Magic: The Gathering's Oko, Thief of Crowns Finally Banned But Not in The Format Players Want

Many Magic: The Gathering players would agree that "Oko, Thief of Crowns" is one of the most overpowered cards printed in recent years. Oko is not just a villain in the Throne of Eldraine storyline, the card that depicts him (not the Planeswalker deck version) is a villain to the Standard metagame, but it's also showing its dominance in other MTG formats like Vintage, Pioneer, Brawl, and Modern. Now, the card will finally get banned but not in the format players were hoping for yet.

Today, the official Magic: The Gathering Arena forums announced that "Oko, Thief of Crowns" is banned in the Brawl format in Arena, noting that this includes using Oko as your commander or as part of your deck. However, players can still use the card in Brawl matches done through Direct Challenge instead of Tournament Mode.

According to the announcement, players who obtained "Oko, Thief of Crowns" as part of their in-game collection on Magic Arena prior to this announcement will not be receiving Wildcards as paart of this update. Oko is still playable in other formats, including where it's truly broken: Standard.

We actually tried Oko as a commander in Brawl, and the deck went undefeated. You can watch Brian play it here:

While Oko is great in Brawl, I don't think it's as overpowered as it is in Standard right now. Mythic Championship VI is happening this weekend, and we'll most likely see more players choosing to play Sultai Food, Simic Food, or Bant Ramp, decks that utilize Oko, so I hope we won't see boring Oko mirror matches. However, Wizards of the Coast addressed the issue, and hinted when Oko will probably get banned in Standard.

Related: MTG Designer Shares New Insight To Recent Pioneer Bannings