MTG Standard Rotation: Current Sets and How it Works

Last updated on January 20, 2023

Angel of Renewal | Illustration by Todd Lockwood

Standard is arguably the most popular and widely known MTG format, likely due to its dynamic and evolving gameplay. In it, you use a minimum 60-card deck with no more than four copies of any one card except basic lands from the most recently released sets, created with your wildest dreams in mind. Minus the banned cards, that is.

But what is Standard rotation, and why should you care? Well, read on, as we’ll answer both of those questions and much more below.

MTG Standard Rotation: What Is It?

Field of the Dead | Illustration by Kev Walker

Standard rotation is, quite literally, the rotation of cards in and out of Standard play. When it comes to the schedule, it’s pretty straightforward: every fall, Wizards of the Coast rotates out the current sets of cards that can be used in Standard and replaces them with a handful of new sets.

Standard rotation allows newer players to access and use recently printed cards without needing to worry about acquiring all the really old and expensive stuff. It also keeps the format fresh and interesting.

Understanding Standard rotation is also important for managing your collection so you know when to sell and when to buy. And so you can determine which decks should demand the investment of your hard-earned cash or wildcards on MTGA.

What’s in Standard: Current Sets

There are currently six sets in Standard. Let’s take a quick look at these, and then we’ll dive in a little further:

Set Name	Release Date	Set Symbol
The Brothers’ War	November 18, 2022
Dominaria United	September 8, 2022
Streets of New Capenna	April 29, 2022
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty	February 18, 2022
Innistrad: Crimson Vow	November 19, 2021
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt	September 24, 2021

The Newest Set

The newest set in Standard is Streets of New Capenna, which was officially released on April 28, 2022.

The Next MTG Set

The next change to (paper) Standard will happen on September 9, 2022 with the release of Dominaria United.

MTG Standard Rotation in 2022: Upcoming Sets

We’ve talked about what’s in Standard right now, but what about what is to be? When is Standard rotation for MTG going to be this year, and what is that going to look like?

For MTG, the next Standard rotation will take place with the release of Dominaria United, in Fall 2022. Here are the sets that will make up Standard right before rotation:

Set Name	Release Date	Set Symbol
Zendikar Rising	September 25, 2020
Kaldheim	February 5, 2021
Strixhaven: School of Mages	April 23, 2021
D&D: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms	July 23, 2021
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt	September 24, 2021
Innistrad: Crimson Vow	November 19, 2021
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty	February 18, 2022
Streets of New Capenna	April 29, 2022

In fall of 2022, when Dominaria United releases, we will lose Zendikar Rising, Kaldheim, Strixhaven: School of Mages, and D&D: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.

If you’re a bit lost, here’s a helpful graphic to help you visualize Standard rotation:

Standard 2023

Last year, MTGA ran special events to prep people for the new Standard, named “Standard 2022.” There was a lot of excitement (and engagement) for these events because the Standard format was very stagnant. This resulted in both WotC and Arena’s player base abandoning the old format.

It’s possible that a similar Standard 2023 format will be created. If that’s the case, these sets would be included:

• Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
• Innistrad: Crimson Vow
• Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
• Streets of New Capenna
• Dominaria United
• The Brothers’ War
• Phyrexia: All Will Be One

The wildcard here is the new format Alchemy. Wizards could decide to nerf/patch additional cards in that format as a proxy for “fixing” Standard if it becomes stale.

Don’t Forget the Ban List

Last rotation, there were quite a few cards on the Standard banned list. With several sets rotating out, Omnath, Locus of Creation, Alrund's Epiphany, Divide by Zero, and Faceless Haven are the banned cards in Standard as of January 25, 2022.

Don’t put banned cards in your deck! A fun thing to note is that as a “consolation prize,” MTGA will award you with wildcards if you own a card that got banned. Yay.

Can You Use Cards From Older Sets if They’ve Been Reprinted?

Disdainful Stroke | Illustration by Deruchenko Alexander

Yes. You’ll occasionally be able to reuse cards that were available in previous rotations again in the current one. Reprinted cards are often reintroduced from older sets, sometimes with new art or a different rarity level. Some examples from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt are Unruly Mob and Duress.

Rotation in Alchemy

Alchemy is a format similar to Standard, only with a slightly modified card pool. It contains digital-only cards and rebalanced cards to keep the format new and fresh in a way that Standard can’t. Since it uses such a similar card pool to that of Standard, Alchemy rotates at the same time and in the same way that Standard does.

