Hi, if I have a single Kaheera, the orphanguard in my deck. Do I declare Kaheera as my "chosen companion" at the start of the game, or do I declare it only when I cast it from my hand?
If a creature with companion is in your deck you do not declare it as your companion. You only declare a creature as your companion at the start of the start of the game if you are using the creature as your companion in which case it will be in your sideboard not your main deck. In addition, it is possible to run 3 copies of a card with companion in your main deck while having the 4th copy as your companion in your sideboard.
If I don't have any copies in the sideboard, I can't declare it as a companion?
guess I'll just use it as a normal creature then. All creature in my deck are cat, so I satisfy his requirements.
The requirements only apply if you want to use them as a companion. If you want to use them as normal creatures you can simply slot them into your deck with no deckbuilding restrictions. Only if you want to put one in your sideboard to be specially cast as a companion do you need to meet the restrictions.
If I don't have any copies in the sideboard, I can't declare it as a companion?
guess I'll just use it as a normal creature then. All creature in my deck are cat, so I satisfy his requirements.
You can declare a card as your chosen companion only if it has a companion ability and you own that card outside the game (that is, outside your deck).
If a card has a companion ability, you are required to follow that card's deckbuilding restriction only if—
you own that card outside the game (including in a sideboard [C.R. 400.11a]),
that card is not your commander (review C.R. 903.3),
that card is not otherwise in your starting deck, and
you reveal that card as "your companion" (review C.R. 103.2b).
For example, if Kaheera is in your deck (or if Kaheera is in your sideboard but not revealed as "your companion"), the creature cards in your deck need not all be Cat, Elemental, Nightmare, Dinosaur, and/or Beast cards. On the other hand, if Kaheera is outside the game and your chosen companion, "[e]ach creature card in your starting deck [must be] a Cat, Elemental, Nightmare, Dinosaur, or Beast card".
Ok, much clearer now. If I put this guy in sideboard, then I can cast him from the sideboard? My deck is all cats anyway, so that requirement is already satisfied.
Ok, much clearer now. If I put this guy in sideboard, then I can cast him from the sideboard? My deck is all cats anyway, so that requirement is already satisfied.
The companion ability gives you a special way to bring Kaheera into the game from outside that game (e.g., from your sideboard) only if you declare it as your chosen companion. If Kaheera is not your chosen companion, you can't do so this way, even if Kaheera is in your sideboard.
EDIT (Jun. 20): Edited to conform to updated comprehensive rules for June 2020.
Then I would declare it as a companion at the start of the game to be usable.
- Kaheera is in my sideboard
- all creature in my deck are cat
now no problem, right?
Yes, that is how companion works. I want to stress that only 1 copy of the card is in your sideboard. You can have up to 3 additional copies in your main deck(these cards won't be your companion they are just normal cards in your deck).
do I have to show it to my opponent at the start of the game? or declaring is enough?
thanks for that additional info. However, I only need him in the side, as virtual "card number 61".
He would actually mess things up if he has to be put in the main, as every creature in the main deck already have their specific roles to do.
but I only have to show the companion card from the sideboard, not all cards in my sideboard?
If your chosen companion is in your sideboard, you are required only to reveal that companion; you are not required to reveal any other card in your sideboard.
forgot to ask. Are manlands also included in the creature requirement? For example, can I use a shambling vent? Or I'm not allowed to have it in the deck, because it's not a cat?
forgot to ask. Are manlands also included in the creature requirement? For example, can I use a shambling vent? Or I'm not allowed to have it in the deck, because it's not a cat?
A land card is not also a creature card merely because it has an ability that allows it to be a creature once it's on the battlefield. Thus, Shambling Vent, Mutavault, and almost all other land cards are not affected by Kaheera's deck-building requirement. At the time of this writing, the only land cards that are also creature cards are Dryad Arbor and Jasconian Isle and neither card meets Kaheera's deck-building requirement.
forgot to ask. Are manlands also included in the creature requirement? For example, can I use a shambling vent? Or I'm not allowed to have it in the deck, because it's not a cat?
Shambling Vent is not a creature card. Kaheera's companion restriction doesn't apply to it.
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guess I'll just use it as a normal creature then. All creature in my deck are cat, so I satisfy his requirements.
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The requirements only apply if you want to use them as a companion. If you want to use them as normal creatures you can simply slot them into your deck with no deckbuilding restrictions. Only if you want to put one in your sideboard to be specially cast as a companion do you need to meet the restrictions.
If a card has a companion ability, you are required to follow that card's deckbuilding restriction only if—
EDIT (Aug. 17, 2021): Edited generally.
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EDIT (Jun. 20): Edited to conform to updated comprehensive rules for June 2020.
- Kaheera is in my sideboard
- all creature in my deck are cat
now no problem, right?
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thanks for that additional info. However, I only need him in the side, as virtual "card number 61".
He would actually mess things up if he has to be put in the main, as every creature in the main deck already have their specific roles to do.
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
I guess all my questions have been answered. thanks.
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
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Shambling Vent is not a creature card. Kaheera's companion restriction doesn't apply to it.
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread