Beast Within
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Instant
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Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)
Beast Within sits in 15% of tracked Commander decks, and when drawn it's cast only 50% of the time. Players hold it for a median of 2 turns, waiting for the right target.
Beast Within appears in 15% of the 1,704 Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live. That puts it well below format staple territory, reflecting its niche as a catch-all removal spell limited to green-inclusive builds.
The draw-to-play rate of 49.5% is the standout number. Unlike fast mana or card draw that gets slammed immediately, Beast Within is a reactive spell. Players keep it in hand, waiting for the right permanent to destroy. The median hand-to-cast delay is 2 turns, and only 27% of drawn copies are cast on the same turn they're drawn. That patience makes sense: the 3/3 Beast token handed to the opponent is a real cost, so timing matters.
Beast Within's battlefield stickiness is near zero by design. As an instant, it goes straight to the graveyard on resolution. Its 61 graveyard entries and just 3 battlefield entries in the final zone data confirm that it does its job and disappears, which is exactly what a targeted removal spell should do in Commander.
- 15% inclusion rate across 1,704 tracked Commander decks
- 50% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T6 median first-cast turn, skewing toward mid-to-late game
- 2T median turns held in hand before being cast
- 27% same-turn cast rate — players rarely slam it immediately
- 261 distinct decks including Beast Within across tracked games
First-cast turn
n=64The "good card" funnel
493 brought396 copies were brought to games, 103 were drawn, 53 of those were cast, and only 3 remained on the battlefield at game's end — which is exactly right for a spell that resolves and hits the graveyard immediately.
Players who cast this card win 33% of the time (n=64) , vs 37% when it never left the library (n=363).
Final zone distribution
493 instances290 of 396 Beast Withins never left the library — a structural fact of 100-card singleton, not a verdict on the card's power. Of the copies that did move, 61 ended in the graveyard on resolution, confirming it functioned exactly as intended.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Zimone, Infinite Analyst
29 decks
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2
Galadriel, Light of Valinor
16 decks
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3
Hearthhull, the Worldseed
15 decks
-
4
Ureni of the Unwritten
13 decks
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5
Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait
12 decks
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6
Bello, Bard of the Brambles
12 decks
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7
Lonis, Cryptozoologist
11 decks
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8
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
9 decks
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9
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
9 decks
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10
Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer
7 decks
The top commander, Zimone, Infinite Analyst, accounts for 26 decks, but the list fans out quickly across ten different commanders spanning multiple color identities — all sharing green as the common thread.
How often is Beast Within drawn in a Commander game? ▾
In games where Beast Within was in the deck, it was drawn in 26% of deck-participations — 103 instances drawn out of 396 brought to games. That's broadly typical for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of those 103 drawn instances, 53 were cast, giving a draw-to-play rate of about 50%.
Why is the draw-to-play rate so low compared to something like Sol Ring? ▾
Beast Within is a reactive, situational removal spell. Players deliberately hold it until a high-value target presents itself, or the game ends before the right moment arrives. 50% draw-to-play is consistent with how reactive interaction behaves in Commander: you don't cast it the moment you draw it, you cast it when you need it most.
What turn does Beast Within typically get cast? ▾
The median first-cast turn is 6, with the 25th percentile at turn 5 and the 75th at turn 7. The distribution clusters heavily around turns 5–7, which aligns with mid-game scrambles to answer a threatening permanent. Very early casts (turns 1–2) exist but are rare outliers in the data.
Does casting Beast Within actually improve your win rate? ▾
The data here is directional rather than conclusive. Win rate when cast is 32.1% across 53 observations, compared to 36.6% when it stayed in the library across 290 observations. The delta is -4.5 percentage points. One interpretation: Beast Within is drawn and cast when the game is already under pressure, not from a winning position. Both sample sizes exceed 15, so this early signal is worth noting, but 53 cast instances are not enough to draw firm conclusions.
Which commanders run Beast Within most often in tracked games? ▾
Zimone, Infinite Analyst leads with 26 decks, followed by Galadriel, Light of Valinor at 14 and Hearthhull, the Worldseed and Ureni of the Unwritten at 12 each. The spread across green-inclusive two- and three-color commanders reflects Beast Within's role as a catch-all answer in green shells that lack access to white or black removal.
Is Beast Within legal in the formats I play? ▾
Beast Within is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, Duel Commander, Brawl, Gladiator, Oathbreaker, and several other formats. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. It has no bans in the formats where it is available.