Commentary

Many Santa Fe High students enjoy the card game Magic. Although there are different formats, the standard is a format that only uses cards from new sets. This makes it so that cards being banned or removed has historically been rare. However, it’s now happening more often than ever.

As of Jan. 19, Attune with Aether, Rogue Refiner, Rampaging Ferocidon and Ramunap Ruins were banned. This affects the standard metta, making way for new decks. This banning is the first since Felidar Guardian was removed from standard meaning. It’s possible that bannings will become a regular thing in standard.

The banning gets rid of one key card — Attune with Aether, which is the center of all energy decks and was run in 29 percent of all decks in the team GP, according to mtgGoldfish.com. Standard was one of the three formats in the top eight, and standard format was almost all some form of energy deck. This is because the energy decks are three to four colors and needed the fixing.

Rogue Refiner, while not as important as Attune, is the second-best card in energy decks. The fact that this is banned supposedly leaves the deck with little to work with. Jadelight Ranger has been taking the spot of the Refiner. While many will be angry about this banning, the banning of Attune with Aether will make it so that other decks will be playable in the standard format.

With the new set being released, this will make room for many decks. The four that are being pushed are merfolk vampires, pirates and dinosaurs

Merfolk is getting a push with the card Silvergill Adept, a card played in all legacy and modern merfolk decks as well as some of the best lord for any of the tribes. Not only does it match the vampires with a two-mana lord, but it also gets Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca, a three-mana lord with utility. It’s able to draw cards, makes your other merfolk bigger, and makes them unblockable.

Pirates is a tribe that didn’t get pushes as much as the others. It received no playable lords and only two cards that are arguably good enough for standard. There’s nothing much to say about them beside the fact that they will most likely have no real impact.