Banner

Banners are tall decorative blocks, featuring a field that is highly customizable using dyes and banner patterns.

Obtaining[]

Breaking[]

Banners can be broken with or without a tool, but an axe is fastest.

Block	Banners
Hardness	1
Tool
Breaking time[A]
Default	1.5
Wooden	0.75
Stone	0.4
Iron	0.25
Diamond	0.2
Netherite	0.2
Golden	0.15

A banner also breaks and drops itself as an item if the block the banner is attached to is moved, removed, or destroyed.

Natural generation[]

Name	Location	Appearance	Design
Magenta Banner	Outside of end cities.		Magenta Banner Black Inverted Chevron Black Chevron
Gray Banner	In banner room in woodland mansions.		Gray Banner
Light Gray Banner	In master bedroom in woodland mansions.		Light Gray Banner White Flower Charge
Ominous Banner‌[JE only] Illager Banner‌[BE & edu only]	Carried by raid captains. Located in pillager outposts. In Java Edition, the ominous banner cannot be crafted or copied because the design uses 8 patterns. In Bedrock Edition, the illager banner is a separate type that cannot be placed in a loom.		White Banner‌[JE only] Cyan Lozenge Light Gray Base Gray Pale Light Gray Bordure Black Fess Light Gray Per Fess Light Gray Roundel Black Bordure Separate type entirely‌[BE only]
Brown Banner	Outside of some houses, meeting points, and pillar fountains in savanna villages.		Brown Banner
Black Banner	In altar room in woodland mansions.		Black Banner

Crafting[]

Banners can be crafted from six wool and a stick in a pattern resembling a sign.

Name	Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Description
Banner	Matching Wool + Stick		Once the banner is crafted, its base color cannot be changed.‌[Java Edition only]
White Banner	Any Banner + Bleach		Bleach can be used to remove the color of a banner, resulting in a white banner. This includes removing patterns from a white banner.‌[Bedrock Edition and Minecraft Education only]

Trading[]

Expert-level cartographer villagers always offer to sell 1 or 2 blank banners of a random color for 3 emeralds. Expert-level shepherd villagers have a ²⁄₇ chance of offering the same trade.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

In Bedrock Edition, expert-level cartographer and shepherd villagers both offer to sell one of 16 blank banners for 3 emeralds as part of their trades.

Mob loot[]

Illagers that spawn carrying an ominous banner‌^{[JE only]} / illager banner‌^{[BE & edu only]} always drop it upon death.

Usage[]

There are 16 colored blank banners, and numerous patterns each available in each of the 16 colors. A banner can feature up to 6 different patterns. The top layer of a banner (or the last pattern added) can be washed off by using it on a cauldron containing water.

Banners, much like signs, can be placed both on the ground facing in any direction, or on a wall. They gently sway as if affected by a breeze, regardless of dimension or location.

Banners have no collision mask as they are completely non-solid, so entities can move through them.

Other blocks (including other banners) can be placed on any edge of a banner's hitbox, which is only one block high despite the banner appearing as two blocks tall. This makes it possible to overlap another solid block on the top half of a banner for floor banners, or the bottom half of wall banners.

When a banner is placed on the side of a block, its position is set by the top block, and it is possible to place it so it appears half buried.

Banners can also be placed in item frames, where they simply appear as their item model.

Water and lava flow around banners. In Bedrock Edition, banners can be waterlogged.

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  Water can be placed below wall banners

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  Water flows around a banner on the ground

Lava can create fire in air blocks next to banners as if the banners were flammable, but the banners do not burn (and cannot be burned by other methods). Banners also cannot be moved by pistons.

If a banner is renamed on an anvil, it retains its name when a pattern is added, but not when a pattern is removed.

Helmet[]

While a banner cannot be equipped in the head slot in Survival mode, equipping it using commands causes it to appear on top of the player. This is how raid captains wear banners‌^{[JE only]}.

Chestplate[]

While a banner cannot be equipped in the chestplate slot in Survival mode, equipping it using NBT editors causes it to appear on top of the player. This is how raid captains wear banners‌^{[BE & edu only]}.

