Hey, I like the idea of this list; but have a lot of problems with how it runs and it being considered cEDH., and the primer as a whole. First of all, your opening spoiler is inaccurate. The average cEDH mana curve does not sit at 2.8-3.5. That is completely ridiculous. On average, a cEDH deck sits around 1.7-2.3, and 2.3 is even a bit high. Second of all, you don't run infinite mana combos, which make your X spells like Firecat Blitz shine. Third, your board interaction and stax pieces are too few and far between. Stranglehold and your land destruction/hate pieces are nice, but Cursed Totem , Grafdigger's Cage , Chalice of the Void , Ricochet Trap , Shattering Spree , Thunderclap , and Mogg Salvage would further improve the stax and interaction of the deck greatly. The three large downsides of mono-red are lack of access to tutors, interaction, and sufficient ramp. That's why you should look to amp both of those up as much as possible, and once you've reached the proverbial ceiling, acknowledge red can only do much on its own, and hunker down into stax. You most likely won't end up being the fastest deck at the table with these changes, but you will be able to slow down others' decks with T1, 2, and 3 stax pieces to the point where you're a contender.

Good evening, Ragnar0k. Always glad to have good conversations with magic players. So I'd like to first hear you continue your thoughts about the cEDH and its mana curve. I just looked at the top 5 cEDH decks here on Tappedout. Respectively, their mana curves are: 2.48, 3.03, 3.84, 2.18, and 2.51. Continually down the list, there are about 1 in 5 that do come below 2.3, but they most come closer to 3.0. I would like to see a cEDH deck that has a 1.7 mana curve, cause that would be hella fun to look at.

Infinite mana is cool, but it's not fun if you don't have a lot of cards to play, which as you've mentioned, is a weakness in . I think this deck excels in fast mana, rather than infinite mana. You have to hit quick and hard here. I don't personally believe that this deck needs to run infinite mana, just for a card or two, because frankly, Purphoros, God of the Forge + Panharmonicon + and ETB card like Siege-Gang Commander = 32 damage per each opponent.

I do agree that I need more stax pieces, as I've tried Cursed Totem in my Azusa deck. I think more stax would be fun. Also, are there any red tutors that I've missed out? I've seen artifact tutors, but they are expensive (looking at Planar Portal ). I'd rather draw into them with Wheel of Fortune . What do you think needs to be pulled out the deck for possible changes?

AJe11y, basing the mana curves off of TappedOut top 5 cEDH decks is unfortunately not the best way to gather data. If you check r/CompetetiveEDH, you'll find a phenomenal and widely agreed upon cEDH repository. 1.7 isn't very far-fetched. Here's a very popular and powerful list that does so: Breakfast Hulk. My personal project runs just under 1.8 (here it is -> Sydri, Aetherflux Genius [[Primer]]). Even higher average CMC control lists such as Tasigur Seasons Past / Season Pastigur sit closer to 2.

I understand your point about infinite mana, and can agree to it to enough of an extent to accept it. You haven't missed any tutors in red, as Gamble is about all you've got, but because of this is why i recommended the stax pieces ( Grafdigger's Cage and the like) to give you options to slow down the game in hopes to draw/tutor what you need. Graveyards are huge in the current meta (i.e. Hulk, Storm, and Pod), so any ways in which you may be able to stop them are beneficial. If you don't have a problem with ramp, Trinisphere and Thorn of Amethyst may work for you as well.

Ensnaring Bridge may be a nice card to cut because of the fact that most midrange cEDH swing with Tymna the Weaver , Najeela, the Blade-Blossom , and friends. Along with that Lightning Bolt can be a relevant sideboard card for you. Also, a sideboarded Boil over Nevinyrral's Disk can crumble mono-blue decks. Other cards that could help you filter through your deck more are Memory Jar and Forgotten Cave . Otherwise, the deck is solid and is very similar to how I would build it. The lines of play are also well explained and this is overall a very nice primer.

