Wizards of the Coast has made a change to the rules of its most famous card game, Magic: The Gathering, and annouced B&R (bans and restrictions). This change that will be talked about a lot because it is a great “nerf” to the companions of the “side-board”, one of the most used mechanics in all game formats.
The companions have been able to enter the battlefield “free” with a special spell for a long time, this meant that in most games we could see the entrance of one of these creatures without it being in the players’ deck, it would enter from the bench so it was a great option in practically all situations.
They were too powerful
According to Wizards, after discussing this, they have realized that the problem is that they are too powerful, the decks that include them usually have a higher percentage of victories and the mechanics have ended up being repetitive for many, especially because they also there are better companions than others so they always look the same 10.
Starting today in the official rules of the physical card game and Magic Online the companions will cost 3 neutral mana to be invoked, while in Magic: The Gathering Arena the same rule will apply from June 4 with a new patch that is to come. This means a big nerf for teammates, three mana is a considerably higher price than it was before and this may end up pushing them out of the metagame.
Magic: The Gathering B&R
And instead of banning players, they introduced restrictions and new rules. You can also find the bans and restrictions announcement for Magic: The Gathering here. According to the announcement, in standard, Agent of Treachery and Fires of Invention are banned, in Historic, Agent of Treachery and Fires of Invention are suspended.
If we are guided by the earlier reactions, it seems that the change has pleased the players since the dominance of the teammates was too stable for a long time. However, this change is striking since Wizards does not usually do them and less when a set has just been released in May, perhaps it is the beginning of a more dynamic way of changing the rules of a game that has been between us since the 90s.
