Magic: The Gathering Foundations is a unique set releasing on November 15, standing apart from MTG’s four yearly Premier Set releases. Wizards has given a first look at set and booster details for Foundation at Gen Con.
Foundations is tailored towards introducing new players to the game, while still providing both powerful new cards and much-needed reprints for entrenched Magic fans.
This set will play an important part in Wizards of the Coast’s efforts to revitalize the Standard format in person. The cards introduced and re-introduced in this MTG Foundations are intended to be legal in Standard, all the way through to 2029, as a minimum.
With Foundations providing an excellent new starting point for Magic that should stay crucial to the game for years to come, interest around the set is starting to pick up.
We’ll run through the first substantial block of information for the set that was announced at Gen Con, so you’ll know what your options are for picking up Magic: The Gathering Foundations this November.
MTG Foundations products: Boosters, Beginner Box, and collections
Play Boosters
MTG’s primary booster format will return in Foundations, with each pack containing :
- 6–9 Commons
- 4–5 Uncommons
- 1–4 Rares or Mythic rares
One card out of each Play Booster will be a traditional foil instead of the standard non-foil printing.
Collector Boosters
Premium-priced Collector Boosters will be available to purchase as part of MTG Foundations. As of Foundations, the makeup of a Collector Booster is as follows:
- 5 Commons
- 4 Uncommons
- 5 Rares or Mythic Rares
- 1 Land
- 1 Double-sided token
12-13 cards in each booster will be traditional foil printings, and Japan Showcase cards, mana foils, and extended-art cards can all be found in this booster type.
Jumpstart Boosters
The quickest and most streamlined way to jump into a game of Magic returns in MTG Foundations. Jumpstart Boosters can be mixed and matched to create a working deck out of two distinct halves.
Magic: The Gathering Foundations Jumpstart Boosters contain:
- 20 cards in each booster, including lands
- 1 of 46 possible Jumpstart archetypes
- 1 Theme insert
Beginner Box
A brand-new product, intended to be the best possible on-ramp for a new MTG player. While previous products like Starter Kits have served this purpose in the past, the Foundations Beginner Box should serve to get starting players up to speed as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
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The contents of the Beginner Box are as follows:
- 10 Jumpstart-style boosters
- 2 Reference cards
- 1 Reference guide booklet
- 2 “How to Play” guides
- 2 Gameboard playmats
- 2 Spindown life counters
The packs found in the Beginner Box do not have the random-chance element of Foundations Jumpstart Boosters, being pre-selected specifically for this product. These packs contain cards from the regular Foundations set, not its Jumpstart variant.
As of yet, the Value Boosters introduced in Bloomburrow have not been confirmed to appear in MTG Foundations.
Starter Collection
This is another excellent helping hand for new MTG players looking to craft their first personalized decks. The Magic: The Gathering Foundations Starter Collection contains cards from throughout the game’s history, giving players access to a wide variety of cards, from old favorites to new powerhouses.
The Starter Collection contains:
- 350+ Magic: The Gathering cards, including 22 traditional foil treatments.
- 3 MTG Foundations Play Boosters
- 95 Basic lands
- 14 Tokens
- 2 Reference cards
- 1 “How to Build Your Deck” booklet
- 1 Click wheel
MTG Foundations formats
Magic: The Gathering Foundations will be a Standard-legal set. Foundations is intended to form the backbone of MTG’s Standard gameplay for the foreseeable future, granting an accessible way into the game’s oldest format through Standard legality up to 2029 at the earliest.
While the majority of Foundations’ cards are intended with Standard in mind, a select, currently unknown number of cards have been developed specifically with Commander in mind. These cards will not be available in the Standard format.
By keeping these Commander cards separate from the rest of MTG Foundations, Wizards is likely hoping to avoid some of the issues around Commander warping cards that should be primarily used in other formats, as has been the case with Modern Horizons sets in the past.
By keeping these Commander cards separate from the rest of MTG Foundations, Wizards is likely hoping to avoid some of the issues around Commander warping cards that should be primarily used in other formats, as has been the case with Modern Horizons sets in the past.
Additionally, MTG Foundations’ Jumpstart cards and Special Guests will be legal in the Commander, Legacy, and Vintage formats.
