Tannuk, Steadfast SecondTannuk, Steadfast Second | Art by Pascal Blanché

Coming fresh out the gates of Edge of Eternities a brand new mono-red commander by the name of Tannuk, Steadfast SecondTannuk, Steadfast Second has been making waves among EDH players. Why you ask? To understand that, you have to understand what came before him, because whilst Tannuk might seem like a completely original design showing off EOE's brand new warp mechanic, he's actually just a new version of a card that's been around since 2020.

Both legendary creatures effectively offer the same thing. For . you can cheat out a red or artifact creature from your hand for a single turn and also have it gain haste from your legend's static ability. At the end of the turn, it'll go away.

That's a pretty easy thing to exploit, allowing you to find some of the nastiest enters triggers in the game with exorbitant costs and take advantage of them for just three mana, but there are some very subtle and important differences between how these two cards deliver on that promise.

So Which is Better?

So the question that remains is which of these two legends should helm a deck with this specific strategy? Is Tannuk just a power-crept version of his predecessor? Or a mere imitation of Purphoros's raw unbridled power?

To find out we're going to take a look at some of the niche differences between these two cards and how they'll shape your deck building process (and the play patterns of your deck) should you choose to veer to one side or another. Either way, we have a super powerful ability on our hands: Sneak AttackSneak Attack in the command zone is nothing to be sniffed at. However, which of the two will give us that extra edge to clinch a victory at your next game night?

Tannuk is Cheaper

Let's get the obvious one out of the way: Tannuk is a whole one mana cheaper to cast than Purphoros. That's a whole extra turn quicker to start your shenanigans. A whole one less mana you'll need to recast him after he's spot removed. And a whole extra mana you can instead spend on his activated ability if you intend to cast and then activate him on the same turn.

It's not the flashiest differential, but it's an incredibly important one. Mana costs make or break cards in TCGs of all descriptions, and the extra speed Tannuk can offer your deck over Purph will allow players to take on much more aggressive play patterns. Even if you cast Tannuk a later turn, each mana you don't spend can then be held up for protection spells or anti-counter tech, like Wyll's ReversalWyll's Reversal or ForkFork.

Cast Over Put

This is the biggest difference for me. The crucial way in which Purphoros and Tannuk differ is that, when you spend your three mana in a Purph deck, you're "putting" a card from your hand onto the battlefield. Tannuk's warp ability gives your cards an alternate casting cost. With Tannuk, you're casting a spell; with Purph, you're activating an ability.

That might not seem like a huge difference at first glance, especially if you're new to the game, but the differences can be pretty staggering. Unfortunately, this also means it's difficult to decide a clear "better" option out of the two. Either one has tactical advantages over the other in myriad ways. Let's break down some of the big ones.

Instant vs. Sorcery Speed

The ability to do anything at instant speed (on another person's turn, in response to a spell, etc.) is a massive upgrade to only being able to cast them onto an empty stack in your main phase. Because Purphoros's ability doesn't have you cast the creatures it cheats out, and because it doesn't specify otherwise, you can drop down your creature spells at instant speed.

That means you can use creature spells as instant-speed removal, surprise blockers, or combat tricks. As Tannuk asks you to actually cast your spells with an alternate cost, they're still creature spells that have to resolve at sorcery speed. Meanwhile, Purph can flash in a Worldgorger DragonWorldgorger Dragon in response to a board wipe and protect his entire board. That's a huge deal.

Dodging Counterspells

The other benefit of Purphoros dumping his nasty creatures down via an activated ability is that he can dodge anything that would usually interact with his creatures whilst they're on the stack. Tannuk's casts can still be foiled by a regular CounterspellCounterspell just like any other creature spell, but Purphoros's activated ability is only susceptible to StifleStifle-like effects.

The other benefit of an interaction like this is that, when a creature spell gets countered, it goes to your graveyard. If Purph's activated ability is countered, then your card never left your hand in the first place. You don't even need to reveal what creature card you're targeting with the ability, so players will just have to hope for the best that their Stifle is worth it.

