Dark Ritual
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Instant
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Masters 25 (A25)
63% of games where Dark Ritual was cast ended in a win for its controller, compared to 39% when it sat in the library. That +24-point delta is the strongest directional signal in our dataset for a single Black mana spell.
Dark Ritual appears in 9% of tracked Commander decks, constrained entirely by its Black-only color identity. When it does hit the table, the win-rate picture is striking: 63% of participations where Dark Ritual was cast produced a win, versus 39% when the card never left the library. That +24-point gap is a consistent early signal across 38 cast instances and 174 library instances.
The mana math explains the edge. A {B} spell that produces {B}{B}{B} generates two net mana at instant speed, enabling a crucial spell or commander one to two turns early. The data reflects that: median first cast is turn 6, but the turn distribution is spread wide, meaning players hold it and deploy it at the exact moment it can swing a game state. Only 46% of drawn copies are cast on the same turn they are drawn, suggesting meaningful decision-making before deployment.
Dark Ritual is legal in Commander but banned in Duel Commander and Oathbreaker, where its burst-mana power is more punishing in smaller formats. In Commander's 40-life, multiplayer environment it earns a slot primarily in fast combo and storm-adjacent strategies, which is reflected in the commanders it clusters around.
- 9.3% inclusion rate, limited to Black-identity decks
- +24pts win-rate delta when cast versus when left in the library
- 73% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T6 median first-cast turn, spread from turn 1 through turn 11
- 46% same-turn cast rate — players often hold it deliberately
- 38 cast instances across 200 tracked games
First-cast turn
n=56The "good card" funnel
388 brought231 copies were brought to games, 45 were drawn, 38 of those were cast — a 73% draw-to-cast rate that reflects how deliberately pilots deploy their burst mana.
Players who cast this card win 61% of the time (n=56) , vs 38% when it never left the library (n=299).
Final zone distribution
388 instances174 of 231 Dark Rituals never left the library, a normal outcome for a 9% inclusion-rate singleton — the 40 graveyard entries confirm it resolves and does its job when drawn.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Sauron, the Dark Lord
14 decks
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2
Fire Lord Azula
11 decks
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3
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel
10 decks
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4
Abaddon the Despoiler
9 decks
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5
Marrow-Gnawer
9 decks
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6
Leonardo, the Balance
8 decks
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7
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
7 decks
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8
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
7 decks
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9
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
6 decks
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10
Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern
6 decks
The top 10 commanders each hold 4–9 copies, with no single commander dominating, pointing to broad adoption across Grixis, mono-Black, and Esper strategies rather than one narrow combo home.
How often is Dark Ritual drawn in a Commander game? ▾
In 200 tracked games, Dark Ritual was brought to 230 deck-participations and drawn in 19% of those instances (45 draws from 231 instances brought). That draw rate is slightly below the average for a singleton in a 100-card deck, which tracks — most decks holding it are playing more card-draw density to find their combo pieces, and Dark Ritual has no draw replacement on its own.
What does the +24-point win-rate delta actually mean? ▾
When Dark Ritual was cast, its controller won 63% of those games (24 of 38 participations). When the card sat in the library the whole game, the win rate was 39% (68 of 174 participations). The difference is 24 percentage points. Both buckets have enough observations to treat this as a meaningful directional signal, though the sample size is not large enough to claim statistical certainty. The gap suggests Dark Ritual does real work in the games where it resolves.
Why is Dark Ritual's median cast turn as late as turn 6? ▾
Two things are happening. First, the opening-hand rate is real: 5 of 38 casts happened on turn 1, suggesting some copies are drawn in the opener. But most copies are drawn mid-game and held. The hand-to-cast data shows a median delay of 1 turn and a max of 8, with only 46% of drawn copies cast the same turn they were drawn. Players are saving Dark Ritual for a specific setup rather than slamming it immediately, which pushes the median later.
Is Dark Ritual banned in Commander? ▾
Dark Ritual is legal in Commander (the main 100-card multiplayer format) and in Pauper Commander. It is banned in Duel Commander and Oathbreaker. In 60-card formats it is legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Pauper but not legal in Modern or Pioneer. The bans in Duel Commander and Oathbreaker reflect how powerful two-mana burst is in shorter, more deterministic game states.
Which commanders most often run Dark Ritual? ▾
In our tracked dataset, Dark Ritual clusters most heavily around Fire Lord Azula (9 decks), Abaddon the Despoiler (8 decks), and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER (8 decks). The pattern is Grixis and mono-Black commanders that want to accelerate into early interaction or storm-style chains. The distribution across 10 listed commanders shows no single commander dominates, suggesting the card earns its slot in a broad range of Black-heavy strategies.
Why is Dark Ritual's battlefield stickiness so low? ▾
Dark Ritual is an instant — it resolves, adds three Black mana to your mana pool, and goes to the graveyard. It never stays on the battlefield. The final zone distribution confirms this: 40 of 58 observed instances ended in the graveyard, as expected for any spell that resolves. The battlefield stickiness stat is not meaningful for instants and sorceries; it is designed for permanents.