Live Play Data

Talisman of Impulse

· Artifact · Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (TDC)

Live Inclusion

Buy on TCGplayer

Times Brought

601

Decks Running

310

Median Cast Turn

3.0

Drawn → Played

72%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

Found in 9% of tracked Gruul-accessible Commander decks on Playgroup Live, Talisman of Impulse is cast 72% of the time it's drawn, with a median first-cast turn of 3.0.

Talisman of Impulse sits in 9% of the Commander decks tracked on Playgroup Live, appearing in 310 of the 3410 distinct decks that have played a live game. That figure is naturally bounded by color identity: only Gruul and broader color combinations that include red and green can run it.

When the Talisman reaches a player's hand, 72% of those copies are cast before the game ends. Median first cast lands on turn 3.0, consistent with a two-mana rock that players deploy as soon as practical. 80% of cast copies survive to the end of the game, a strong signal that opponents rarely spend removal on a mana artifact.

Across 592 tracked multiplayer games, the card has been brought to the table 601 times. The data comes from 277 distinct players, and the single heaviest contributor accounts for 4% of all instances, so the signal is well-spread rather than driven by one prolific pilot.

At a glance

9% of tracked Commander decks include Talisman of Impulse
72% of drawn copies are cast before the game ends
T3.0 median first-cast turn
80% battlefield stickiness once cast
277 distinct players have brought this card to a tracked game
33% win rate in games where the Talisman resolved (normalized to 4-player baseline)

First-cast turn

n=120

13%

28%

13%

31%

T6-9

T10+

Median 3.0 P25 2 · P75 6 · max 12

On curve 40% (33 / 120 cast on T2) Cast same turn as drawn 51%

The "good card" funnel

601 brought · 277 players

Brought to game

601

Ever drawn

166

Reached battlefield

120

Still on board at game end

72%

Of 601 Talismans brought to tracked games, 166 were drawn, 120 of those were cast, and 80% of cast copies remained on the battlefield through the end of the game.

≥ +-0.0pp

Players who cast this card win 33% of the time (n=111) , vs 24% when it never left the library (n=376).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 41% (n=41) — 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 +8.8pp; 95% confidence interval +-0.0pp to +17.6pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

183 instances

5.5%

Library

52.5%

Battlefield

20.2%

Graveyard

4.4%

Exile

The vast majority of Talisman of Impulse copies never leave the library, which is expected for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of observed copies, most finish on the battlefield, confirming that once it resolves it stays.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

1 Bello, Bard of the Brambles 37 decks
2 Ulalek, Fused Atrocity 34 decks
3 Ureni of the Unwritten 23 decks
4 Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness 16 decks
5 Atarka, World Render 10 decks
6 Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers 10 decks
7 Disa the Restless 7 decks
8 Atla Palani, Nest Tender 6 decks
9 Henzie "Toolbox" Torre 6 decks
10 Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm 6 decks

Bello, Bard of the Brambles and Ulalek, Fused Atrocity lead the deck counts, but the commander list spans more than ten distinct commanders across Gruul, Temur, and five-color identities, showing the Talisman is not tied to a single archetype.

Frequently Asked

How often is Talisman of Impulse drawn in a Commander game?

In 592 tracked multiplayer games where the Talisman was in the deck, it was drawn 28% of the time. That is a normal draw rate for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of 166 instances that reached a hand, 72% were cast before the game ended. Some uncast copies reflect games that ended before the player found a good window, not a deliberate choice to hold the card.

What turn does Talisman of Impulse usually get cast?

Median first cast is turn 3.0, with the distribution running from turn 1 through turn 12. The card has a mana value of 2, so casting it on curve means turn 2. A significant portion of casts land in the turns 1-3 window, consistent with players prioritizing early mana acceleration. Later casts tend to be copies drawn mid-game.

Does casting Talisman of Impulse correlate with winning?

Games where the Talisman resolved show a win rate of 33%, versus 24% for games where the card stayed in the library. That is a +8.8 percentage-point gap in favor of casting it. Both samples are reasonably sized (111 and 376 participations respectively), but the confidence interval still crosses zero, so treat this as a directional signal rather than a definitive verdict.

How sticky is Talisman of Impulse on the battlefield?

80% of resolved copies remain on the battlefield at the end of the game. That is consistent with what Playgroup Live sees for most mana rocks: opponents rarely use targeted removal on a 2-mana artifact when bigger threats demand attention. The 1 damage per colored-mana activation is not typically enough to make the card a removal target.

Where does Talisman of Impulse see the most play by commander?

Bello, Bard of the Brambles and Ulalek, Fused Atrocity lead the tracked deck counts on Playgroup Live. The Gruul-identity commanders dominate the top slots, which aligns with the card's color restriction. Temur builds like Ureni of the Unwritten also appear prominently, reflecting that any deck touching red and green is a natural home.

Is Talisman of Impulse legal in Commander?

Yes. Talisman of Impulse is legal in Commander and has no ban or restriction in that format. It is also legal in Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Historic, and Timeless, though it sees its most significant play in Commander where mana acceleration and color fixing are at a premium. It is not legal in Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, or Penny Dreadful.