It is a set that is simple, welcoming to new players, and establishes a clear and fun baseline for Standard. It also offers plenty for enfranchised players, with a pile of awesome reprints from across Magic's history. In an age where Magic seems almost entirely focused on catering to collector whales and Commander players, Foundations is the perfect on-ramp for a newer generation of Magic players.

It's also a fairly safe set. Despite being over 600 cards large between the base set and the starter set, the focus is more on deck-building tools and foundational pieces rather than raw power, due to how long the set will remain legal. This is a good thing! Not every set needs to set the world on fire. Having a huge toolbox for Standard deck-building is fantastic.

Today, I'm diving into the early winners of Foundations so far!

Llanowar Elves

Perhaps the biggest bet in Foundations was the reprinting of Llanowar Elves, a turn-1 mana dork entering Standard for the first time in a very long time. And so far, Llanowar Elves has lived up to the hype.

Golgari Demons | FDN Standard | Magicverse, MTGO League 5-0

• Creatures (18)
• 2 Tranquil Frillback
• 4 Archfiend of the Dross
• 4 Glissa Sunslayer
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Mosswood Dreadknight

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Vivien Reid

• Instants (10)
• 3 Anoint with Affliction
• 3 Cut Down
• 4 Go for the Throat

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Duress

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber

• Lands (23)
• 6 Forest
• 5 Swamp
• 4 Blooming Marsh
• 4 Llanowar Wastes
• 4 Restless Cottage

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Anoint with Affliction
• 2 Duress
• 1 Tranquil Frillback
• 2 Choking Miasma
• 2 Liliana of the Veil
• 1 Gix's Command
• 1 Harvester of Misery
• 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General
• 1 Nissa, Ascended Animist
• 1 Render Inert
• 2 Tear Asunder

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While the only Tier 1 deck where Llanowar Elves has appeared so far is Golgari Demons/Midrange, the card has shown up in countless brews across the board.

Golgari demonstrates Llanowar Elves' power: casting devastating 3-drops like Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber or Glissa Sunslayer on turn two is a game-changer, especially on the play. Both cards snowball into overwhelming advantages, offsetting the tempo loss of playing a mana dork in midrange strategies.

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Vivien Reid

Speaking of incredible green cards, Vivien Reid has proven to be a powerhouse in Standard.

While not as ubiquitous as Llanowar Elves, Vivien Reid provides Green decks with an invaluable tool. Just consider the top cards it interacts with:

A mono-green answer to enchantments and flyers, while also drawing cards and serving as a threat itself, is remarkable. Combine it with mana acceleration from Llanowar Elves, and the results exceed expectations.

The Burn Package

Burn is back in Standard!

Recent red decks have leaned heavily on creatures and pump spells, but Boros Charm, Burst Lightning, and Boltwave provide the tools for a true burn strategy.

Boros Burn | FDN Standard | MTGO League 5-0

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Emberheart Challenger
• 4 Hired Claw
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Slickshot Show-Off

• Instants (10)
• 2 Lightning Helix
• 4 Boros Charm
• 4 Burst Lightning

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Boltwave

• Lands (20)
• 9 Mountain
• 3 Restless Bivouac
• 4 Battlefield Forge
• 4 Inspiring Vantage

• Sideboard (9)
• 3 Knight of Grace
• 4 Destroy Evil
• 2 Lightning Helix

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The double-strike synergy of Boros Charm with cards like Slickshot Show-Off and Monstrous Rage makes the card indispensable. Burn players, rejoice!

The combo of Demonic Pact and Harmless Offering has been a surprising success, going far beyond its "baby's first combo deck" reputation.

Rakdos Pact | FDN Standard | James Spinell,| 9th Place SCGCON

• Instants (10)
• 2 Cut Down
• 4 Torch the Tower
• 4 Go for the Throat

• Sorceries (15)
• 1 Brotherhood's End
• 1 Molten Collapse
• 1 Rankle's Prank
• 4 Beseech the Mirror
• 4 Duress
• 4 Harmless Offering

• Enchantments (12)
• 4 Case of the Stashed Skeleton
• 4 Demonic Pact
• 4 Greed's Gambit

• Lands (23)
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Swamp
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Blazemire Verge
• 4 Raucous Theater
• 4 Restless Vents

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Lithomantic Barrage
• 4 Cruelclaw's Heist
• 2 Leyline of the Void
• 1 Sheoldred's Edict
• 1 The End
• 1 Pyroclasm
• 1 Case of the Crimson Pulse
• 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General

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James Spinelli took his version of the Rakdos Pact deck to a heartbreaker 9 th place finish at SCGCON last weekend, proving that the deck is far more than a meme or just an introduction into the world of combo decks.

The big draw here is how effective of a tool Beseech the Mirror is on all sides of the ball, allowing you to find either combo piece, get rid of Demonic Pact if needed, as well as play a minor toolbox with cards like Brotherhood's End or Rankle's Prank.

There's no shortage of quality Rakdos cards here, offering many of the best removal spells in the format as well as Duress in the maindeck, which is live against almost every deck, and the combo finish is very powerful against slower midrange decks.

So Much More

We're obviously still very early in the Foundations lifecycle, but it feels like we're just barely scratching the surface.

Do you want to play Day of Judgment or Sunfall?

What kind of graveyard decks can Kiora, the Rising Tide enable?

How many of the two-card combos in Black are actually playable?

As well as just asking where a bevy of awesome reprints will find a home.

And the best part is we've got some time to stew on it! While December will see the release of Pioneer Masters on MTG Arena and January the release of Innistrad Remastered in paper, there isn't a proper new release until Aetherdrift in February, giving us a chance to actually play with and enjoy Foundations (as well as Duskmourn!) cards and figure out where they all fit!