Standard, Stagnating

Brink of Madness card art

In my first post of the year I mentioned two current problems in Magic. Last time I looked at the first: Universes Beyond sets getting unhinged. Today I look at the second: how Standard is stagnating. 

Standard is stagnating; Wizards appears to be devoting less time and energy to the format. In terms of numbers of sets, Standard is actually bloating (more on that below), but the increase in sets does not correlate to a better environment.

I argue four factors have resulted in the stagnating state of Standard:

- increase in pace of releases

- changes to Standard legality duration

- thematic inconsistency due to elimination of blocks

- the rise of Universes Beyond

I cover each in turn below, then conclude looking at the impact in aggregate.

Increase in the Pace of Releases

We used to see four Standard-legal sets per year. We now see six or seven*. 

Changes to Standard Legality Duration

Sets legal in Standard used to max out at two years, and they would change every September: the four oldest sets would rotate out. At any given time, there would be 5-9 sets in Standard. The shortest would be in the format just 15 months; the longest 24 months. (I explain this more here and show a graphic here.) Then things changed.

In 2023, Wizards announced changes to Standard rotation. Sets could be in Standard for up to three years. Coupled with the increase of release pace, that puts us at quite a pace. There are currently 13 sets legal in Standard (most recent release first): 

• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Marvel’s Spider-Man
• Edge of Eternities
• Final Fantasy
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm
• Aetherdrift
• Foundations
• Duskmourn: House of Horror
• Bloomburrow
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction
• Murders at Karlov Manor
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
• Wilds of Eldraine

They keep adjusting the rotation date, too; Standard rotates next on 1 January 2027. Since we're getting seven sets this year . . . we'll have 20 sets legal in Standard by December. Twenty. Then six will rotate and we'll still have a monster 14 sets in the format.

Thematic Inconsistency Due to Elimination of Blocks

Magic operated in the block format for years; I explain that more here. They went away from that model in 2018, though a few releases followed it unofficially through linked themes:

- Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, and War of the Spark (2018-19)

- Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow (2021)

- Dominaria United, Brothers' War, Phyrexia: All will be One, March of the Machine, Aftermath (2022-23)

Since 2023, though, it's been the wild west thematically, and things started to get weird. The list of current Standard-legal releases with their respective theme:

• Wilds of Eldraine: a riff on Grimm's Fairy Tales
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan: return to the land of dinosaurs, merfolk, pirates, and vampires
• Murders at Karlov Manor: investigating murder
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction: the wild west
• Bloomburrow: woodland creatures
• Duskmourn: Eighties' horror films
• Foundations: core set
• Aetherdrift: Magic's homage to Mariokart
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm: dragons
• Final Fantasy: fantasy video game series
• Edge of Eternities: Magic goes to space
• Spider-man: comic book
• Avatar: kids' cartoon based on an Asian-inspired world

That is a motley mix indeed.

The Rise of Universes Beyond

I mentioned this last time; see there for more.

The Effects in Aggregate

There are now tons of sets in Standard, released at a much faster pace, with no thematic consistency between them. Some results:

- Wizards has less time to design/test a given release

- Players have less time do explore a given release

- Wizards has to choose if a given set should be consistent with itself (and true to 'its world,' if a UB set) or address some problems in Standard by releasing cards tailored to inject life and variety into the format. My impression: they largely choose the former.

In short, the above realities make the Standard metagame overwhelming for designers and players alike, encouraging players to explore other formats (like limited or Commander). Standard is left to rot.

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Enough with my concerns; this post and last helped me get it out of my system. There is time and a chance for Wizards to right things. And the cool thing about this game is that you can focus on the formats you do enjoy. I just miss a vibrant Standard.

*just stop already.