When Wizards made the move to two-set blocks with Battle for Zendikar, it marked a noticeable shift in the power level of cards printed in standard. We’ve moved to a new power paradigm, one where 1-mana “dorks” like Elvish Mystic are deemed simply too powerful, and 4-mana Wrath of God effects have seemingly been shelved.

For some, this change has had very little impact. Standard remains a creature-dominated format,just as it has been for a number of years now. But, for those that have been invested in the game for a long time, it’s just another nail in the coffin for powerful spells—a once great part of the game that seemsto havebeen snubbed recently.

Howdo you define “spells”?

Many Magic players will tell you that spells as a whole have been getting weaker in recent years, but what kinds of spells are they really talking about? In a recent post on his Tumblr blog, user Kingomagnus asked Mark Rosewater a question regarding the future of blue and red as colours in a “less spell focused” standard environment. Despite the question being specifically about the design space around those colours, Mark latched onto the “less spell focused” part of the question, and offered this response:

“Less focused on spells? Let’s check the standard metagame. Here are the five current mostpowerful cards: (Yes I had some help compiling the list)

 Collected Company

 Avacyn

 Sylvan Advocate

 Languish

 Dromoka’s Command

Two of them are creatures, three of them are spells. Yes, the pendulum swings making certain colours stronger and weaker in the metagame, but it’s not because we’re unwilling to make powerful spells.”

On the face of it, that seems like a reasonable response. But many players felt that Mark was fundamentally misunderstanding the point. Of the three spells he named, one requires a deck full of creatures to be good, another is a combat trick built around creatures, and the final one is a sweeper effect that’s only good because the metagame is so full of powerful low-cost creatures.

So, in light of that, I ask again; what kinds of spells are we talking about when we say the power level of spells has gone down? It’s the kind of spells that are powerful in a vacuum, those that are always strong, always have applications, and play well whether they’re paired with creatures or not. They’re the kinds of spells you find making up the body of fair decks in modern—your Lightning Bolts, Thoughtseizes, and Mana Leaks.

What can we learn from the modern metagame?

Modern is a great place to look if you want to track the power level of spells being printed. In theory, modern is your intermediary pseudo-eternal format that sits between standard and legacy. Standard players are told that if they keep their cards after rotation, they can eventually build a modern deck. Today, we know that that’s only a half-truth at best. Yes, a couple of the cards from your standard deck may one day have an application in modern, but most are going to go into a shoebox and be forgotten about.

If power levels really are dropping, that’s going to be a bigger and bigger problem as time goes on. How is someone that’s built a collection in a standard format where Elvish Mystic is considered to be an oppressively powerful card every going to hope to be able to compete against the kind of spells that were around 5-10 years ago? Let’s take a look at the current top 10 spells played in Modern. I’ll put the year of their last standard printing in brackets beside them:

#1) Lightning Bolt (2010)

#2) Path to Exile (2009)

#3) Thoughtseize (2013)

#4) Inquisition of Kozilek (2010)

#5) Gitaxian Probe (2011)

#6) Serum Visions (2004)

#7) Dismember (2011)

#8) Stony Silence (2011)

#9) Ancient Grudge (2011)

#10) Mutagenic Growth (2011)

Only one card in the top 10 modern spells has been printed in a standard-legal set in the past 5 years. That one card is Thoughtseize, a spell that was  a reprint, and was widely considered to be a mistake that led to the warping of its standard environment—and a mistake that WotC have said they do not intend to repeat. That is a worrying statistic for the future of modern (unless you love just jamming creatures). The current rules of standard design are leading to weaker spells being printed that simply won’t be able to compete with those that have come before them. The result for players? Less value in your old standard cards, a divided modern format with a power- level that is imbalanced in favour of older cards, and a format that’s less interactive and fun.

Final thoughts

Here is a thought that might put the situation into perspective for you. If you were to try and build a deck of cards printed since M15 when the new card border was introduced, you’d have access to Collected Company, Chord of Calling, Siege Rhino, and a slew of powerful creatures to accompany them, but the only unconditional removal available to you would cost 3 mana or more. That isn’t healthy. If a post-modern format is ever created, the only solution I can think of would be to have supplemental sets like Modern Masters included in its legal list, just to ensure that there are enough powerful removal spells and counter spells to keep the comparatively absurd list of creatures and creature-focused spells in check.

If you agree, disagree or think there is something im missing please let me know in the comments section below.