Live Play Data

Purphoros, God of the Forge

· Legendary Enchantment Creature — God · Commander Masters (CMM)

Live Inclusion

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Times Brought

817

Decks Running

398

Median Cast Turn

6.0

Drawn → Played

76%

Format

Multiplayer 1v1

41% of games where Purphoros resolved ended in a win for the caster, a +16.9 percentage-point lift over decks where it stayed in the library, across 126 observed participations.

Purphoros, God of the Forge converts creature tokens into a clock that ticks for every opponent. Across 793 multiplayer Commander games tracked on Playgroup Live, decks that resolved Purphoros won at 41%, compared to 25% when it never left the library. That +16.9-point gap is the clearest signal in the data.

The card sits in 398 of the 10042 distinct tracked decks, an inclusion rate of 4% within the Playgroup Live dataset. Median first cast lands on turn 6.0, later than its 4-mana cost might suggest. Most copies are cast behind curve: only 29% of first casts landed exactly on turn 4, with the majority drawn after that window had passed. Of drawn copies, 76% were cast before the game ended.

Purphoros is a pure red card with a color-identity constraint that limits it to red-inclusive decks. Its power comes from the triggered damage clause: each creature entering under your control pings each opponent for 2, which scales brutally in multiplayer as the opponent count rises. Commanders that generate repeated creature tokens, such as Krenko, Mob Boss or Norin the Wary, are the natural homes. The card is legal and unrestricted in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Historic.

At a glance

4% of tracked Commander decks include Purphoros
T6.0 median first-cast turn, typically behind the 4-mana curve
76% of drawn Purphoros copies were cast before the game ended
41% win rate in games where Purphoros resolved
78% battlefield stickiness once cast, backed by indestructible
345 distinct players have brought Purphoros to a tracked game

First-cast turn

n=136

13%

12%

50%

T6-9

T10+

Median 6.0 P25 4 · P75 8 · max 14

On curve 29% (17 / 136 cast on T4) Cast same turn as drawn 32%

The "good card" funnel

821 brought · 345 players

Brought to game

821

Ever drawn

180

Reached battlefield

136

Still on board at game end

116

76%

Of 821 Purphoros copies brought to games, 180 were drawn, 136 of those were cast, and 78% of cast copies remained on the battlefield at game end.

≥ +8.7pp

Players who cast this card win 41% of the time (n=126) , vs 25% when it never left the library (n=551).

When players drew this card but left it in hand, they won 31% (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 +16.9pp; 95% confidence interval +8.7pp to +25.0pp. Correlational, not causal: powerful payoffs also get cast more often in games you are already winning.

Final zone distribution

205 instances

4.9%

Library

56.6%

Battlefield

12.7%

Graveyard

5.4%

Exile

Most Purphoros copies end games on the battlefield, consistent with its indestructible clause. The minority that reach the graveyard or exile reflect targeted removal that bypasses indestructible, such as exile-based wraths.

Commanders that played this card

in tracked games

1 Krenko, Mob Boss 59 decks
2 Baylen, the Haymaker 20 decks
3 Norin the Wary 18 decks
4 Xyris, the Writhing Storm 18 decks
5 Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge 14 decks
6 Kratos, Stoic Father 13 decks
7 Caesar, Legion's Emperor 12 decks
8 Rin and Seri, Inseparable 10 decks
9 Arabella, Abandoned Doll 9 decks
10 Zinnia, Valley's Voice 9 decks

Krenko, Mob Boss leads the commander distribution by a wide margin, reflecting how naturally Purphoros slots into token-flood strategies. The list spans mono-red through five-color commanders, showing the card earns its slot in any build that generates creature volume.

Card text

Purphoros, God of the Forge

Legendary Enchantment Creature — God

Indestructible As long as your devotion to red is less than five, Purphoros isn't a creature. Whenever another creature you control enters, Purphoros deals 2 damage to each opponent. {2}

: Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.

6 / 5

Commander Masters (CMM) · Mythic · Illustrated by Eric Deschamps

Frequently Asked

How often is Purphoros drawn in a Commander game?

Across 793 tracked games where Purphoros was in the deck, it was drawn 22% of the time. That is normal for a singleton in a 100-card deck. Of 180 instances that reached a hand, 76% were cast before the game ended. The remainder mostly reflects games that ended before the player found a window to cast it.

What turn does Purphoros typically hit the battlefield?

Median first cast is turn 6.0, with a mean of 6.1 and a 25th-to-75th-percentile band of turns 4 through 8. Only 29% of first casts landed exactly on turn 4 (its mana value). Most copies arrive later because they were drawn mid-game rather than in the opening hand. Check 32%: that is the fraction cast on the same turn they were drawn, a measure of how urgently players slam it once it hits hand.

Does casting Purphoros actually improve your win rate?

In 126 participations where Purphoros resolved, the normalized win rate was 41%. In 551 participations where it never left the library, the win rate was 25%. That is a +16.9-point gap. The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval sits above zero (0.0544), which means the direction is consistent in the current data. Treat it as a strong directional signal rather than a definitive proof, given the sample size.

Why does Purphoros fit so well with Krenko, Mob Boss?

Krenko taps to double the number of Goblins you control. Each new Goblin entering the battlefield triggers Purphoros, dealing 2 damage to each opponent. In a 4-player pod, a single Krenko activation that creates four tokens fires four triggers, dealing 8 damage to each of the three opponents, for 24 total. Krenko leads the top-commanders chart in the Playgroup Live dataset with 398 Purphoros decks spread across a range of red-inclusive commanders.

Is Purphoros banned anywhere?

Purphoros, God of the Forge is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, Gladiator, Oathbreaker, and Duel Commander. It is not legal in Standard, Pauper, Pauper Commander, Alchemy, or PreDH. There is no current ban in Commander proper.

How concentrated is Purphoros data across players?

345 distinct players have brought Purphoros to a tracked game on Playgroup Live, and the single heaviest contributor accounts for 22% of total instances, well under the 30% threshold that would suggest a single-player skew. The data is broadly spread, which strengthens the signal from the win-rate comparison.