If you've been playing around with the new Ikoria: Lair of Behemoth cards on MTG Arena or MTGO, you know all about Companion. The cards aren't even available in paper yet (for most of us) and already the Companion mechanic is influencing Constructed formats in massive ways. Just about everyone is talking about the impact Companion is having on Standard, Modern, Pioneer and Legacy. Commander players are talking, too.

Companion is dividing Commander players more, perhaps, than any other mechanic in recent memory. Many players loathe it, many love it, and others don't quite know what to think. This week and next I'll be diving into the argument from both sides, laying out the case both for and against Companion in Commander. Where do I fall? You'll find out at the end.

For now, let's begin by examining the arguments in Companion's favor.

Only Time Will Tell

I have a hard time dismissing this out of hand. While Lutri, the Spellchaser was banned quite literally the moment it was spoiled - both by the Commander Rules Committee and Wizards of the Coast for Brawl - I don't believe that necessarily means the other nine should have been banned as well. Lutri presented a unique set of problems for both Commander and Brawl, since its deck-building restriction isn't a restriction at all for singleton formats. Without having to jump through that hoop, Lutri would essentially be a free eighth card in your opening hand, and it's good enough to warrant automatic inclusion in every deck that could run its colors. For those reasons the designers quickly and emphatically explained that Lutri was never intended for these formats.

The remainder of the Companion cards do, however, require players to build their decks in specific, restricted ways, thus creating an opportunity cost that Lutri would not. Some are quite logical fits - Blue and White were already the primary colors for flicker decks, so Yorion, Sky Nomad slides in nicely next to a commander like Brago, King Eternal. But unlike Lutri, using Yorion as a Companion requires you to sleeve up at least 120 cards. That absolutely comes with downsides. If you want to make Yorion work, you can - at a price. Forcing these kinds of cost/benefit analyses is exactly what this mechanic was meant to do.

The next big question is, logically, does the benefit of the Companion's ability outweigh the drawbacks? I can't look at each Companion card and say, definitively, whether or not that's true. Much like everything else in Commander, whether and to what extent something works depends on many factors. Nothing in this format is black and white.

With all of that uncertainty, a considerable portion of the community has adopted a wait-and-see approach. Yes, Companion could be busted in Commander, but there's a solid argument to be made that we can't know whether or not it's busted until the mechanic has had some time in the field. This tracks with the RC's approach on cards like Leovold, Emissary of Trest and Paradox Engine. Rather than snap-banning them based on their objectively high power levels, the RC decided to see precisely how powerful they were, and if they were powerful enough to justify bans. It feels as though the RC is taking a similar approach with Companion, an approach that's difficult to dismiss at this early juncture.

Good Fences Make Good Brewers

I like to look at Commander decks as puzzles to be solved. I've had great success with not-so-popular commanders, including Daxos, Blessed by the Sun and Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, lists here and here. I've also tried and failed to make less notable things into things. Ask my playgroup how my Basandra, Battle Seraph and Myojin tribal decks went.

Turns out Basandra is one of the least-played commanders ever for good reason. Whoops!

But for brewers like myself, Companion presents an undoubtedly enticing proposition - can we make these cards worth the trouble? I'm quite sure the answer is "yes" for most, if not all, of the legal Companion cards. But as is virtually always true in Commander, each of us is likely to take a slightly different approach. I may see Gisa and Geralf as the best commander to link with Gyruda, Doom of Depths, while you may have your heart set on Wrexial, the Risen Deep. There are dozens of potential commanders for each Companion card; for each of those, there are limitless possibilities for how the other 99 slots in the deck are filled.

I've been vocal in my belief that one of the (many, many) things that makes Commander great is that it is a format in which players get to inject their own personalities into their decks. We take inspiration from other sources, get feedback and crib some tech here and there, but building one's very own deck and then taking it into battle is a point of great pride for a lot of us.

And since Commander is a format that rewards players for creating never-before-seen interactions and moments that their playgroups remember forever, self-imposed deck-building restrictions have been a part of Commander since its inception. If you've just been struck with the inspiration to build a deck in which every nonland card's art features someone looking over their shoulder, I'm sorry to tell you someone's beaten you to that idea.

At the same time, humans are human, and sometimes we put aside our galaxy brain ideas for decks that, say, only contain cards with the same titles as cards from Decipher's long-dead Star Wars Customizable Card Game (I spent more time than I'd like to admit on this, and I don't think it works...but it might) and build "The Same Old Atraxa, Praetors' Voice.deck" just to scratch the itch for something new. I think there's a lot to be said for having cards that spell out, right there in cardboard and ink, how we must get creative.

