Oko, Thief of Crowns banned from MTG Arena Brawl

The dominant Throne of Eldraine planeswalker, Oko, Thief of Crowns, has officially been banned from Brawl tournaments in MTG Arena. 

Oko is no longer a playable commander in Brawl as of Nov. 5. Wizards of the Coast has banned the planeswalker from events held in MTG Arena, but he’s still playable in the Direct Challenge mode. There was no mention of banning Oko from tabletop Brawl and he’s still playable across the other Magic formats, however.

The announcement of Oko being banned appeared in the MTG Arena forums today. It said that players who have the planeswalker in their Brawl decks won’t receive wildcards as compensation for the ban. MTGA players who plan on participating in tomorrow’s 24-hour Brawl event will need to restart the client before participating to avoid an invalid deck message. 

Oko was a major problem in Brawl via Magic Arena, but he’s not the only issue. The Magic community is still asking WotC to make the new format a permanent game mode as opposed to running weekly events for a span of 24 hours on Wednesdays. 

It’s possible to play Brawl at any time, but only in the Direct Challenge mode. And without a friends list, players have resorted to social media and a Discord channel created by Magic streamer Merchant. 

A ban on Oko is a step in the right direction, but many are wondering if it’s enough to save the unsanctioned format. Participation levels in tomorrow’s event will help determine if the ban creates interest in Brawl once again. And if it does, perhaps WotC will make it a permanent mode in MTG Arena.