For a very long time, fast and slow (rare) dual lands have been balanced in Standard (When looking at the end of a format), with what rotating out exactly balancing by what has been rotating in. Here, by "slow duals" I mean dual lands that cannot produce coloured mana on turn one, while "fast" duals can (The examples given below should make the distinction clear).
INN-RTR standard:
Slow lands: allied Glacial Fortress-cycle in M2013 and enemy Sulfur Falls-cycle in INN.
Fast lands: Full Shocklands-cycle in RTR-block.
RTR-THR standard.
Slow lands: Full Temples-cycle in Theros block.
Fast lands: Full Shocklands-cycle from RTR block.
THR-KTK standard.
Slow lands: Full Temples-cycle from Theros block.
Fast lands: Enemy painlands from M2015. Allied fetchlands from KTK.
The last standard season kinda broke with this, since rotation was weird, but in the end we had the same as above with the addition of the slow allied cycling lands for a total of 15 slow and 10 fast lands.
With the coming rotation, and the allied checklands in Ixalan, we will be left with:
Fast lands: Enemy fastlands from Kaladesh.
Slow lands: Allied cycling lands and allied Glacial Fortress-cycle.
What's weird to me is that for the first time in a long while there are two slow cycles in Standard and both are allied.
With the original rotation schedule, the amonkhet cycle lands should have arrived when the 10 BFZ lands left, so the standard that didn't happen would have had:
SOI-AKH standard:
Fast lands: Enemy fastlands from Kaladesh. Allied "reveal-lands from SOI.
Slow lands: Allied cycling lands.
An overweight of fast lands, and an overweight of allied lands. So it's perhaps not surprising that they turn the pendulum more towards slower lands, but why keep focusing on allied lands? And why have two cycles of slow allied lands?
I.e. I guess I'm asking why the lands in Ixalan weren't the enemy checklands instead? Is there something I have overlooked, or do we need to discard the rule that "a complete standard will contain 10 slow and 10 fast rare dual lands"?
Probably a bunch of factors lead to this change-up. The two that jump to mind is that we have Shard identity tribes in Ix (and Nicy B in Hour) both lead to a stronger need for Allied Fixing (since 2 Allied feed into a Shard manabase better than enemy lands). Also the change to Large-Large-Large-Large Set releases will make printing lands a little easier. But the change hasn't taken root yet.
Good point on the shards, but it still breaks the mold of spreading the lands between fast and slow. They could still have doubled up on allied lands to support shards by making the Ixalan lands a fast cycle.
INN-RTR standard:
Slow lands: allied Glacial Fortress-cycle in M2013 and enemy Sulfur Falls-cycle in INN.
Fast lands: Full Shocklands-cycle in RTR-block.
RTR-THR standard.
Slow lands: Full Temples-cycle in Theros block.
Fast lands: Full Shocklands-cycle from RTR block.
THR-KTK standard.
Slow lands: Full Temples-cycle from Theros block.
Fast lands: Enemy painlands from M2015. Allied fetchlands from KTK.
KTK-BFZ standard.
Slow lands: Allied Canopy Vista-cycle and enemy creature-lands from BFZ block.
Fast lands: Enemy painlands from Magic Origins. Allied fetchlands from KTK.
DTK-SOI standard:
Slow lands: Allied Canopy Vista-cycle and enemy creature-lands from BFZ block.
Fast lands: Enemy painlands from Magic Origins. Allied "reveal-lands from SOI.
BFZ-KLD standard:
Slow lands: Allied Canopy Vista-cycle and enemy creature-lands from BFZ block.
Fast lands: Enemy fastlands from Kaladesh. Allied "reveal-lands from SOI.
The last standard season kinda broke with this, since rotation was weird, but in the end we had the same as above with the addition of the slow allied cycling lands for a total of 15 slow and 10 fast lands.
With the coming rotation, and the allied checklands in Ixalan, we will be left with:
Fast lands: Enemy fastlands from Kaladesh.
Slow lands: Allied cycling lands and allied Glacial Fortress-cycle.
What's weird to me is that for the first time in a long while there are two slow cycles in Standard and both are allied.
With the original rotation schedule, the amonkhet cycle lands should have arrived when the 10 BFZ lands left, so the standard that didn't happen would have had:
SOI-AKH standard:
Fast lands: Enemy fastlands from Kaladesh. Allied "reveal-lands from SOI.
Slow lands: Allied cycling lands.
An overweight of fast lands, and an overweight of allied lands. So it's perhaps not surprising that they turn the pendulum more towards slower lands, but why keep focusing on allied lands? And why have two cycles of slow allied lands?
I.e. I guess I'm asking why the lands in Ixalan weren't the enemy checklands instead? Is there something I have overlooked, or do we need to discard the rule that "a complete standard will contain 10 slow and 10 fast rare dual lands"?
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