With Duskmourn: House of Horrors making a splash across multiple formats, I'm kind of holding my breath with Standard. The World Championships is about two weeks away, and I look forward to seeing what new technology the best players in the World cook up for the format. In the meantime, Foundations spoilers should start creeping up on us in the next couple of weeks, making this a great time to go over my wish list for the set.

I love the idea of Foundations. I've always been a fan of Core sets, and I once suggested that WOTC should come up with a list of 20-30 cards that were always legal in every format (cards I called, "Evergreen"). With Llanowar Elves and Day of Judgment already spoiled, it seems like WOTC is willing to push the envelope with the power level of this faux Core set. So, with that in mind, here are some of the cards I'd like to see sneak into Foundations.

White: Puresteel Paladin

I don't think Metalcraft would be too difficult for beginners to understand. I don't think we've had playable equipment in quite awhile, and this would be a way to possibly push equipment cards to see play. We have 3 cards from the Sword cycle in Standard and not one of them sees play! I would love to see the card type relevant again, and this would be a great way to give the archetype a push. My other pick here would be Rhox Faithmender, a card that's fun but not broken and isn't even legal in Pioneer.

Blue: Snapcaster Mage

I'm including this mainly because I'd like to see it make the jump to Pioneer, but I think it would be a fine inclusion for Standard. We already have so many ways to fight graveyard decks, and the spells aren't quite powerful enough to make this broken. The only reservation I have is that it might push Dimir decks to an uncomfortably strong level.

Black: Inquisition of Kozilek

Thoughtseize would be too much for Standard and we would definitely get sick of it. Fatal Push is right on the cusp, and it's possible that it would be great-but-not-oppressive with Llanowar Elves and all the pushed 1-drops in the format, but I fear it would practically make 2-drops unplayable. Inquisition is a fantastic discard spell that could slow down stnard and Pioneer.

Red: Lightning Bolt

... Just kidding. Have you PLAYED against Mono-Red aggro recently? Giving them Bolt would be gross negligence on Wizard's part. I'm Sorry, Red Mages. I would love the card to be included for nostalgia purposes, but I fear it would not be good for either Standard or Pioneer at the moment.

Actual Red card: Grim Lavamancer

Grim Lavamancer excels in a longer game, something very different from the Red decks currently seeing play. It's an iconic card that could promote some different takes on Red decks while still slotting into aggro decks that aren't looking to sacrifice consistence to kill you on turn two.

Green: Esika's Chariot

Look, Green Mages are already getting Llanowar Elves back, so we're playing with house money at this point. While I would ideally like a new version of Eternal Witness that can bring any card that doesn't share it's name back (to prevent the Eternal Witness loops), I'd also like to see Green get a reprint that isn't a ramp card. Esika's Chariot feels like it hits the sweet spot as a card that would play well with multiple decks while serving as a plant for the upcoming Deathrace-style set.

Gold: Knight of the Reliquary

A classic card that I would love to see in Pioneer. KotR is a card that creates multiple decks, whether you want to use it with self-mill decks to create a huge beater, a landfall deck, or a toolbox land deck. It's no longer powerful enough to see play in Modern, but would fit very well in current Standard with Lumra, Bellow of the Woods and Aftermath Analyst.

Artifact: Howling Mine

This one would be fun It's not overly powerful, it's not dripping with nostalgia, and it's not too complicated for new players to understand. Howling Mine is one of the more low-key beloved cards I've ever played with or against, and it would be a slam dunk reprint for this set.

Land: Reflecting Pool

With the Verge lands focus on land types, this would be a great way to enable decks that want to play multiple colors without breaking the existing lands in Standard. Reflecting Pool is a great way to help plays hit the double mana requirements without pushing decks to play more colors. I could also make a case for Mutavault here, as a way to boost Kindred decks. If we're getting a cycle of multicolored lands for standard, I would suggest the Pathways.

Wild Card: Wear // Tear

The basic split cards are versatile and would be a fantastic way to introduce cards that use the split frame to new players. I would prefer that this is Fire // Ice but that might be a bit too strong for Standard.

It really feels like the play-test team is finding the sweet spot, ramping up the power-level of Standard without making a ton of broken cards, and I hope that trend is continued in Foundations!

You can find more of my Magic musings on Twitter/X @travishall456