Live Play Data

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

· Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor · Dominaria United (DMU)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

1353

Decks Running

645

Median Cast Turn

6.0

Drawn → Played

72%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

6% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live run Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. When drawn, 72% of copies reach the battlefield, with a median first-cast turn of 6.0.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse appears in 6% of the 11061 Commander decks that have played a tracked game on Playgroup Live. That places her among the most consistent black staples in the dataset, spread across 514 distinct players with no single contributor accounting for more than a small fraction of tracked games.

The draw-trigger engine is what makes her dangerous. Her static text turns every card draw into a life-swing: 2 life gained for the controller, 2 life lost per opponent. In a format built on card draw and wheel effects, that pressure compounds quickly. 72% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends, and median first cast lands on turn 6.0. She rarely sits in hand long once drawn, with a median hold time of 1 turn before hitting the battlefield.

Her commander list reflects her thematic reach. Nekusar, Valgavoth, and Y'shtola all reward or punish card draw at scale, making Sheoldred a natural amplifier. She also headlines her own mono-black deck in a notable share of pods. Legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and more, she is banned in Standard but remains one of the defining creatures of the current Commander metagame.

At a glance

6% of tracked Commander decks include Sheoldred
72% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T6.0 median first-cast turn across tracked games
52% battlefield stickiness once she resolves
514 distinct players have brought her to a tracked game
28% draw rate, typical for a singleton in a 100-card deck

First-cast turn

n=270

11%

15%

14%

43%

T6-9

11%

T10+

Median 6.0 P25 4 · P75 8 · max 15

On curve 33% (41 / 270 cast on T4) Cast same turn as drawn 34%

The "good card" funnel

1356 brought · 514 players

Brought to game

1356

Ever drawn

373

Reached battlefield

270

Still on board at game end

184

72%

Of 1356 Sheoldreds brought to tracked games, 373 were drawn, 270 of those were cast, and 52% of resolved copies survived to end of game.

≥ +2.7pp

Players who cast this card win 32% of the time (n=246) , vs 23% when it never left the library (n=789).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 27% (n=94) — 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 +8.7pp; 95% confidence interval +2.7pp to +14.7pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

485 instances

2.9%

Library

37.9%

Battlefield

23.7%

Graveyard

10.5%

Exile

Most Sheoldreds brought to a game never leave the library, which is the structural reality of a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of observed copies, exile and graveyard are the next most common destinations, reflecting the removal pressure she attracts once she resolves.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

1 Y'shtola, Night's Blessed 54 decks
2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 48 decks
3 Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls 41 decks
4 Nekusar, the Mindrazer 40 decks
5 Sauron, the Dark Lord 30 decks
6 Oloro, Ageless Ascetic 28 decks
7 K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth 15 decks
8 Kefka, Court Mage // Kefka, Ruler of Ruin 11 decks
9 The Serpent Society 11 decks
10 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel 10 decks

The commander spread is wide, with 514 distinct players contributing to the dataset and no single commander holding a dominant share. Draw-punish and life-gain themes unite the top of the list, from Nekusar to Oloro to Sheoldred herself.

Card text

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor

Deathtouch Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life. Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life.

4 / 5

Dominaria United (DMU) · Mythic · Illustrated by Chris Rahn

Frequently Asked

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

In 1247 tracked multiplayer Commander games where Sheoldred was in the deck, she was drawn 28% of the time. That is expected for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of 373 instances that reached a player's hand, 72% were cast before the game ended. The remainder largely reflects games that ended before the player had a clear window to resolve a 4-mana threat.

What turn does Sheoldred typically land on the battlefield?

Median first-cast turn is 6.0 in tracked multiplayer games. The mode is turn 4, which is exactly on her mana cost, but the distribution trails into turns 7-10 for copies drawn late. Players who hold her tend to wait just one turn on average before casting, suggesting the delay is about board state and threat assessment rather than a deliberate hold strategy.

Does casting Sheoldred actually improve your win rate?

In 246 tracked participations where she was cast, the normalized win rate is 32%. In 789 participations where she stayed in the library, it is 23%. The raw delta is +8.7 percentage points. Both sample buckets are reasonably sized, but the confidence interval on this delta crosses zero in the current data, so treat it as an early directional signal rather than a firm conclusion.

How sticky is Sheoldred once she resolves?

52% of cast Sheoldreds are still on the battlefield at end of game. That is a moderate stickiness figure for a 4-mana legendary creature. Deathtouch discourages attacks, but opponents in Commander pods have strong incentive to answer the life-drain engine through removal, exile effects, or sacrifice. Exile and graveyard are both well-represented in her final-zone distribution, confirming she draws removal.

Which commanders run Sheoldred most often?

In the current dataset the top commanders pairing with Sheoldred are Sheoldred herself in a mono-black shell, Valgavoth (Harrower of Souls), Y'shtola (Night's Blessed), Oloro (Ageless Ascetic), and Nekusar (the Mindrazer). The common thread is card-draw synergy. All five commanders either draw cards in bulk, punish opponents for drawing, or gain life at scale, each amplifying Sheoldred's triggers.

Is Sheoldred banned in Commander?

No. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is legal and unrestricted in Commander, Duel Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Timeless, Historic, and Gladiator as of this writing. She was banned in Standard during her tenure in that format but rotated out before a permanent ban decision was formalized. Always check the current official ban list for your specific format before registering a deck.