So I know there's already a lot of controversy around the Companion mechanic, but I've been really wondering something. How can you make sure early in a sanctioned tournament that your opponent is actually meeting the deck requirements of the companion card? Are people just going to have to call a judge to confirm that the submitted deck meets the requirements as soon as they see a companion creature cast?
I know that later in a tournament people start to find out about other players' decklists and feature matches can catch a cheater. But what's to stop someone early in a tournament from shoving in an unsubmitted companion creature in their side board just in case they can get away with it when they know they're not in a feature match?
If people have to call a judge every time one is cast and it becomes a regular thing I would imagine this will slow play like crazy
If you read the mechanics article, you have to reveal your companion at the beginning of the game. You can’t just spontaneously claim that a card has been your companion all along the moment you cast them.
Also, it’s perfectly possible for a player to sideboard in cards for game 2 or 3 that make a companion no longer usable as such.
because you know the restrictions on your opponent’s deck before the game even begins, however, them putting in illegal cards would be really silly to do even if it would be hard to check.
Someone trying to use the macrosage as a companion and sneak a snapcaster mage into their deck, for example, would be utterly incapable of casting it without admitting to cheating and would be disqualified (or maybe have it replaced with a basic land, depending on circumstance) the moment that card is revealed.
It's a good question. Especially as the companion card gies into the sideboard to be able to use the companion portion. There isn't a good way to verify it meets the qualifications outside of what you describe. However, if I understand it right, the Companion must be declared and shown to your opponent before the game starts. This prevents the use of using more than one companion as a companion at the same time and allows you time to call a judge for a deck check I guess. edit: Rosy Dimplings articulated it better than I did.
In other formats, such as EDH, there is a social contract that keeps things uh... aligned.
To make it even more interesting, Companion is optional. So see I a distinct possibility that cheaters can flat out say they "forgot" that their companion isn't qualified for their deck. The way I'm reading the article, the Companion only checks whether your 60 is legal, not the sideboard. So you can have two companion in your sideboard and sudeboard your deck negating one and validating the other.
Ah ok thanks for the info. It does seem unlikely to become a problem since there would have to be a companion powerful enough and some really specific circumstance for people to even get any kind of benefit from it and also get away with it. Hopefully nothing like that comes to fruition
How do you confirm that someone isn't playing 6 copies of a card in their deck? Companions are declared at the beginning of the game so it is very easy to track if they are legal. It is the exact same problem if they are running more than 4 copies of a card in their deck you can't know until either you search their deck or they play the illegal copy.
Having an incorrect deck is illegal and grounds for an immediate game loss followed by the illegal cards being replaced by a basic land. If this becomes a problem then it just means more people are cheating and are getting caught so good riddance.
Ok following the rules of companions it says to have it as a companion means you follow it's deck building guideline, but what if it is say, a commander or just in your deck, do you still have to follow the deck building rule because you aren't using him as a companion.
Only if you designate a card with a companion ability as your chosen companion do you have to follow that card's deck-building restriction. And the chosen companion has to start outside the game (and therefore outside your deck).
In the Commander variant, if you designate a chosen companion, it doesn't have to comply with its deck-building restriction (since it's not in a deck), but all the cards in your deck (including your commander [C.R. 903.6] and cards in your deck with companion abilities) have to comply with that restriction.
A companion ability's deck-building restriction doesn't restrict you from putting cards with a companion ability in your deck or in your sideboard, or declaring a card with a companion ability as your commander, as long as all relevant deck-building rules and restrictions are followed. However, if a card with a companion ability is in your deck (including if it's your commander [C.R. 903.6]), that card's deck-building restriction is not followed because it's not designated as a companion.
The thing to remember is: Having a companion ability is not the same as being a player's companion.
EDIT: Edited third paragraph generally, after comment 16 was posted.
