Live Play Data

Infernal Grasp

· Instant · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

1096

Decks Running

598

Median Cast Turn

7.0

Drawn → Played

75%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

75% of drawn Infernal Grasps are cast before the game ends, and the card appears in 598 of 6609 tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, with a median first-cast turn of 7.0.

Infernal Grasp earns its slot through raw efficiency: 2 mana, unconditional creature removal, 2 life lost. Across 1030 tracked multiplayer Commander games on Playgroup Live, it sits in 598 of 6609 distinct decks, and 75% of drawn copies reach the stack before the game closes.

The card resolves to the graveyard by design, so the meaningful journey is brought to drawn to cast. Of 1101 instances brought to games, 254 were drawn and 190 were cast. The median first-cast turn of 7.0 reflects how Infernal Grasp behaves in practice: players tend to hold it until a high-value target presents itself rather than trading it away early. The hand-to-cast data backs this up. Drawn copies sat in hand a median of 2 turns before being fired off, and only 22% were cast on the same turn they were drawn.

Because Infernal Grasp is a mono-black card (color identity B), it slots cleanly into any black Commander deck. Its presence across 501 distinct tracked players with no single contributor exceeding 23% of the dataset suggests the data is well-spread, lending early confidence to the pattern.

At a glance

9% of tracked Commander decks include Infernal Grasp
75% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T7.0 median first-cast turn across observed games
22% cast on the same turn they were drawn, indicating deliberate timing
501 distinct players have brought Infernal Grasp to a tracked game
23% draw rate, expected for a singleton in a 100-card deck

First-cast turn

n=190

10%

13%

56%

T6-9

14%

T10+

Median 7.0 P25 5 · P75 8 · max 19

On curve 2% (3 / 190 cast on T2) Cast same turn as drawn 22%

The "good card" funnel

1101 brought · 501 players

Brought to game

1101

Ever drawn

254

Reached battlefield

190

Still on board at game end

75%

Of 1101 Infernal Grasps brought to games, 254 were drawn and 190 of those were cast, reflecting a draw-to-play rate of 75% once the card reaches a hand.

≥ -5.6pp

Players who cast this card win 23% of the time (n=181) , vs 23% when it never left the library (n=729).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 24% (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 +0.6pp; 95% confidence interval -5.6pp to +6.9pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

292 instances

2.4%

Library

3.8%

Battlefield

68.2%

Graveyard

9.6%

Exile

Most Infernal Grasps end the game in the graveyard after resolving, with a small number remaining in hand when the game closes. The near-zero battlefield count is expected for an instant that resolves immediately.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

1 Dina, Essence Brewer 73 decks
2 Hearthhull, the Worldseed 48 decks
3 Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls 43 decks
4 Auntie Ool, Cursewretch 36 decks
5 Felothar the Steadfast 32 decks
6 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 14 decks
7 Kuja, Genome Sorcerer // Trance Kuja, Fate Defied 10 decks
8 Alela, Cunning Conqueror 9 decks
9 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel 7 decks
10 Vren, the Relentless 7 decks

Dina, Essence Brewer leads the tracked commander list by a notable margin, consistent with her life-drain strategy offsetting the spell's 2-life cost. The broader list spans Grixis, Jund, and pure black strategies.

Frequently Asked

How often is Infernal Grasp drawn and cast in a Commander game?

Across 1030 tracked multiplayer games where Infernal Grasp was in the deck, it was drawn 23% of the time. That figure is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 254 instances that reached a player's hand, 75% were cast before the game ended. Some drawn copies go uncast simply because the game ended before a target appeared or before the player had priority at the right moment.

What turn does Infernal Grasp typically get cast?

The median first-cast turn is 7.0, with the distribution clustering between turns 4 and 9. Only 22% of drawn copies were cast on the same turn they were drawn, and the median hand-to-cast delay was 2 turns. This is consistent with players holding the spell for the right threat rather than firing it at the first available creature.

Does casting Infernal Grasp correlate with winning?

In the current dataset, win rate when cast sits at 23% versus 23% when the card stayed in the library all game. The delta of +0.6 percentage points is small and within the margin of error given the sample sizes (181 cast participations, 729 library participations). Treat this as a directional signal only, not a conclusive finding. Removal spells in general trade resources rather than generate advantages, so a near-neutral delta is expected.

Is Infernal Grasp legal in Commander?

Yes. Infernal Grasp is legal in Commander and in most other major constructed formats including Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Historic. It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. Its mono-black color identity means it can slot into any Commander deck that includes black.

Why do so many different Commander archetypes run Infernal Grasp?

Unconditional creature removal at 2 mana with no targeting restrictions is rare. Most black removal spells either cost more, impose conditions (non-black, non-artifact, non-token), or deal damage rather than destroy. Infernal Grasp kills anything for 2 life, a cost that is almost always worth paying in a format that starts at 40 life. That flexibility explains its spread across 501 distinct tracked players and commanders ranging from life-gain strategies to aggressive black-based builds.

Which commanders most often run Infernal Grasp in tracked games?

Dina, Essence Brewer leads the top-commanders list by a wide margin, which makes sense given that Dina's life-loss drain synergy can offset the 2-life cost of the spell. Auntie Ool, Cursewretch, Hearthhull the Worldseed, and Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls round out the top four. The distribution is reasonably broad, though the data is directional given the overall sample size of 1030 tracked games.