Hey all. Magic Foundations releases on November 12th on MTG Arena expanding the card pool for all formats, but especially Standard and Alchemy. Foundations is a big set for Standard, not only in the fact that it has more cards than most sets, but because it will be legal for at least five years. So while these cards should of course be evaluated with an eye on the current Standard metagame, we also need to look forward at how they could possibly impact future Standard formats as well.. So with that said, let’s keep in mind my usual card evaluation philosophy:
Card Evaluation Philosophy: When evaluating new cards there are three categories to keep in mind when trying to decide if they are going to see play or not:
1) Will this card be added to an existing deck,
2) Does this card create a new deck or revive an abandoned deck, and
3) Is this an impactful sideboard option?
(A quick note: These rules are mostly for evaluating cards from a competitive standpoint. When it comes to brewing, let your imagination run wild and try out any of the new cards that you think look awesome or seem fun!)
Foundations have a lot of cards that I think are going to have both an immediate impact on Standard and a long term effect on the format, so let’s kick things off with the white cards.
White
Angelic Destiny
Angelic Destiny is a powerful aura for a couple of reasons. The big buff and flying turn any creature into a must answer threat and the fact that it returns to your hand when that creature dies means that if your opponent wants to answer it they are going to have to kill the creature in response or have dedicated enchantment removal.
I think this card can slot into Azorius Enchantment decks if they want more ways to grant flying to a threat. It curves nicely with Inquisitive Glimmer, as the discount will let you cast the glimmer on turn two and then Angelic Destiny on turn three. I wouldn’t want more than two copies of this in my deck personally, but if it has a home it will be there.
Authority of the Consuls
Did we do it? Is aggro about to die? Authority of the Consuls is a very powerful anti-aggro card in the current meta. The top aggro decks, Mono-Red Aggro and Gruul Prowess, are filled to the brim with creatures that have haste. The whole goal of that deck is to never let the opponent stop and take a breather, because even if you sweep their board or answer their threat, another one is coming at them the next turn.
Authority of the Consuls puts a stop to that plan for just one mana. No longer will you have to fear a top decked Emberheart Challenger, or a plotted Slickshot Show-Off. This buys control decks a lot of time to deploy sweepers and their own game plan, as they know that they won’t just die out of nowhere.
I expect Authority of the Consuls to become a huge player in the format in both existing and new decks.
Day of Judgment
Speaking of control decks, Day of Judgment returns to Standard after a very long time. Since Khans of Tarkir back in 2014, five mana sweepers have been the norm for Standard, when Supreme Verdict rotated out and End Hostilities was printed to fill its place.
Four mana sweepers are scary as an aggro player, because you are often going for the kill on turn four or five. Do you play that extra threat out and hope they don’t have it? Or do you play it slow but thus give them more time to find answers? Aggro players are going to have to reevaluate how they deploy to the board on turn three and four moving forward.
That said, I don’t expect Day of Judgment to become the default moving forward, just because Sunfall is so powerful. Wizards has printed so many cards that can give your creatures indestructible, and none of them have seen play because Sunfall doesn’t care about that and exiles instead. So I expect control decks to lean heavily on Sunfall and then play a couple of copies of Day of Judgment.
Devout Decree
Devout Decree deserves a shout out, as it is a powerful hate card. Exiling red or black creatures or planeswalkers for two mana is a great rate. Being a sorcery holds this card back from being insanely powerful, but it will help decks answer the aggro decks in the format, as well as problematic permanents like Liliana of the Veil.
Exemplar of Light
Exemplar of Light is a powerful new lifegain pay off. Similar to Ajani’s Pridemate (which also returns in this set and could see play in this deck) it grows anytime you gain life. The extra kick here is that once per turn, when you gain life and put a counter on it you get to draw a card, which is a resource that this type of deck didn’t use to have access to.
There are several ways to gain life when a creature enters, like Case of the Uneaten Feast or the new card from Foundations Hinterland Sanctifier. With one of those in play, Exemplar of Light is a 4/4 flying for four mana that draws a card, and can continue to draw cards and grow as the game goes on. That is pretty powerful in my book.