I have a couple of questions regarding sanctioned paper tournaments which have no clear answer anywhere I was able to find. I am hoping there are logical answers and/or supplemental information somewhere to address these, and I would welcome your thoughts in general on the following issues:
1) This first one seems straightforward, but I assume that if I build my deck with a sideboard Companion, this does not mean I MUST reveal this information to my opposition at the beginning of the match, it is merely my OPTION to do so if I wish to cast it at some point in the game.
e.g. : In round 12 of a GP I have a companion which is irrelevant to the deck I just saw my opponent go to time with during round 11. I choose NOT to reveal my companion before game 1 in order to deny them Mulligan information, then choose to do so at the beginning of game 2, now that it supports some hypothetical sideboard plan. This is legal, correct?
2) The second option is much more difficult to envision from a deck design standpoint, but would invalidate its own best applications if the resolution is non-intuitive, so I would like to confirm having more than one Companion in the sideboard, to choose between them in a similar fashion as illustrated above.
e.g. : At some Modern Pro Tour (or in the top 8 of a Grand Prix), I have full decklist information. I have built my breakout new Cat Aggro deck in such a fashion that I satisfy the requirements for both Lurrus of the Dream-Den and Kaheera, the Orphanguard. In the quarterfinals, my testing has revealed that I will have to race against my Burn opponent, and I therefore choose to reveal Kaheera as my Companion. Having won the match, I recognize that I will need every ounce of value that I can muster to conquer my new Jund enemy for the semifinals, and consequently reveal Lurrus as my companion. Breaking through to the finals on the back of this deep wizardry, I am faced with a Jeskai Control opponent with a transformative combo sideboard plan, and I am allowed to reveal both Lurrus and Kaheera in alternative pre- and post-sideboard games. This is also legal, correct?
The update bulletin clarifies that you choose whether to reveal your chosen companion after you set aside your sideboard if any and before you designate your commander if any (and before you shuffle your deck to start the game). Even if you have one or more cards with a companion ability in your sideboard, you are not required to reveal one of them as your chosen companion. (If a match has multiple games, you choose whether to reveal a card with a companion ability as your chosen companion as each of those games begins, but only if your starting deck meets that card's deck-building restriction in addition to any other deck-building requirements.) The release notes state, however, that if you choose not to reveal a card as your chosen companion for a particular game, you can't change your mind. Only if you reveal a card as your chosen companion can its companion ability let you cast that card from outside the game.
You can't choose more than one card as your companion even if you have two or more cards with a companion ability in your sideboard. However, in sanctioned tournaments, you are still allowed to reveal cards that you're otherwise allowed to look at to the other players (M.T.R. 3.12).
A companion ability's deck-building restriction doesn't restrict you from putting cards with a companion ability in your deck or in your sideboard, as long as all relevant deck-building rules and restrictions are followed.
EDIT: Correctness edit after comment 16 was posted.
EDIT (Apr. 25): Clarification.
To be clear for posterity, my reading of this clarification has the answers to situations #1 and #2 above being "yes".
Could you send me the link at which you found this update bulletin?
I appreciate the help!
The answers to both your questions are: yes. The update bulletin and the release notes can be found on the official website for Magic: The Gathering, in the Articles section.
I'm still in doubt. If I have Zirda, the Dawnwaker for example as a companion in my Sideboard, can I have the other three copies inside my deck?
I mean, it would be legal to have a companion (and declare it at the begining of the game), and the other remaining copies (x3) in my deck in order to being able to have the first one (that was outside the game) for casting when I want it, and three more copies in the deck so, if the one that was in the sideboard is killed I have chance to draw another from my deck to replace it?
I'm still in doubt. If I have Zirda, the Dawnwaker for example as a companion in my Sideboard, can I have the other three copies inside my deck?
I mean, it would be legal to have a companion (and declare it at the begining of the game), and the other remaining copies (x3) in my deck in order to being able to have the first one (that was outside the game) for casting when I want it, and three more copies in the deck so, if the one that was in the sideboard is killed I have chance to draw another from my deck to replace it?
Lot of thanks!!
You are allowed a total of 4 copies of any card in any mixture between your sideboard and main deck. You can go 2 sideboard 2 main, 4 main, 4 sideboard etc. When it comes to companion you are only allowed to declare a single copy in your SB the companion and only if your main deck meets the building restrictions. So you can have 3 Zirda main and 1 in your SB as a companion, 2 Zirda main 1 SB and 1 SB as a companion or any combination. Just make sure that the creatures themselves do not make you miss the deckbuilding restriction. Lurrus of the Dream-Den for example cannot have any other copies of himself in the maindeck if you are declaring him a companion.
