With over 300 health points, it serves as a strong tank that can take many hits if necessary before going down, making it able to stand up against most other ex Pokmon
That's Swords to Plowshares in a nutshell: the best single target removal spell in Magic , but sometimes you want to be the one gaining life (repeat loop) RED Red's best instants "blow things up real good." Of all the lists, this one is the most boring and repetitive
One of the few cards with -2/-2 and +1/+0 counters
I also like three-mana rocks and land fetch spells, because they tend to be more versatile
This helps to keep the price down somewhat, even when theres a lot of interest in the card
Because replacement effects are considered before Purphoros is on the battlefield, the mana symbols in its mana cost won't be counted when determining this