Spoiler Season is always one of my favorite things. I love seeing the new cards, having new ideas, hope for the future. Asking myself if a card is playable in eternal formats, a question that won’t be answered until the set has been released and has been out for a little bit, is my favorite thing to do. However one thing always happens during spoiler season for me: I am tempted by Standard.
As my weekly readers know I really do not play Standard. It hasn’t seemed like fun to me and I don’t like throwing away money on rotating format. I’m not dying to play Standard but during spoiler season the gloves are off. Aaron and I always say “Standard is actually looking like it might be fun this time,” but we never end up playing. I always want to play the new cards that look so fun but will never be good enough for eternal formats. I relive memories of the short period of time right after Theros playing Standard with Aaron, before we were even engaged. I can only remember playing with Sin Collector and Alms Beast.
The format is so tempting. It’s like cheesecake when I’m trying to diet—only a few hundred dollars to build a deck with cards I’ll never play otherwise. It’s like when you’re sad and single and your ex hits up and you’re having trouble remembering all the bad times. But then you wake up in the morning and reality hits, why would you ever think that was a good idea?
I wish that cards didn’t become instantly worthless when rotation came around. If they didn’t, I probably would play some Standard. Everyone has fond memories of playing Standard when they first started playing. But alas I have to accept that these new adorable rares will be cards that I never get to cast, I’ll forget them in time. One day when I am sorting through dollar rares at work I’ll come across them and think, “Oh yeah, I remember when this was leaked, how adorable.”
Maybe one day the rumors of Wizards and SCG giving up on Legacy will come true and I will be forced to play Standard (especially if Legacy stays this awful). For now I will get drunk on cheap wine and consider building a deck then wake up the next day and have a good laugh. Hopefully I don’t start drunk ordering Standard cards. Or maybe one day I’ll cave, the temptation for simpler times and a simpler format will be too much and my ‘Hope Eternal’ column will be turned into ‘Hope that I don’t blow all my money on this silly format and have to sell our Tabernacle.’ In the meantime readers, help me stay strong and loyal to our great overlord Eternal Formats.
Kate hails from Worcester MA and also does a bit of Card Altering. Check her Stuff out on Facebook! She mainly plays legacy and modern though will occasionally find herself playing EDH or Standard if she’s desperate.