Talisman of Conviction
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Artifact
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Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (TDC)
50% of games where Talisman of Conviction hit the battlefield ended in a win — 13.4 points above the win rate seen when it stayed in the library, an early signal that casting it correlates with real advantage.
Talisman of Conviction appears in 6% of tracked Commander decks on Playgroup Live, a figure that reflects its hard color-identity gate: only Boros ({R}{W}) and decks containing both red and white can run it. Among those eligible shells, it is a consistent two-drop mana rock that converts into colored mana at the cost of 1 life per activation.
The headline number is the cast-vs-library win-rate delta. Participations where Talisman of Conviction was cast closed at a 50% win rate across 26 observations, compared to 36.6% in the 112 participations where it sat in the library all game. That +13.4-point gap is directional, not conclusive at this sample size, but it is consistent with what you'd expect from a turn-2 or turn-3 mana accelerant pulling a deck ahead of its opponents. Draw-to-play is 69%, and when players do cast it, the median first-cast turn is 3.
The commander distribution is led by Éowyn, Shieldmaiden (14 decks) and Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser (10 decks), which together account for nearly a quarter of the tracked includes. Boros and Jeskai ({R}{U}{W}) commanders dominate the list, with a handful of Mardu ({B}{R}{W}) builds rounding it out. What we see so far places Talisman of Conviction squarely in the role of reliable color-fixing ramp for combat-focused and tempo-oriented {R}{W} strategies.
- 6% inclusion rate across all tracked Commander decks — gated by Boros color identity
- 69% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- T3 median first-cast turn, consistent with a turn-2 draw or opening-hand keep
- +13.4pp win-rate lift when cast vs. when it stays in the library all game
- 50% win rate across 26 games where it reached the battlefield
- 73% battlefield stickiness — most copies survive once cast
First-cast turn
n=36The "good card" funnel
213 broughtOf 151 Talismans brought to games, 36 were drawn and 26 of those were cast — a 69% draw-to-play rate — with 19 still on the battlefield when the game ended.
Players who cast this card win 50% of the time (n=36) , vs 39% when it never left the library (n=164).
Final zone distribution
213 instances112 of 151 Talismans end the game in the library — standard for a singleton in a 100-card deck and a reminder that draw rate, not power level, drives most cards' library residency.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Éowyn, Shieldmaiden
18 decks
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2
Terra, Herald of Hope
13 decks
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3
Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser
10 decks
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4
Kaalia of the Vast
7 decks
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5
Zedruu the Greathearted
7 decks
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6
Kratos, Stoic Father
6 decks
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7
Quintorius, History Chaser
6 decks
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8
Lorehold, the Historian
5 decks
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9
Neyali, Suns' Vanguard
5 decks
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10
The Jolly Balloon Man
5 decks
Éowyn leads at 14 decks and Nelly Borca follows at 10, but the remaining eight commanders cluster between 4 and 6 decks each, showing moderate spread across Boros, Jeskai, and Mardu strategies.
How often is Talisman of Conviction drawn in a Commander game? ▾
In tracked participations where the card was in the deck, it was drawn 23.8% of the time. That is on the expected baseline for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 36 instances that reached a player's hand, 26 were cast — a draw-to-play rate of 69%. The 31% that weren't cast before the game ended is mostly a game-length effect: cards drawn in the late game often never find a window.
What turn does Talisman of Conviction typically come down? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 3, with 25th percentile at turn 2 and 75th percentile at turn 7. The distribution skews early: 11 of 26 casts happened on turns 1 or 2, suggesting players who draw it in their opening hand deploy it immediately. The long tail out to turn 11 reflects late draws. Of instances drawn and then cast, players held it a median of 1 turn before playing it, with 44% cast on the same turn it was drawn.
Does casting Talisman of Conviction actually help you win? ▾
What we see so far is directional. The 26-game cast sample shows a 50% win rate, versus 36.6% in the 112-game library bucket. That +13.4-point delta is the kind of gap you'd expect from a two-drop accelerant that pulls your curve forward. Neither bucket has the sample size to call this conclusive, but the signal is consistent across the observations we have. Baseline win rate in a 4-player pod is roughly 25%, so both buckets are running above baseline.
Is Talisman of Conviction legal in Commander? ▾
Yes. Talisman of Conviction is legal in Commander (and in Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, and Gladiator). It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, Alchemy, or Pauper Commander. Its {R}{W} color identity restricts it to Commander decks whose commander has both red and white in their identity — Boros, Jeskai, Mardu, and any four- or five-color commander.
Which commanders run Talisman of Conviction most often? ▾
Éowyn, Shieldmaiden leads with 14 tracked decks, followed by Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser at 10. The rest of the top ten sit between 4 and 6 decks each, spanning Boros, Jeskai, and Mardu identities. Combat-forward strategies like Iroas and Kaalia appear alongside value-engine commanders like Zedruu and Satya, which suggests the Talisman earns its slot on the strength of color-fixing and ramp rather than synergy with any specific archetype.
How sticky is Talisman of Conviction once it hits the battlefield? ▾
73% battlefield stickiness. Of the 26 cast instances tracked, 19 were still on the battlefield at game's end. The 27% that left were split between graveyard (9 total across all final zones) and exile (4 total), consistent with artifact removal like Disenchant or Bane of Progress clearing the board. Artifacts in Commander face meaningful interaction, and a stickiness rate in the low-to-mid 70s is a realistic expectation for a non-recursive two-drop.