Introducing Cast Triggers

To push the needle back into Tannuk's direction however, there are actually a lot of benefits that come with having to cast your spells as well. Purphoros grants you access to some truly horrid enters triggers, but Tannuk widens the pool even more by introducing cheap cast triggers as well.

A lot of scary things in Magic are balanced by making sure that a spell was actually cast before giving you its ability. Take the absolutely terrifying Myojin of Infinite RageMyojin of Infinite Rage, for example: pretty useless in a Purph deck but absolutely wild in Tannuk. Three-mana mono-red ArmageddonArmageddon anyone?

Not to mention that two of the most busted casting triggers in the history of the game are now available to you in cascade and storm. Maelstrom ColossusMaelstrom Colossus and Stormscale ScionStormscale Scion aren't going to provide much for a Purph deck. In Tannuk, they're some incredible free value or a crazy payoff for a big turn respectively.

Make it Thrifty

As Tannuk is actually casting his spells, you also have the option to reduce the amount of mana you're spending for each of these creature cheats. Ruby MedallionRuby Medallion and Hazoret's MonumentHazoret's Monument on the board means every creature spell in your hand basically costs a single red pip.

Tannuk Can Cast Any Artifact

Speaking of artifacts, another one of the absolutely massive differences between these two commanders lies in a single word in Purphoros's rules text. Whilst Tannuk's ability can cheat in any red creature and any artifact card, Purph only has access to artifact creatures. That's a big old addition to the card pool should you choose Tannuk. If you've played a single round of Commander, I'm sure you're aware of all the crazy game changing artifacts in the Magic.

Horrible things, like Spine of Ish SahSpine of Ish Sah, combined with an artifact sac outlet and some cost-reducers can see you doing ridiculous amounts of damage to your opponents' boards. If you're building something a little more combo-focused, there's also plenty of expensive mana rocks that help you go mana positive for explosive turns.

Warp and Warp Again

One of the other benefits of warping your powerful enter triggers cards is that you have one round of recursion built in. Whilst Purphoros will force you to sacrifice your creatures at the beginning of your next end step, the warp ability has them go into exile instead, and just like cards that are on an Adventure, you can cast them on later turns and get your cast and enters triggers all over again.

Now, of course, you will have to actually be able to afford the cards this time, but there's plenty of neat tricks you can now pull as those cards are in exile. Cards like Wild-Magic SorcererWild-Magic Sorcerer or NalfeshneeNalfeshnee will add some extra value that should justify some of the extra investment if you feel like playing a longer game.

Exile is a Tricky One

One thing to note, however, is that it's a lot easier to recur something that's in your graveyard than it is to get it back out of exile. Once one of your cards is in exile, it's basically only coming back out if you cast it. As Purphoros will be sacrificing on end of turn instead you'll find it much easier to get multiple triggers off of your big bombs.

Artifacts can be put back into your hand with something like Trading PostTrading Post, and creatures can get multiple hits after Purphoros has finished with them with and a card like Feldon of the Third PathFeldon of the Third Path. To get that synergy in a Tunnak deck, you'll need some kind of sacrifice outlet to stop your creatures falling into exile.

Not to mention that Purphoros can also enjoy any death triggers his creatures may have as well as their entering abilities.

You Can Go Your Own Way

I hope this deep dive has helped you pick apart the differences from these two very fun commanders. It's tough to say which one is ultimately "the better card" as a lot of their trade offs can also be specifically built around. There's still some key differences we didn't even touch on; I didn't even mention that Purph is indestructible!

But the differences are also pretty interesting, and it's been fun to lay them all out! Heck, maybe you even learned something about the nuances of card design.

If you're looking to put Tannuk together you can find some additional help from one of the suggested articles below, but regardless, I'll see you on the next edition of The Monolith where every other week it's mono, mono, mono.