Last updated on August 11, 2025
Vivi Ornitier | Illustration by Toni Infante
Vivi Ornitier is completely busted and is included over 80% of top-performing decks. That is really bad, and it rivals the performance of the most format-dominating cards in Magic's history, like Oko, Nadu, and The One Ring.
WotC Printed Another Oko
Oko, Thief of Crowns was the most format-warping card in Magic history. It lasted just about a month before being banned in November 2019, and in the time it did exist in Standard it made up upwards of 7/8 decks in top 8 finishes at Mythic Championship V and the Standard Grand Prix that month.
Magic's professional structure is still a shadow of the pre-COVID tournament frequency, but recent standard challenges and online events show an undeniable favorite: Izzet Cauldron with 4x Vivi.
But it's not just standard challenges. The Arena Championship was this past weekend, and the results are identical. In the top 8 alone, there were… 7 Vivi decks (including the winner)! Competitive players all over are crying out for a ban. User Parmen10n took to X to say “If there are no bans in Standard tomorrow, it's time to abandon the format until November. I wouldn't look at a Standard event even if they paid me, much less play this meta.”
Yikes. Vivi is the boogeyman of the format. Many feared the ubiquity of post-rotation Dimir Midrange, but a clear winner has emerged.
An Emergency Ban?
Remember this obtuse Bird? It got banned very shortly after its release due to its absurd 59% Pro Tour winrate. The deck hinged on insanely long turns that were able to capitalize on freely targeting your creatures. You know who else has an ability that costs 0? It's freakin' Vivi, that's who.
Nadu's game winning strategy revolved around creating copies with Springheart Nantuko so that you could easily create a staggering number of tokens for Nadu to target, resulting in strikingly long turns.
Vivi is capable of pulling that same sort of action off with a few currently legal cards.
It's Not Just Vivi
Agatha's Soul Cauldron | Illustration by Jason A. Engle
Vivi Ornitier is a completely busted card that needs attention and that has taken over Standard, but don't let that distract you from it's best friend: Agatha's Soul Cauldron
The two are a natural pair that makes this deck worth running over other Izzet-based decks like Oculus. Vivi's interaction with Cauldron makes it worth running, which empowers the rest of the deck and gives it incredible consistency. Cauldron's natural +1/+1 counters turn on Vivi, which is worth discarding and casting.
Using Geralf, the Fleshwright in conjunction with the Cauldron makes for a very Nadu-esque interaction.
When Abuelo's Awakening was banned in Standard in June, it was expressly because of how absolutely broken it was in Omniscience decks. A turn 4 wincon in the format is just a little bit ridiculous.
In fact, it's possible that WotC take a look at banning the Cauldron over Vivi. Vivi and Cauldron are a true duo, but Vivi doesn't cause nearly as much of a stir in other Izzet decks like Prowess, and it's possible the card could exist in a fair state otherwise.
The Universes Beyond Effect
Fire Magic – art by Toni Infante
Mark Rosewater had this to say on Blogatog a few months ago: “Magic is an intimidating game to learn, so drawing people in through a property they love has proven a good entry point. Some of these first time players, once they learn the game, stick around to play in-multiverse expansions.”
It's been said infinite times, but Final Fantasy is, by far, the most popular Magic set of all time. While Vivi's brokenness is abundantly clear, it just seems unlikely that he'll get banned. It seems that WotC is stuck in a bit of a loop: The huge new wave of players brought in by Final Fantasy want to play their favorite character in Magic's original format. Banning the card could alienate new players, and that'd be a worrisome precedent to set.
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