How is Oko Not Black?
General forum
Posted on Nov. 21, 2019, 8:15 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
In this post, Mark Rosewater states that Oko is blue/green, as indicated on his card, but I cannot understand how he cannot be black.
A quote from his character profile reads
Oko's Biography Show
That sentence that I put in bold text is the very definition of black behavior: cruel and malicious for no reason other than enjoying the suffering of others. Therefore, as was the case with Tibalt, I fail to understand how Oko cannot be at least partially black.
What does everyone else say about this? How is Oko not black?
Well hes an anarchist which is a very red attribute but he also wants to help people which is a very white trait. And pulling pranks can be blue or black
November 21, 2019 8:24 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #4
Because he is in no way black? Black isn't malicious, it does not care enough about you to try to ruin anything. The essence of black is amorality and narcissism. It is not "evil", "cruel", or "malicious".
The way he is described in that excerpt is more of a Freshman Philosopher type. He does things that he thinks are clever or making a statement that have the effect of causing a bad time for others and then just runs away from his problems. He is a stereotypical Fae from D&D or European myth and UG is a perfect fit.
November 21, 2019 9:54 p.m.
A person’s colour identity is not defined by their acts - it is defined by their motivations. A person who exclusively acts cruelty can be do so without having a trace of Black in their identity; a person who is exclusively good could be mono-Black.
In this case, his cruelty stems from a desire to shape the world around him through pranks - that’s a fairly U/G way of looking at the world. There is no ambition, no selfishness, no desire personal power—that is to say, there is no Black.
November 21, 2019 11:50 p.m.
He could easily be Sultai in another iteration, if he leans into certain aspects of his personality due to some events, but right now even that highlighted sentence paints him as mischivioius (this is a killer spelling bee word) rather than downright evil. He is basically the Grinch of MTG and the Grinch is not black at all.
November 22, 2019 4:20 a.m.
People have a hard time realizing that Black isn't necessarily evil or malicious and all the other colors are more than capable of being "Bad" in their own right
November 22, 2019 12:55 p.m.
I had to use that opportunity to shitpost there (sorry lol). OP doesn't specify color identity, so I read the title in a completely different context before clicking to be honest.
To sum up why his color identity isn't in black, is because he really doesn't act maliciously with intent to kill or destroy. Even then I wouldn't necessarily say that's what black would be about. Rather, I'm looking at it from the angle of him being Simic because he alters reality, which is a very Simic thing to do if that makes sense.
November 24, 2019 1:09 p.m.
Faelix_Drakes says... #11
It says in the strategy insert that Oko only plays his tricks on hypocritical and tyrannical authority figures. That's not really evil, I'd say.
PhyrexianWombat says... #2
I wouldn't say it's fully black, I don't think the phrase "He sees it as his mission to help others" is black in any context. Some of his actions probably could be described as black, but they're also not evil to the degree of many black actions either. Ruining someone's wedding day is a cruel thing, but it's certainly not on the level of malice regarding things a black character like Ob Nixilis does. Besides, blue and green have cruel sides as well, look at Momir Vig who was arguably more villainous than Oko.
That's my perspective anyway.
November 21, 2019 8:24 p.m.