Live Play Data

Lightning Greaves

· Artifact — Equipment · Marvel Super Heroes Commander (MSC)

27%

Live Inclusion

Buy on TCGplayer

Times Brought

3543

Decks Running

2022

Median Cast Turn

Drawn → Played

70%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

27% of tracked Commander decks run Lightning Greaves, and 70% of drawn copies reach the battlefield, with a median first-cast turn of 5.

Lightning Greaves sits in 27% of the 7568 tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, appearing in 2022 distinct lists. Its colorless identity means it fits any deck, and its zero equip cost means it protects a commander the same turn it lands.

When a copy enters a player's hand, 70% of those copies are cast before the game ends. Median first cast lands on turn 5, though the distribution stretches from turn 1 through turn 14, reflecting how often players grab it whenever their commander hits the table rather than holding it for a "right moment." The data is well-spread across 1096 distinct players, with no single contributor accounting for more than 2% of tracked instances, which gives the numbers solid breadth.

The top commanders pairing with Lightning Greaves skew heavily toward creature-centric strategies that live and die by their commander reaching combat quickly: aggressive haste-enabler builds like Kaalia of the Vast and Rootha, Mastering the Moment lead the list. That pattern is consistent with what Lightning Greaves does best: convert a freshly cast commander into an immediate threat before opponents can respond.

At a glance

27% of tracked Commander decks include Lightning Greaves
70% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T5 median first-cast turn across 589 observed casts
78% battlefield stickiness once cast
45% of drawn copies cast on the same turn they were drawn
1096 distinct players have brought Lightning Greaves to a tracked game

First-cast turn

n=589

15%

11%

35%

T6-9

11%

T10+

Median 5 P25 3 · P75 7 · max 18

On curve 23% (87 / 589 cast on T2) Cast same turn as drawn 45%

The "good card" funnel

3559 brought · 1096 players

Brought to game

3559

Ever drawn

836

Reached battlefield

589

Still on board at game end

462

70%

Of 3559 Lightning Greaves brought to games, 836 were drawn, 589 of those were cast, and 78% of cast copies remained on the battlefield at game's end.

≥ +3.6pp

Players who cast this card win 30% of the time (n=577) , vs 22% when it never left the library (n=2479).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 23% (n=238) — 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 +7.3pp; 95% confidence interval +3.6pp to +11.0pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

936 instances

2.5%

Library

49.4%

Battlefield

21.7%

Graveyard

6.0%

Exile

Most Lightning Greaves copies never leave the library, a structural feature of 100-card singleton. Of the copies that did see play, a meaningful share ended on the battlefield, reflecting the card's staying power once equipped.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

The top commanders list is spread across aggressive strategies in red-white-black and blue-red, with Rootha and Kaalia leading. The breadth of pairings confirms Lightning Greaves is not a one-archetype card.

Frequently Asked

How often is Lightning Greaves drawn in a Commander game?

Across 2486 tracked games where Lightning Greaves was in the deck, it was drawn 23% of the time. That is consistent with expectations for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 836 copies that reached a player's hand, 70% were cast before the game concluded.

What turn does Lightning Greaves usually get cast?

The median first-cast turn is 5, but the distribution is broad. A cluster of casts lands on turns 1 and 2, driven by opening-hand draws. The interquartile range runs from turn 2 to turn 7, meaning the card sees action throughout the early and mid game. Players who draw it later often cast it reactively the moment a key creature enters the battlefield.

Does casting Lightning Greaves correlate with winning?

Games where Lightning Greaves was cast show a 30% normalized win rate, compared to 22% for games where it sat unused in the library. That is a +7.3 percentage-point difference. With 577 cast observations and 2479 library observations, this is an early directional signal rather than a conclusive finding. The modest gap likely reflects that Lightning Greaves is not a win condition itself, just a protection piece.

Is Lightning Greaves legal in Commander?

Yes. Lightning Greaves is legal and unrestricted in Commander, as well as in Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Historic, and several other formats. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. Its colorless identity means it fits into any Commander deck regardless of color.

Why is Lightning Greaves so popular in Commander specifically?

Two reasons stand out. First, its equip cost is zero, so a player can cast it for 2 mana and immediately attach it to a creature in the same turn at no additional cost. Second, shroud and haste together solve Commander's two biggest vulnerabilities: targeted removal before the creature can attack, and the turn of setup required before a new creature can swing. Commanders are cast repeatedly and are high-value targets, making these protections disproportionately impactful.

How concentrated is the Lightning Greaves data across players?

Notably well spread. 1096 distinct players have brought Lightning Greaves to a tracked game on Playgroup Live. The single heaviest contributor accounts for under 2% of all tracked instances, which is a sign the numbers reflect broad community behavior rather than one prolific user's play patterns. This breadth makes the directional signals more trustworthy than they would be with a smaller, concentrated sample.