Though the huge wave of Foundations spoilers have done a good job of distracting from it, Magic is still very much embroiled in controversy. The recent huge changes to Universes Beyond products are a big part of this, of course, but they’re not the whole story. While initially overshadowed, the implications of MTG moving to a six-set Standard year model going forward are now starting to sink in. Given that players were complaining about product fatigue before, this is hardly surprising. The sheer extent of player complaints on this issue is, however.
The Six-Set Standard System
Before we get into the community reaction, let’s talk about the MTG six-set Standard year model itself. At Magic Con a couple of weeks back, Wizards announced every Standard set that will be released in 2025. There were six of these in total: three ‘core’ Magic IP sets, and three Universes Beyond ones. While this doesn’t sound like a lot given how many new products we see these days, it’s actually a marked step-up for Standard.
This year, for example, has had five Standard releases. Murders at Karlov Manor, Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Bloomburrow, Duskmourn: House of Horror, and Foundations. Even then, Foundations is a bit of a special case since it’s a core set with a five-year lifespan. 2023 had four (five if you count the Aftermath mini-set), which is a much more average figure. This is the cadence we’ve been used to for years now, so ramping that up by 33% is a big deal.
Some will argue this increase is nothing new. True, this has been a general trend with Magic sets in recent years. We’ve seen more Universes Beyond sets, more supplemental Remastered or Masters sets, and more Secret Lairs as time has passed. The crucial difference here is that none of those extra releases impacted Standard. They gave eternal players a lot more to think about, but Standard players could just stick to their core four sets. Well no longer.
Now those who want to play Standard will need to pay attention to six sets a year. With rotations every three years, this means there will be 18 sets in Standard at a time. Factor in Foundations, and the total Standard card pool becomes eye-wateringly huge.
Unstable Foundations
“How is anyone supposed to keep up with six sets a year? As many pointed out, there’s barely enough time to even receive singles of the latest set in the mail, before the next set is upon you, and with it a whole new meta.”
Edoardo_Beffardo
The above quote comes from a post on the r/MagicTCG subreddit by Edoardo_Beffardo. The post criticized the planned six-set model, and discussed the impact it will have on multiple formats. At time of writing, the post has just under 250 comments, most affirming or developing Edoardo’s views.
Lord_Lion, for example, added “I feel you man, I just finished my BB decks when Duskmourn came out. Haven’t been able to play them once since.” MerculesHorse also put their two cents in. “I’ll add: it makes Standard not just more volatile and frustrating for committed competitive players, but also far more difficult to deal with for less committed, either casual or new and undecided players.”
Both of these comments, and the many others like them in the thread, highlight some of the major issues with releasing this many Standard sets a year. For those who can only play Standard once a week, the new model leaves very little room to test and refine decks before a new set arrives to shake things up.
With the proposed six-set model, Standard will get a new MTG set roughly every eight weeks next year. That’s pretty much the same as the gap between Bloomburrow and Duskmourn, which most players agreed was too short. Though Foundations is intended to draw new players into Magic, the format that will follow it will be fickle and volatile. For new players, that kind of complexity could be enough to put them off for good.
Experienced players, on the other hand, could be pushed out by high financial cost. More sets in Standard means more singles to buy to keep your deck up to date, after all. This doesn’t just apply to Standard players either, but eternal ones too.
Too High A Price
For many players, this is the crux of the issue. Magic is an expensive hobby at the best of times, but investing in a Standard deck when the format changes so frequently makes that problem even worse. Players can only shell out for so many chase mythics a month, after all.
Standard has always been intended as a dynamic format, of course, but this feels like a step too far. While it may be possible to build some entry-level decks using just Foundations cards, players are going to have to invest in other sets at some point. Interestingly, as many noted in the thread, this is less of an issue for Magic’s other flagship format.
“Too many releases has been the number one reason I have stopped bothering every time I quit. That’s one of the reasons everyone likes Commander. They feel like they have time to play with the cards they’ve bought.”
jimnobodie
While the switch to six Standard sets a year is bad for the format itself, it’s actually great for Commander. There’s less pressure to upgrade decks in that format, and more options means more fun for new players. Given how hard Wizards has been pushing Commander in recent years, this honestly feels intentional.
“Don’t be fooled, this change is for Arena. You still need just as many rare and mythic wildcards to craft decks as you always did, but now you need to buy 6 passes a year and craft new cards with every set release. It’s meant to let the whales whale harder and spend $500 on complete sets every 2 months.”
CrazzluzSenpai
Of course, the elephant in the room with all this is MTG Arena. It’s no secret that Hasbro is focusing hard on digital offerings at the moment, and stepping up the number of sets in Standard is also going to make Arena much more profitable. Unfortunately, this comes at the literal expense of players, and the figurative expense of their experience.
“They don’t care. Will wallets open for 6 sets every year? If so we shall get 6 sets every year.”
Farpafraf
As with everything in modern Magic, whether this change sticks or not comes down to how it performs. If you disagree with the move to six Standard sets a year, as those above do, then your best option is to vote with your wallet and dip out of Standard.
