Learn what you need to know about Standard Rotation in 2025, including which sets will stay legal, and how rotation is changing.
Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format is the one players get into first, thanks to your local game store’s Friday Night Magic (FNM) events and also the fact that MTG Arena is kicking about, making it more accessible than ever before. One of the things that marks Standard differently from most other formats is rotation, which helps keep the most recent cards in the format while changing things up regularly. If you’re looking to learn more about it, then that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about.
What is Standard Rotation in Magic: The Gathering?
Standard rotation is something that happens yearly to kick older sets out of the format. It chops and changes every so often, but right now, we currently lose the four oldest Standard sets in the fall. It’s all designed to keep Standard changing more often than other formats like Pioneer, Modern, and Commander. It can feel bad to lose some of your favorite cards, but it’s also why so many players start going into other formats after Standard.
What Sets are Currently Legal in Standard?
As it stands, you can currently play any Standard-legal cards from the following sets in paper, on MTG Arena, and on Magic Online (MTGO):
- Dominaria United (DMU)
- The Brothers’ War (BRO)
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One (ONE)
- March of the Machine (MOM)
- March of the Machine: The Aftermath (MAT)
- Wilds of Eldraine (WOE)
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (LCI)
- Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM)
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ)
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction: The Big Score (BIG)
- Bloomburrow (BLB)
- Duskmourn: House of Horror (DSK)
- Magic Foundations (FDN)
Which Magic: The Gathering Sets Rotated Out of Standard in 2024?
With the release of Bloomburrow last year, we lost four sets: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt (MID), Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW), Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO), and Streets of New Capenna (SNC). The next rotation will happen in Fall 2025, but things are then set to change again, meaning the rotation after that will then be in February 2027. To complicate things further, Magic Foundations won’t be rotating out until at least 2029, but there’s no hard date on that. It’s a little complex, so let’s break it down for you:
Rotates Out Fall 2025
- Dominaria United (DMU)
- The Brothers’ War (BRO)
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One (ONE)
- March of the Machine (MOM)
- March of the Machine: The Aftermath (MAT)
Rotates Out February 2027
- Wilds of Eldraine (WOE)
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (LCI)
- Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM)
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ)
- Bloomburrow (BLB)
- Duskmourn: House of Horror (DSK)
Rotates Out February 2028
- Aetherdrift (AER)
- Tarkir: Dragonstorm (DFT)
- Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY (FIN)
- Edge of Eternities (EOE)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (SPM)
- Unnamed Universes Beyond Set (UUB)
Why is Magic Foundations Different?
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Magic Foundations is a new take on the Core Sets that used to exist in the game. However, rather than just being designed as a set that’s good for new players, and a nice excuse to reprint specific cards without worrying about themes as with other sets, it’s also one that’s going to form the backbone of Standard for some time. In fact, it’s been said it’ll be legal until 2029, but it could be legal for longer than that.
What Happens To My Rotated Magic Cards
We’re sorry to say that they instantly burst into flames… alright, not really. While it can feel like the end of your Magic cards, it’s really not. Instead, those cards will remain legal in plenty of other formats, including Pioneer, Modern, and Commander plus others. While they may not be powerful enough to keep up all of the time, you can always play a deck, even if it’s not hyper-competitive, just so long as it’s legal in the format.
Of course, you can also trade the rotated cards at TCGplayer Buylist and use the funds to purchase cards for the new Standard format instead.
What Happens To My Rotated Cards in MTG Arena?
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For MTG Arena, Historic, Explorer, and Alchemy are fantastic ways to use existing Standard cards to be a little more savvy with wildcard usage. Also, the client may hold events and rewards to bolster your collection for the new Standard environment. If such things occur, it will be from the last four MTG sets, allowing players to get a footing with the refreshed format. There are various ways MTG players can renew their collections for new Standard:
- Events: It is unlikely MTG Arena would schedule Limited events for sets that are rotating out of Standard, meaning Draft and Sealed events will focus on the more recent sets.
- Card Rewards: Magic players won’t receive card rewards from sets that will be exiting Standard from daily wins or Standard events, where these will shift to Historic card rewards instead.
- Booster Packs and Wildcards: Players can still redeem Wildcards and purchase booster packs from rotating sets. However, there will be an in-game prompt and confirmation to inform players that the card (and booster packs) will be rotated out soon.
- Bonus Rewards: MTG players may receive bonus rewards and gifts that feature cards only from the new Standard format to bolster their collection.