Honestly the biggest drawback to Purphoros is that there is no redundancy to the effect he offers. Having only one copy of this in your deck when he is the linchpin for the strategy is a bummer. I'd kill to have a playable mini-Purphoros (1 damage) or another cubeable variant of Purphoros. I like this direction for red much much more than the Wildfire archtype which I've never really cared for.
Yeah, impact tremors on a 2-drop creature would be pretty cool.
Yeah, I think the 1 damage from Impact Tremors vs. the 2 from Purphoros is too big of a gap. But having that ability on a Bear would be great.
I think there is some redundancy, though. Hellrider also rewards go-wide strategies in red. Goblin Bombardment, kind of, as well. They don't have the Purphoros text, but they pair well with the cards that Purphoros pairs well with. Plus the Rabblemasters and other token makers are good enough cards on their own, so you don't need too many rewards for playing them.
Having only one copy of this in your deck when he is the linchpin for the strategy is a bummer.
I don't agree with this statement at all. Creatures are their own win condition and don't need Purphoros at all. I cut Purphoros from my cube for the very reason that Purphoros needs creatures / tokens, but going wide is a payoff on its own even without Big Papa Purph.
I think he's still pretty valid considering he survives most midrange wipes. Having a very resilient source of damage is a nice way to win games you would otherwise be locked out of. He really goes over the top and sometimes he attacks for 6 with impunity. 4 drop slot is kind of contested, but he can fit your cube better than some of the others depending on content.
I love him because if you curve him into Siege-Gang Commander, Deranged Hermit, Deep Forest Hermit, or Angel of Invention it's a crapload of damage and may just kill your opponent right there. Also, incrementally adding two damage to Elspeth, Gideon, Rabblemaster, and Bitterblossom is no joke. I rate him in the top 20 red cards.
Having only one copy of this in your deck when he is the linchpin for the strategy is a bummer.
I don't agree with this statement at all. Creatures are their own win condition and don't need Purphoros at all. I cut Purphoros from my cube for the very reason that Purphoros needs creatures / tokens, but going wide is a payoff on its own even without Big Papa Purph.
I'm willing to bet there is a decent gap in the win percentage of Go-wide decks between games in which Purphoros resolves and games where he doesn't. Going wide is of course a strategy in its own right, but Purphoros amplifies the strategy in a major way. He turns your army-in-one 5 drops (and increasingly red three drops!) into burn spells that deal 4-10 to the face just by resolving and then he pumps them in the following swing. I often find myself drafting Enlightened Tutor in my R/W Purpohoros builds to up the consistency of resolving Purphoros by turn 4. I'd love to see his effect on a bear as others have noted. Similarly, being able to double up on Hellrider's effect with the right stat line and other combat abilities would be huge.
I think I disagree with that assessment too. There's a boatload of redundancy for go-wide token strategies. If you build a token deck that folds without Purphoros, you have a bad deck anyways. Hell, a lot of the best token decks I build aren't even red... so to imply that you need Purphoros in order for token decks to win I think is blatantly false. Just my experience anyways.
I too would love to see an Impact Tremors strapped to a bear!
Respectfully, you've changed my words to counter an argument I didn't make.
I said there is a decent gap in the win percentage of go-wide decks that would want Purphoros based upon whether or not it resolves within a game and therefore some redundancy would help with this. (Also, just an effect I'd like two of within the cube to improve the odds of seeing what is a major player in the archetype within each draft).
I did not say that without Purphoros, go-wide strategies "fold" nor did I imply it.
Maybe Ikoria has our Red Impact Tremors bear? A boy can hope!
Maybe I misunderstood this somehow? Sounds like you're implying exactly that decks that want Purphoros fail without Purphoros... Isn't that what linchpin means? It all comes apart if it's missing?
I'd also like redundancy to Purphoros. Unlike most go-wide cards, he not benefit a wide board nor creates one - he is all about future token production. He feels unnecessary in most go wide decks. With access to several copies of this effect it would be worth it to truly build around and get closer to its ceiling. Especially so since the effects stack. I plan on cutting Purphoros in the next update.
I've found Purphoros to be perfectly powerful on an existing board. Being able to battle cry trigger at will is great. Especially if you can do it twice a turn!
