What is the playability reasoning behind not wanting fetchlands in standard? I had heard previously that it was because of slow play patterns in having to fetch out cards then shuffling, but that doesn't seem to jive with the printing of fabled passage, which is essentially the exact same play pattern. In a standard without lands that can be abused too hard to make standard mana too easy, is there another factor that comes in to why fetches aren't ideal for standard?

I feel like I answer this question about once a month. First, fetches make getting colors too easy. Second, their power level is higher than we want for duals in Standard. Third, we have a low threshold for shuffling in Standard. That means we get a few cards, but not a whole cycle.

If you guys don't want fetches in a standard product, why did Fabled Passage get printed twice in the same standard format, then?

We don’t want those particular fetch lands in Standard. It’s okay to have an occasional land that fetches lands, although we don’t want much more than one or two in Standard.

I just wanted to share my appreciation for Fabled Passage being reprinted already in M21. I love this and hope it continues with cards like this that almost everyone needs. Please high five those responsible for me please.

Highs shall be fived.

"Why is Scalding Tarn more problematic for Standard than Fabled Passage? Because it’s part of a cycle making the as-fan five times higher than Fabled Passage" but scalding tarn will show up just as often as fabled passage, despite only being relevant to decks in its colors, while roughly 5x more decks want fabled passage. doesn't as-fan work against fabled passage here?

It’s Fabled Passage vs. the entire five card cycle of enemy fetches.

hi mark. do you happen to know why recent five colour fetch-esque lands prismatic vista and fabled passage are gold while evolving wilds is grey? does this represent a change to how lands are coloured or am i missing a variable? thanks!

No, it’s a change. We like lands to give you a hint what color they give you access to. Gold does a better job of visually conveying any color.

Is there a reason why "Fabled Passage" doesn't look for basic land types? It would have been more flavorful to be able to look for the specific locales like "Gingerbread Cabin" and "Dwarven Mine" or even "Mistveil Plains" in older sets. My guess is there may have been a concern for older formats gaining access to a painless fetchland, thus driving up the demand for a specific rare out of the gates.

Basic land is a play design decision to limit shenanigans.