They're far from similar in the end. Krenko is a goblin swarm deck, whereas Purphoros is more all-purpose-token-burn. Of the two, Purphy is probably the more budget friendly one as he can just take all the cheap token generators and he'll work, and you can then slowly proceed to obtain more expensive cards to work with, whereas Krenko rather needs the pricey Goblin staples in order to work as well as he does.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Purphoros, God of the Forge gets my vote. Yes, it gets more hate, but it wins games more than Krenko. I helped optimize an acquaintance's deck list, more like built it for him, and it is by far his best deck. The total cost was by far less than his optimized Krenko deck. He competes against the big boys: Zur, Derevi, Edric, etc. Though, the linchpin is the general, and it is not/or does not include Blue and/or Green.
Purphoros is definitely cheaper to build considering all the really good goblins are used in legacy, modern, and to a far lesser extent standard. Plus Purphoros lets you play cards like Skittering Invasion, Mana Echoes, Snake Basket, Emrakul's Hatcher, Goblin Offensive, and many other really fun things.
As much as Krenko is fun, definitely Purphoros, God Of The Forge. Krenko requires a bit of extra protection for the commander, and a dedicated goblin theme, where as Porphy just requires lots of dudes and some cards to blow up Torpor Orb.
And the man in the back said everyone attack / and it turned into a Firecat Blitz...
Having built both in the past i would put Purphoros, God Of The Forge as the best bet for low cost high power commander. He is easier to defend and get going than Krenko and loads of bulk rares are very dangerous with Purphoros, God Of The Forge
Krenko you kinda want all the good goblins to make work and a well timed plow can really ruin your day. Both cards go in both decks however.
Don't forget In the web of War
Before post-tuck, I would have said either one is okay. Purph needed strategy resiliency, and one of the methods of accomplishing that was having a deck that could run well without him. Even a cheaply made Goblin tribal would have sufficed for this at weaker tables, but such a deck Krenko would run just as well.
Nowadays, in the post-tuck world, you can get away with just loading up on all the mega-cheap token producers. The only things you'd "need" for optimization are typical Red staples that mostly all Red decks use, along with some of the more expensive Big Mana items, which Purph is actually explosive enough to do without sometimes, even at a stronger table.
Purphoros is cheaper to build effectively. Both get expensive, but Purphoros is better on a budget. I'd probably call Krenko better in the end, but that's an end that's hundreds of dollars out of budget.
From going against Purph and Krenko, Krenko is far more prone to having his gameplan fall off. Krenko is really a more "all-in" general, and once your forces are out, it's hard to come back. Purph at least makes it so you have a bit more leeway and has a couple other paths of victory since you're not putting the tribal restriction on yourself.
From going against Purph and Krenko, Krenko is far more prone to having his gameplan fall off. Krenko is really a more "all-in" general, and once your forces are out, it's hard to come back. Purph at least makes it so you have a bit more leeway and has a couple other paths of victory since you're not putting the tribal restriction on yourself.
If you're playing Krenko like you'd play Purphoros or as a "glass cannon", this is true. That's not how I think Krenko should be played - I think they're different decks, and my ideal Krenko list is hardly tribal or similar to Purphoros. Not anymore than it is to Norin or something. Krenko's combo (with tokens to facilitate it), Purphoros is tokens/burn. That's fine, and Purphoros is a hell of a lot cheaper of a strategy because you don't need as much of the really expensive cards (acceleration, tutors, etc.).
Glass cannon Krenko is definitely an approach, and I think it's one that's more familiar and obvious. That approach is very fragile, for sure.
UBRThraximundar, Tribal ZombiesUBR
WURZedruu's Great TradesWUR
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Keep brewing.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
As much as Krenko is fun, definitely Purphoros, God Of The Forge. Krenko requires a bit of extra protection for the commander, and a dedicated goblin theme, where as Porphy just requires lots of dudes and some cards to blow up Torpor Orb.
And the man in the back said everyone attack / and it turned into a Firecat Blitz...
UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU's prison: blue is the new orange is the new black.
Mizzix Of The Izmagnus : wheels on fire... rolling down the road...
BSidisi, Undead VizierB: Bis zum Erbrechen
GTitiania, Protector Of ArgothG: Protecting Argoth, by blowing it up!
GYisan, The Wanderer BardG: Gradus Ad Elfball.
Duel EDH: Yisan & Titania.
In Progress: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV duel; Grenzo, Dungeon Warden Doomsday.
Krenko you kinda want all the good goblins to make work and a well timed plow can really ruin your day. Both cards go in both decks however.
Don't forget In the web of War
In Progress
GBIshkanah, Grafwidow ~ BWGRTymna the Weaver & Tana, the Bloodsower ~ UGRashmi, Eternities Crafter ~ RGAtarka, World Render
Nowadays, in the post-tuck world, you can get away with just loading up on all the mega-cheap token producers. The only things you'd "need" for optimization are typical Red staples that mostly all Red decks use, along with some of the more expensive Big Mana items, which Purph is actually explosive enough to do without sometimes, even at a stronger table.
Hidetsugu - Combo Damage
Ezuri - Elfball
Theorycrafting:
Selvala - "A hunter must hunt."
Selvala - Budget
If you're playing Krenko like you'd play Purphoros or as a "glass cannon", this is true. That's not how I think Krenko should be played - I think they're different decks, and my ideal Krenko list is hardly tribal or similar to Purphoros. Not anymore than it is to Norin or something. Krenko's combo (with tokens to facilitate it), Purphoros is tokens/burn. That's fine, and Purphoros is a hell of a lot cheaper of a strategy because you don't need as much of the really expensive cards (acceleration, tutors, etc.).
Glass cannon Krenko is definitely an approach, and I think it's one that's more familiar and obvious. That approach is very fragile, for sure.