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Crafting ingredient[]

Shields can have patterns applied to them using banners. The shield pattern has a smaller resolution than the banner pattern, causing them to look different or offset. Banners that have more than six patterns, such as Ominous Banners or banners obtained through inventory editors, will be reduced to six patterns on the shield.

Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Description
Shield + Matching Banner or Ominous Banner		Applies the banner pattern to the shield. The banner is consumed. The shield must have no pre-existing patterns. Does not change existing durability or enchantments on the shield.

Copying[]

Banners can be copied with a blank banner to make multiple identical banners. Banners with more than 6 patterns applied using commands cannot be copied in this manner.

Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Description
Matching Banner		Copies pattern; both banners must have the same base color, and the one having a pattern copied onto it must have no preexisting pattern.

Map marker[]

In Java Edition, using on a standing banner with a map selected places a marker of the banner's position on the selected map, and using on the banner again removes the marker. Note that wall banners cannot serve as map markers. The marker has the same color as the banner's base without decorations. The marker is removed if the banner is destroyed unless the map is locked using a cartography table. If the banner is renamed, the name appears below the marker.

Patterns[]

A banner may have up to six layers of patterns, which are overlaid with the last-crafted on top. A banner can have up to 16 layers of patterns with the use of commands. The total number of unique banners is approximately 2.3x10^16 (or 23 quadrillion).

Any color banner can be used; the pattern overlays the color. In Java Edition, a loom is used to make patterns. However, in Bedrock Edition, the patterns can be made in a loom or a crafting table.

A banner can have more than six layers of patterns through the commands /give, /setblock or /fill. This only works in Java Edition, as Bedrock Edition doesn't have any NBT commands. Here is an example of a mining banner with seven different patterns. There is specific codes for the colors and patterns that you have to input.

/give @p white_banner{display:{Name:"\"Mining Industries Banner\""},BlockEntityTag:{Patterns:[{Pattern:"cr",Color:15},{Pattern:"bs",Color:15},{Pattern:"sc",Color:12},{Pattern:"ms",Color:0},{Pattern:"hh",Color:15},{Pattern:"bo",Color:15},{Pattern:"tts",Color:8}]}} 1

Renaming[]

In Java Edition, a banner can be given a custom name that remains as the banner is placed and retrieved. The player can use an anvil to rename the banner item, or may change the CustomName tag using the /data command on the banner block.

Fuel[]

Banners can be used as a fuel in furnaces, smelting 1.5 items per banner.

Note Blocks[]

Banners can be placed under note blocks to produce "bass" sounds.

Sounds[]

Generic[]

Java Edition:

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.wood.break	subtitles.block.generic.break	1.0	0.8	16
	Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.wood.place	subtitles.block.generic.place	1.0	0.8	16
	Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.wood.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit	0.25	0.5	16
	None[sound 1]	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.wood.fall	None[sound 1]	0.5	0.75	16
	Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.wood.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.wood	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	dig.wood	1.0	0.8
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.wood	0.23	0.5
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.wood	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	step.wood	0.3	1.0
	Players	Jumping from the block	jump.wood	0.12	1.0
	Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.wood	0.18	1.0

Unique[]

Java Edition: None

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	When all patterns are removed from a banner using a cauldron	cauldron.cleanbanner	0.1	1.0

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Item tags	Translation key
White Banner	white_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.white_banner block.minecraft.ominous_banner
Orange Banner	orange_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.orange_banner
Magenta Banner	magenta_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.magenta_banner
Light Blue Banner	light_blue_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.light_blue_banner
Yellow Banner	yellow_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.yellow_banner
Lime Banner	lime_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.lime_banner
Pink Banner	pink_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.pink_banner
Gray Banner	gray_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.gray_banner
Light Gray Banner	light_gray_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.light_gray_banner
Cyan Banner	cyan_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.cyan_banner
Purple Banner	purple_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.purple_banner
Blue Banner	blue_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.blue_banner
Brown Banner	brown_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.brown_banner
Green Banner	green_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.green_banner
Red Banner	red_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.red_banner
Black Banner	black_banner	Block & Item	banners wall_post_override	banners	block.minecraft.black_banner
White Wall Banner	white_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.white_banner block.minecraft.ominous_banner
Orange Wall Banner	orange_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.orange_banner
Magenta Wall Banner	magenta_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.magenta_banner
Light Blue Wall Banner	light_blue_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.light_blue_banner
Yellow Wall Banner	yellow_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.yellow_banner
Lime Wall Banner	lime_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.lime_banner
Pink Wall Banner	pink_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.pink_banner
Gray Wall Banner	gray_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.gray_banner
Light Gray Wall Banner	light_gray_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.light_gray_banner
Cyan Wall Banner	cyan_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.cyan_banner
Purple Wall Banner	purple_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.purple_banner
Blue Wall Banner	blue_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.blue_banner
Brown Wall Banner	brown_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.brown_banner
Green Wall Banner	green_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.green_banner
Red Wall Banner	red_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.red_banner
Black Wall Banner	black_wall_banner	Block	banners wall_post_override	—	block.minecraft.black_banner

