MTG Standard Rotation 2023 & MTGA Renewal - Everything You Need To Know
It's almost that time of year again - The MTG Standard Rotation for 2023 is rapidly approaching. If you're new to Magic: The Gathering or MTGA, this may be your first experience with rotation, and even more experienced players may need a refresher considering the recent changes to Standard rotation. So, I would like to review everything you need to know about the upcoming MTG Standard Rotation & MTGA Renewal Season.
I'll briefly cover what rotation is, then how it works, what sets will be standard legal after rotation, what renewal season is for Magic: the Gathering Arena, how all this ties into Alchemy, and more. So, without further ado, let's jump in.
Wilds Of Eldraine Release Rotation - Early September
Let's start with the most important info first. Here is a list of what is rotating out of Standard, Alchemy, Explorer, and Historic.
See the top decks for each format here:
Standard
We'll start with Standard but remember that Standard only rotates every three years. More info is here - Major Changes To Standard Rotation if you're interested. Everything from the past two years will remain legal, and everything in the coming year will be added. In other words, nothing is rotating for Standard.
The following sets will be Standard legal with the release of Wilds of Eldraine:
- Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
- Innistrad: Crimson Vow
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
- Streets of New Capenna
- Dominaria United
- The Brothers’ War
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- March of the Machine
- March of the Machine: The Aftermath
- Wilds of Eldraine
Alchemy
The following sets will rotate out of Alchemy with the release of Wilds of Eldraine:
- Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
- Innistrad: Crimson Vow
- Alchemy: Innistrad
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
- Alchemy: Kamigawa
- Streets of New Capenna
- Alchemy: New Capenna
- Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate
Cards from these sets will no longer be playable in Alchemy unless they're reprinted. They will, however, still be legal in Standard, Explorer, and Historic.
With the above sets leaving the format, here is what sets will be Alchemy legal after rotation:
- 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
- Wilds of Eldraine
What Is Rotation?
Magic is an ever-growing game, and there have been countless people join the game recently. Perhaps you're one such player, and you've only heard the terms and don't know what rotation is, why it exists, or what happens when it happens. Worry not; I've got you covered.
Standard is what's known as a rotating format. This means that some cards "rotate" out of the format and are no longer legal to use in the format. New Magic sets are released and added into the format each year, and the rotation happens once per year (when the fall set releases); the four oldest sets in Standard rotate out.
Think of this as "out with the old and in with the new." This helps keep the card pool (number of cards available to play) relatively small and creates unique, exciting, fresh deck-building opportunities every so often.
MTG Arena Renewal Season
The renewal season for MTGA is a small "celebration," if you will, that accompanies rotation. WOTC gives players a handful of special gifts. Here is what they have in mind for the upcoming 2023 MTG Standard Rotation. In addition to these, you'll also start to notice that quick draft packs and card rewards will be slightly different so as not to include cards that will soon not be legal.
New Alchemy Starter Decks
Coming with the next Anthology releases (in July), the current starter decks will no longer be in use and will be replaced by new ones. These new decks will only have cards from Dominaria United and on, meaning they will remain legal post-rotation.
You May Also Like: The Road Map For MTGA - Where WOTC Hopes To Take Arena In The Future
If you're new to MTGA, you get these from completing the "color challenge" and "onboarding quest line." And when you unlock one (for the first time), all cards from that deck will be added to your collection. Established players can find these in the "starting decks" folder; any new cards not already in their collection will be added.
Fresh Jump In Packs
As always, the jump-in packs will be changed to reflect rotation, and packets sticking around will be tweaked so they don't contain rotating cards. There will also be brand-new packs with cards from Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate. So, be on the lookout for those.
Renewal Eggs
Renewal Eggs are a reminder that rotation is coming. They also give you some special gifts to bring in the "new year" with. You can also hover over the egg to see how much time you have left until rotation takes place, the egg opens, and you get your stuff. These should be visible to you now, so be sure to keep an eye out for them.
Conclusion
If you're new to the game, rotation can feel like a big change. And I suppose it is, but it's necessary to keep Standard and the other non-eternal formats fresh. Once you get used to them, they aren't so bad. New player, long-time player, a veteran paper player who just jumped on Arena, regardless of where you land; I hope you found today's article helpful. Until next time, stay safe, and have fun playing MTG.
