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The Foundations Era Is Here
MagicCon Las Vegas took place this past weekend and was host to a ton of MTG gameplay and announcements. The biggest event of the year ensured that Wizards was going to pull out all of the stops on their reveals and wow did they deliver. Some were exciting, some surprising, and others were downright controversial.
The one most people were looking forward to was no doubt the Foundations preview panel, showing off the new core set that will set what Standard would look like through 2029 at least. Prior to this preview panel, we'd already seen some exciting cards, and many players were eager to see if they'd continue to be hitters or if the majority would be duds. Thankfully, Wizards delivered, and Foundations is shaping up to be a smash hit and one of the best core sets ever made.
While these previews rocked - you can read my other article today for a deeper rundown of those - the remaining announcements revealed that Foundations was laying the groundwork for something greater. Dubbed "The Foundation Era," Wizards of the Coast announced a whole host of unexpected shifts that would define the next few years of the game beyond simply Foundations' long shelf life in Standard. Some of these were lauded while others were met with hostility by a large portion of the community.
The first of these announcements was the new change of Standard rotation timing. Rather than rotation happening at what seems to be a weirdly arbitrary time every year, it will instead occur at the start of the new calendar year. This change will take place first in 2027 and simplify when it happens as opposed to the odd question of "which set's the fall release again?"
The next aspect was that MRSP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) is finally coming back! Many players, and as Wizards noted - stores, have asked for a return to MSRP for some time now. The concern was that for many players there wasn't necessarily a stable baseline by which to expect products to be sold at. As such, this gives players the information they need to better make their purchases and tell when retailers mark up products.
The last - and perhaps most controversial - announcement was that going forward, all Universes Beyond sets (essentially the non-Commander only ones) will now be Standard legal. The cited reason for this is that many saw Universes Beyond as an on-ramp for new players to get into the game. Once there, though, it was hard for players to find a means of play that wasn't Commander due to many Universes Beyond releases going through Modern which provides a barrier to entry for many of these new players.
This announcement was met with a staggering amount of hostility from many players. Many within the community already harbor a notable distaste for Universes Beyond in general, but felt that Commander or Modern exclusivity allowed opportunities to opt out. Now with the major releases like the upcoming Final Fantasy and Spider-Man crossover sets coming to Standard, the impact is going to be felt in all formats, not just those older formats. Concerns also were levied at the decrease in original Magic sets and lore, as well as an overall increase to six Standard sets a year.
Speaking of, Wizards revealed most of the upcoming Standard releases for the next year. We knew about the upcoming multiplanar death race, return to Tarkir, and space opera sets, but now we have names for all of them. The death race set is titled Aetherdrift, the return to Tarkir is now Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and the space opera set is now Edge of Eternities. Each reveal showed off several pieces of artwork and some early looks at cards (albeit with no text on them for the moment).
Last but not least was the final official reveal of Pioneer Masters coming to MTG Arena on December 10! Long rumored to be in the works, the goal of this set is to finally bring the MTG Arena client in line with tournament Pioneer, finally changing it to the actual format as opposed to the current Explorer format. The initial two images previewed Hidden Strings - essential to the Lotus Field Combo deck - and Jace, Vryn's Prodigy // Jace, Telepath Unbound.
Also visible with a closer look at the background of both images is the following:
- Liliana, Heretical Healer
- Legion Loyalist
- Tasigur, the Golden Fang
- Hornet Nest
- Mizzium Skin
- Athreos, God of Passage
- Silence
All of this is to say that the next year is going to be packed with absurd amounts of Magic. This batch of announcements alone could've made up the news for the week. All of this and more is sure to be the talk of the town for weeks to come. Are you excited for what's to come or skeptical it'll all work out for the betterment of the game?
A Monumental World Championship
?Congratulations to Javier Dominguez, winner of Magic World Championship 30!?
— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) October 27, 2024
After finishing 2nd in 2017, he returned the following year and claimed the title of Magic World Champion. Now, the Fervent Champion has done it again!
Congratulations again, Javier! pic.twitter.com/kq0u0hUKVJ
This weekend wasn't just host to a ton of major announcements. The 30th Magic World Championship event also took place at MagicCon Las Vegas with 114 players duking it out for the title of the best in the world. At the end of the day, Javier Dominguez won out, locking not just his second world champion title but also clinched the Kai Budde Player of the Year award in the process. Congratulations!
The event saw a ton of innovative and powerful decks with incredible players. The top 8 in particular saw some truly memorable stories made, like how the legendary Kai Budde made it to the top of the event, only to face Seth Manfield who was in contention for the Player of the Year award that bore his name. Although Kai lost, it was noteworthy that if he had won, he'd be going against the other person in contention for the title, Javier himself. The actual match between Seth and Javier was the stuff dreams are made of and proved to be a tremendously exciting spectacle.
Magic Online Announces Its First Creator Season Event
Yesterday, Magic Online revealed it's doing its first ever creator focused series of events it's calling the Creator Season. This event involves tournaments or special leagues featuring prolific creators such as MTGNerdGirl, AnziD, Amaz, and more! Best of all, each week during this upcoming November run, you'll be able to find all-access tokens in the MTGO store, thereby allowing you to play whatever you want to your heart's content during the event!
Check out the official Magic Online announcement page here for all the details!
Decklist of the Week
Dimir Demons | DSK Standard | Javier Dominguez, 1st Place Magic World Championships 30
- Creatures (12)
- 2 Caustic Bronco
- 2 Doomsday Excruciator
- 4 Archfiend of the Dross
- 4 Faerie Mastermind
- Planeswalkers (2)
- 2 Jace, the Perfected Mind
- Instants (12)
- 1 Cut Down
- 2 Shoot the Sheriff
- 2 Spell Stutter
- 3 Anoint with Affliction
- 4 Go for the Throat
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Duress
- Enchantments (4)
- 4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
- Lands (26)
- 8 Swamp
- 1 Undercity Sewers
- 2 Fountainport
- 3 Darkslick Shores
- 4 Gloomlake Verge
- 4 Restless Reef
- 4 Underground River
Export Arena
As noted above, Javier Dominguez took down World Championship 30 in stunning fashion. He did so on the back of this powerful Dimir Demons deck. The deck plays very much like a Dimir Midrange deck, with a handful of creatures and plenty more interaction to control the game and let them get in for damage. Alternatively, however, you can play a Doomsday Excruciator and then use either Jace, the Perfected Mind or Restless Reef to mill the opponent out. Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber was the real standout, though, providing tons of card draw as well as huge creatures that demand an answer.
Congratulations once more to Javier on the incredible win!
