Magic: The Gathering has announced a major change to its Standard format. On Sunday, Wizards of the Coast announced that Standard, its most popular organized play format, will have its rotation period extended from two years to three. That means that every new (aside from some Universes Beyond tie-ins and sets specific to non-rotating formats) will be legal in Standard play for three years before rotating out of the format. That change is effective as of the release of Magic: The Gathering‘s Wilds of Eldraine expansion in the fall, which is when Standard rotation regularly takes place. In 2023, there will be no Magic: The Gathering Standard rotation.
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The Magic: The Gathering expansion sets Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna, which were expected to rotate out of Standard with Wilds of Eldraine‘s debut, will instead rotate out of Standard in 2024. Magic: The Gathering Arena (which comes to steam this month and possibly consoles later this year) will follow the same Standard rotation change, though the will not.
Why did Wizards of the Coast change Magic: The Gathering‘s Standard rotation?
Magic: The Gathering‘s vice president of design, Aaron Forsythe, explained the two reasons for making this change in a post on the official Magic: The Gathering website. The first is to give Standard more longevity. “Time and again, we hear that players want to play with cards they love and enjoy longer,” Forsythe writes. “Standard is our only rotating format, and while keeping it fresh is important, we also feel that there’s a more effective middle ground.
The other reason is that extending the rotation period allows mechanics and deck archetypes to flourish more over time. “As we moved away from the block model, we gained a lot of flexibility, but we also lost some ability to build on mechanics and themes within a set,” Forsythe explained. “With a longer window, we can find more opportunities to build up or revitalize archetypes. Coupled with the point above, that can lead to more diversity, longer-lasting archetypes, and enough competitive churn to keep players engaged.”
Revitalizing Magic: The Gathering‘s Standard Format
Forsythe goes on to say that this is but the first part of a longer commitment to implementing changes that will hopefully revitalize Standard tabletop Magic: The Gathering play at local game stores, which halted during the pandemic and hasn’t recovered. “Our attention toward improving the Standard experience won’t be ending here,” Forsythe writes. “To help ensure Standard thrives at local game stores, we’ll be rolling out a multistep plan to support and revitalize Standard tabletop play. While later steps are still in the planning stages, we felt it was important to share this change as early as possible once our plans around rotation were locked into place.”
Magic: The Gathering‘s next set release is March of the Machine: The Aftermath, an epilogue to March of the Machine set that capped off the game’s latest storyline, releasing May 12th. Wilds of Eldraine will follow in September.
