How to play Oko, the Ringleader from MTG Outlaws of Thunder Junction

The Wild West theme coming with the new expansion Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ) covers all corners of the Magic: The Gathering multiverse—even those thought to be banned for good.

The infamous Oko is making a shocking return to MTG, but he’s had quite a tweak since his all-too-memorable previous outing. At the same time, there was absolutely no way Oko was going to return without taking charge. Here’s how Oko, the Ringleader works in MTG’s OTJ and what the Planeswalker does with the new Crime mechanic.

What is Oko, the Ringleader in MTG OTJ?

Oko, the Ringleader is a Simic (Green and Blue) Legendary Planeswalker in the OTJ expansion. The card costs four mana and comes with the ability to generate copies of existing permanents as an ultimate.

Oko can even become a copy of a creature you control at the beginning of combat each turn, which, with the right setup, can make for an extremely powerful combat and second main phase play.

• Mana cost: 2GU
• Type: Legendary Planeswalker—Oko
• Rarity: Mythic Rare
• Loyalty: Three
• Passive ability: “At the beginning of combat on your turn, Oko, the Ringleader becomes a copy of up to one target creature you control until end of turn, except he has hexproof.”
• Planeswalker abilities:
  • +1: “Draw two cards. If you’ve committed a crime this turn, discard a card. Otherwise, discard two cards.”
  • -1: “Create a 3/3 green Elk creature token.”
  • -5: “For each other nonland permanent you control, create a token that’s a copy of that permanent.”

How to play Oko, the Ringleader in MTG OTJ

In the right hands and the right deck, Oko, the Ringleader can just about do it all. Off the bat, his first ability works brilliantly at cycling through your deck with the draw-and-discard effect. But by committing a crime during the turn, you’ll be able to keep a hold of one of the cards—quite powerful for a plus-one ability.

That said, it’s arguably more difficult to commit crimes in MTG with Green or Blue unless you’re running specific removal, so splashing into a third color (like Black for direct removal, White for permanent exile, or Red for direct damage) might be the play to ensuring Oko procs that bonus draw.

You’ll almost always be playing this ability to build up your Loyalty so you can use Oko’s ultimate, which is where the power of the card truly lies. We’ve seen copying and token generation effects in the past but Oko, the Ringleader will be taking this effect to the next level.

It won’t be easy to squeeze out five Loyalty, but if you get there, creating copies of every permanent you control is huge and often game-winning. Keep in mind this includes your artifacts and enchantments as well as your creatures, but don’t forget the Legend rule applies when these tokens are generated.

Oko’s passive ability can’t be overlooked, either: While ETB effects won’t work when Oko becomes a copy during combat, other creature abilities become useable. It’s highly advised that, if possible, you go to combat first, get Oko switched into another creature, and then play any related cards in your second main phase to benefit from any effects Oko gains.

A 3/3 Green Elk for one Loyalty isn’t the worst effect, but given that the Thief of Crowns received this effect for plus-one Loyalty, it’s a little underwhelming in comparison. You’ll almost always be using this defensively to get a blocker up and prevent damage to your face or Oko while you work on your combo.