Knight of Grace
Look, black is the best color in Standard for midrange decks, meaning that Knight of Grace is frequently going to be a 3/2 first strike for two mana that can’t be targeted by Cut Down or Go for the Throat, etc. If there is a white aggro deck, I would expect Knight of Grace to find a spot just as a guaranteed way to stick it to Dimir and Golgari Midrange.
Raise the Past
Raise the Past is a powerful sorcery that returns all creatures cards with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. There are a lot of possibilities with this.
First, you are playing a white aggro deck, your opponent casts Day of Judgment, you cast Raise the Past and get back all of your threats. So, if there is a white aggro deck this could be a sideboard option as a way to fight against control. But as I said above, I expect that Temporary Lockdown and Sunfall will still be preferred over Day of Judgment, so I doubt this will be the home for it.
The real place this card can find a home is some sort of sacrifice deck, where you are filling up your graveyard with one or two mana creatures that get value like Greedy Freebooter, and then bringing them back and sacrificing them all again. Ideally, you would be doing this while having Popular Egotist or new from Foundations Vengeful Bloodwitch, in play to drain the opponent out.
I think that Orzhov or Mardu sacrifice could be a real thing and Raise the Past can play a similar role that Rally the Ancestors played when it was the best deck in Standard back in 2015. We have a lot of similar pieces to what we had back then, so let’s see if it all comes together.
Blue
Archmage of Runes
Archmage of Runes is most powerful when you have six mana, cast it, and then hold up a counterspell like Negate to protect it. And that play pattern is totally doable in a blue based midrange or control deck. If you untap with this, it is going to be very hard to remove it. Once your counterspells and removal spells are all drawing cards, you tend to find more of them, making it hard for the opponent to find a way out from under the archmage.
That being said, I don’t think that Dimir Midrange wants this card, and there are no other existing blue based midrange or control decks. Perhaps the Temur Combo deck wants this effect to keep their chain of spells going.
Regardless, this card will be legal for five years, so I expect it to find a home at some point.
Brineborn Cutthroat
Brineborn Cutthroat is powerful in flash decks that are going to cast a lot of spells on their opponent’s turn. It gives those decks a real aggressive way to end the game. We got a lot of tools to support the already existing flash cards in the format, so it is possible that there is something there.
Flashfreeze
Flashfreeze heard that Mono-Red and Gruul were the best aggro decks in the format, so it showed up to crash their party. Two mana to counter any red or green spell is going to be a huge boon to blue midrange and control decks looking to fight against the aggro decks in the format. This will be an immediate sideboard staple so pick up your copies.
Harbinger of the Tides
Harbinger of the Tides gets a shoutout just because of what I mentioned with Brineborn Cutthroat. If a flash deck comes together, Harbinger of the Tides is a tool that deck has to slow down opposing attackers. It is quite expensive to do so, at four mana, but it can also come down on your turn for two mana to bounce something, so it could be a player in that deck.
Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator
Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator has a lot going for him. First, three mana planeswalkers are always to be feared because you may not have a board established yet to pressure them, and most decks don’t play dedicated planeswalker removal.
Second, the passive ability to get loyalty counters whenever a creature deals damage to a player, means that you could realistically use the ultimate ability of Kaito pretty quickly, and in most games that ultimate ability is going to win you the game.
Third, the other two abilities are just fine. The minus to make a ninja is good synergy with Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, who buffs up all ninjas, and the plus to make a creature unblockable and loot helps you find action and can push through a lot of damage.
Omniscience
Omniscience is a broken card, but obviously very hard to get into play. The main way to cheat it into play is off the back of Kona, Rescue Beastie, and then go off from there. Other options include manifesting it into play and then blinking it, or just ramping up and casting it. Regardless, keep it on your radar as a possible source of brokenness whenever cards that let you cheat stuff into play are printed in the next five years.
Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
Look, I knew Snapcaster Mage, and Sphinx of Forgotten Lore is no Snapcaster Mage, but I do think it can be powerful. The most common play pattern I envision with this card is you cast it on turn four, maybe as a surprise blocker but most likely at the end of your opponent’s turn, untap, cast a two mana removal spell, attack, give that removal spell flashback, and take out your opponent’s two best threats.
