Lurrus ban!
Modern forum
Posted on March 7, 2022, 3:34 p.m. by magwaaf
Na na naaa na Na na naaa na
Hey hey hey
Goodbye!
Is everyone else excited to see how this shakes up modern as much as I am?
Grubbernaut says... #3
Seems like a bad ban. It was in so many decks because it was free, not because it was fundamentally broken. That being said, I doubt it really hurts much.
March 7, 2022 7:09 p.m.
I would've just taken the whole Companion mechanic out of the game, but Lurrus was the most obnoxiously overrepresented of them. You're already incentivized to play the most efficient cards, and then Lurrus comes along and gives you the best possible late game. Just recast your 1-drop, that's better than anything that costs 3 or more. And the pressure that you needed to both deal with the board and then be ready to deal with Lurrus.
I don't think it'll be the hugest shakeup but I think that it'll allow other decks to compete with having a better lategame.
March 7, 2022 8:35 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #5
Welcome back Street Wraith in Death's Shadow decks I suppose.
Grubbernaut don't you think it being free is inherently broken in the first place?
March 7, 2022 11:23 p.m.
TriusMalarky says... #6
Companion the mechanic was a mistake. I don't even care about most of the cards, or the fact that it's a free 8th card in hand, the mechanic is just so . . . gimmicky, forced and honestly it brought nothing good to the game.
Same with mutate. It was a bad mechanic.
Honestly screw Ikoria. Not even on a power level basis, it was just filled with bad mechanics that I don't like because they're weird.
March 7, 2022 11:40 p.m.
wallisface says... #7
plakjekaas I don’t want to speak for Grubbernaut, but my take is that while the “free-ness” made it strong, it was still far from broken. To get this into play usually means investing all your mana for 2 separate turns (to retrieve then cast it). The card had no use in the early game, or if you had pretty much anything else to do. It was usually only ever an option when there were no other options available (i.e a move of desperation to try and catch up when behind).
I doubt Lurrus would see much play at all if Bauble were banned instead. I’m happy they chose to ban Lurrus instead of Bauble (as i play with Bauble, but not the cat), though I can’t help but feel Bauble would have been the more sensible ban (imo, there’s far shittier things you can do with it than Lurrus).
March 7, 2022 11:47 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #8
Bauble is still needed for easy delirium for Unholy Heat I suppose.
Still, every other companion remains legal and they all see almost no play. Lurrus' strength lies in that you give up just one sideboard slot for a strong lategame plan in decks that usually need to win in the earlier turns, because 2 mana plays just aren't as impactful on turn 5 as 4 or 5 mana plays. Lurrus forces two removal spells, one for the Lurrus itself and one for the 1 or 2drop they resurrected with it. It's a big demand for answers for a card that's not even in your deck but you do have access to at any point in the mid- to lategame. It also allows them to print powerful 3-drop permanents that aren't automatically disqualified from play in 60% of modern decks. I think banning Lurrus is a reasonably good choice for a healthier format.
March 8, 2022 1:17 a.m.
Grubbernaut says... #9
Not fundamentally, considering the power level of modern overall. I didn't play with it, so I don't really care, but I don't really see how it helps the meta, either.
And now Spike can't tell burn players to run lurrus, which is a loss for the memes. Lol
March 8, 2022 11:07 a.m.
Metroid_Hybrid says... #10
I've mentioned this in the past, but I noticed that there is a fairly consistent litmus test for if a card is going to get the ax in Modern. It's not the only one, but it's a consistent one...
If a card becomes so ubiquitous across the format that even Burn players start running it, then it is not long before the banhammer comes.. This was the case with Deathrite Shaman, Treasure Cruise, and now Lurrus of the Dream-Den..
I'm just glad I didn't invest in any myself..
March 8, 2022 2:47 p.m.
I think it's gonna open up decks even more now that the lurrus restriction is gone
March 8, 2022 3:42 p.m.
It’s an okay ban. Probably not completely needed because of the change to companion mechanics adding the 3 mana tax, but it was still a little over-represented.
It makes sense for people to run a companion if they can, it basically guarantees a play when they are out of cards to do things with, which has always been a weakness of aggro decks. Lurrus helped to fill that weakness, but at what cost? What percentage of the meta was aggro? Something like 50%+? That’s usually where they step in and try to do something to shift the meta a bit.
Lurrus in and of itself was fine, just the guaranteed access with little to no downside when building around is what led to the ban. If the mechanic was instead changed to get rid of the inherent +1 card advantage, that probably would have been fine too. Something like 2 mana and discard a card would probably have made it relatively okay for the aggro meta, but I could see other decks using that as a way to freely pitch cards with a companion, leading to other degenerate plays.
Maybe having to exile a card or shuffle it into the deck could have worked (still keeping at least a 2 mana tax as well) but I’m fine with the ban, not like it invalidates the decks he was in.
There’s just not a good way to balance the mechanic, so all in all I definitely think it was a good call, although we probably would have survived without it.
wallisface says... #2
It’s going to be “interesting”.
No current decks needed Lurrus to be able to perform well, as it was often a tiny, forgettable, part of their engines. However, I do see those decks that used Lurrus getting slightly weaker, and getting slightly less play.
There are also a bunch of oppressive 3+ mana cards that might get more of a spotlight now, and the Lurrus ban might very well fast-track their ban also.
It feels like modern has been super healthy for a while now, and this ban was pretty unneeded at this moment. While it’s probably one of the least-impactful cards they could have banned, imo, it’s going to cause a swath of changes to the meta. I’m just hoping Lurrus doesn’t get a bunch of other cards banned in its death-throes
March 7, 2022 6:08 p.m.