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What is Magic: The Gathering Foundations?
If you have questions about the brand new set or the goal Foundations is trying to accomplish, hopefully we can answer some of them in this article.
Foundations was announced in the beginning of August 2024, and given a release date of November 15th; so now just a few weeks away!
Magic has had core sets, or base sets, since the dawn of time. (Well, since the dawn of Magic's time anyway.) In the beginning, base sets were reprint sets such as Fourth Edition, Fifth Edition, Sixth Edition, Seventh Edition, etc., and contained mostly reprints of previous base sets. Eventually core sets were created to fulfill the same basic function, and went by names such as Magic 2010, Magic 2013, Magic 2021, etc. Certain years were skipped, and in 2021 Core Sets were discontinued altogether after Magic 2021.
The goal of the core set was to inject a set of base cards into Standard that consisted mostly of versatile reprints that numerous decks could use. These were cards such as Llanowar Elves, Pyroclasm, Day of Judgment or Wrath of God, Negate, or Doom Blade. Along with reprints, core sets would also often introduce some format-defining cards as well, such as the cycle of Titans (Frost Titan, Grave Titan, Inferno Titan, Primeval Titan, and Sun Titan) or the iconic Baneslayer Angel.
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Core sets were a good jumping on point for new players and were often far more simplistic than the typical Standard expansion sets that would be released alongside them throughout the year. They were also marketed as entry-level sets. As you might have been able to tell from their naming conventions, they were released nearly every year, except for rare years where core sets were discontinued. Eventually though, after a few years, Wizards always found a way to bring core sets back.
That's where Foundations comes into play.
Foundations seems to follow the same goal as core sets had: introduce a base set of "foundational" cards that can be played in Standard, in a set that can be drafted, that is accessible to newer players and helps get those newer players into Standard, competitive Magic.
There's one really big twist though. Unlike core sets, which would come out every year, Foundations is slated to be legal in Standard for five years...until 2029!
This is a fairly shocking choice, and one that I assume many players are excited and apprehensive to see play out. Will the set have any egregious mistakes? Will some cards be played out after five years in Standard? Of course, designing and choosing cards for Foundations is tricky, because every card you design or choose to put in the set, you have to do so knowing that you will have to consider that card when designing every Standard set for the next five years, which is a lot to ask.
For example, Omniscience is one of the cards that has been previewed to be in the set. That means Omniscience will be in Standard until 2029. When designing sets four years from now in 2028, R&D will still have to keep in mind that Omniscience is in Standard.
Along with Omniscience, some of the other reprints that have been revealed to be in the set are:
- Llanowar Elves
- Day of Judgment
- Nine-Lives Familiar
- Liliana, Dreadhorde General
- Ajani, Caller of the Pride
- Vivien Reid
One brand-new card that has also been previewed for Foundations is Anthem of Champions, which is a two-mana anthem effect.
All of these cards will be in Standard until 2029. For the next five years, green will always have a one-mana ramp creature. White will always have a four-mana Wrath effect. Black will always have an extremely efficient six-mana finisher. And so on...
This is an interesting choice because oftentimes, when cards like Day of Judgment or Llanowar Elves were legal, they ended up being too good, and needed to be rotated out with the next core set. They were often limited time additions. Similar things happened to cards like Lightning Bolt and Mana Leak.
Historically, I have always appreciated core sets as a way to get great utilitarian cards into the format, like counterspells (Mana Leak, Remove Soul, Negate) and removal (Oblivion Ring, Duress, Faith's Fetters). One upside of Foundations is that, if you're a new player coming into the game in 2025, 2029, or any time in between, Foundations will still be relevant for you, and will still be a great set to pick up to start playing Standard. Because of its long lifespan, Foundations should be readily accessible for the next five years, making all of the cards within it fairly easy to obtain.
In my estimation, Foundations is an interesting experiment, and one that I'm optimistically looking forward to seeing play out.
Also be sure to check back on October 28th for our exclusive Foundations preview card!
Frank Lepore
