Live Play Data

Infernal Grasp

· Instant · Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

595

Decks Running

346

Median Cast Turn

6.5

Drawn → Played

75%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

75% of drawn Infernal Grasps are cast before the game ends, and the card appears in 346 of 3738 tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, with a median first-cast turn of 6.5.

Infernal Grasp earns its slot through raw efficiency: 2 mana, unconditional creature removal, 2 life lost. Across 556 tracked multiplayer Commander games on Playgroup Live, it sits in 346 of 3738 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 600 instances brought to games, 136 were drawn and 102 were cast. The median first-cast turn of 6.5 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 24% 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 300 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
T6.5 median first-cast turn across observed games
24% cast on the same turn they were drawn, indicating deliberate timing
300 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=102

13%

11%

53%

T6-9

15%

T10+

Median 6.5 P25 5 · P75 9 · max 19

On curve 2% (2 / 102 cast on T2) Cast same turn as drawn 24%

The "good card" funnel

600 brought · 300 players

Brought to game

600

Ever drawn

136

Reached battlefield

102

Still on board at game end

75%

Of 600 Infernal Grasps brought to games, 136 were drawn and 102 of those were cast, reflecting a draw-to-play rate of 75% once the card reaches a hand.

≥ -8.9pp

Players who cast this card win 24% of the time (n=101) , vs 24% when it never left the library (n=421).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 21% (n=32) — 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 -0.5pp; 95% confidence interval -8.9pp to +7.9pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

154 instances

1.9%

Library

1.9%

Battlefield

68.2%

Graveyard

11.0%

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

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 556 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 136 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 6.5, with the distribution clustering between turns 4 and 9. Only 24% 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 24% versus 24% when the card stayed in the library all game. The delta of -0.5 percentage points is small and within the margin of error given the sample sizes (101 cast participations, 421 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 300 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 556 tracked games.