Okay, I'll put the disclaimer up front and center:

I totally get that I am writing this article for a website that owes its existence, in some shape or form, to the buying and selling of Magic: the Gathering cards. I can understand that anyone reading this may cast a side eye at the title of this article or the suggestion that I am about to make, but please understand that I write what I am about to write not to move cards, but to advise those that do not possess an inexhaustive income source and sometimes struggle to get the cards they need to play the decks they want to play.

If you want to play competitive Magic in 2025, you need to start buying your Standard staple cards.

Right now.

Recently, Wizards of the Coast released their MagicCon schedule for 2025. While the list of cities (Chicago, Vegas, Atlanta) raises some issues (one that would be much better examined by someone from Europe or Latam who can speak to their gaming communities and how it feels to be left out of the big picture yet again), one of the major discussion points around the announcement is the formats chosen. We already knew that the next format for RC season would be standard, leading us into 2025. But, that will be followed by a Modern season (most likely coinciding with the release of the Marvel-themed Universes Beyond set) and back-to-back Standard seasons to finish out 2025.

First off, let's pour one out for Pioneer.

Pioneer exists as the forgotten love child of Magic at the moment. It doesn't move cards directly, as Modern sees both Modern Horizons sets and Universes Beyond sets as entry points, and Standard sees our traditional in-universe storylines and cards. Pioneer doesn't exist on Magic Arena yet either, so it can't be counted on to move digital product (though there's still a couple of months for WOTC to meet its promise of a Pioneer Masters set to fix that in 2024). This means that, when decisions were made and a format had to be cut for 2025, Pioneer was the easy choice. While I don't like it, as I have grown fond of Pioneer, I understand it. Until they make something like Pioneer Horizons (which I do not look forward to), it is the least monetized of the major Magic formats.

I've seen many people suggest that a rotation of Standard/Modern/Standard/Pioneer would be best, and I don't doubt we'll see that in the future, should we get to four MagicCons a year.

But, that's probably going to be 2026 at the earliest. As is, 2025 is going to belong to Standard.

We should have seen this coming. With Huey Jensen's announcement that Standard was moving to a three-year rotation, we should have seen that they were going to push for Standard to be important again. The announcement of MagicFoundations was another hint, as taking the time to curate a set that will be legal for at least five years shows a significant investment in time and resources. We may get another big announcement or two in the next year to show WOTC's commitment to returning Standard as the premiere entry-level format for Magic.

What does this mean for you, Johnny Q. Magicplayer?

If you plan to play competitive Magic in 2025, it means you should be buying up the Standard staples you might need right now.

While we don't know what Standard in Q3 of 2025 is going to look like, especially with something like Foundations about to drop as a potential bomb on the format, there are some cards you can focus on obtaining to prepare for a hyper-focused Standard competitive season and hopefully save yourself some money.

What would I buy if I were preparing for 2025?

You could write an entire article series on what to buy moving into 2025, and while I do think I will write an article touching on that after Foundations, right now I want to focus on two areas in particular.

I'd start with buying up the lands you might need.

The surveil lands from Murders at Karlov Manor especially may end up being one of the biggest barriers to entry for the format. The set was thematically a bit disappointing, and felt like a lower power level than most recent standard sets, so it wasn't heavily opened. While that may change when players are scrambling for the surveil lands, right now these will run you anywhere from $10-$25 each.

The Verge lands from Duskmourn: House of Horror are also starting to show up in many decks and the fast lands, like Blooming Marsh, are still heavily played.

Then we have lands like Cavern of Souls, Fabled Passage, and Fountainport that aren't color specific and can show up in any deck at any time.

As a baseline, you may want to start gathering your manabase for next year now, before everyone at your LGS is scrambling to find the lands they need and the prices start to rise.

Next, I'd look at the important commons/uncommons that are seeing play.

Being prepared for an unknown format means having the flexibility to pivot. Lands make up the core of such strategies, but the lower rarity building block cards can be just as important. While your first impulse might be to run out and drop $30 on Bloodletter of Aclazotz for the hot new demon deck you want to build, it's probably much more important that you shore up your playsets of Go for the Throat and Cut Down. At every competitive tournament that I've ever been to, I see players wandering around at the last minute, trying to find those last few precious uncommons that they were sure the LGS would have. Sometimes, not being able to play those Elspeth's Smites, Torch the Towers, or Snakeskin Veils that your deck needs for the problem matchups is the difference between a top 8 and a 3-2 drop.

It feels like it's been forever since Standard was THE format for Magic, but it looks like 2025 is the year we return to our roots. Fellow Standard players rejoice, it's our time again.

You can find more of my Magic musings on Twitter/X @travishall456