Snapcaster Mage could be used with counterspells and this creature really can’t, so I suspect if it finds a home it will be in a proactive deck looking to recast removal spells or card draw spells from the graveyard.
Time Stop
Time Stop is just a messed up card. The base use of this card is you cast in your opponent’s upkeep to end their turn before they even draw a card, making it akin to Time Warp but for one more mana. However, it can get better.
If you read the reminder text, the first thing it says is “Exile all spells and abilities.” So you can also use it as a counterspell that ends your opponent’s turn, and can even use it on uncounterable spells, since they are exiled. Control decks finally have a way to fight against Cavern of Souls making Atraxa, Grand Unifier uncounterable.
I don’t think there is currently a home for Time Stop but it is going to be legal for five years, there will surely be a control deck somewhere along the way that wants access to it.
Voracious Greatshark
Voracious Greatshark earns a shoutout just because it could be part of the flash deck that I have spent so much time talking about. The flash deck needs cards like this that can actually end the game, so countering an opponent’s creature and getting your own big body is a big swing. If the flash deck comes together, this card will have to be considered.
Black
Bloodthirsty Conqueror
Bloodthirsty Conqueror might just look like a big scary flier, and it is that, but it is also a source of infinite combos that win the game.
A classic commander combo is when you have both Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood in play and then cause an opponent to lose any amount of life. This will cause Exquisite Blood to trigger, gaining you life, which will cause Sanguine Bond to trigger, losing your opponent life, which will cause Exquisite Blood to trigger, and so on and so on.
With Bloodthirsty Conqueror filling in for Exquisite Blood, we have either Starscape Cleric or Enduring Tenacity to fill in for Sanguine Bond. So with one of those two in play and Bloodthirsty Conqueror, you damage the opponent and then drain them for their whole life total.
Is that powerful enough or consistent enough for Standard? I’m not sure, but it is something to be aware of, and I’m sure plenty of players will be trying it out early on.
Deathmark
Deathmark is just a great sideboard card. One mana to kill a green or white creature is as cheap as it gets. Sorcery speed limits this a bit, but if you want to kill green or white creatures you can’t do better than Deathmark. There aren’t a ton of green or white creatures in Standard right now, but again this will be around for five years, so whenever a green or white deck becomes popular, black decks will have a good answer.
Desecration Demon
Desecration Demon gives us another four mana demon alongside Archfiend of the Dross, to curve out after casting Unholy Annex, turning that life loss into life drain. It is a bit more finicky than the archfiend, as your opponent can choose to use their creatures to tap it down, but as long as Unholy Annex is popular, I could see Desecration Demon having a home alongside it.
Feed the Swarm
Feed the Swarm is a reprint, but it gives us even more enchantment removal in black. Withering Torment might just be better, since it is instant speed and you only lose two life, but sometimes you will want Feed the Swarm just because it costs two mana. More options is always good.
Liliana, Dreadhorde General
Liliana, Dreadhorde General also returns to Standard and she is a pretty sweet planeswalker. Drawing cards whenever a creature you control dies combos nicely with her minus four that makes each player sacrifice two creatures. The plus one just making a 2/2 is totally fine to protect her, and when it dies you draw a card.
If you ever get to the ultimate you will likely win the game, but I think this planeswalker is best used to control the board and keep the cards coming. Six mana is a lot for a planeswalker so Liliana might not see play right away, but I wouldn’t be surprised if midrange and control decks wanted her at some point in the next five years.
Midnight Reaper
Speaking of sacrifice decks, Midnight Reaper is the perfect payoff when you are sacrificing creatures. Turning every nontoken creature you sacrifice into a card, guarantees that you can keep the gas coming and assemble the pieces you need to win the game.
It also turns all of your small creatures into threats. If you don’t have a sacrifice outlet, you can jam Midnight Reaper and then send in the team. Yeah they can likely block profitably, but then you get to draw cards and hopefully reassemble your board. Be wary that they can kill it before damage and foil that plan, but I’m just saying there are a lot of possibilities with this card.
