Abrade
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Instant
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Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)
Abrade is cast in 45.5% of games where it's drawn, posting a win rate of 45.5% when it resolves — a +12.8-point edge over games where it sat in the library all along.
Abrade sits in 5.4% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, a niche but deliberate include for red players who need one spell to answer both a Thran Dynamo and a Goblin Shaman in the same slot. That flexibility is exactly what the data reflects: when players draw it, they cast it 64.5% of the time, and the games where they do resolve it show a win rate of 45.5% — well above the 25% baseline for a 4-player pod.
The cast-vs-library delta is +12.8 percentage points. Both sample buckets exceed 15 observations, so this is a consistent early signal rather than noise: resolving Abrade correlates meaningfully with winning. The median first-cast turn is 5, which makes sense for a reactive instant — players tend to hold it for the right target rather than slam it the moment they draw it. The hand-to-cast median confirms this: the card sits in hand for a median of 2 turns before it fires.
Red is spoiled for creature removal but perennially short on artifact removal. Abrade fills that gap with no color compromise and a low floor of {1}{R}. Its appearance across mono-red, Izzet, Gruul, and Mardu commanders in our tracked sample underscores that it earns its slot wherever red has artifact problems to solve.
- 5.4% inclusion rate across tracked Commander decks — a focused red staple, not a universal include
- 64.5% of drawn Abrages are cast before the game ends
- +12.8pts win-rate edge in games where Abrade was cast vs. games where it stayed in the library
- T5 median first-cast turn, reflecting deliberate hold-and-react play
- 2 turns median time Abrade sits in hand before being cast
- 45.5% win rate in the 22 games where Abrade hit the stack
First-cast turn
n=25The "good card" funnel
154 broughtOf 133 Abrages brought to tracked games, 31 were drawn and 22 of those were cast — a 64.5% draw-to-play rate that reflects a card players hold for the right moment rather than slam immediately.
Players who cast this card win 44% of the time (n=25) , vs 34% when it never left the library (n=119).
Final zone distribution
154 instances101 of 133 brought Abrages never left the library — the structural reality of a 100-card singleton deck — but the 21 graveyard instances confirm it fires often enough when it matters.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Rootha, Mastering the Moment
27 decks
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2
Bello, Bard of the Brambles
10 decks
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3
Krenko, Mob Boss
6 decks
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4
Iroas, God of Victory
4 decks
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5
Isshin, Two Heavens as One
4 decks
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6
Saruman, the White Hand
4 decks
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7
Vivi Ornitier
4 decks
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8
Fire Lord Azula
3 decks
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9
Galazeth Prismari
3 decks
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10
Imodane, the Pyrohammer
3 decks
Rootha, Mastering the Moment alone accounts for 24 of the 99 tracked decks, making it the clear anchor archetype, though Abrade still spreads across a wide range of red commanders.
How often does Abrade get drawn in a Commander game? ▾
Across 122 tracked games, Abrade was drawn in 23.3% of deck-instances where it was included — right in line with what you'd expect from a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 31 instances where it reached a player's hand, 22 were cast before the game ended, giving a draw-to-play rate of 64.5%.
Does casting Abrade actually help you win? ▾
Early signal says yes. Games where Abrade was cast show a win rate of 45.5% across 22 observations. Games where it stayed in the library the whole time show 32.7% across 101 observations. That's a +12.8-point delta. Both buckets exceed 15 observations, so this reads as a consistent directional pattern in our dataset, though Playgroup Live's overall sample is still growing.
Why does Abrade rarely end up on the battlefield at game end? ▾
Abrade is an instant with no permanent type — it resolves and goes to the graveyard. The final-zone data reflects this cleanly: 21 of the 133 brought instances ended in the graveyard (meaning they were cast), and just 2 sat on the battlefield (likely due to a flicker or zone-tracking edge case). A 9.1% battlefield stickiness figure here is not a weakness; it is simply what instants do.
What turn do players usually cast Abrade? ▾
The median first-cast turn is 5, with a mean of 5.5 and a 25th–75th percentile range of turns 4 to 8. Only 1 of 22 casts landed on turn 1. This distribution fits the pattern of a reactive spell: players keep it in hand until a creature or artifact worth targeting appears, rather than casting it speculatively.
Which commanders most often run Abrade? ▾
Rootha, Mastering the Moment leads the tracked sample with 24 decks, followed by Bello, Bard of the Brambles at 10 and Krenko, Mob Boss at 6. The spread across mono-red, Izzet, Gruul, Mardu, and Grixis commanders shows Abrade isn't tied to a single archetype — it shows up wherever red needs a cheap, modal answer to creatures and artifacts.
Is Abrade legal in Commander? ▾
Yes. Abrade is legal in Commander, as well as in Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and most other sanctioned formats. It is not legal in Old School or Premodern due to those formats' set restrictions, and it is not legal in Penny Dreadful due to price-tier rules. For Commander specifically, its red color identity limits it to decks whose commander includes red.