Creativity is good. Restriction is good. I believe, and always have, that some amount of restriction makes me a better deck-builder. It can be as simple as only brewing with only the cards we currently own, or as wacky as Looking Over the Shoulder Tribal.

Or Maybe We Just Do Big Dumb Dragons

In looking for a Companion to build around, I was drawn to Jegantha, the Wellspring. I knew there was plenty of busted stuff I could do with it. But what exactly?

We need Dragonzord power now! Ah, Power Rangers, my first and greatest nerd love.

It seems like "just do big dumb dragons" is a classic Commander sentiment with good reason. Big dumb dragons are fun! They even have a SUPER big, SUPER dumb commander in The Ur-Dragon. But that dude is so expensive...

...unless we can get him out on turn three. Like so:

Now, of course, this is a dream scenario depending heavily upon a nearly perfect opening hand. But this is Commander, where we will happily play dozens if not hundreds of games with our pet decks and fail over and over again, just to have a chance to live out our dreams.

If we can make it happen, an Ur-Dragon cast on turn three means an Ur-Dragon attack on turn four. Since we've loaded up the deck with Dragon spells, the odds of us having another one to put into play with Ur-Daddy's ability are quite high. If this deck can get to work quickly it has the potential to generate enormous value.

While Jegantha's benefits are huge for this deck, not being able to include cards with more than one of the same pip in their mana cost means some iconic and powerful Dragon cards can't come out to play. Let's pour out some lava for these homies:

Much to my dismay, Jegantha's restriction also means the Ultimatum cycle is off-limits. So is Nyxbloom Ancient, which would be an absolute unit in this deck. Nuts!

But for me, the appeal of the Companion mechanic is being forced to color inside the lines. So that's exactly what we did.

Jegantha Dragons | Commander | Dave Kosin

• Commander (1)
• 1 The Ur-Dragon

• Companion (1)
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring

• Creatures (29)
• 1 Atarka, World Render
• 1 Broodmate Dragon
• 1 Crosis, the Purger
• 1 Darigaaz Reincarnated
• 1 Darigaaz, the Igniter
• 1 Dragonlord Atarka
• 1 Dragonlord Dromoka
• 1 Dragonlord Kolaghan
• 1 Dragonlord Ojutai
• 1 Dragonlord Silumgar
• 1 Dromar, the Banisher
• 1 Intet, the Dreamer
• 1 Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
• 1 Keiga, the Tide Star
• 1 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
• 1 Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
• 1 Morophon, the Boundless
• 1 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
• 1 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
• 1 Ojutai, Soul of Winter
• 1 O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami
• 1 Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
• 1 Ramos, Dragon Engine
• 1 Ruthless Deathfang
• 1 Ryusei, the Falling Star
• 1 Scion of the Ur-Dragon
• 1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
• 1 Steel Hellkite
• 1 Wasitora, Nekoru Queen

• Planeswalkers (6)
• 1 Ajani, the Greathearted
• 1 Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
• 1 Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
• 1 Sarkhan the Mad
• 1 Sarkhan Unbroken
• 1 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds

• Instants (6)
• 1 Assassin's Trophy
• 1 Cyclonic Rift
• 1 Enlightened Tutor
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Teferi's Protection

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Demonic Tutor
• 1 Earthquake
• 1 Farseek
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Roar of the Crowd
• 1 Winds of Abandon

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Dragon Tempest
• 1 Rhythm of the Wild
• 1 Temur Ascendancy

• Artifacts (10)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Chromatic Lantern
• 1 Coat of Arms
• 1 Door of Destinies
• 1 Dragon Arch
• 1 Gruul Signet
• 1 Herald's Horn
• 1 Icon of Ancestry
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Urza's Incubator

• Lands (39)
• 1 Island
• 1 Plains
• 2 Forest
• 2 Mountain
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 1 Bountiful Promenade
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Cascade Bluffs
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Fabled Passage
• 1 Fetid Heath
• 1 Fire-Lit Thicket
• 1 Flooded Grove
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 Graven Cairns
• 1 Luxury Suite
• 1 Mana Confluence
• 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
• 1 Morphic Pool
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Reflecting Pool
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rugged Prairie
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Sea of Clouds
• 1 Spire Garden
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Sunken Ruins
• 1 Temple Garden
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Unclaimed Territory
• 1 Wooded Bastion

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To Be Continued

There are myriad ways to build around the nine legal Companion cards in Commander; this was just one. I had fun dreaming up and assembling this decklist, and that's the whole point of the format. It's quite clear we can have fun with these cards in our format.

But should we? We'll explore the other side next week!

Dave is a Commander player currently residing in Reno, NV. When he's not badly misplaying his decks, he works as a personal trainer. You can bother him on Twitter and check out his Twitch channel.