I'm still in doubt. If I have Zirda, the Dawnwaker for example as a companion in my Sideboard, can I have the other three copies inside my deck?
Yes. Each Zirda card in your deck and sideboard has an activated ability, namely "1, T: Target creature can't block this turn" (C.R. 602.1), so the three Zirda cards in your deck can appear there allowing you to declare the Zirda card in your sideboard as your chosen companion.
So I have not been able to find a definite answer to this question. If I correctly have a deck built for my companion, say Gyruda who requires all even CMC cards, but my sideboard contains cards with odd CMC. I know this is still ok to name Gyruda as companion for game 1. For subsequent games, if I sideboard in an odd CMC card, can I still name Gyruda as my companion? The companion rules state that the "starting deck" must obey the deck building restriction. Does sideboarding create a new "starting deck"? My reading would say that it doesn't, so you could still name Gyruda as your companion.
So I have not been able to find a definite answer to this question. If I correctly have a deck built for my companion, say Gyruda who requires all even CMC cards, but my sideboard contains cards with odd CMC. I know this is still ok to name Gyruda as companion for game 1. For subsequent games, if I sideboard in an odd CMC card, can I still name Gyruda as my companion? The companion rules state that the "starting deck" must obey the deck building restriction. Does sideboarding create a new "starting deck"? My reading would say that it doesn't, so you could still name Gyruda as your companion.
Starting deck is the deck you present to your opponent to cut as the game begins. So yes any alterations made during side boarding counts as your new starting deck.
So I have not been able to find a definite answer to this question. If I correctly have a deck built for my companion, say Gyruda who requires all even CMC cards, but my sideboard contains cards with odd CMC. I know this is still ok to name Gyruda as companion for game 1. For subsequent games, if I sideboard in an odd CMC card, can I still name Gyruda as my companion?
To be clear, if your starting deck contains a card with an odd converted mana cost (whether because you added that card from your sideboard to your deck or for any other reason), you can't reveal Gyruda as your chosen companion (C.R. 103.1b). The deck-building restriction imposed by a companion ability applies only to the game for which the card with that ability is revealed as a chosen companion, not to the whole match.
I know that later in a tournament people start to find out about other players' decklists and feature matches can catch a cheater. But what's to stop someone early in a tournament from shoving in an unsubmitted companion creature in their side board just in case they can get away with it when they know they're not in a feature match?
If people have to call a judge every time one is cast and it becomes a regular thing I would imagine this will slow play like crazy
Also, it’s perfectly possible for a player to sideboard in cards for game 2 or 3 that make a companion no longer usable as such.
because you know the restrictions on your opponent’s deck before the game even begins, however, them putting in illegal cards would be really silly to do even if it would be hard to check.
Someone trying to use the macrosage as a companion and sneak a snapcaster mage into their deck, for example, would be utterly incapable of casting it without admitting to cheating and would be disqualified (or maybe have it replaced with a basic land, depending on circumstance) the moment that card is revealed.
This prevents the use of using more than one companion as a companion at the same time and allows you time to call a judge for a deck check I guess.edit: Rosy Dimplings articulated it better than I did.In other formats, such as EDH, there is a social contract that keeps things uh... aligned.
To make it even more interesting, Companion is optional. So see I a distinct possibility that cheaters can flat out say they "forgot" that their companion isn't qualified for their deck. The way I'm reading the article, the Companion only checks whether your 60 is legal, not the sideboard. So you can have two companion in your sideboard and sudeboard your deck negating one and validating the other.
Having an incorrect deck is illegal and grounds for an immediate game loss followed by the illegal cards being replaced by a basic land. If this becomes a problem then it just means more people are cheating and are getting caught so good riddance.
In the Commander variant, if you designate a chosen companion, it doesn't have to comply with its deck-building restriction (since it's not in a deck), but all the cards in your deck (including your commander [C.R. 903.6] and cards in your deck with companion abilities) have to comply with that restriction.