If the sacrifice deck comes together, Midnight Reaper will definitely be a consideration for it.
Vengeful Bloodwitch
Tying that sacrifice deck together is Vengeful Bloodwitch. This creature, plus Popular Egotist, give you a way to drain the opponent out as you sacrifice your creatures for value. It is very fragile, but with cards like Raise the Past that we discussed above, it can easily be brought back.
Sacrifice decks need a critical mass of ways to sacrifice and sacrifice payoffs, and this set provides a lot of the payoffs, and Standard has a decent number of ways to sacrifice. I don’t know if sacrifice will become a dominant player in the format, but there is no doubt in my mind that it won’t be a week one deck.
Zombify
Similar to my thoughts on Day of Judgment above, Zombify is worth noting just because we don’t usually get four mana reanimation. I know we just got Rite of the Moth in Duskmourn, but that is a hard card to cast, and forces you into Orzhov. Now, reanimation decks can be other color combinations, using Zombify as their main reanimation spell.
Stock up on your graveyard hate now, because between Zombify and Raise the Past, this set is going to encourage players to abuse their graveyard.
Red
Boltwave
Boltwave is pretty straightforward. Three damage for one mana. The current red aggro decks don’t want this card, because they are all about buffing up their creatures, but there are some great burn spells in this set and Standard in general that make me think that a burn deck could come together.
Will that burn deck be better than the creature aggro decks? Maybe not, but we have got to try it to find out.
Bulk Up
Bulk Up is a spell that those creature based aggro decks could consider. If you plot a Slickshot Show-Off on turn two, on turn three you could cast Monstrous Rage plus Bulk Up to get in for 16 damage, which is a lot. Now, those decks already have a great plan so they might not want this card that is slightly clunky at two mana, but it is worth considering.
Dragonlord’s Servant
Dragonlord’s Servant gets a shoutout just because our second set next year is a return to Tarkir, which is going to feature a lot of dragons. Keep an eye on any four mana dragons that could come down on turn three thanks to the discount from this guy, as that curve could become a Standard staple.
Ghitu Lavarunner
Speaking of burn decks, I think that Ghitu Lavarunner is more likely to find a home in a burn deck than in the current red aggro decks. The current decks really care about prowess triggers stacking up the damage, and Ghitu Lavarunner doesn’t have prowess. But in a burn deck just having a 2/2 haste could be enough to finish off the game. So time will tell.
Impact Tremors
Impact Tremors could combo nicely with Warleader’s Call in a token deck to give you a lot of reach. Imagine casting Hop to It and dealing six damage to the opponent. Is that better than the existing convoke strategies? Maybe not. But a slightly different build could emerge built around these cards.
Searslicer Goblin
A card that works nicely with those enchantments is Searslicer Goblin. The cool thing about Raid is that that creature doesn’t have to attack, you just have to attack with any creature. So if you play a one drop, and then follow it up with Searslicer Goblin, you are going to get that 1/1 token at the end of turn.
And from there, that token can attack the next turn to trigger Raid again, and the loop continues. So, if you are making use of Impact Tremors or just want a way to trigger Raid every turn, Searslicer Goblin is a must include.
Slagstorm
Slagstorm could also help out burn decks, as it can be used to sweep the board, or as extra damage to the face. I don’t expect other decks to choose it over Brotherhood’s End, or Pyroclasm, but once those rotate, Slagstorm will still be an option.
Green
This set gave us a lot of good elves to play with. Dwynen’s Elite gives us two bodies, Elvish Archdruid buffs the team and makes a ton of mana, and Imperious Perfect buffs the team and keeps the elves coming.
Alongside Leaf-Crowned Visionary from Dominaria United, and Llanowar Elves, which we will discuss below, elves have a real chance to come together as a new synergy deck in the format.
Llanowar Elves
Llanowar Elves gets its own section, because while it will be a part of any elf deck that comes together, it is also going to define green decks in Standard for the next five years. We have to completely change how we evaluate green three drops, or really any three drops that only have one non-green mana in their mana cost.