The Last Rotation in 2021

Standard rotation happened last with the release of the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt set in September 2021, marking the 89th MTG expansion. And then there’s what was lost to Standard; the sets that were rotated out. Here’s what we lost in 2021:

Set Name	Release Date	Set Symbol
Throne of Eldraine	October 4, 2019
Theros: Beyond Death	January 24, 2020
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths	May 15, 2020
Core Set 2021	July 3, 2020

Rotation in 2022

Standard rotation happened with the release of Dominaria United set in September 2022. Here are the sets that rotated out in standard.

Set Name	Release Date	Set Symbol
Zendikar Rising	September 25, 2020
Kaldheim	February 5, 2021
Strixhaven: School of Mages	April 23, 2021
D&D: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms	July 23, 2021

Managing Your Collection: What Standard Rotation Means for You

Persistent Petitioners | Illustration by Jason Rainville

Confession time: I’m a card collector. And not even in the cool “I have copies of all these awesome and rare cards” way. It’s almost borderline hoarding, where I buy cheap packs of cards from the dollar store whenever I see them because I don’t care what I get I just want more cards. It’s a weird obsession, and I’m not sure what it is about Magic cards that seems to trigger this in me, because I’ve never collected anything else and I absolutely hate clutter.

That being said, I do know a thing or two about finance and trading, which comes in handy for managing your MTG collections. Selling and buying is part of the game for most players, so knowing when to buy new cards and sets and when to sell your old cards is crucial. We’ll first touch on selling your paper cards first since there’s more moving parts, and then we’ll talk about managing your MTG Arena collection.

On Paper

Plummet | Illustration by Aaron Miller

Right after rotation, most of the popular cards in Standard would have already started to see their value go down. Their demand is mostly tied to their use and legality in this format, after all. There will be some exceptions, most notably cards that are prominent in Commander or Modern. Other things that affect the price of a card are reprints in new sets or being banned. The former because reprints means more of the card exists and so it’s easier to get a hold of, and the latter because if the card is banned then it can’t be used and so there isn’t much use in paying for it.

When the time comes to rotate, it’s best to sell your Standard staples before rotation happens, but not right before. Prices don’t just drop overnight; they usually start to go down leading up to the rotation, so right before probably won’t net you the highest price.

For cards that work in Commander or Modern, these sometimes see a small dip in price right around rotation, but usually rise back up to more than what they were valued at before. So, for Commander staples and Modern staples, it’s best to hold onto these and sell them after rotation instead of before.

Online

For MTG Arena, managing your card collection is a lot simpler. You can’t sell your old cards and the only way to get specific cards is by crafting them with wildcards, which you can’t outright buy, so there’s no way to buy individual cards like you can in paper Magic.

The sets and packs sold through the MTGA client by WotC are digital commodities and short of limited time offers there can be an infinite number sold, so supply and demand don’t really factor in as much. When Standard rotates, you’ll have to settle for using the old cards in Historic.

The best way to manage your collection and keep your spending to a minimum in Arena is by participating in drafts and events to win free packs and cards to bolster your collection. You can also keep an eye out for discounts and premium bundles in the store that might offer a bunch of stuff for a cheaper total price than if you bought them individually. You can also get free cards and packs by redeeming promo codes.

Renewal Rewards and Events

MTG Arena has a slew of special events and changes to their starter decks each year to help ease players transition into the new Standard format. This has become pretty normal now, ensuring as smooth a transition as possible over each rotation.

Renewal includes gifting you with extra cards, packs from newer sets, and sleeves. Plus the new player decks get an overhaul to make sure they still work in Standard after rotation. These are automatically added to your collection if you already finished the new player experience.

MTGA typically will prep you for rotation by stopping handing out ICRs and hosting limited events of sets that are about to rotate out.

Impact of Rotation on Power Level

Standard is at its most powerful right before rotation and at its weakest after rotation.

Because new MTG sets are released throughout the year and Standard rotation happens in the fall, there’s a period right after previous sets are rotated out when fewer sets are available for use in Standard.

There’s a pretty big power difference between having five sets available (right after rotation) versus having eight sets available (right before rotation). Going back to what we said earlier regarding why Standard rotation happens, more available sets and thus more available cards offer more opportunity for powerful combinations in deckbuilding.

Rotating Out

Memory Lapse | Illustration by Greg Staples

With all of that said, we’re about ready to wrap this up in a nice little bow and call it done. Standard rotation is a simple concept, but it has some pretty big impacts on Standard play in MTG, both online and in paper Magic. There’s plenty of moving parts and lots to look forward to with new sets released every season. What are some of the things that you’re most looking forward to in Magic this year? Let us know in the comments below.

If you play Standard and don’t yet have our free deck tracker for MTGA, Arena Tutor, what are you waiting for? It’s awesome and it will help you start winning more!

And don’t forget to bookmark this page and check back to keep up to date on every Standard set and rotation, as we’ll be updating when we get new info and new sets come out. See you then!