To give a short background -- the most commonly played format in Magic: The Gathering, Standard Constructed, utilizes the latest core set (10th Edition, as of today) and the two latest expansion blocks (Time Spiral/Coldsnap and Lorwyn/Shadowmoor). Now, today marks the release of the newest expansion block -- Shards of Alara. That, in effect, means the "rotation" of Time Spiral/Coldsnap OUT of Standard Constructed. Meaning, goodbye to tournament staples such as:
Snow-Covered lands
Using snow-covered lands didn't give any drawbacks whatsoever, and it even gave access to powerful cards such as Skred, Phyrexian Ironfoot, Mouth of Ronom, and the snow dual lands.
Dragonstorm
This card was such a big hit among combo, as well as budget players, because the deck was relatively cheaper to build than other tournament-worthy decks -- even making the finals of the 2007 World Championship.
Momentary Blink
Blink-Riders, Blink-Riftwing, Evoke-Blink, Reveillark-Blink... this card was in every control player's deck.
Rune Snag
The rotation of Rune Snag marks the removal of a decent 2cc counterspell for blue mages everywhere. For now, I guess we will have to put up with Remove Soul and Negate.
Damnation
The color-shift of Wrath of God to black made white unplayable. With Damnation rotating out, will white once again reclaim its old glory?
Tarmogoyf
The big daddy. The card smackers dream of, going from being a crap rare to a chase rare. For a while, it was in every deck that had green mana. The hype went down though, but the price tag didn't change. And I doubt that it will, as "the most powerful 2-drop ever" is still usable in older formats like Extended.
Which card in the new Standard will impact the format the most? Will any card mimic Tarmogoyf in terms of price and usability? How will current decks adapt to the rotation? Will the meta be control-based, as many people predict?
I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but I sure am looking forward to this brand-new Standard. :)
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