Name	Identifier
Block entity	banner

Bedrock Edition:

Banner	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Standing	standing_banner	176	Block & Ungiveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3]	tile.standing_banner.black.name tile.standing_banner.red.name tile.standing_banner.green.name tile.standing_banner.brown.name tile.standing_banner.blue.name tile.standing_banner.purple.name tile.standing_banner.cyan.name tile.standing_banner.silver.name tile.standing_banner.gray.name tile.standing_banner.pink.name tile.standing_banner.lime.name tile.standing_banner.yellow.name tile.standing_banner.lightBlue.name tile.standing_banner.magenta.name tile.standing_banner.orange.name tile.standing_banner.white.name
Wall	wall_banner	177	Block & Ungiveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3]	—
Item	banner	567	Item	—	item.banner.black.name item.banner.red.name item.banner.green.name item.banner.brown.name item.banner.blue.name item.banner.purple.name item.banner.cyan.name item.banner.silver.name item.banner.gray.name item.banner.pink.name item.banner.lime.name item.banner.yellow.name item.banner.lightBlue.name item.banner.magenta.name item.banner.orange.name item.banner.white.name

Name	Savegame ID
Block entity	Banner

Metadata[]

Item[]

In Bedrock Edition, banner items use the following data values:

DV	Banner color
0	black
1	red
2	green
3	brown
4	blue
5	purple
6	cyan
7	light gray
8	gray
9	pink
10	lime
11	yellow
12	light blue
13	magenta
14	orange
15	white

Item[]

In Java Edition, banner items use the following data values:

DV	Banner color
15	black
14	red
13	green
12	brown
11	blue
10	purple
9	cyan
8	light gray
7	gray
6	pink
5	lime
4	yellow
3	light blue
2	magenta
1	orange
0	white

Block states[]

Java Edition:
Floor

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
rotation	0	0	The block is facing south.
		1	The block is facing south-southwest.
		2	The block is facing southwest.
		3	The block is facing west-southwest.
		4	The block is facing west.
		5	The block is facing west-northwest.
		6	The block is facing northwest.
		7	The block is facing north-northwest.
		8	The block is facing north.
		9	The block is facing north-northeast.
		10	The block is facing northeast.
		11	The block is facing east-northeast.
		12	The block is facing east.
		13	The block is facing east-southeast.
		14	The block is facing southeast.
		15	The block is facing south-southeast.

Wall

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
facing	north	east north south west	The direction the block is facing. For example, a block facing east is attached to a block to its west. Opposite from the direction a player faces when placing the block.

Bedrock Edition:

Standing

Name	Metadata Bits	Default value	Allowed values	Values for Metadata Bits	Description
ground_sign_direction	0x1 0x2 0x4 0x8	0	0	0	The block is facing south.
			1	1	The block is facing south-southwest.
			2	2	The block is facing southwest.
			3	3	The block is facing west-southwest.
			4	4	The block is facing west.
			5	5	The block is facing west-northwest.
			6	6	The block is facing northwest.
			7	7	The block is facing north-northwest.
			8	8	The block is facing north.
			9	9	The block is facing north-northeast.
			10	10	The block is facing northeast.
			11	11	The block is facing east-northeast.
			12	12	The block is facing east.
			13	13	The block is facing east-southeast.
			14	14	The block is facing southeast.
			15	15	The block is facing south-southeast.