Good afternoon, Ragnar0k. So I checked out your reddit site, and I have to say, it's interesting to see the various types of cEDH decks. However, I still see a huge range of mana curves in the decks there. It's cool to see a few decks that have less than 30 lands and still be decent, but I will still stick to facts that most cEDH decks just don't proficiently run that low, especially commanders that costs 4 mana and more. But if it works for them, that's pretty cool. I may have to think about pulling out a land for a stax piece. I can see using Grafdigger's Cage to slow down the graveyard fun. Will try to make room for it.

I can't see myself removing Ensnaring Bridge , because it works on 's great weakness: a low hand size. There are numerous games where I find myself facing a field of dragons, merfolks, or The Locust God 's field of little guys, and this artifact holds them off (with one or two cards in my hand) till I get to my wincon. Boil is a cool card, however, I run into many EDH decks that don't really run many basic lands, or even Islands, which is why Price of Progress and Ruination hurts like hell to them.

Overall, I enjoy the thoughts you bring to the table. I agree that I can benefit from more stax pieces, and possibly a bit less land. I have been thinking about it for a while after my success with Azusa, Lost But Seeking Fun (EDH Primer) and just watching people squirm when they can't play their pieces. Thank you, I will work on it.

Hi have you considered Burnout I find it quite useful (not as useful as red elemental blast or pyroblast). It is usually only used on cards like cyclonic rift, reset/ extra turn cards, I have found it o be a game saver is some cases

New Scampering Scorcher or Chandra, Acolyte of Flame may be great for your deck.

Good morning, guys. Sorry, I'm deployed again (active duty army gets ya good), so my responses are very delayed. I'll work on keeping up with you.

SP3CTR3_chelts, I'll have to look into that card. It's a bit more specific as it only targets blue instant spells, so I'd have to test it if drawing is enough to keep this card. Or maybe as a sideboard.

budlaorf I agree about Scampering Scorcher , I think as an etb creature card, it would benefit the deck. I'm just not sure what to pull out for it atm. Chandra is a bit tougher to keep, cause planeswalkers don't keep as well. I was debating a while to add Tibalt, Rakish Instigator , because it stops a strong opponent strategy, and makes tokens...

I debated Chandra, Acolyte of Flame as well for my purphy deck.

The difference between her and Tibalt (I would say) is that she automatically gets 2 ETBs for 3 mana, which is about as good as Beetleback Chief with 3ETB for 4 mana. And if she actually lives a turn, which i admit is unlikely, its 4ETB for 3 mana.

I bought one and am testing it out, for me she is replacing Mogg Alarm .

Love seeing Purphy decks, by far my favorite deck to play.

hey out of curiosity why did you ditch Ruby Medallion ?

Have you considered Chandra's Regulator for additional card draw/filtering? It also combos with Chandra, Acolyte of Flame but it's not as relevant except for niche situations.

Torbran, Thane of Red Fell maybe?

I play this deck with all of the cheeky combos and I also added Combat Celebrant kiki as a scoop win con when purphrose isn’t out

Reading through the comments here, and I've gotta say that Ragnarok guy sounds like he needs to step off his high horse. You've got a great list here, and the only major recommendation I can make is Idol of Oblivion . Since you'll be making tokens fairly consistently anyway, it's technically cheaper card draw than Endless Atlas . Plus, if you see an opening to directly attack someone, the 10/10 it becomes is pretty nifty.

If you care to have a look at my Norin build (The War Room: A Proper Norin Primer), you might see some other cards you like. I based the entire deck around exploiting ETB triggers, so there's a lot of token support. If you're okay with upping your mana curve slightly, there ARE two artifacts that allow you to tutor up what you need. But they're both 5 CMC to cast. Ring of Three Wishes and Citanul Flute .

Once again, I really dig what you've got going on here. +1 for sure!

oooh thanks Mortarpod Idol of Oblivion will go directly into my phosphorous deck!