Live Play Data

Infernal Grasp

· Instant · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)

Live Inclusion

Buy on TCGplayer

Times Brought

1461

Decks Running

777

Median Cast Turn

Drawn → Played

75%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

9% of tracked Commander decks run Infernal Grasp. When drawn, 75% of copies reach resolution, with a median first-cast turn of 6.

Infernal Grasp sits in 9% of Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live, appearing in 777 of the 8560 distinct decks that have played a tracked game. For a black instant that unconditionally destroys any creature at the cost of 2 life, that inclusion signal is consistent with its reputation as one of the cleanest removal spells the format offers.

The draw-to-play figure tells the core story: 75% of drawn copies reach the stack before the game ends. Because Infernal Grasp is reactive removal, players hold it until the right target appears. The median cast turn of 6 reflects that reality. The card spreads across 642 unique players in the dataset, and the single heaviest contributor accounts for just 4% of tracked instances, which means the numbers aren't skewed by one prolific pilot.

The 2-mana unconditional destroy effect has no meaningful cost restriction beyond black mana and 2 life, making Infernal Grasp a format-agnostic slot in any black Commander deck that needs reliable creature removal. Its color identity of pure black keeps it off the table for non-black commanders but auto-considered in every deck that can cast it.

At a glance

9% of tracked Commander decks include Infernal Grasp
75% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T6 median first-cast turn, reflecting its use as reactive removal
23% draw rate, on pace for a singleton in a 100-card deck
642 unique players have brought this card to a tracked game

First-cast turn

n=253

11%

16%

53%

T6-9

12%

T10+

Median 6 P25 5 · P75 8 · max 19

On curve 2% (5 / 253 cast on T2) Cast same turn as drawn 24%

The "good card" funnel

1466 brought · 642 players

Brought to game

1466

Ever drawn

337

Reached battlefield

253

Still on board at game end

75%

Of 1466 Infernal Grasp copies brought to games, 337 were drawn and 253 of those reached the stack, with the overwhelming majority resolving to the graveyard as intended.

≥ -2.9pp

Players who cast this card win 24% of the time (n=233) , vs 22% when it never left the library (n=946).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 27% (n=72) — 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 +2.6pp; 95% confidence interval -2.9pp to +8.2pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

385 instances

2.1%

Library

3.4%

Battlefield

68.8%

Graveyard

9.9%

Exile

The vast majority of Infernal Grasp copies end in the graveyard after resolving, exactly as expected for an instant-speed removal spell. Most copies that never leave the library simply weren't drawn in the 100-card singleton shuffle.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

1 Dina, Essence Brewer 85 decks
2 Hearthhull, the Worldseed 67 decks
3 Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls 56 decks
4 Auntie Ool, Cursewretch 48 decks
5 Felothar the Steadfast 39 decks
6 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 21 decks
7 Kuja, Genome Sorcerer // Trance Kuja, Fate Defied 12 decks
8 Alela, Cunning Conqueror 10 decks
9 Blech, Loafing Pest 9 decks
10 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel 9 decks

The commander list spans multiple color pairs and archetypes, from life-gain builds under Dina to aggressive Rakdos and Golgari strategies, showing that Infernal Grasp earns its slot across the full breadth of black Commander shells.

Card text

Infernal Grasp

Instant

Destroy target creature. You lose 2 life.

Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC) · Uncommon · Illustrated by Naomi Baker

Frequently Asked

How often is Infernal Grasp drawn in a Commander game?

In 1367 tracked multiplayer games where Infernal Grasp was in the deck, it was drawn 23% of the time. That rate is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 337 copies that reached a player's hand, 75% were cast before the game concluded. The remainder were most often held waiting for a target, or were stranded when the game ended first.

What turn does Infernal Grasp typically get cast?

Median first cast lands on turn 6. The distribution spreads from turns 3 through 10, with a mode at turn 6. That's later than the card's 2-mana cost would suggest, but Infernal Grasp is reactive: players wait for the right creature to threaten the board rather than deploying it on curve. The on-curve rate is very low, which is consistent with a reactive instant that demands a target rather than a card you slam proactively.

Does casting Infernal Grasp correlate with winning?

Win rate when cast is 24% across 233 observations, compared to 22% for games where it sat in the library. The delta is +2.6 percentage points. Both sample sizes are reasonable, but treat this as a directional signal rather than a conclusive finding. Removal helps most when it answers a specific threat, and the data is consistent with that expectation.

Is Infernal Grasp legal in Commander?

Yes, Infernal Grasp is legal and unrestricted in Commander, as well as in Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Historic, and several other formats. It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. Because its color identity is mono-black, it can only be played in Commander decks whose commander has black in their color identity.

Which commanders most often run Infernal Grasp?

Across tracked games, Dina, Essence Brewer leads the list with the most Infernal Grasp decks, followed by Hearthhull, the Worldseed and Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls. The spread is wide: the top commander accounts for only a portion of total inclusions, and the card appears across Golgari, Rakdos, Abzan, mono-black, and Dimir commanders. That breadth reflects Infernal Grasp's format-agnostic utility in any black shell.

How quickly do players cast Infernal Grasp after drawing it?

Of instances where Infernal Grasp was both drawn and cast, players held it a median of 2 turns before casting. The same-turn cast rate is 24%, meaning most players sit on it rather than firing it immediately. That patience is consistent with Infernal Grasp's role: it rewards waiting for the highest-impact target rather than burning it on the first available creature.