Wall

Name	Metadata Bits	Default value	Allowed values	Values for Metadata Bits	Description
facing_direction	0x1 0x2 0x4	0	2 3 4 5	2 3 4 5	The direction the block is facing. For example, a block facing east is attached to a block to its west. 2: north 3: south 4: west 5: east
			0 1	0 1	Unused

Block data[]

A banner has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Block entity format.

Java Edition:

Item data[]

Java Edition:

Banners, as items, use an NBT tag BlockEntityTag to indicate the patterns and details when it is placed.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Item format.

Achievements[]

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
PS4	Other
		Fruit on the Loom	Make a banner using an Enchanted Apple Stencil	Make a banner using the Enchanted apple (thing) stencil	20G	Bronze

Advancements[]

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Resource location
	Voluntary Exile	Kill a raid captain. Maybe consider staying away from villages for the time being...	Adventure	Kill an entity in the #raiders entity tag wearing an ominous banner. This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.	adventure/voluntary_exile

History[]

Java Edition
1.8		July 21, 2014			Jeb posted a picture of banners, and stated that he is working on them.
		14w30a			Added banners.
		14w30c			Added four additional patterns: Cross (+), Border, Curly Border and Thing (Mojang logo).
		14w31a			Added two additional patterns: Inverted Halves and Base Gradient.
					The banner pattern terminology has been changed based on vexillology advice Jeb received from his Reddit post.
					Banners can now be used as a fuel in furnaces.
1.8.8		pre			The number of layers attainable by using commands is now limited to 16 per banner.
1.9		15w31a			Magenta banners with a black chevron and inverted chevron are now naturally generated on the outside walls of end cities.
		15w33c			Banners can be used to apply patterns to shields.
1.11		16w33a			Banners now require a dye when applying a pattern that uses a non-dye item, such as a creeper head or enchanted golden apple. Previously, the lack of a dye would have applied the black variant of the pattern.
		16w39a			Black and gray banners, and light gray banners with a white flower charge are now naturally generated in rooms of woodland mansions.
1.12		January 24, 2017			Jeb tweets a screenshot of the changes to the banner color palette.
		17w06a			Changed banners' tints.
		pre6			"Chief fess" and "base fess" banners are now just "chief" and "base" banners.
1.13		17w47a			The colors for the banner, wall_banner and standing_banner ID have been split up into their own IDs.
					Prior to The Flattening, these blocks' numeral IDs were 176 and 177, and the item's 425.
		18w10a			Using a map on a banner now mark the spot of the banner on the map.
1.14		18w43a			Looms have been added to help the player edit banners more easily.
					All recipes for banner patterns have been removed.
		18w45a			Added illager patrols, where the leader of an illager patrol carries an illager banner.
		18w46a			The pattern of illager banner now has a black border.
		19w11a			Cartographer and shepherd villagers now sell banners.
		Pre-Release 2			"Illager Banners" have been renamed to "Ominous Banners".
1.17		20w46a			The unused "base" pattern has been renamed to the "field" pattern and given proper translation strings (its ID is still "base").
1.19.3		22w43a			The ominous banner is now available in the Creative inventory.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0		beta 1.2.0.2			Added banners.
					Magenta banners with a black chevron and inverted chevron are now naturally generated on the outside walls of end cities.
					Black and gray banners, and light gray banners with a white flower charge are now naturally generated in rooms of woodland mansions.
1.4.0		beta 1.2.20.1			The white banner can now be crafted from a colored banner and bleach, which also removes all patterns, if used on a white banner.
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			Looms have been added to help the player edit banners more easily.
					Brown banners now generate in new savanna villages.
					Black banners now generate in pillager outpost watchtowers.
1.11.0		beta 1.11.0.1			Gray banners now generate in pillager outpost watchtowers, instead of black banners.
					Added illager captains, which drop an illager banner upon death.
		beta 1.11.0.3			Illager banners now generate in pillager outpost watchtowers, instead of gray banners.
		beta 1.11.0.4			Banners can now be bought from cartographer and shepherd villagers.
1.20.0		beta 1.20.0.20			Banners can now be used to customise shields.
Legacy Console Edition
TU43	CU33	1.36	Patch 13	1.0.1	Added banners.
TU46	CU36	1.38	Patch 15		Magenta banners with a black chevron and inverted chevron are now naturally generated on the outside walls of end cities.
TU53	CU43	1.49	Patch 23	1.0.3	Changed banners' tints.
		1.90			Looms have been added to help the player edit banners more easily.
		1.91			Added illager banners, which generate with pillager outposts and are dropped by illager captains upon death.

