Purphoros's Intervention
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Create an X/1 red Elemental creature token with trample and haste. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.
• Purphoros's Intervention deals twice X damage to target creature or planeswalker.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Theros Beyond Death
- Price
- $0.41
- EDHREC rank
- #13142
Purphoros's Intervention puts a hasty creature directly into combat or burns a target for X — on the same card, for the same mana investment. The cost is flexibility: you're paying for whichever mode you don't need, which makes it a role-player rather than a staple in anything outside Imodane, the Pyrohammer.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Imodane, the Pyrohammer
Imodane, the Pyrohammer copies any spell that deals damage to exactly one creature to every opponent, so the burn mode on Purphoros's Intervention becomes a one-sided board nuke and a win condition in the same activation — 45% of Imodane decks already run it for exactly that reason.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Purphoros's Intervention earns its slot almost exclusively in damage-doubling and X-spell shells — outside of those, it competes with cheaper, more reliable removal and loses. In Legacy and Vintage it has no meaningful presence; the formats move too fast for a sorcery-speed X-spell with this much set-up dependency. Modern and Pioneer are similar: burn decks want efficiency per mana, and Purphoros's Intervention asks for too much mana to do anything impactful early. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander format where Planeswalker-paired X-spell strategies could make it interesting, though the card still lives and dies by whether your commander can multiply its damage.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.41 bulk tier
At $0.41, Purphoros's Intervention is firmly bulk — priced for what it is outside of dedicated shells. Expect it to stay in this range; its narrow home in Imodane, the Pyrohammer decks limits demand, and foils carry only a modest premium.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.