Talisman of Dominance
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Artifact
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Murders at Karlov Manor Commander (MKC)
80% of drawn Talisman of Dominance copies are cast before the game ends, and once it lands on the battlefield, 94% of them stay there. A two-mana mana rock that earns its slot.
Talisman of Dominance earns its place in Dimir and allied-color Commander decks. Across 152 tracked games on Playgroup Live, 80% of drawn copies were cast before the game ended, and battlefield stickiness sits at 94%. For a two-mana artifact, that's a strong "slam and forget" profile.
The card sits in 7% of all tracked decks, reflecting its color-identity restriction to blue-black-inclusive commanders. Within that slice, the draw-to-play rate of 80% signals that players who find it in hand almost always deploy it, with a median first-cast turn of 3. The hand_to_cast data shows a same-turn cast rate of 52%, meaning roughly half the time it comes down the very turn it's drawn, and the other half players hold it for no more than a turn or two.
Win-rate context requires a caveat: the cast bucket (33 observations) and the library bucket (120 observations) are both below the threshold where we'd call any delta conclusive. What we see so far is directional. Decks where the Talisman sat unplayed showed a 38% win rate against 33% when it was cast, a -5 point delta that likely reflects deck-composition effects rather than the card actively hurting its owner. Treat that number as an early signal, not a verdict.
- 7.1% inclusion rate across all tracked Commander decks, gated by Dimir color identity
- 80% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
- 94% battlefield stickiness once cast, among the highest for any ramp piece
- T3 median first-cast turn, one turn ahead of the card's mana value
- 52% same-turn cast rate — players slam it the moment they draw it about half the time
- 33 total casts recorded across 152 tracked games
First-cast turn
n=48The "good card" funnel
277 broughtOf 164 Talismans brought to games, 40 were drawn, 33 of those were cast, and 31 were still on the battlefield when the game ended, an 80% draw-to-play rate and 94% stickiness from cast to final zone.
Players who cast this card win 35% of the time (n=48) , vs 35% when it never left the library (n=211).
Final zone distribution
277 instances120 of 164 brought Talismans never left the library, the expected outcome for a singleton in a 100-card deck; the 31 sitting on the battlefield at game-end reflect the card's 94% stickiness once it resolves.
Top commanders running this card
by deck count-
1
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed
26 decks
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2
Sauron, the Dark Lord
17 decks
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3
Ulalek, Fused Atrocity
11 decks
-
4
Abaddon the Despoiler
10 decks
-
5
Fire Lord Azula
8 decks
-
6
Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima
8 decks
-
7
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
8 decks
-
8
Phenax, God of Deception
8 decks
-
9
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
8 decks
-
10
Alela, Cunning Conqueror
7 decks
The list spans Dimir, Esper, and Grixis commanders, with no single archetype dominating; Y'shtola leads at 14 decks, but the spread across ten different commanders shows broad adoption wherever blue and black overlap.
How often is Talisman of Dominance drawn in a Commander game? ▾
In tracked games where the Talisman was in the deck, it was drawn in 24% of deck-participations. That matches the expected draw rate for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of the 40 instances where it reached a hand, 33 were cast before the game ended, a draw-to-play rate of 80%.
What turn does Talisman of Dominance usually get cast? ▾
Median first-cast turn is 3, one turn ahead of its mana value of 2. The distribution is front-loaded: 5 casts on turn 1, 9 on turn 2, and 3 on turn 3 account for the majority of early casts. The tail stretches to turn 11, which pulls the mean up to 4.33. A turn-1 or turn-2 cast almost certainly means the player kept it in their opening hand.
Is Talisman of Dominance banned in Commander? ▾
No. Talisman of Dominance is legal in Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Historic, and Timeless. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Alchemy, Pauper, or Pauper Commander. No Commander-format ban is in effect for this card.
Which commanders most often include Talisman of Dominance? ▾
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed leads the list at 14 decks, followed by Abaddon the Despoiler and Sauron, the Dark Lord at 9 decks each, and Oloro, Ageless Ascetic at 8. The spread across Esper, Grixis, and straight Dimir commanders shows the card is a consistent ramp choice for any deck with a blue-black color identity, regardless of the third color.
Does casting Talisman of Dominance actually help you win? ▾
This is where sample size matters. With 33 cast observations and 120 library observations, we see a -5 point win-rate delta: 33% win rate when cast versus 38% when it sat in the library. Both buckets are below the 15-observation threshold we'd need to call this conclusive. The directional read is that the Talisman's presence isn't a strong win-rate lever on its own. It smooths mana rather than winning games directly.
Why does a 2-mana rock show a median cast turn of 3 instead of 2? ▾
Two factors push the median up. First, only cards drawn in the opening hand can realistically hit on turn 2; singleton odds mean many copies arrive in the mid-game. Second, on-curve data shows 27% of casts landed exactly on curve (turn 2), 15% landed ahead of curve (likely via other ramp or a Mana Crypt enabling an extra play), and 58% landed behind curve because the card was drawn later. The same-turn cast rate of 52% confirms that when players do draw it, they tend to play it immediately rather than hold it.