10 Things I’ve Learned About Ikoria Standard

Sure, the companion mechanic might be broken, but if everyone has a companion, everything is fine, right?

10. Companions Are Very Good

Maybe this shouldn’t even make the Top 10 because of how obvious it seems now, but it’s more of an issue in older formats than it is in Standard. Crying for bans is typically overblown (although Patrick Sullivan made some fine points in his latest article) and we’re already seeing adaptation. 

Sullivan’s Satchel: F.I.R.E., Bannings, And Companion

Decks with companions like Gyruda, Doom of Depths and Lurrus of the Dream-Den needed unique tools to take them down and we’re finally starting to see the adoption of those. Less than a week ago, decks like this seemed unbeatable.

Initially, I envisioned the Lurrus of the Dream-Den Sacrifice decks playing things like Gruesome Menagerie in order to fill slots and make up for the lost power level necessary from not playing any three-mana creatures. Thankfully, we received enough playables in Ikoria to not have to do that and can simply fill out the deck with one- and two-mana creatures. We even have spare ones we could be playing!

Playing off-color shocklands to facilitate Fiend Artisan isn’t something I’ve seen anyone really doing. At the cost of a few life points, you have a two-drop that’s more easily castable on Turn 2, not to mention the turns where you want to cast Fiend Artisan and another one-drop on later turns. It’s worth it. 

9. Lurrus Is Great, but Dead Weight Makes It Incredible

One of my favorite things about Lurrus is the ability to machine-gun down your opponent’s creatures with Dead Weight or Mire’s Grasp. The former happens to be game-breaking in direct mirrors where neither player will have access to a three-toughness creature like Mayhem Devil. 

Anytime there’s an engine that’s very strong and feeds possibly the strongest deck in the format and you add another aspect to it, it gets exponentially better. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to keep Lurrus in check.

8. Leyline of the Void, Grafdigger’s Cage, and Cry of the Carnarium Are Necessary

People are adapting to Lurrus already but it’s not enough. I’m still seeing far too many sideboards that skimp on hate and people playing decks that Lurrus preys on. At the end of the day, Rakdos Sacrifice is beatable but you have to actually try. Until then, Lurrus will remain a prominent part of the metagame despite Standard having several hate cards available. 

7. Lurrus Isn’t the Only Companion for Rakdos Sacrifice

If you’re looking to beat up on pseudo-mirrors, playing Obosh, the Preypiercer instead of Lurrus makes sense. Having access to a more powerful top-end is exactly what’s necessary and Mayhem Devil fits the bill. 

Lurrus VS Obosh: Picking The Right Companion For Rakdos Sacrifice In Ikoria Standard

Aaron Barich recently hit Mythic with the above build and, as always, Aaron has the best technology for aggro. Heraldic Banner curves into Obosh, rewards you for playing a sixteen one-drops, and is a fine way to beat Leyline of the Void. Those Rotting Regisaurs out of the sideboard help too.

If you’re looking for a Rakdos Sacrifice deck that’s more resilient than the rest, Aaron has the answer.

6. Gyruda, Doom of Depths Is About to Become Extinct

Some people are building their decks to get to six mana as quickly as possible with cards like Migration Path. From there, you try to make Gyruda, Doom of Depths as effective as possible. You can chain Spark Double into more power and eventually set up kills with Luminous Broodmoth and double Gyruda. Otherwise, you can get value from Charming Prince and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling, which is enough to beat most opponents.

Issues arise when you get paired against opponents with Essence Scatter, Disdainful Stroke, Mystical Dispute, and the like. Destiny Spinner out of the sideboard helps but it’s not like you can play Teferi, Time Raveler or Mystical Disputes of your own, so the deck really struggles against interaction. To top it off, the backup plan is anemic at best.

Bryan Gottlieb already has some ideas for getting the best of both worlds but I’m leaving that up to him.

5. Dimir Flash Will Be Great at Some Point

Counterspells and fragile creatures seemed like they’d be a great combination against Jeskai Fires and Temur Reclamation but quickly dropped off the face of the earth as Lurrus rose to prominence. As it turns out, counterspells and fragile creatures couldn’t beat Cauldron Familiar and Witch’s Oven. Those decks didn’t adapt and instead died out. However, you can adapt.

Although I’m not happy with my Game 1 against Rakdos, I’m very happy with my chance of winning the match. Cry of the Carnarium and Grafdigger’s Cage are both bombs in the matchup. While you couldn’t beat their recursion without either, having both means you have a very strong chance. 

Everything I Know About Dimir Flash In Ikoria Standard

With the metagame currently in upheaval, it’ll be tough to nail down exactly how Dimir Flash should be configured. Once everything is figured out, this deck will be able to put the pieces together.

