Frantic Search
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Instant
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Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (TDC)
48.6% of games where Frantic Search was cast ended in a win for its controller, a +6.1 percentage point edge over games where it sat in the library all game.
Frantic Search sits in 6.5% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live. That narrow footprint reflects a deliberate choice: this card belongs in blue spell-slinger and artifact-synergy shells, not every blue pile.
When it does land, the signal is positive. Controllers who cast it won 48.6% of those games, versus 42.5% when it rode the library the whole game. That +6.1 point delta is directional rather than conclusive at current sample sizes, but it is consistent with the card's raw efficiency. A free-mana ritual disguised as a cantrip, Frantic Search draws two, discards two, and untaps three lands, effectively costing nothing once those lands tap back in. Players who see it in hand cast it quickly: 51.7% of drawn copies are cast on the same turn they are drawn.
The commander distribution is notably concentrated. Galazeth Prismari and Y'shtola, Night's Blessed each appear in 14 of the tracked decks, pointing toward artifact-ramp and spellslinger strategies as the primary homes. Frantic Search is banned in Legacy and Pauper for exactly the reason those decks love it: the land untap makes the effective mana cost zero in almost any land-heavy opening.
- 6.5% inclusion rate, a specialist card not a staple
- 77% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- +6.1pp win rate lift when cast vs. left in library (directional)
- T6 median first-cast turn, peaking between turns 5 and 8
- 52% of drawn copies cast the same turn they are drawn
- Banned in Legacy and Pauper; legal and unrestricted in Commander
First-cast turn
n=57The "good card" funnel
289 brought175 copies were brought to games, 39 were drawn, 35 of those were cast, and just 2 stayed on the battlefield at game end, the natural lifecycle of a powerful instant that resolves and moves straight to the graveyard.
Players who cast this card win 51% of the time (n=57) , vs 38% when it never left the library (n=215).
Final zone distribution
289 instances127 of 175 Frantic Searches never left the library, the expected fate for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the instances that did move, 31 ended in the graveyard on resolution, exactly where an instant belongs.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
22 decks
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2
Fire Lord Azula
17 decks
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3
Quandrix, the Proof
17 decks
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4
Galazeth Prismari
14 decks
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5
Kenrith, the Returned King
10 decks
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6
Vivi Ornitier
10 decks
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7
Sauron, the Dark Lord
8 decks
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8
Codie, Vociferous Codex
6 decks
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9
Magnus the Red
6 decks
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10
Yusri, Fortune's Flame
6 decks
The top two commanders each appear in 14 decks, a tight cluster that signals Frantic Search finds its home in blue artifact-ramp and spellslinger strategies rather than spreading broadly across the meta.
How often is Frantic Search drawn in a Commander game? ▾
Frantic Search was drawn in 22.3% of the 175 deck-participations tracked on Playgroup Live, producing 39 drawn instances out of 175 brought. That is close to the baseline expectation for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of those 39 drawn instances, 35 were cast, giving a draw-to-play rate of 76.9%.
Does casting Frantic Search actually improve your win rate? ▾
Early data says yes, but cautiously. Controllers who cast it won 48.6% of those games (17 of 35). Controllers in the same deck who never drew it won 42.5% (54 of 127). The +6.1 percentage point gap is directional. Both buckets have enough observations to take seriously, but Playgroup Live's dataset is still growing and we would not call this conclusive.
What turn does Frantic Search usually get cast? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 6, with the middle 50% of casts landing between turns 5 and 8. Only 1 of 35 casts landed exactly on curve at turn 3. That low on-curve rate mostly reflects how rarely a 3-mana spell shows up in the opening hand rather than players choosing to hold it. The 51.7% same-turn-cast rate confirms players fire it as soon as they see it.
Why is Frantic Search banned in Legacy and Pauper but legal in Commander? ▾
The card's power stems from the land untap clause, which makes it effectively free when you have three lands open. In faster formats, free looting at instant speed breaks storm and graveyard engines wide open. Commander's higher starting life total, multiplayer dynamics, and generally slower pace reduce that risk enough that the card remains unrestricted. It is also banned in Historic on Arena.
Which commanders play Frantic Search most in tracked games? ▾
Galazeth Prismari and Y'shtola, Night's Blessed each head 14 of the tracked decks, followed by Fire Lord Azula at 12 and Quandrix, the Proof at 10. The pattern is blue spellslinger and artifact-value strategies, where the free-mana effect chains into further spell casts or artifact activations on the same turn.
What happens to Frantic Search after it resolves? ▾
As an instant, Frantic Search goes to the graveyard on resolution. The final-zone data confirms this: 31 of the observed instances ended in the graveyard. Only 2 ended on the battlefield, which reflects niche cases like flashback or zone-copying effects. 127 instances never left the library at all, the normal outcome for any singleton that does not get drawn in a given game.