Oko, Thief of Crowns is Finally Banned in Standard
We all knew Oko, Thief of Crowns had to Go
Standard was not, in many players’ estimations, in a healthy place.
Oko — along with some of his buddies, many of which are still legal — ushered in an era of unprecedented dominance. Six of the eight decks playing the single elimination rounds at Mythic Championship VI were Oko decks; and all eight were on Once Upon a Time.
There were alternatives to banning the best Planeswalker in recent memory, though. Unfortunately, any effort to keep Oko alive would have necessitated banning an enormous swath of [probably] innocent bystanders.
“A lot of innocent Planeswalkers and Geese would have to be sacrificed,” says Mike.
Here he’s talking about Gilded Goose and Nissa, Who Shakes the World. Nissa’s main offense is just being green. Arguably not even in the best [pre-bans] deck.
Once Upon a Time and Veil of Summer ate the Ban Hammer too
This card was legal in Standard
Veil of Summer was even more ubiquitous than Oko! Almost all the Oko decks played it (or even played four), and non-Oko decks also did. For example, Gruul beatdown or Gruul Adventures decks.
Where to go next? one of the big jokes is that losing four copies of Once Upon a Time means that you might have to add as many as four lands to your deck!
You’ll just have to listen to this week’s podcast to find out!
