Modern: 8 Cards that got better with Lurrus' ban

The most feared event by some and longed for by others finally came to light... Lurrus of the Dream-Den was suddenly banned from Modern (and Pioneer) on Monday (March 7), and generated a whirlwind of emotions among the players.

Many were sad because they played with Lurrus (and let's face it, the cat was present in several of the best decks), others were happy exactly because they didn't need to play against her anymore in their games, but mainly, many were interested in knowing what the Metagame would look like and also what Lurrus decks might do now that they no longer have the mana cost restriction.

With that in mind, I decided to bring eight cards that, I think, can be more present in the post-ban Modern!

Starting with the most concrete, the only disadvantage of using Murktide Regent was exactly excluding Lurrus in the deckbuilding formula.

Even though it was an excellent beater, Modern Horizons II's dragon ended up being excluded in several decks with blue precisely because the companion was together. I don't think it'll show up as much in Grixis Shadow because of its cost needing two blue mana, but maybe a Grixis or Jeskai Ragavan shows up, now with a good aggressive creature.

Thinking more about the macro-stuff, the food deck with Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar is very synergistic and manages to take a lot of value from Urza's Saga, in addition to having strong cyclic interactions between Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, The Underworld Cookbook and Ovalchase Daredevil.

The problem is that the deck ended up having one less card than almost all grind-based decks, since cards like Daredevil himself and even the versions with Feasting Troll King make it impossible to run Lurrus, the which ended up causing the rise of food decks that didn't run Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar and their interactions to use the cat (as you can see in this article here).

Without Lurrus in the picture, the food variations get a little more prominence as a value deck, which is great for the semi-unpronounceable cook.

And here we have a card that all classic Jund players love! Even though I still think that Liliana of The Veil is not a good choice in the current metagame (let's face it, the asymmetric effect of Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger still pays off more in the format), Liliana, The Last Hope on the other hand, seems like a great planeswalker without the "drawback" of not running Lurrus.

Going up killing a Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer or an Esper Sentinel is a pretty big advantage which ends up generating a planeswalker that is more difficult to resolve against attrition decks, not to mention that the function of recovering creatures from the graveyard is now much more interesting, since the best option for this was banned.

Okay, actually this placement works for Solitude and Endurance as well, since now, without the "clause" of limiting mana cost, elementals can enter a wider range of decks.

With the versatility of its cost, being able to be used as a pitch spell, Fury and company can enter decks of low curve without altering the mana costs so much, while still being a robust late-game threat.

One card that Stoneforge Mystic missed when we saw Hammer Time was always Batterskull. Even though it doesn't have much synergy with the deck, the aggressive possibility that the equipment provides can only be positive for the deck, so a copy like silver bullet would be extremely beneficial for moments without enough gas to close the game, and Hammer Time lost its ability to never lose the gas with Lurrus.

Kaldra Compleat might be something to think about as well, but its cost ends up being much more restrictive for times when Stoneforge's ability cannot be used.

Thinking about Death's Shadow, Street Wraith fell into disuse in the deck solely because of Lurrus, since the card is extremely synergistic for the deck, especially today, that it is important to reach the delirium, for cards like Dragon's Rage Channeler and Unholy Heat.

It's a bit difficult to think about slots, as Lurrus leaving doesn't create space in the maindeck, but it's undeniable that the synergy Wraith has with Death's Shadow is extremely beneficial.

As with elementals, this position also works for other companions such as Kaheera, the Orphanguard, Jegantha, the Wellspring and even Obosh, the Preypiercer, since with the presence of such a companion, present in the metagame that has a lower cost and requires less effort in deckbuilding, it slightly overshadowed the advantage that the "extra card" from other companions would bring.

Now that the path is "free", it is common for other alternatives to take advantage of the "forgotten" companions to be more present, in addition to making Yorion, Sky Nomad decks even better.

Another planeswalker that ended up overshadowed by the feline was Grist, the Hunger Tide. Even being more recent and coming in a set like Modern Horizons II, the "Planeswalker Creature" didn't see much play because several decks where the card would enter were running Lurrus, like Jund.

Speaking of interactions with the other planeswalker of this list, Liliana, the Last Hope returning another planeswalker is an interesting play when safely done. In addition, all of Grist's abilities are useful and can generate plenty of value.

In conclusion, I don't exactly believe that Lurrus of the Dream-Den 's ban will "kill" all decks that used to run it, or bring all cards of three mana or more back into play. It's true that the companion was a great reward for low curve decks, but all the permanents that play in Lurrus decks are still extremely powerful and advantageous (the Ragavan is still a Ragavan).

Now, something I really believe will happen, as specified in the list above, is that powerful cards that have a more malleable cost, that are cheaper than what's on paper (like Murktide Regent's delve or the evoke cost of Fury), will see more play with the absence of the card that ended up limiting the deckbuilding.

What about you, did you like the ban? Did you play with Lurrus? What do you think will happen with the Metagame going forward? I look forward to your answers in the comments and see you in the next article!