Maybe I misunderstood this somehow? Sounds like you're implying exactly that decks that want Purphoros fail without Purphoros... Isn't that what linchpin means? It all comes apart if it's missing?
Why do you partial quote--Particularly when it modifies the perceived meaning of what was said? The full quote was..."Honestly the biggest drawback to Purphoros is that there is no redundancy to the effect he offers. Having only one copy of this in your deck when he is the linchpin for the strategy is a bummer."
I'm speaking specifically to how go-wide decks with Purphoros want to resolve Purphoros because they are more likely to win if they do and stating that redundancy would help improve the likelihood of this. I'm not calling Purphoros the linchpin for all go-wide strategies broadly. I appreciate the many go-wide strategies that exist without utilizing Purphoros.
It sounds like we both think the card is a winner though so that strikes me as a good place to rest the subject. Cheers.
Why do you partial quote--Particularly when it modifies the perceived meaning of what was said? The full quote was..."Honestly the biggest drawback to Purphoros is that there is no redundancy to the effect he offers. Having only one copy of this in your deck when he is the linchpin for the strategy is a bummer."
It didn't misrepresent or change meaning. The full quote says literally the same thing. No redundancy. He's the linnchpin for the strategy. I don't think either of those things are true. Go wide decks can be great with or without Purphoros.
Unless you're talking about a mono-red version maybe? IDK...
But if we both like him, great! It's a fine place for it to rest.
Yeah, impact tremors on a 2-drop creature would be pretty cool.
I think there is some redundancy, though. Hellrider also rewards go-wide strategies in red. Goblin Bombardment, kind of, as well. They don't have the Purphoros text, but they pair well with the cards that Purphoros pairs well with. Plus the Rabblemasters and other token makers are good enough cards on their own, so you don't need too many rewards for playing them.
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I don't agree with this statement at all. Creatures are their own win condition and don't need Purphoros at all. I cut Purphoros from my cube for the very reason that Purphoros needs creatures / tokens, but going wide is a payoff on its own even without Big Papa Purph.
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I'm willing to bet there is a decent gap in the win percentage of Go-wide decks between games in which Purphoros resolves and games where he doesn't. Going wide is of course a strategy in its own right, but Purphoros amplifies the strategy in a major way. He turns your army-in-one 5 drops (and increasingly red three drops!) into burn spells that deal 4-10 to the face just by resolving and then he pumps them in the following swing. I often find myself drafting Enlightened Tutor in my R/W Purpohoros builds to up the consistency of resolving Purphoros by turn 4. I'd love to see his effect on a bear as others have noted. Similarly, being able to double up on Hellrider's effect with the right stat line and other combat abilities would be huge.
I too would love to see an Impact Tremors strapped to a bear!
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I said there is a decent gap in the win percentage of go-wide decks that would want Purphoros based upon whether or not it resolves within a game and therefore some redundancy would help with this. (Also, just an effect I'd like two of within the cube to improve the odds of seeing what is a major player in the archetype within each draft).
I did not say that without Purphoros, go-wide strategies "fold" nor did I imply it.
Maybe Ikoria has our Red Impact Tremors bear? A boy can hope!
Maybe I misunderstood this somehow? Sounds like you're implying exactly that decks that want Purphoros fail without Purphoros... Isn't that what linchpin means? It all comes apart if it's missing?
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Why do you partial quote--Particularly when it modifies the perceived meaning of what was said? The full quote was..."Honestly the biggest drawback to Purphoros is that there is no redundancy to the effect he offers. Having only one copy of this in your deck when he is the linchpin for the strategy is a bummer."
I'm speaking specifically to how go-wide decks with Purphoros want to resolve Purphoros because they are more likely to win if they do and stating that redundancy would help improve the likelihood of this. I'm not calling Purphoros the linchpin for all go-wide strategies broadly. I appreciate the many go-wide strategies that exist without utilizing Purphoros.
It sounds like we both think the card is a winner though so that strikes me as a good place to rest the subject. Cheers.
It didn't misrepresent or change meaning. The full quote says literally the same thing. No redundancy. He's the linnchpin for the strategy. I don't think either of those things are true. Go wide decks can be great with or without Purphoros.
Unless you're talking about a mono-red version maybe? IDK...
But if we both like him, great! It's a fine place for it to rest.
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