Back in 2023, Wizards of the Coast announced that Standard wouldn’t be rotating that year. Coming as quite a shock to a lot of MTG players, this decision was aimed at revitalizing the faltering format. Unfortunately, shortly after the change, or lack thereof happened, it seemed this decision may have had the opposite effect.
Instead of breathing new life into Standard, the lack of rotation frustrated a lot of players, especially on MTG Arena. Much to their dismay, there were no new decks or strategies, just the same ol’ midrange soup. Considering midrange had been the dominant flavor of soup for almost two years, players desperately wanted a change.
Thankfully, despite the lack of rotation Standard did manage to regain some of its lost luster. Between the increased tournament support and interesting new decks emerging Standard is well and truly back. As if that wasn’t good enough, after a long year, Standard will finally be getting the long-craved rotation very soon.
Miraculously, it seems this rotation will be happening a good deal sooner than expected in 2024!
Rotation in July?!
Looking back through the chapters of MTG’s long history, rotation usually takes place in September. This happens alongside the release of MTG’s Q3 set. For 2022 this was Dominaria United, and before that Innistrad: Midnight Hunt in 2021. For 2024, however, Standard will rotate seemingly two whole months earlier in July!
Given this is a whole lot earlier than Standard usually rotates, you might be wondering what on earth is going on. Surprisingly, the answer is very little. As usual, in 2024, Standard will still rotate with the Q3 or rather third, premier set of the year. In case you’ve not been keeping up with the 2024 release calendar, that premier set is Bloomburrow.
The only real change in 2024 is that Bloomburrow is being released a lot earlier. Specifically, the official release date for Bloomburrow is August 2nd. Considering August isn’t, in fact, July, you may, once again, be wondering what’s going on. Thankfully, the simple explanations continue.
Since Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the legality of a new MTG set now comes into effect from its prerelease weekend, not its official release date. This means that, for 2024, Standard will rotate, on paper, on Friday, July 26th. Following this, MTG Arena will rotate on Tuesday, July 30th, since its release is slightly behind paper prereleases.
Once this rotation finally happens, as usual, four MTG sets will no longer be legal in Standard. These sets are Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna. Considering the impact these sets have had on Standard in their tenure, many players can’t wait to see these sets gone.
A Long Overdue Change
As much as Standard has been invigorated through recent releases, rotation is nonetheless incredibly exciting. At long last, the Triomes from Streets of New Capenna will finally bite the dust, potentially ending Domain-based strategies. Similarly, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty’s ubiquitous Channel lands will also disappear at long last. That will be the case, at least, so long as Wizards doesn’t print a new versions of these in Bloomburrow…
Alongside the huge number of dual lands and Triomes rotating out, a great many Standard staples will disappear too. The Wandering Emperor, for instance, is one card many players can’t wait to see the back of. The same is true of Raffine, Scheming Seer as they’ve long propped up Esper archetypes in Standard.
Quite aptly, mono-red decks are also going to feel the burn when Standard rotates in July this year. With Kumano Faces Kakkazan rotating alongside Play with Fire, these decks will be after some new tools. Thankfully, Slickshot Show-Off should keep this deck alive, especially with a splash for Gruul powerhouses too.
While rotation should rejuvenate Standard a great deal, some decks will be almost, if not completely, unaffected by rotation. Somewhat worryingly, this is the case for Boros Convoke, which only uses Voldaren Epicure and End the Festivities. With minimal changes, this deck will retain much of its power which may have it dominating Standard for a while.
Similarly, the rotation of Standard may give Selesnya Toxic another stint in the spotlight. Being almost entirely comprised of cards from Phyrexia: All Will Be One, this parasitic mechanic could become a go-to archetype. Whatever happens, the much-anticipated rotation of Standard should provide a breath of fresh air. We can only hope that the format will be in a better place once all the dust settles.
Not the Only Rotation
While Standard has arguably been struggling the most throughout recent years, it’s not the only format getting rotated soon. For starters, Alchemy will also be rotating alongside Standard in July. Alongside losing its oldest four premier sets, up to March of the Machine: The Aftermath, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will rotate out too.
As much as I may be totally biased as an Alchemy enjoyer, this rotation should be equally as exciting to a lot of players. That being said, it may also harm the popularity of the format a good deal. Until the Final Fantasy and Marvel sets launch in 2025, Alchemy will be without a Universes Beyond hook for a while.
Before Alchemy and Standard can get what’s coming to them, Modern is also set to rotate. While no sets will be leaving this format, the addition of Modern Horizons 3 will effectively force a partial rotation. With overpowered new cards aplenty, this set is going to warp Modern, Historic, and Timeless too.
Currently, since much of Modern Horizons 3 has yet to be seen, it’s unclear exactly how bad rotation will be. Technically, the same is true of Standard and Alchemy, as we don’t know what Bloomburrow will bring when it launches. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens. For now, we can only say that there are incredibly exciting times ahead.
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