Purity MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Elemental Incarnation |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 2007-10-12 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Lorwyn |
| Set code | LRW |
| Power | 6 |
| Toughness | 6 |
| Number | 37 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Warren Mahy |
Key Takeaways
- Purity transforms damage into card advantage, potentially outpacing opponents with superior card parity.
- Integrates well with instant-speed spells, bolstering defense while allowing flexibility in resource management.
- Demands careful hand management and deck construction given its discard requirement and specific mana cost.
Text of card
Flying If a spell or ability would deal damage to you, prevent that damage. You gain life equal to the damage prevented this way. When Purity is put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle it into its owner's library.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Purity offers players a unique way of maintaining card parity. When damage is dealt to you, it’s prevented, and you potentially draw cards equal to the damage prevented. This ability not only protects your life total but can also translate into substantial card advantage over time.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly a resource acceleration tool, Purity can indirectly benefit your mana pool. By preventing damage that could deplete your creatures or life total, it keeps your board presence and allows you to use your resources for further game development instead of recovery.
Instant Speed: Purity itself may not be an instant, but it interacts favorably with instant-speed spells. Because it prevents damage to you, it allows you to use your mana on instant-speed removal or counter spells with less risk during your opponent’s turn, confident in the knowledge that your life total is safeguarded by Purity’s effect.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Purity necessitates the sacrifice of another card to activate its ability. This can pose a challenge when your hand is running low, significantly limiting strategic options or forcing you to discard a valuable asset unwisely.
Specific Mana Cost: With a stringent casting cost that demands three white mana, Purity can be difficult to play in multi-color decks. This not only constrains deck-building flexibility but also demands a heavy focus on white mana generation, which could disrupt the overall mana balance.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana, Purity stands on the expensive side of creatures. In many game scenarios, you could be casting multiple spells or summoning several creatures for the same cost, potentially providing you with greater board presence and tactical advantages.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Purity offers a robust defensive mechanic that can be a game-changer in decks that focus on life totals. Its ability to prevent damage and shuffle back into a player’s library can make it a recurring shield against direct damage.
Combo Potential: Purity can be an integral part of life-gain themed combos. Due to its unique ability to convert damage into life, it pairs exceptionally well with cards that benefit from life-gain triggers or that deal damage to your own creatures for a strategic advantage.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta heavy with burn decks and direct damage, Purity shines as a countermeasure. It’s not only a deterrent for opponents considering targeting you with damage but also a reassurance that the damage inflicted can actually bolster your position rather than diminish it.
How to beat
Purity is known for its ability to turn potential damage into life gain, making it a solid defensive card for any player in Magic: The Gathering. Despite its strength, it’s not unbeatable. To successfully navigate around Purity, one needs to consider strategies that don’t rely on damage. Instead, shifting focus towards using exile or sacrifice effects can be very effective as these bypass Purity’s damage conversion ability.
Another strategy involves countering Purity before it ever hits the battlefield. Blue players can hold up counter spells such as Cancel or Mana Leak to prevent Purity from resolving. Alternatively, once Purity is on the field, black decks can utilize removal spells like Path to Exile or Severed Strands, which can forcibly remove it without triggering its life gain ability. Players can also take advantage of board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation, which can sweep Purity away along with all other creatures, again without dealing damage and thus not activating its ability.
Assessing Purity involves understanding the types of interactions that it inhibits and finding solutions within your deck that circumvent its ability. By adapting to the circumstances and having the right answers in your deck, you can overcome the challenge that Purity presents.
Cards like Purity
Purity stands out in the realm of creature cards within Magic: The Gathering’s extensive library. Its ability to prevent damage and convert it into life gain echoes the traits of cards like Diamond Faerie, which offers protection from a specific color alongside additional abilities. Purity, though, transcends that by thwaring any damage that would be dealt to a player and transforms it into an opportunity to strengthen their life total.
Considering other lifelink creatures, such as the Archangel of Thune, Purity provides an intriguing alternative. While Archangel of Thune may bolster your creatures with every instance of life gain, Purity’s prevention of damage focuses on safeguarding your life total directly. Purity’s unique mechanic could be the pivot on which a game turns, giving it an edge in decks centered around life management.
Indeed, when we delve into the characteristics and evaluate the versatility of these options, Purity holds a distinctive position among life-oriented MTG cards. Its ability to serve as a shield and simultaneously fortify a player’s life provides a dual benefit that can have a profound impact on gameplay dynamics.
Cards similar to Purity by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Purity MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Purity and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Purity has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Purity card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2007-10-01 | Although this ability triggers when the Incarnation is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, it doesn’t *specifically* trigger on leaving the battlefield, so it doesn’t behave like other leaves-the-battlefield abilities. The ability will trigger from the graveyard. |
| 2007-10-01 | If the Incarnation had lost this ability while on the battlefield (due to Lignify, for example) and then was destroyed, the ability would still trigger and it would get shuffled into its owner’s library. However, if the Incarnation lost this ability when it was put into the graveyard (due to Yixlid Jailer, for example), the ability wouldn’t trigger and the Incarnation would remain in the graveyard. |
| 2007-10-01 | If the Incarnation is removed from the graveyard after the ability triggers but before it resolves, it will remain in its new zone when its owner shuffles their library. Similarly, if a replacement effect has the Incarnation move to a different zone instead of being put into the graveyard, the ability won’t trigger at all. |
| 2007-10-01 | The last ability triggers when the Incarnation is put into its owner’s graveyard from any zone, not just from on the battlefield. |