A companion ability's deck-building restriction doesn't restrict you from putting cards with a companion ability in your deck or in your sideboard, or declaring a card with a companion ability as your commander, as long as all relevant deck-building rules and restrictions are followed. However, if a card with a companion ability is in your deck (including if it's your commander [C.R. 903.6]), that card's deck-building restriction is not followed because it's not designated as a companion.
The thing to remember is: Having a companion ability is not the same as being a player's companion.
EDIT: Edited third paragraph generally, after comment 16 was posted.
I have a couple of questions regarding sanctioned paper tournaments which have no clear answer anywhere I was able to find. I am hoping there are logical answers and/or supplemental information somewhere to address these, and I would welcome your thoughts in general on the following issues:
1) This first one seems straightforward, but I assume that if I build my deck with a sideboard Companion, this does not mean I MUST reveal this information to my opposition at the beginning of the match, it is merely my OPTION to do so if I wish to cast it at some point in the game.
e.g. : In round 12 of a GP I have a companion which is irrelevant to the deck I just saw my opponent go to time with during round 11. I choose NOT to reveal my companion before game 1 in order to deny them Mulligan information, then choose to do so at the beginning of game 2, now that it supports some hypothetical sideboard plan. This is legal, correct?
2) The second option is much more difficult to envision from a deck design standpoint, but would invalidate its own best applications if the resolution is non-intuitive, so I would like to confirm having more than one Companion in the sideboard, to choose between them in a similar fashion as illustrated above.
e.g. : At some Modern Pro Tour (or in the top 8 of a Grand Prix), I have full decklist information. I have built my breakout new Cat Aggro deck in such a fashion that I satisfy the requirements for both Lurrus of the Dream-Den and Kaheera, the Orphanguard. In the quarterfinals, my testing has revealed that I will have to race against my Burn opponent, and I therefore choose to reveal Kaheera as my Companion. Having won the match, I recognize that I will need every ounce of value that I can muster to conquer my new Jund enemy for the semifinals, and consequently reveal Lurrus as my companion. Breaking through to the finals on the back of this deep wizardry, I am faced with a Jeskai Control opponent with a transformative combo sideboard plan, and I am allowed to reveal both Lurrus and Kaheera in alternative pre- and post-sideboard games. This is also legal, correct?
Thank you for your input!
You can't choose more than one card as your companion even if you have two or more cards with a companion ability in your sideboard. However, in sanctioned tournaments, you are still allowed to reveal cards that you're otherwise allowed to look at to the other players (M.T.R. 3.12).
A companion ability's deck-building restriction doesn't restrict you from putting cards with a companion ability in your deck or in your sideboard, as long as all relevant deck-building rules and restrictions are followed.
EDIT: Correctness edit after comment 16 was posted.
EDIT (Apr. 25): Clarification.
To be clear for posterity, my reading of this clarification has the answers to situations #1 and #2 above being "yes".
Could you send me the link at which you found this update bulletin?
I appreciate the help!
I'm still in doubt. If I have Zirda, the Dawnwaker for example as a companion in my Sideboard, can I have the other three copies inside my deck?
I mean, it would be legal to have a companion (and declare it at the begining of the game), and the other remaining copies (x3) in my deck in order to being able to have the first one (that was outside the game) for casting when I want it, and three more copies in the deck so, if the one that was in the sideboard is killed I have chance to draw another from my deck to replace it?
Lot of thanks!!
You are allowed a total of 4 copies of any card in any mixture between your sideboard and main deck. You can go 2 sideboard 2 main, 4 main, 4 sideboard etc. When it comes to companion you are only allowed to declare a single copy in your SB the companion and only if your main deck meets the building restrictions. So you can have 3 Zirda main and 1 in your SB as a companion, 2 Zirda main 1 SB and 1 SB as a companion or any combination. Just make sure that the creatures themselves do not make you miss the deckbuilding restriction. Lurrus of the Dream-Den for example cannot have any other copies of himself in the maindeck if you are declaring him a companion.