Feed the Swarm
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Sorcery
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Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (TDC)
Feed the Swarm sits in 7.8% of tracked Commander decks, and when drawn it's cast 56% of the time, with a median first-cast turn of 7, reflecting its role as a reactive answer held for the right target.
Feed the Swarm fills a gap that Black has carried for decades: reliable enchantment removal. Across 185 tracked games on Playgroup Live, it appears in 7.8% of decks, a focused rather than ubiquitous inclusion concentrated in Black and Black-Red builds that need cheap, flexible spot removal.
The draw-to-play rate of 56% is meaningfully lower than a pure engine piece you'd slam the moment it hits your hand. Players hold it. The median first-cast turn is 7, and the hand-to-cast data tells the same story: the median card sits in hand for 1 turn before being cast, but the average delay is nearly 2 turns, and 9 turns is the recorded maximum. This is a reactive spell. Players wait for a target worth the life payment.
The life-loss rider is real context. Destroying a high-mana-value enchantment means paying several life, which nudges players toward casting it on a threat that actually demands immediate attention rather than any opportunistic target. That restraint is visible in the turn distribution.
- 7.8% inclusion rate across all tracked Commander decks
- 56% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T7 median first-cast turn, consistent with holding for the right target
- 1.88 average turns held in hand before being cast
- 37.5% of casts happen the same turn the card is drawn
- 132 distinct decks including Feed the Swarm in the tracked dataset
First-cast turn
n=39The "good card" funnel
309 broughtOf 199 copies brought to games, 43 were drawn and 24 of those were cast, a 56% draw-to-play rate that reflects a card players actively hold for the right moment rather than slam on sight.
Players who cast this card win 28% of the time (n=39) , vs 39% when it never left the library (n=241).
Final zone distribution
309 instances152 of 199 copies never left the library, the expected outcome for a singleton in a 100-card deck, but 21 reached the graveyard confirming the spell resolved in a meaningful share of games.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
17 decks
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2
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar
16 decks
-
3
Sauron, the Dark Lord
15 decks
-
4
Admiral Brass, Unsinkable
13 decks
-
5
Sauron, Lord of the Rings
10 decks
-
6
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel
9 decks
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7
Strefan, Maurer Progenitor
9 decks
-
8
Raphael, Fiendish Savior
8 decks
-
9
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw
7 decks
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10
Braids, Arisen Nightmare
6 decks
The top-commander list is spread across 10 commanders ranging from 6 to 13 decks, with a clear skew toward Black-Red strategies that lack access to White or Green enchantment removal.
How often is Feed the Swarm drawn in a Commander game? ▾
Of 199 deck-participations where Feed the Swarm was in the 100-card deck, it was drawn in roughly 21.6% of instances. That is typical for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 43 instances observed in hand, 24 were cast, giving the 56% draw-to-play rate. The remaining copies either arrived too late or never found a target worth the life payment.
What turn does Feed the Swarm usually get cast? ▾
Median first-cast turn in our dataset is 7, with the 25th percentile at turn 5 and the 75th at turn 8. Only 1 of 24 recorded casts happened on turn 1. The distribution is concentrated in the mid-to-late game, which aligns with how reactive removal typically behaves: players hold it until a meaningful enchantment or creature appears on the board.
Does casting Feed the Swarm actually improve your win rate? ▾
Early signal says no, and the direction is worth noting. Participations where Feed the Swarm was cast show a win rate of 25%, exactly the baseline expected in a four-player pod. Participations where it stayed in the library show a higher win rate of 32.9%. The delta is -7.9 percentage points. Both sample sizes are small (24 cast, 152 in-library), so treat this as directional only. One plausible explanation: players cast it when they are already in a reactive, losing position.
Why is Black's enchantment removal rare, and why does Feed the Swarm matter? ▾
Black's color identity in Magic historically lacks enchantment removal entirely, forcing mono-Black and Black-heavy Commander decks to rely on artifacts like Unstable Obelisk or colorless options. Feed the Swarm is one of the very few Black cards that can destroy an enchantment outright. That functional scarcity is why it earns an inclusion slot even with the life-loss rider, particularly in pods where enchantments like Rhystic Study or Smothering Tithe can dominate a game.
What commanders most commonly run Feed the Swarm? ▾
The top commander in our dataset is Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar with 13 decks, followed by Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls (9 decks) and a cluster of commanders at 7 to 8 decks each. The list skews heavily toward Black-Red builds, which lack White's or Green's broader enchantment-removal suite and most benefit from Feed the Swarm's unique functional role.
Is Feed the Swarm legal in Commander? ▾
Yes, Feed the Swarm is legal in Commander with no restrictions. It is also legal in Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and most other active formats. It is not legal in Old School or Premodern due to set eligibility, and it is not legal in Penny Dreadful due to price restrictions in that format.