Containing nothing but adorable critters and Calamity Beasts, Bloomburrow is one of the most beloved MTG sets of 2024 already. Thanks to the timing of its release, it’s also one of the most important sets this year. After a literal year of waiting, Bloomburrow is finally set to usher in Standard’s rotation.
For Standard and Alchemy players, rotation is a hugely exciting time full of innovation and newfangled strategies. In 2024, however, rotation is slightly trickier to comprehend than usual. As the first Standard rotation since a policy change, and a significant turning point for Alchemy, a lot is going on.
To make matters worse, the actual date for the 2024 MTG rotation is surprisingly difficult to pin down.
A Date Dilemma
As usual, the MTG rotation in 2024 will happen when Bloomburrow releases. That’s all simple enough, right? Sadly, that is not precisely the case, as Bloomburrow has three different release dates in two different months. This makes divining when rotation actually happens surprisingly difficult.
For starters, MTG Arena players have it easy when rotation rolls around. Not only does the digital client automate the rotation process, but there’s only one date to care about. On MTG Arena, Bloomburow launches on July 30th, 2024. When this happens, both Standard and Alchemy will rotate.
Comparatively, Standard rotation on paper is a bit of a mess since there’s the actual release and the set’s prerelease. Technically, rotation happens when Bloomburrow’s release happens, which is scheduled for August 2nd. While this seems to make sense, Bloomburrow doesn’t become legal on its official global release date.
Instead, Bloomburrow will be legal in all formats from when prerelease events start on July 26th. This policy has been in place since the prerelease events for Phyrexia: All Will Be One in 2023. Despite this change being in place for over a year, Wizards’ messaging about rotation hasn’t been clear.
In the recently released article about rotation and renewal for 2024, for example, Wizards states rotation happens “In August.” This declaration is extra odd, considering that the article specifically focused on MTG Arena. Despite all this confusion, the exact moment rotation happens isn’t actually that important.
Regardless of when rotation happens, you’ll struggle to play sanctioned post-rotation Standard events until August 2nd. After all, during Boomburrow’s prerelease weekend, stores will host prerelease events, not Standard events. Hopefully, this should mean that rotation isn’t as confusing as it could otherwise potentially be.
What Actually Rotates
Now that we know when rotation actually happens, it’s worth remembering which sets are actually rotating. Here, the tables are turned somewhat, as paper players have it easier since Standard is the only format that’s rotating. On MTG Arena, however, you also have Alchemy to keep track of, and a lot more is happening there.
For starters, here are the four MTG sets rotating out of Standard in 2024.
- Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
- Innistrad: Crimson Vow
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
- Streets of New Capenna
While Standard is simple enough, Alchemy has a grand total of nine sets rotating out of the format. Admittedly, some of these are the smaller dedicated Alchemy sets that accompanied main releases, but they still count. Since so much is changing, it’s some small mercy that the MTG Arena client will help Alchemy players keep track of what’s legal.
As a reminder, Alchemy has a different rotation schedule than Standard. While Standard switched to a three-year cycle, Alchemy is still using the two-year rotation model. Thanks to this, rotation between the two MTG formats will look dramatically different in 2024, even without all the extra sets.
Here are the nine MTG sets rotating out of Alchemy in 2024.
- Dominaria United
- Alchemy: Dominaria
- The Brothers’ War
- Alchemy: The Brothers’ War
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- Alchemy: Phyrexia
- March of the Machine
- March of the Machine: The Aftermath
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
Regardless of the number of sets rotating, Alchemy and Standard are in for massive changes following rotation. Currently, most of the best decks in both formats rely on cards from these sets. Thanks to this, both formats are ready for an innovative competitive shake-up once rotation finally begins.
Not Just Rotation, but Renewal Too
Since rotation can potentially ruin the decks you’ve built, Wizards provides players with what’s essentially compensation. On MTG Arena, players can open the “Renewal Egg” in “early August” when Bloomburrow releases. This handy dandy egg is basically a suped-up pack to kick off your post-rotation collection.
In total, the Renewal Egg contains ten individual card rewards. As Wizards states, “This will include five rares from non-rotating sets, and another four rares plus one mythic rare from Bloomburrow.” Sadly, this assortment of rares won’t nearly be enough to build a new deck, but it’s nonetheless better than nothing.
On top of receiving the renewal egg, Wizards is also updating Quick Drafts, Jump In packs, and individual card rewards from events. Hopefully, this will mean that rotation will go as smoothly as possible for MTG Arena. Considering this is hardly the first rotation that Arena has experienced, there hopefully shouldn’t be any problems.
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