Its non-combat damage people. its only good against burn. one deck type does not warrent a 4 star rating.
Dingo777
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(5 votes)
maybe not, but you get him and vigor and a thoughtwelft trio and you cant lose the game
Relisoc
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(5 votes)
This creates an infinite life combo with deepwood ghoul. I think...
Azr43l
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(5 votes)
Actually, he can be really good in a red self-burn deck, I think. Imagine Manabarbs... Gain 1 life everytime you tap a land.
Forgeling
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
Paying like =/= damage. Just like sacrificing =/= destroyed.
RobinHood3000
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(5 votes)
Thinking of putting it in a player-burn/Hive Mind deck. Burn the opponent, then the opponent has a choice of either burning himself or healing me. Mwahaha.
Also good with sacrificial pinging like Goblin Artillery as well as Pyroclasm effects. If nothing else, a 6/6 flyer is nothing to scoff at, either.
Donovan_Fabian
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
@ ultratog, its not burn only its anything except combat damage. This card can save you from thousands of different cards, such as sanguine bond and blood tribute, and turns all your earthquakes into one sided destruction against your enemy and even better you actually gain life, Purity has flying and thus isn't affected by it. You can even use your own burn spells on yourself to regain life in a crisis, lightning helix can regain you 6 life for 2 mana a pop. Secondly, its great for an aggro deck, it can still attack at 6/6, but its real value is that your opponent now -has- to go through your creatures, and if you circulate around having creature advantage such as in red or green, you just cinched the game.
urzamagic
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(5 votes)
I need 3 of this to my Pestilence Deck. What a combo!!!
Vinifera7
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
@Donovan_Fabian: As far as I am aware, life loss caused by Sanguine Bond, et al., is not damage. For something to be considered damage, it must actually have the word "damage" written.
To summarize, damage causes loss of life, but loss of life is not necessarily caused by damage.
Lege
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(6 votes)
Here's a raw version of a hilarious combo decklist:
The basic gist behind this deck is using your main card, Pestilence, in combination with Purity to deal yourself and the Souls damage so you gain life and your opponent loses it. Tutors help you find the cards you need and mana tithe gives you control. Souls of the Faultless can be replaced for other control cards, Boon Reflections can be replaced for another 2 Enlightened Tutors, and you can easily transform this deck into a legacy control deck by reducing some of the cards into singletons and putting in more counterspells and tutors.
billpasdmf
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Losing life and taking damage are definitely different things. All your sanguine bond and blood tribute-esque cards will still trump this.
But hey a 6/6 flyer that can't die (unless it's removed from the game). And it's not even legendary!?
I like it, I like it A LOT.
Starcomet1
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
As long as it id non-combat damage it will absorb it. And since it cannot die unless removed from play, it makes it an ideal flying card with 6/6.
BrutalJim
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is my second favorite elemental in the cycle. (my first being Dread) A 6/6 flier for 6 CMC is already pretty decent, but I just love the second ability. It put's a halt to any burn decks until they find a way to be rid of it, and as many people have stated combos very well with self damaging cards. 4.5/5.
Second best elemental incarnation falling short only to Vigor.
And having two of these out will not gain you twice as much life, the effect will prevent the damage and gain you that much life and the second effect will have no damage to prevent and will be countered.
Gezus82
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
@ Lege souls of the faultless only works with combat damage. I would suggest going red rather then black with pyrohemia and manabarbs. hedron field purists would also be a cool trick if you don't get purity out
In addition to Manabarbs, you can run a bunch of painlands as well. Stuff like Brushland, City of Brass, and Tarnished Citadel are relatively easy ways to make this card work to your advantage. Of course there's always the Earthquake route as well, and because it flies you can earthquake for however much you want.
Guest1162619373
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(1 vote)
You don't have to remove this from the game to kill it, it's only effective if it is in play, and there are cards that can render this one useless such as the red enchantments that don't allow damage prevention OR life gain and black spells that make you lose life when you gain life.
I play it for the 6/6 flier for 6 mana. 95% of the time I get it out, it is an offensive nightmare to the opponent. The times when it is a defensive nightmare to them are rare, but very exciting. Combo with spiteful visions?
Fat_Corgi
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Why would a creature called "Purity" look like a mix between a Pegasus, an elk, a ghost, and a flower bush? Nothing so impure has been brought into this world since the invention of the Turducken.
GengilOrbios
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Very flavorful art.
TherealphatMatt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Not bad, but the worst of the Incarnations. Which says quite a bit about the Incarnations, really.
EpicBroccoli
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm not sure if this works or not since I haven't seen it mentioned, but this and Volcano Hellion is a pretty cool combo.
if this was printed today, it would be a mythic. It is powerful, it is awesome, and it is unique. How can someone not like this card (other than the obvious "because my friend has one and always wins" =p)
Nobody mentioned this with Karma? I would imagine 4x Karma and 4x Purity in a Black/White deck would be pretty sweet. It would be especially cool because nobody would really expect you to have Karma in a partly Black deck.
Comments (46)
I think...
Also good with sacrificial pinging like Goblin Artillery as well as Pyroclasm effects. If nothing else, a 6/6 flyer is nothing to scoff at, either.
As far as I am aware, life loss caused by Sanguine Bond, et al., is not damage. For something to be considered damage, it must actually have the word "damage" written.
To summarize, damage causes loss of life, but loss of life is not necessarily caused by damage.
4 Purity
4 Pestilence
4 Souls of the Faultless
4 Sanguine Bond
4 Mana Tithe
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Dark Ritual
2 Enlightened Tutor
2 Boon Reflection
4 Open slots (Terror? Sign in Blood? Indestructibility? Blockers? Up to you)
24 Land
The basic gist behind this deck is using your main card, Pestilence, in combination with Purity to deal yourself and the Souls damage so you gain life and your opponent loses it. Tutors help you find the cards you need and mana tithe gives you control. Souls of the Faultless can be replaced for other control cards, Boon Reflections can be replaced for another 2 Enlightened Tutors, and you can easily transform this deck into a legacy control deck by reducing some of the cards into singletons and putting in more counterspells and tutors.
But hey a 6/6 flyer that can't die (unless it's removed from the game). And it's not even legendary!?
I like it, I like it A LOT.
And having two of these out will not gain you twice as much life, the effect will prevent the damage and gain you that much life and the second effect will have no damage to prevent and will be countered.
hedron field purists would also be a cool trick if you don't get purity out
if you do get purity out Well of Lost Dreams is also a fun tool.
The ability on Souls of the Faultless triggers when combat damage is dealt, so it does not combo with Pestilence.
Only sad this is that against a really fast red burn deck, you're probably dead by the time you can cast it.
No. Lifeloss is not Damage. Daamge causes Lifeloss, but Lifeloss can not be prevented by things that prevent damage.
Combo with spiteful visions?
Happy attack phase!
Vigor
Hostility
Dread
Purity
Guile
I would imagine 4x Karma and 4x Purity in a Black/White deck would be pretty sweet. It would be especially cool because nobody would really expect you to have Karma in a partly Black deck.