Rotating format

Rotating format is the name given to a tournament format which only allows cards from a selected number of expansions, which changes over time. Rotating formats are used in Standard. Formerly, they were also used in Extended.

History
Set rotation (or rotation for short) used to be based on blocks, rather than individual sets. There were three exceptions however:
 * Coldsnap was pegged to Time Spiral block for rotation (however, due to regulation changes in Extended, Coldsnap rotated out earlier than Time Spiral block instead of rotating out together).
 * The two mini-blocks Lorwyn and Shadowmoor counted as one block.
 * The three sets of Tarkir block block are split into two separated blocks for rotation: Where Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged counts as one block, and Dragons of Tarkir (pegged with Magic Origins) counts as another.

After the introduction the Three-and-One Model, the four oldest sets in Standard rotate out when the new fall set releases.

Although two Innistrad sets come out only two months apart in the latter part of 2021, R&D is not changing how many sets are being added to Standard during the rotation window, but just shifted the timing around slightly.

Banned lists
A banned list exists for every rotating format (see Block Constructed).