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Banner" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

• With 16 blank banners, 38 patterns of 16 colors each (608 uniquely-colored patterns), and 0 to 6 patterns per banner, the number of uniquely crafted banners is 16 × (608⁰ + 608¹ + 608² + 608³ + 608⁴ + 608⁵ + 608⁶) ≈ 809 quadrillion - 809 with 15 zeros (809,573,616,779,945,488). The number of visually distinct banners is smaller, because one or more patterns may completely cover other patterns, or the entire banner, or be duplicated due to the symmetric set of patterns (e.g. field or (yellow) + per pale azure (blue) = field azure + per pale or inverted).
  • Not 38 patterns are available on BE, but 40 patterns of 16 colors each (640 uniquely-colored patterns), so the number is even greater. 16 × (640⁰ + 640¹ + 640² + 640³ + 640⁴ + 640⁵ + 640⁶) ≈ 1 quintillion - 1 with 18 zeros (1,101,232,303,249,827,856). This increases the number by almost 1.4 times, or almost 292 quadrillion, despite the addition of only 2 patterns.
• If a banner has over 6 patterns, only the six bottom-most patterns are displayed when hovered over in the inventory.
• The Mojang logo is called "Thing" in-game, which could be considered an alternate translation for mojäng. If Google Translate is used, it translates to "thingys" or "contraption".
  • In the Swedish translation of the game, this pattern is, in fact, called mojäng.
• Banner textures are located in \assets\minecraft\textures\entity\banner.
  • There are 40 monochrome textures, each containing all 6 sides of the banner.
  • The texture of the back side is the mirrored texture of the front side.
  • Compared to the texture files, textures' colors are inverted in-game due to them acting as masks for the re-colored base texture, base.png. That means white is visible, while black is transparent.
• Banners that have the purple NBT+ line in the bottom (obtained by holding Ctrl and middle-clicking the banner, which also copies the NBT tag of anything that the player points their crosshair to) actually have no difference with the base banner obtained by middle click.
• The Illager Banner in Bedrock Edition is available as a separate item but is just a second variant of the white banner.
  • Standard variant of white banner is set to type 0.
  • Illager variant is set to type 1.

Gallery[]

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  The first image of banners, as tweeted by Jens Bergensten.

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  Another banner image from Jeb.

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  Several banners made by Searge.

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  Banners in the official 1.8 poster.

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  An image, tweeted by Jeb, showcasing the changes he made to the banner color palette in the 1.12 update.

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  The result of using gradient different numbers of times, each time increasing the level of gradient by 1.

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  All positions and rotations of a banner

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  A banner with the Mojang logo in an item frame.

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  Banners floating outside of an End city tower.

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  Banners hanging above the doorway of a woodland mansion master bedroom.

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  Banner put in the helmet slot by using the command /replaceitem‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} or /item replace‌^{[Java Edition only]}.

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  Banners in Bedrock Edition.

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  A banner in the hand.

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  A banner in the inventory.

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  A banner in the crafting grid.

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  A banner being given a pattern.

Renders[]

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  Ominous banner pattern in Java Edition.

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  Illager banner pattern in Bedrock Edition.

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  Old Ominous banner pattern.

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  Washing with cauldron shows how to apply the ominous banner pattern.

Lego Minecraft Banners[]

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  Lego banners from 21127 and 21131

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  Lego banner from 21138

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  Lego banner from 21142

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  Lego banner from 21144

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  Another lego banner from 21144

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  A third lego banner from 21144

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  Lego banner from 21152

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  Lego banners from 21155

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  Lego ominous banner from 21160

References[]