Live Play Data

Culling the Weak

· Instant · Exodus (EXO)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

853

Decks Running

406

Median Cast Turn

5.0

Drawn → Played

63%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

In 790 tracked multiplayer Commander games, Culling the Weak was cast 106 times with a median first-cast turn of 5.0, and decks that resolved it won 36% of the time versus 25% when it stayed in the library.

Culling the Weak sits in 5% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live. That niche footprint makes sense: a 1-mana instant that demands a creature sacrifice is a narrow, build-around tool, not a format staple. The decks that do run it are making a deliberate mana-acceleration bet.

The win-rate signal is the most interesting number here. Decks where Culling the Weak reached the battlefield won 36% of games, compared to 25% when it sat unused in the library. That +11.7-percentage-point gap is an early directional signal that casting the card correlates with winning, though both sample sizes are still modest enough to call it a trend rather than a conclusion. Of 169 drawn copies, 63% were cast before the game ended.

The commander spread tells the clearest story about where this card belongs. Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER leads the list by a wide margin, followed by K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth and Edgar Markov. Sacrifice-payoff commanders, token-generators, and black combo shells are the natural homes. Across 343 distinct players in the dataset and a single-player concentration below 3%, the data is well-distributed.

At a glance

5% of tracked Commander decks include Culling the Weak
63% of drawn copies were cast before the game ended
T5.0 median first-cast turn across all observed games
36% win rate in games where Culling the Weak resolved
+11.7pp win-rate lift versus games where the card never left the library
343 distinct players in the dataset, indicating a well-spread sample

First-cast turn

n=106

15%

17%

39%

T6-9

T10+

Median 5.0 P25 4 · P75 7 · max 13

On curve 3% (3 / 106 cast on T1) Cast same turn as drawn 32%

The "good card" funnel

854 brought · 343 players

Brought to game

854

Ever drawn

169

Reached battlefield

106

Still on board at game end

63%

Of 854 copies brought to games, 169 were drawn, 106 of those were cast, reflecting a draw-to-play rate of 63% across the tracked dataset.

≥ +2.1pp

Players who cast this card win 36% of the time (n=99) , vs 25% when it never left the library (n=561).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 18% (n=55) — 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 +11.7pp; 95% confidence interval +2.1pp to +21.3pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

210 instances

3.3%

Library

3.8%

Battlefield

58.6%

Graveyard

10.5%

Exile

Most Culling the Weak copies finish in the graveyard, which is exactly right for a resolved instant that sacrifices a creature. The library residue is small, meaning most copies that enter a hand do eventually get used.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

1 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel 28 decks
2 Edgar Markov 14 decks
3 K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth 14 decks
4 Silverquill, the Disputant 11 decks
5 Marrow-Gnawer 9 decks
6 Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh 9 decks
7 Sauron, the Dark Lord 9 decks
8 Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern 8 decks
9 Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver 8 decks
10 Marneus Calgar 7 decks

Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER holds a commanding lead in the deck-count list, but the broad spread across mono-black, token, and sacrifice commanders confirms Culling the Weak is not a one-archetype card.

Card text

Culling the Weak

Instant

As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature. Add {B}

Exodus (EXO) · Common · Illustrated by Scott M. Fischer

Frequently Asked

How often is Culling the Weak drawn and cast in a typical game?

Across 790 tracked multiplayer games, Culling the Weak was drawn 169 times against 854 instances brought to games, giving a draw rate of 20%. That is consistent with what you'd expect from a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of those drawn copies, 63% reached the casting step. Some uncast copies represent games that ended before the player found a suitable creature to sacrifice, or games that ended naturally before the opportunity arose.

What turn does Culling the Weak typically get cast?

The median first-cast turn is 5.0, with a mean closer to 5.4. The distribution is broad: a handful of casts land in turns 1-2 (likely off a free or very cheap creature), and the bulk cluster between turns 3-6. The card's low mana cost means the ceiling for early play is there, but most casts happen in the mid-game once players have an expendable creature and a plan to sink the four black mana immediately.

Does casting Culling the Weak actually improve your win rate?

Directionally, yes. In 99 participations where the card resolved, the win rate was 36%. In 561 participations where it sat in the library untouched, the win rate was 25%. That is a +11.7-percentage-point gap. With the cast bucket at 99 observations, treat this as an early consistent signal rather than a definitive finding.

What commanders run Culling the Weak most often?

Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER leads the tracked dataset by a significant margin, reflecting the card's fit in mono-black decks that want burst mana. K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth and Tergrid, God of Fright also appear high on the list, both of which reward stacking black mana quickly. Edgar Markov and Najeela, the Blade-Blossom show up too, pointing to token-based lists that can sacrifice a creature with minimal downside. The commander spread across 343 unique players shows this is not a one-deck phenomenon.

Is Culling the Weak legal in Commander?

Yes. Culling the Weak is legal in Commander, Duel Commander, Pauper Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and several other formats. It is not legal in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, or Pauper (the non-Commander variant). Its common rarity from Exodus means it qualifies for Pauper Commander pods, where the four black mana burst at a cost of one black and a creature sacrifice is especially potent on turn one or two.

Why does Culling the Weak have such a low on-curve cast rate?

Culling the Weak costs 1 mana, so casting it on curve means turn 1. Only a tiny fraction of casts land that early, because the card demands both a creature already on the battlefield and an immediate use for four black mana on turn 1. Most players who draw it early hold it until they have a sacrifice target and a payoff. The median cast turn of 5.0 reflects that real-game constraint rather than any hesitation about the card's power.