4. Mystical Dispute Is Slightly Down, Aether Gust Is Way Down

Nissa, Who Shakes the World and Hydroid Krasis are mostly absent except for the occasional Bant deck. That may change at some point but those were the main reasons behind green’s prevalence and they don’t line up well with what other folks are doing at the moment. It’s only a matter of time before that shifts but Aether Gust isn’t necessarily a card you should be playing in your maindeck. 

Mystical Dispute, on the other hand, isn’t quite as much of a slam dunk as it used to be but is still quite good, even in maindecks. For specific decks like Temur Reclamation that struggle with Teferi, Time Raveler, it’s even more defensible to play main. At Rakdos Sacrifice’s peak, playing Mystical Dispute maindeck was comical, but since Rakdos has cooled off a bit, it’s fine again. 

Note that this means you can probably expect to play against fewer copies of Aether Gust than you might be used to. Maybe there’s a way to exploit that.

3. Fires of Invention Is Still Great

Initially, it seemed like Keruga, the Macrosage forcing you to leave Aether Gust on the sidelines might be a deal-breaker, but if Aether Gust isn’t even very good anymore, you aren’t losing out on anything. 

People are really out here playing two copies of Leyline of the Void like Cauldron Familiar isn’t half of every Top 8. It’s on the decline but it’s still closer to 50% of the winner’s metagame than 0%, so you need to be prepared.

I’m generally in favor of adding land to my slower decks, especially when a bunch of them cycle, but for some reason, some of the world plays more land than I do in Jeskai Fires. Granted, some of those are Castle Vantress, which is probably my least favorite card in years and tends to be their justification. 

The debate between Triomes and Temples continues. In this case, I see the merit of both. Temples help you filter early-game and find Fires of Invention whereas Triomes prevent you from losing once you have Fires by cycling for action. Given that the manabase wasn’t perfect, I like Raugrin Triome over Temples. Raugrin Triome is another question but it wins out because of Kenrith, the Returned King.

If you wanted to play the 29th land, I’d recommend trying a Bonders’ Enclave. If you’re not fighting for the requisite amount of colored mana sources, Bonders’ Enclave seems much stronger than Castle Vantress.

2. Companions Don’t Have to Go in Every Deck

Here are a couple of anti-establishment options.

If you wanted, you could cut Brazen Borrowers and play Jegantha, the Wellspring, but I’m not even convinced that’s a companion worth playing, especially in a deck like Izzet Phoenix. 

Both Azorius Control and Izzet Phoenix are solid options and, except for a few new additions, are about as straightforward as they get. The new prints are meaningful but are unlikely to change anything. Both are going to fail or thrive based on the metagame and how hostile it is toward them. 

Certainly the existence of Leyline of the Void does not bode well for Izzet Phoenix, but that’s mostly a problem that can be solved with Brazen Borrower.

There’s also the option of playing Lurrus maindeck in the Sacrifice decks but it’s rarely worth it compared to having it as your companion. One such example could be having access to Leyline of the Void or the three-drops, but those examples are probably few and far between.

1. Temur Reclamation Is Alive and Well

Initially, I thought it would be Yidaro, Wandering Monster that would breathe new life into this archetype, but no. As it turns out, a wild metagame shift meant that Yidaro wasn’t something Temur Reclamation needed or wanted. Instead, we get to play an even more controlling game with Essence Scatter and Flame Sweep for early aggression and win the game with inevitability. 

Shark Typhoon is a fine inclusion, even if it’s one I’ve yet to hard-cast. In some games, it’s an instant-speed Fireball that functions like a win condition, but otherwise, you’re using it as a way to take advantage of unspent mana while still accomplishing something. It being an out to Teferi, Time Raveler has been important at times. You could play more copies but it’s a little clunky.

You could alter the deck in order to play a companion if you wanted to. In fact, Keruga, the Macrosage would already fit, assuming you didn’t need it in matchups where you’d want Grafdigger’s Cage. Spectral Sailor could be cut for something else but Cage isn’t exactly replaceable. 

The random companion doesn’t seem worth it to me because you’re giving up a sideboard slot, plus there’s some nonzero amount of information you give away by revealing a Keruga. Making your opponent think you’re playing Jeskai Fires for a turn doesn’t have much of a strategic upside and I’d rather them not know if I have Grafdigger’s Cage and the like. 

Fire Prophecy would be better than Scorching Dragonfire if you didn’t care about exile or hitting planeswalkers, but I care about both, somehow more so than wanting a small See Beyond effect.

Can Companion Be Stopped?

Companion may have taken over for now but there’s still plenty left to explore in Ikoria Standard. For the foreseeable future, I’ll be playing Temur Reclamation, although the metagame could easily shift again. I’d be disappointed if it didn’t.