Wizards of the Coast digitally launched the new Magic: The Gathering set, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, on Magic: The Gathering Arena and Magic Online, letting players run the new MTG cards featured in the expansion in various competitions online, but it looks like one innovative mechanic is helping decks dominate the meta of certain formats in MTGO, and the results prove it.
That mechanic is Companion, a mechanic that includes a deckbuilding rule that you must follow so you can play this card from outisde the game. It's also part of your sideboard, but you can only choose one Companion for each game. You can watch the mechanic spotlight below:
As Arena Decklists podcast co-host and streamer Bryan Gottlieb pointed out, Companion cards took over various online tournaments on MTGO:
-1st and 2nd in the Vintage Challenge
-1st-4th in the Legacy Challenge
-The entire Top 8 of the Modern Challenge
-1st-4th in the Pioneer Challenge
-6 of 8 slots in the Top 8 of the Standard Challenge
Many of those decks used the Companion card "Lurrus of the Dream-Den", an Orzhov-hybrid-colored Cat Nightmare that lets you cast one permanent spell with converted mana cost 2 or less during each of your turns. The card is used in graveyard-focused strategies in Modern, Legacy, and Vintage.
There's also a Simic deck that played "Yorion, Sky Nomad" and placed 5th in the Modern Challenge:
"Lutri, the Spellchaser" also saw play in the Vintage Challenge:
You can check out the decklists in Wizards of the Coast's website.
Meanwhile, "Gyruda, Doom of Depths" is also seeing play in Standard:
Gyruda has already been banned in MTGO due to technical issues.
The early results prove that Companion is a powerful mechanic across different Magic formats. I won't be surprised if WotC decides to ban a Companion card in one of the eternal formats.
What do you think about the new Companion cards? Do you think they're too powerful? Let us know in the comments section below.
Related: MTG Jumpstart Booster Packs Delayed Due to COVID-19
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths is now available on Magic: The Gathering Arena, and it will be available for tabletop play in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong on April 17, and for tabletop play everywhere else on May 15. Commander 2020 will also be released on May 15.
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Watch me play Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Premier Draft on MTG Arena below:
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