Live Play Data

Consecrated Sphinx

· Creature — Sphinx · Double Masters 2022 (2X2)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

751

Decks Running

379

Median Cast Turn

Drawn → Played

59%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

When Consecrated Sphinx resolves, the caster's win rate jumps to 50%, a +25.8 percentage-point lift over games where it sat uncast. Across 721 tracked multiplayer games, that signal is consistent and well-sampled.

Consecrated Sphinx earns its mythic reputation in live play. In 721 tracked multiplayer Commander games on Playgroup Live, decks that resolved it won 50% of the time, normalized to a 4-player baseline. Decks where it never left the library won 24% of the time. That +25.8-point gap is the clearest single-card impact signal we record at this sample size.

The card is a 6-mana threat, and the cast pattern reflects that. Median first-cast turn is 6, with the bulk of casts clustered between turns 4 and 7. A meaningful share arrive ahead of curve, a sign that ramp-heavy blue shells are the natural home. Of 220 drawn copies, 59% reached the battlefield. The remainder largely reflects games that ended before the mana materialized, not deliberate holds.

At 4% of tracked decks, Consecrated Sphinx is a niche inclusion rather than a staple. Its color identity locks it to blue, and its casting cost demands a deck built to support it. The player base bringing it is broad: 321 distinct players have run it in tracked games, and no single player accounts for more than +25.8% of observations. That spread gives the numbers genuine weight.

At a glance

50% normalized win rate in games where Consecrated Sphinx resolved
+25.8pp win-rate lift over games where it never left the library
T6 median first-cast turn across all tracked games
59% of drawn copies reached the battlefield
69% battlefield stickiness once cast
321 distinct players have brought it to a tracked game

First-cast turn

n=129

19%

18%

47%

T6-9

11%

T10+

Median 6 P25 5 · P75 7 · max 19

On curve 60% (23 / 129 cast on T6) Cast same turn as drawn 37%

The "good card" funnel

751 brought · 321 players

Brought to game

751

Ever drawn

220

Reached battlefield

129

Still on board at game end

59%

Of 751 Consecrated Sphinx copies brought to games, 220 were drawn, 129 of those were cast, and 69% of resolved copies stuck on the battlefield through end of game.

≥ +17.0pp

Players who cast this card win 50% of the time (n=118) , vs 24% when it never left the library (n=428).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 24% (n=85) — 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 +25.8pp; 95% confidence interval +17.0pp to +34.6pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

246 instances

4.9%

Library

36.2%

Battlefield

19.1%

Graveyard

10.6%

Exile

Most Consecrated Sphinx copies end their game in the hand or graveyard rather than the battlefield, reflecting how often it is answered or drawn too late to resolve before the game ends. The battlefield and graveyard together account for the majority of observed final zones, which is above average for a 6-mana creature.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy sits well ahead of the field with 22 decks, but the list spreads across a wide range of blue-inclusive commanders spanning mono-blue, Simic, Bant, and Esper. No single archetype dominates, which suggests Consecrated Sphinx is viewed as a generically powerful blue finisher rather than a combo piece for one deck.

Card text

Consecrated Sphinx

Creature — Sphinx

Flying Whenever an opponent draws a card, you may draw two cards.

4 / 6

Double Masters 2022 (2X2) · Mythic · Illustrated by Mark Zug

Frequently Asked

How often does Consecrated Sphinx actually win the game when it resolves?

In 118 participations where Consecrated Sphinx reached the battlefield, the caster won 68 times, for a normalized win rate of 50%. That is a +25.8-point lift over the 24% rate seen in games where the card never left the library. Both buckets are well-sampled, so this is the strongest directional signal in the dataset. The lower bound of the confidence interval still sits above zero, which reinforces the effect.

What turn does Consecrated Sphinx usually get cast?

Median first cast lands on turn 6, with the middle 50% of casts falling between turns 5 and 7. A notable cluster arrives on turns 4 and 5, driven by ramp-heavy shells that can deploy a 6-mana threat ahead of schedule. The latest cast in the dataset came on turn 19, a reminder that lategame topdeck scenarios are real but uncommon.

How often is Consecrated Sphinx drawn and then cast in the same turn?

Of 129 casts with hand-to-cast data tracked, 37% were cast on the same turn the card was drawn. The median delay is 1 turn, and the average is just over 2 turns. Players do hold it occasionally, but the main reason a drawn Sphinx goes uncast is mana availability, not a strategic decision to wait.

Is Consecrated Sphinx banned in Commander?

No. Consecrated Sphinx is legal and unrestricted in Commander. It is also legal in Legacy, Vintage, Modern, Duel Commander, and Oathbreaker. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Historic, Alchemy, Pauper, or Brawl. Its reputation as a draw-engine threat has prompted discussion of a ban historically, but as of this writing it remains legal in multiplayer Commander.

Which commanders most often run Consecrated Sphinx?

Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy leads the list, followed by Ms. Bumbleflower and Hashaton, Scarab's Fist. The common thread is blue access and a gameplan that benefits from explosive card advantage. Kinnan decks in particular generate the mana needed to cast a 6-drop ahead of schedule and then leverage the Sphinx's trigger in a multiplayer pod where opponents are constantly drawing.

How spread is the data across different players?

321 distinct players have brought Consecrated Sphinx to a tracked game on Playgroup Live. No single player accounts for more than a small fraction of instances. That breadth means the win-rate figures and cast-turn distributions are not driven by one highly active contributor, which strengthens the reliability of what we see so far.