Shock lands are a popular and versatile dual land option in Magic: The Gathering. Starting with Edge of Eternities, shock lands are making their way back into standard. With Edge of Eternities, we saw 5 of the 10 shock lands come back into play. The last time we saw all 10 shock lands in standard was when they were released in the Ravnica sets from 2018 and 2019. With Lorwyn Eclipsed, we’ll see the other 5 shock lands not in Edge of Eternities come back into Standard.
With Lorwyn Eclipsed, we’ll finally have all 10 shock lands together in Standard:
- Lorwyn Eclipsed
- Edge of Eternities
What sets these shock lands apart from any other printing is that they’ve got a flavorful way to handle the dual nature of Lorwyn-Shadowmoor. On one side of the card, you’ll see a Lorwyn setting for the land, but turning it over allows you to see the same land but with a Shadowmoor feel to it instead. It’s not that the lands change in any functional way, but it is a fun and creative way to bring these 5 lands back into Magic without losing the essence of the Lorwyn-Shadowmoor plane.
What makes this release schedule tricky is the new standard rotation rules. Edge of Eternities rotated into standard in August of 2025. With the new rules, it gets the rest of 2025, plus 2026 and 2027, before being rotated out of standard in February of 2028. So for the entirety of 2026 and 2027, all 10 shock lands will be in standard.
Had the other 5 shock lands been released with Avatar: The Last Airbender in November 2025, they would have all left standard in February of 2028 together. Instead, a January 2026 release for Lorwyn Eclipsed means that when Edge of Eternities rotates out, Lorwyn Eclipsed will stay until Fall of 2029. Edge of Eternities will see approximately 2.5 years of standard, while Lorwyn Eclipsed will see closer to 3.5 years. Further, the five shock lands that came into standard with Edge of Eternities will leave standard a full year and a half before the lands rotating in with Lorwyn Eclipsed.
While Commander and kitchen table Magic won’t have any issues with this release schedule, the metagame for Standard truly can be affected. Currently, Izzet and Simic decks are running the table for Standard with Izzet Lessons and Simic Ouroboroid making up a majority of the decks at last weekend’s Magic Spotlight tournament. Izzet decks are already a popular Magic staple in format and will benefit from Steam Vents having such a long run in Standard, but Breeding Pool will leave much sooner.
It’s hard to say how profound the impact will be from one card sticking around so much longer than another. It’s also hard to say what cards coming in future sets will change the discussion. Still one thing is sure — Unless the shock lands from Edge of Eternities get reprinted again with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we’re likely going to see a much longer Standard rotation for the Lorwyn-released lands. Those 5 shock lands will rotate into Standard when Lorwyn Eclipsed releases on January 23rd.
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