cards without one of these roles, such as the creatures and effects the deck is built around. 63 non-land cards in total.

Card types

Creatures
19
Instants
12
Sorceries
13
Artifacts
13
Enchantments
6
Lands
36

Most expensive cards

Relic of Sauron
€10.11
Witch-king of Angmar
€9.95
Reanimate
€8.15
Call of the Ring
€3.96
Living Death
€3.74
Lord of the Nazgûl
€3.41
An Offer You Can't Refuse
€3.03
In the Darkness Bind Them
€2.31

What the program has learned

Each tournament the deck tests one card. A verdict needs at least 40 games with and without the card. Since the deck is rebuilt every tournament with current prices and data, tested cards can drop out again later.

  • no clear difference Mordor Muster instead of Smaug, Wicked Worm · win rate 15% with, 8% without (204 / 53 games)
  • no clear difference Fiery Inscription instead of Wonder · win rate 12% with, 16% without (136 / 121 games) · from an earlier version, not in the deck now
  • no clear difference Sam's Desperate Rescue instead of Fiery Inscription · win rate 10% with, 14% without (48 / 209 games) · from an earlier version, not in the deck now
  • no clear difference Book of Mazarbul instead of Wonder · win rate 12% with, 15% without (86 / 171 games) · from an earlier version, not in the deck now

9 more tested cards are still collecting games.

Shopping list for Cardmarket

Copy the list, create a new list under “Wants” on Cardmarket and paste it.

Total €99.90 Cardmarket average as of Oct 27, 2026

Open Cardmarket Wants

Prices without shipping. Individual cards may have become cheaper or more expensive on Cardmarket.

Placement in every tournament

Oldest on the left. Green: top 3, blue: top 10.

566359503240304950534855573863266434645855275936432447

Best place 24 · average place 47.4 · 0× top 3 · 0× top 10 out of 27 tournaments

Played by the Forge AI, four players per game. An average deck wins 25%. How are decks tested?