Though its global release is still one day away, I can already say that MTG Foundations is going to be my highlight of 2024. This Standard set is nothing short of a triumph. It has something for everyone involved in the hobby, good for players old and new, for fans of draft or constructed. Opening Foundations packs or looking over the card gallery genuinely feels like a salve on the soul, a return to tradition in a very non-traditional year for the TCG.
Foundations oozes a ‘classic Magic’ feeling. This MTG set delivers a well-worn blend of high fantasy with a little bit of sci-fi, serving up badass warriors, cute creatures, and nasty monsters in equal measure.
Perhaps the word classic is unhelpful when describing a game that’s changed as often as Magic: The Gathering has. After all, what you consider classic might depend on when you started playing. Is it Dominaria and Urza? Jace and Nicol Bolas? Innistrad and Tarkir?
However, what I’m trying to communicate with the word is that MTG Foundations has a simple elegance to it – something that’s been missing in Magic releases of late. I can’t tell you what a nice change of pace it is to play a Standard set that isn’t wrapped up in some gimmick, or on-the-nose genre pastiche.
It’s really a problem that began when Wizards axed blocks and began a whistle-stop tour of the multiverse, never resting on one MTG plane for long. While all the game’s settings have obvious sources of inspiration, the rapid rate of change means we seldom have time to dig into what makes them unique.
Worldbuilding articles show that the new planes are often as well thought out and interesting as the old, but in order to communicate a clear vision with just one set of cards, Wizards has to hit upon the most broadly recognisable references, snatching up the low-hanging fruit first and foremost.
This was highlighted more strongly than ever before in 2024 because we’ve essentially had no revisits to older, better developed planes (Karlov Manor doesn’t really count) It’s been a year of genre plays: detective, western, horror. Next year we add racing and space opera to the mix.
In that context, Foundations is a lovely palette cleanser. It provides a glance at many different planes, a little taste of everything Magic has to offer, from the Eldrazi to heroes old and new.
Mechanically, as well, Foundations is a gasp of fresh air. In the last five years we’ve seen cards get denser and denser, as Wizards of the Coast pushes the boat out to find untapped design space. It’s even gotten to the point that designers are slimming down rules text to fit more and more complicated designs onto the cards.
With Foundations, then, it’s so nice to be able to glance at a card and understand in a few seconds exactly what it does. I can actually imagine teaching someone how to play Magic: The Gathering using this set, and innovative products like the Starter Collection and Beginner Box only make the job easier.
Furthermore, Foundations seems to have dodged the problem of the Core Sets – this release is both simple and easy to understand for new players, while still having a decent number of powerful cards for established fans to go after. You’re never going to be sad about opening up a Day of Judgement, Dragonmaster Outcast, or Bloodthirsty Conqueror.
The gameplay seems great in Limited, with lots of strong archetypes, plenty of synergy to explore, and a relative lack of bombs that win the game on the spot. And the fact these cards are Standard legal for the next five years may have many positive effects, freeing designers from the need to ensure certain effects are printed every few sets for the good of Standard, and making it easier for players to build up a decent deck, as their cards stick around for longer.
There are so many good points to Foundations, but for me – concerned about the encroachment of Universes Beyond crossovers in the future, the big one is that it’s a set that shows Wizards can still connect with fans without making them think of something else they already recognise. It’s a sign that Magic’s own IP might still have some legs after all, despite the current direction it is taking.
Overall, I find the creation of this set to be deeply reassuring. If Wizards of the Coast can still put out something like Foundations, it shows they still get it, and however Magic warps and changes, maybe we can weather the storm of whatever the next few years will bring.
Unless it’s a huge flop that is; that would be devastating…
Speaking of next year, you should read our MTG release schedule guide, to see everything Wizards has unveiled for 2025 so far.
Source: Wargamer
