Magic: Arena is bringing back old banned cards like Oko and Teferi and rebalancing them Hearthstone style [Destructoid]

Magic: Arena is gearing up for several big events these next few months, in what it is calling “Summer of Legend.”
That includes a surprise concept titled “Mirror, Mirror,” a mode where old cards are “reprinted” in digital form. Here’s the quick rundown:

In July, we’re running a short but exciting event called Mirror, Mirror. Imagine a world where Oko, Thief of Crowns was printed with balanced abilities and became just another great Historic card. What if Teferi, Time Raveler was printed where he was more of a friend than foe to the format? In Mirror, Mirror, you’ll explore this other universe of decks featuring rebalanced versions of some of Historic’s iconic banned cards. This legendary event won’t stay around for long, but you’ll just have to wait and see what’s inside later this year.

Interesting, right? I love the implication that Oko will be “balanced” now, and Teferi was a “foe” to all of Magic: The Gathering players. I mean, it’s kind of true! And in the case of Teferi, it took Wizards an inordinate amount of time to do something about it. But here we are: in a state where the company can laugh.
It’s fascinating, because this is one of the few times Arena has pulled rank and decided to rework cards to suit its needs over the more rigid and unbending paper format. In other words, it’s an extremely Hearthstone thing to do and it could lead Arena down a different path going forward, if Wizards decides to pivot more into digital.

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