Phyrexian Arena

Rare · Enchantment

Pick rating

6.6GoodRank 67 of 271

Observed strength

54.2%Rank 156 of 274 by win rate, card in hand · set average: 55.7%

How are these measures computed?

Pick rating. The pick rating estimates what a card is worth when you choose it, before there are results: it combines several signals (expert evaluations, the choices of strong players, characteristics of the card such as its cost and rarity) and was tuned on the results of decks of strong players. It is for comparing cards while you draft.

Observed strength. The observed strength is the win rate of the games in which the card was in hand at some point (opening hand or drawn), from hundreds of thousands of real games of online draft players since the set came out. The rank compares the cards seen in at least 1,000 games. It does not correct for the strength of the deck the card is played in, and a result stays uncertain for a card that is played little (about 1.6 points of margin at 1,000 games).

It wins less than its rating suggests.

Why this gap?

The pick rating is a prior: it is for choosing a card before there are results. The observed strength comes from real games, and the win rate of a card is stable from one week to the next. The gap often comes from a card that is easy to replace at the pick but very efficient once played, from a good archetype that carries it, or from a flaw of our rating: in a set that already has many games, the results are more reliable than the rating.

A very good rare of the format (6.6/10).

Why. A three-mana enchantment that draws you an extra card at the beginning of your upkeep, at the cost of 1 life. In a long game it is a steady source of cards.

Risks. It does nothing on the board, and the life loss adds up against an aggressive deck. It is slow in a format where tempo matters.

In the draft. Only for a black control deck with a good defense. In other decks, take creatures and removal first.

Win rate of the card

Percentage of games won by the decks that play this card, depending on when it shows up, from the real games of the set.

Card in hand at some point in the game54.2 %(set average : 55.7 %)
Card in the opening hand54.7 %(set average : 54.8 %)
Card drawn during the game53.8 %(set average : 56.4 %)

Gap when it is drawn, against the games where it is not : +2.1 win-rate points

How often it ends up in the deck once drafted by a strong player (not a win rate)85.0 %(set average : 61.0 %)

Its place in the set

  • Rare: rank 29 of 60
  • Black: rank 9 of 43
  • Cost 3: rank 21 of 69
  • Average pick: 3.0 (1 = taken first from a pack; the lower the number, the earlier players choose it)

Win rate by colour pair

Percentage of games won by the decks of each pair that play the card, with the number of games. The pairs are the two main colors of the deck: when the card has a color outside the pair, the deck plays it as a splash (marked “splash”). A pair that has an archetype in this set leads to its guide.

11,320 games54.4 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)
7,503 games51.9 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)
6,571 games54.5 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)
4,025 games50.2 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)
901 games56.3 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)
328 games47.9 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)
295 games49.2 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)
181 games50.3 %(all pairs : 53.0 %)

Win rate: strong players and all players

Percentage of games won when the card is in hand; strong players are those ranked diamond or mythic online.

Strong players (diamond and mythic ranks), card in hand53.2 %· 3,477 games
All players, card in hand54.4 %· 13,804 games

Win rate on the play and on the draw

Games on the play (the deck holds the card)54.4 %(set average : 55.6 %)
Games on the draw, so drawing from the first turn (the deck holds the card)51.7 %(set average : 53.5 %)

Win rate by number of copies in the deck

  • 1 copy53.0 % · 31,053 games
  • 2 copies53.6 % · 676 games

Win rate since the set came out (card in hand)

  • First two weeks54.9 % · 8,884 games
  • Next two weeks53.8 % · 4,302 games
  • After that51.6 % · 618 games

Win rate alongside other cards

Win rate of the decks that play both cards, compared with the one you would expect from what each card gets alone. At least 150 games together.

Cards it wins more with

Cards it wins less with

  • Fishing Pole260 games · 40.4 % (instead of 45.7% expected)
  • Gnarlid Colony1,630 games · 48.1 % (instead of 51.9% expected)
  • Bite Down2,414 games · 49.1 % (instead of 52.8% expected)

Other cards of the same cost and colours

  • Dreadwing Scavenger

    24. Dreadwing Scavenger

    7.6
  • Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate

    29. Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate

    7.4
  • Abyssal Harvester

    51. Abyssal Harvester

    6.9
  • Hero's Downfall

    64. Hero's Downfall

    6.6

Intrinsic ratings: they do not take into account the cards you have already picked. They matter most for the first pick of the first pack.