Live Play Data

Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma

· Legendary Creature — Bear · Commander Masters (CMM)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

740

Decks Running

368

Median Cast Turn

6.0

Drawn → Played

76%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

76% of drawn Goreclaw copies are cast before the game ends, and games where Goreclaw resolved show a +11.4 percentage-point win-rate lift over games where it stayed in the library.

Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma sits in 5% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, a focused niche reflecting its deep synergy with creature-heavy green strategies. Of 186 copies that reached a player's hand, 76% were cast before the game concluded, a strong cast-through rate for a 4-mana legendary.

The win-rate picture is directional but meaningful. Games where Goreclaw reached the battlefield show a +11.4 percentage-point normalized win-rate lift compared to games where it never left the library. With 128 observations in the cast bucket and 460 in the library bucket, that signal clears the lower confidence bound and is consistent with what the card does: cheapen your fatties, then attack and grant the team trample.

The commander distribution is notably spread. 324 distinct players have brought Goreclaw to a tracked game, and the heaviest single contributor accounts for just 7% of all instances. Bello, Bard of the Brambles leads the top-commanders list, reflecting Goreclaw's appeal in Gruul stompy builds alongside its natural home in mono-green.

At a glance

5% of tracked Commander decks include Goreclaw
76% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T6.0 median first-cast turn, one to two turns after its natural mana cost
47% battlefield stickiness once cast, reflecting heavy removal pressure on the card
+11.4pp normalized win-rate lift when Goreclaw resolves versus staying in the library
324 distinct players have brought Goreclaw to a tracked game on Playgroup Live

First-cast turn

n=142

18%

19%

42%

T6-9

T10+

Median 6.0 P25 4 · P75 7 · max 12

On curve 30% (26 / 142 cast on T4) Cast same turn as drawn 37%

The "good card" funnel

740 brought · 324 players

Brought to game

740

Ever drawn

186

Reached battlefield

142

Still on board at game end

76%

Of 740 Goreclaw copies brought to tracked games, 186 were drawn, 142 of those were cast, and roughly half of cast copies were still on the battlefield when the game ended.

≥ +3.3pp

Players who cast this card win 34% of the time (n=128) , vs 22% when it never left the library (n=460).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 30% (n=38) — 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 +11.4pp; 95% confidence interval +3.3pp to +19.5pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

220 instances

2.7%

Library

34.5%

Battlefield

35.5%

Graveyard

8.6%

Exile

Most observed Goreclaw copies finish on the battlefield or in the graveyard, a split that reflects how often it attacks into combat and draws removal before the game ends.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

Bello, Bard of the Brambles leads with 43 tracked decks, but the list spans at least ten different commanders across mono-green, Gruul, Jund, and Temur, showing Goreclaw is not locked to a single archetype.

Card text

Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma

Legendary Creature — Bear

Creature spells you cast with power 4 or greater cost {2}

less to cast. Whenever Goreclaw attacks, each creature you control with power 4 or greater gets +1/+1 and gains trample until end of turn.

4 / 3

Commander Masters (CMM) · Uncommon · Illustrated by Svetlin Velinov

Frequently Asked

How often is Goreclaw drawn and cast in a Commander game?

Across 722 tracked multiplayer Commander games where Goreclaw was in the deck, it was drawn 25% of the time. That is typical for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of 186 copies that reached a hand, 76% were cast before the game ended. Median first cast lands on turn 6.0, which is one to two turns later than its raw mana cost of 4 suggests, consistent with players not always drawing it early.

Does casting Goreclaw actually improve your chances of winning?

Early signal says yes. Games where Goreclaw reached the battlefield show a +11.4 percentage-point normalized win-rate lift over games where it never left the library (34% versus 22%). The cast sample has 128 observations and the library sample has 460, large enough that this delta clears its lower confidence bound. Read it as a consistent directional signal rather than a precise guarantee.

Why does Goreclaw have lower battlefield stickiness than typical green creatures?

Goreclaw's 47% stickiness rate is below average for a green creature. This is expected: Goreclaw is a 3/3 that attacks every turn, which makes it both a combat target and a removal magnet. Opponents prioritize killing it before it can pump the team with its attack trigger. Graveyard is the most common non-battlefield final zone in the data, which aligns with Goreclaw dying in combat or to targeted removal rather than being exiled or bounced.

Which commanders most often run Goreclaw in the 99?

Bello, Bard of the Brambles leads with the most tracked decks, followed by Ghalta (Primal Hunger), Beorn the Fierce, and Henzie Toolbox Torre. The list spans mono-green, Gruul, and Jund builds, all of which want either cost reduction for big creatures or an attack-step pump effect. Ayula, Queen Among Bears also appears, likely for the Bear tribal synergy. The spread across commanders is a healthy sign that Goreclaw fits multiple archetypes rather than one narrow niche.

What turn does Goreclaw typically come down?

Median first cast is turn 6.0, with the 25th percentile at turn 4 and the 75th at turn 7. A small cluster of casts land on turns 2-3, almost certainly the result of mana acceleration common in green decks. The bulk of casts fall between turns 4-6, near the card's natural mana cost. Of 142 tracked casts, 30% landed exactly on curve.

Is Goreclaw legal in formats other than Commander?

Goreclaw is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, Duel Commander, Brawl, Oathbreaker, Gladiator, and Competitive Brawl. It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, Pauper Commander, or Premodern. The Playgroup Live stats on this page reflect multiplayer Commander and Duel Commander games only.