MTG Salvation

This card is easily the best companion they have revealed so far. While it may initially appear restrictive, you need to remember that there are a TON of X-cost cards that technically have a CMC of 2--for example, Hydroid Krasis, Stonecoil Serpent, Voracious Hydra, and Steelbane Hydra are all technically 2 CMC cards, even though nobody plays them for that. If you run a very aggressive Bant or Abzan decklist, you can use these cards to supplement the lack of a high-cost endgame.

Also, when not played as a companion, this card is absolutely disgusting with Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger and Luminous Broodmoth. You can decimate the opponent's hand while hitting them in the face.

Yeah, I'm happy putting him in a deck the standard way. I've already theory-crafted a deck with the Kroxa/moth combo, Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt, and Fires of Invention. If you mutate this card with Snapdax on top, you get a 3/5 doublestrike lifelink that will deal 4 to a creature/planeswalker while healing you for 8; similarly, you can mutate Kroxa on top of Snapdax to give him doublestrike, for a total of 4 targeted to a blocker and 12 to an opponent. Regardless, if you have a moth on the field from the prior turn, they simply can't clear your board without a mass exile (worst case, they kill your Kroxa and Moth with a Shatter the Sky, the Moth effect triggers and I'm left with a flying Snapdax and a Kroxa Trigger).

Wow on the Kroxa combo. I think it may be better overall to just put 4 of Lurrus into your deck and avoid the problem of one removal spell destroying your combo. A shame you can't have him in both deck and champion slot like the other champions.

How does this companion work exactly? Just put the card in your sideboard and you can play it from there given your deck fits the criteria?

If correct on my assumption how this works this card seems ridiculously good and a fit for many decks. Hyperaggressive aggro decks get a free endgame with this, casting this with 4 mana and getting back some 1-drop provides solid lategame.

It's also very easy to splash with a few urborgs or filterlands. Something like monored could afford to run 2-3 filterlands and this to provide some lategame and get back monastery swiftspears.

The implications this card has in all formats is insane. Having permanents at a CMC 2 or less is quite the constraint, but in many decks, particularly Vintage and Legacy, this is the norm. Just imagine T1 Black Lotus, casting Lurrus, and immediately recasting the Lotus. If your opponent is unable to disrupt you or remove Lurrus, that could put you hugely in the lead, constantly netting 3 free mana every turn!

Even in modern, Lurrus becomes a quick access Emry, Lurker of the Loch, allowing you to recur Mishra's Bauble for card draw and info. I can't wait to tune this into a Thopter Combo Deck. You lose 3 drops like Emry, T3f, and Ensnaring Bridge, but the impending virtual card advantage of Lurrus really seems worth it. And recurring Baubles, Spellbombs, and resetting Pithing Needle while being able to attack more meaningfully where Emry couldn't seems quite strong.

Yeah, I was originally going to make a snide post like "BANNED ON RELEASE" but we'll have to wait and see. I was combing Vintage decklists and was surprised at the sheer number that already meet or nearly meet the companion restrictions. This thing probably is way too good with Black Lotus. Even if Lurrus gets plowed in response to you recasting Lotus, you've effectively Duress'd your opponent for free while gaining life and costing your opponent that mana.

Some pros argue that the London Mulligan was/is taking a lot of randomness out of the game. It seems like with the introduction of companions, starting a game with 7+1, and that +1 being predetermined and built around is making Magic a much lower variance game.

I'm worried about power creep. We're still in the aftermath of Oko, Thief of Crowns and we've seen a champion banned in EDH the day it was SPOILED. Now we have a card that makes Black Lotus better at no real cost. I just don't feel like WotC is being appropriately careful these days.