Last announcement saw a major change to dominant Tempo and Combo decks in the metagame, and we have since seen a healthy balance return. Whilst there is no pressing need for Points changes in the extant metagame, the present announcement needs to address the future. The Committee rarely deem ‘preemptive pointing’ necessary, however the below is unlikely to come as a surprise.
Here is the change:
Lutri, the Spellchaser +1 (now 1 Point)
The full detail on this change is noted here, followed by our current watch list:
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LUTRI, THE SPELLCHASER +1 (to 1 Point)
Whilst many Companions can be abused, this new card requires zero ‘build-around’ costs and slots straight into strong Blue-based archetypes. This creates an unhealthy metagame where almost everyone must play Lutri to keep up, however there is also a disparity in Blue decks copying 4-Point Power, versus those that are running it ‘fairly’ such as non-Blue decks copying a 1-for-1 removal spell. Overall, in order to start the game with an ‘8 card hand’ the cost of adding Lutri to an existing deck is negligible, and therefore at least worth a 1 Point deckbuilding cost in Highlander.
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WATCH LIST
Aside from the pointing of Lutri, here is the item that has been added to the Watch List is:
Multiple Cards with the Companion Mechanic: The Committee have discussed the Companion mechanic in detail throughout spoiler season. There are fundamental questions around how many decks push to start the game with an ‘8 card hand’, versus decks that cannot effectively leverage the Companion in their colours. Further, the potential repetitive game-state created by the Companion mechanic itself being not in the spirit of a Highlander format. However without multiple events as data points, this has all been largely theory-crafting and playtesting, and The Committee intend to gather data on player experiences over the next three months to inform a decision in the next update.
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In sum, it is clear that the new Companion Mechanic is powerful, and it will be interesting to give players an opportunity to brew with new deck constraints (Lutri aside). As always, stay safe everyone!