The Lore behind the Companions of Ikoria

The companions are already considered too powerful mainly in the eternal formats, the most notable of these, for sure is Lurrus of the Dream Den, whose restriction is "not having permanents above 2 in the converted mana cost". For most Modern, Legacy and Vintage decks, this is not a restriction, as the three mana permanents are already considered too expensive the for format, and it took less than two weeks for the Eternal formats metagame to be dominated by Lurrus' decks. Even at Magic Arena the games have been repetitive, especially against Yorion Lukka. It seems that on Arena playing with 80 cards is not something that affects you so much. Deck construction restrictions are considered a minor consequence for various formats, the case of Lutri for example, being inconsequential for Commander (his restriction is to have a deck with a copy of each card, which Commander has by definition) and therefore, it was banned on the day it was announced. Anyway, like it or not, the Companions are part of Ikoria's lore and in this article, I will tell you the story of each one of them.

Starting with the most infamous of all, Lurrus of the Dream Den. This nightmare cat hides in the lowlands of Indatha. Planeswalker Vivien Reid entered its den while exploring the world of Ikoria and inside she found a litter of adorable nightmare kittens. Apparently, Lurrus has the ability to appear and disappear at will, because when Vivien tried to get closer to the kittens, Lurrus appeared from a cloud of smoke. Vivien, respecting that mother's roar, ran away without looking back.

Yorion, Sky Nomad is a bird serpent that flies majestically across the skies of Ikoria, the people of the Skysail Sanctuary are particularly interested in Yorion's great golden horn, speculating about its value or possible medicinal purposes. If there is something that could knock down all the balloons that hold Skysail in the air, it is certainly the golden horns of this creature.

Zirda, the Dawnwaker is an elemental fox. The people of ikoria often say that the sun resides in Raugrin's Triome, so Vivien hoped to find a gigantic monster emanating intense heat. Instead, she found Zirda, a creature of incomparable beauty. The planeswalker approached the fox and Zirda allowed her to briefly stroke its fur, which seemed to emanate the heat of a ray of sunlight.

Kaheera, the Orphanguard is a cat beast. It is said that when a human hunter kills a monster, it usually leaves its offspring abandoned at its own luck. Kaheera seems to be driven by its mother's instinct and wants to protect all the little ones its encounters, and this creates a diverse litter, formed by monsters from all the dominant clades of Ikoria.

Jegantha, the Wellspring is an elemental elk that is considered to be the incarnation of mana. This monster seems to amplify any and all magic cast nearby. Vivien tried to use a simple growth spell on a beetle, which took on truly colossal dimensions. Vivien wonders what Jegantha could do if it had a bond with a wizard.

Keruga the Macrosage is a hippo dinosaur. Rielle the Omniscient considers Keruga a great sage like her and it was she who took Vivien to a meeting with this monster. While looking into the round eyes of the immense reptilian hippo, Vivien understood that she was in the presence of an almost infinite knowledge. The wisdom that Keruga gave the planeswalker was a simple “buaaaagh”, but, according to Vivien, it was all she needed to hear.

Obosh, the Preypiercer is an avernal horror that the planeswalker Vivien found on her exploration by Ikoria. Her first irrational instinct was to count how many legs Obosh had. However, she later realized that it would be better to do so by keeping a safe distance from the monster. At some point, Vivien managed to count how many legs the creature had: the answer is 347.

Gyruda, Doom of Depths is a kraken demon that few have information about. It is known to delight in commercial ships driven by sailors from an Ikorian coastal city. Vivien, attracted by the stories of the demonic kraken, tried to rent a boat to investigate, but could not find any captain willing to do so. Vivien wonders if the monster has a bonder since it doesn't usually attack the coastal city.

Umori, the Collector is an ooze creature. According to Vivien's studies, Umori collects the crystals that dot the landscape of Ikoria and attaches them to its body as a form of decoration. While the crystals stop shining when harvested, Umori can make them shine again on command, creating a natural light show.

lutri, the Spellchaser is an elemental otter. Considered a mischievous creature, this little otter stole an arrow from Vivien Reid's quiver. And with spells unknown to the planeswalker, Lutri was able to use the arrow to release a creature as if the Arkbow had shot it. When Vivien figured out what had just happened, Lutri had already disappeared under the waves. A playful creature, but quite powerful.

And these are the stories of the companions from Vivien's point of view. It may be that Play Design failed them, but they could certainly be further explored within the lore, as their premise is very interesting. If each of them had connected to a planeswalker it would be something cool. Let's see what will happen in the future. Will Wizards release more companions or after this repercussion they will give up the idea? In a way the companions reminded me of the time that the Planeswalkers cards were released in Lorwyn, which many considered to be weird. But they weren't that good at that time, unlike the companions who invaded all formats.

I'll finish it here, but leave your opinion about the companions. Let's continue this story in the comments.