Over the weekend, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) announced that the lifecycle of the Standard format would be shifting from a two-year rotation cycle to three.
According to Magic: The Gathering’s Vice President of Design, Aaron Forsythe, Standard has thrived on MTG Arena, but has all but “dried up” in local game stores. The goal is “not to overshadow any of the amazing growth Commander, Pioneer, Modern, and other formats have seen in recent years but instead give players more reasons to engage with Standard.”
The growth of Magic as a whole has effectively left tabletop Standard behind, and shifting to a three-year rotation is the first step in revitalizing the once great format. Forsythe believes this initial shift will accomplish three things:
- Give current Standard cards more longevity.
- Allow mechanics and archetypes to be more effectively built on over time.
- Gives us stronger tools to create an environment where decks are more “color(s) and mechanic” (like Green-White Toxic or Blue-White Soldiers) and less midrange.
Before this change was announced, rotation was scheduled to happen with the release of Wilds of Eldraine on September 8, 2023. The sets Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna were all slated to rotate, but now they will be legal in Standard through 2024.
Forsythe concludes that this is just the first step in a “multistep plan” to revitalize tabletop Standard, however the next steps are still in the planning stages.
Read the original article from WotC.