Live Play Data

Anguished Unmaking

· Instant · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)

26%

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

1277

Decks Running

675

Median Cast Turn

7.0

Drawn → Played

66%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

26% of tracked Commander decks with black and white access run Anguished Unmaking, and 66% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends, with a median first-cast turn of 7.0.

Anguished Unmaking sits in 26% of the 2615 Commander decks tracked in live games on Playgroup Live. That breadth reflects what the card does: instant-speed, unconditional exile of any nonland permanent, at the cost of 3 life and three mana across two colors.

The gameplay numbers paint a consistent picture. Drawn copies reach the battlefield (i.e., resolve as a cast spell) 66% of the time. Players hold it a median of 2 turns after drawing before casting, which makes sense for a reactive instant waiting for the right threat. Median first-cast lands on turn 7.0, reflecting that this card is rarely opened in the starting hand and instead shows up as a mid-game answer.

The data is well-distributed: 546 distinct players have brought Anguished Unmaking to a tracked game, and the single heaviest contributor accounts for only 2% of all instances. That spread gives the numbers a solid directional foundation, even as the dataset continues to grow.

At a glance

26% of tracked Orzhov-accessible Commander decks run Anguished Unmaking
66% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T7.0 median first-cast turn across tracked games
22% draw rate, expected for a singleton in a 100-card deck
546 distinct players have brought this card to a tracked game

First-cast turn

n=188

12%

54%

T6-9

22%

T10+

Median 7.0 P25 6 · P75 9 · max 20

On curve 6% (12 / 188 cast on T3) Cast same turn as drawn 23%

The "good card" funnel

1278 brought · 546 players

Brought to game

1278

Ever drawn

285

Reached battlefield

188

Still on board at game end

66%

Of 1278 Anguished Unmakings brought to games, 285 were drawn, and 188 of those were cast, a solid conversion rate for a reactive instant that must wait for the right moment.

≥ -3.4pp

Players who cast this card win 28% of the time (n=179) , vs 25% when it never left the library (n=883).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 25% (n=92) — about the same as leaving it in the library. Those players survived long enough to draw it, so the gap above is about the card resolving, not just about surviving.

Observed gap +3.2pp; 95% confidence interval -3.4pp to +9.8pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

316 instances

3.8%

Library

2.5%

Battlefield

57.0%

Graveyard

10.8%

Exile

Most Anguished Unmaking copies tracked finish the game in the graveyard after resolving, with a small fraction landing in exile (replicated or copied effects) and very few remaining in hand or library. As an instant, it resolves and moves on immediately.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

Killian, Decisive Mentor leads the list by a wide margin, followed by a diverse spread of Esper, Mardu, and Abzan commanders. No single archetype dominates, which reflects the card's broad appeal across any deck that can cast it.

Frequently Asked

How often is Anguished Unmaking drawn in a Commander game?

Across 1176 tracked multiplayer games where Anguished Unmaking was in the deck, it was drawn 22% of the time. That is a normal draw rate for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 285 copies that reached a player's hand, 66% were cast before the game concluded.

What turn does Anguished Unmaking typically get cast?

Median first-cast turn is 7.0. The distribution clusters firmly in the mid-game (turns 5 through 9 account for the bulk of casts), which matches the card's role as a reactive answer rather than an early-game play. Players also hold it a median of 2 turns after drawing before pulling the trigger, consistent with waiting for an impactful target.

Does casting Anguished Unmaking correlate with winning?

In 179 tracked participations where Anguished Unmaking was cast, the win rate was 28%. In 883 participations where it stayed in the library the whole game, the win rate was 25%. The delta is +3.2 percentage points. Both sample sizes are meaningful, but the gap is small enough to treat as directional rather than conclusive. The card is a role-player, not a solo win condition.

Is Anguished Unmaking legal in Commander?

Yes. Anguished Unmaking is legal in Commander (and in Legacy, Pioneer, Modern, Vintage, Historic, and several other formats). It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. Its two-color identity (white and black) restricts it to commanders with both W and B in their color identity.

Why do so many different commanders run Anguished Unmaking?

Exile-based removal that hits any nonland permanent, at instant speed, is scarce. Most targeted removal either hits only creatures, only artifacts, or only enchantments. Anguished Unmaking handles all of those in one card, making it an attractive slot in nearly any Orzhov, Esper, Mardu, or Abzan Commander deck. The 3 life payment is a real cost at 40 life, but manageable. The data reflects that breadth: the card appears across a wide range of commanders and player styles.

How concentrated is the Anguished Unmaking data among specific players?

The dataset is notably well-spread. 546 distinct players have brought Anguished Unmaking to at least one tracked game. The single most active contributor accounts for only 2% of all tracked instances. That low concentration is a genuine signal: the trends here are not driven by a handful of repeat players, but reflect broad usage across the Playgroup Live community.