Cards like Hauntwoods Shrieker, Glissa Sunslayer, Nissa, Resurgent Animist, Ornery Tumblewagg, Outcaster Trailblazer, Overlord of the Hauntwoods, Sentinel of the Nameless City, Spinner of Souls, Trostani, Three Whispers, etc etc. all get a lot of better when they come down on turn two, especially on the play.
If you aren’t joining them, be prepared to beat them. Cheap removal was already pretty necessary in this standard format to fight against the aggro decks, but if you are prepared to kill a Llanowar Elves on turn one, then you better be prepared to kill whatever three drop they pump out the turn after.
Loot, Exuberant Explorer
Loot, Exuberant Explorer is one of those cards that gets a lot better thanks to Llanowar Elves. When it comes down on turn two and lets you play another land, on turn three you could double land drop and then activate its ability or cast a six drop.
There are going to be some crazy fast ramp starts in this format thanks to Llanowar Elves curving into Loot or Overlord of the Hauntwoods, so be prepared to fight five and six drops as soon as turn three, because they are coming.
Scavenging Ooze
Scavenging Ooze is a classic card at this point. It comes down, starts getting to work, exiles cards from graveyards to grow and gain life. It is just a workhorse in green decks. We do already have Keen-Eyed Curator in Standard as a very similar effect, but it is harder to cast even though its ability is easier to activate.
So, with both options, green decks have good ways to attack the graveyard. And, since Scavenging Ooze is going to be legal for the next five years, it will always have the ability to attack graveyards, which should be pretty important.
Spinner of Souls
Spinner of Souls is an awesome value creature that demands that your opponent removes it first before removing something else. A 4/3 reach for three mana is pretty great, and the ability to turn all of your other creatures’ deaths into new creatures means that your opponent really cannot afford to spend removal anywhere but at the spinner.
This can benefit you in decks where you have threats you want to protect, or just in a green creature deck where you have a lot of good threats and the opponent is forced to make tough choices about what they remove.
Oh, and it can come down on turn two thanks to Llanowar Elves, so be ready for that.
Vivien Reid
Vivien Reid is just a classic planeswalker. Plus one card advantage, minus three removal, minus eight win the game. To put it more elegantly, her plus one is so good at keeping the gas flowing, and it is very unlikely to miss since it can also take a land.
Her minus is very relevant in current Standard. There are a lot of powerful enchantments in the format like Unholy Annex or Caretaker’s Talent, and there are a lot of random fliers, like Faerie Mastermind or Deep-Cavern Bat. So I wouldn’t be surprised if most games you cast Vivien and immediately use her minus three to good effect.
Her ultimate doesn’t actually just win the game, but if you have a board it pretty much does. Trample helps push through damage, vigilance plays offense and defense, and the buff and indestructible means you can attack and block at will.
Vivien Reid should breathe life into green based midrange decks, and I expect Golgari Midrange to play a couple copies, and possibly even other green midrange decks to emerge around her.
Multicolor
Boros Charm
Boros Charm was the other burn spell I alluded to earlier that could combine with Boltwave and other existing burn spells like Lightning Helix, Lightning Strike, Shock, and Burst Lightning to make a real burn deck in Standard.
Four damage for two mana is a great deal, and there are corner cases where the other two modes will come up, but this is mostly just going to be going at the opponent’s face. So keep an eye out for some sort of Boros burn deck moving forward.
Dryad Militant
Dryad Militant is a nice aggressive creature that can help fight against certain graveyard strategies. For example, Azorius Oculus decks are trying to fill up the graveyard not just with their creatures but with a lot of spells to buff up their copies of Haughty Djinn and so they can hard cast Abhorrent Oculus. Dryad Militant puts an end to that, exiling all of those spells leaving only their lands and creatures, which you can use other graveyard hate to take care of like Scavenging Ooze.
There isn’t currently a home for Dryad Militant, but I think that green and white got a lot of good tools in this set that could breathe some fresh air into them.
Elenda, Saint of Dusk
Move aside Golgari and Dimir midrange, Orzhov is a new contender thanks to Elenda, Saint of Dusk. There are several layers to this card but let’s start with the base. A 4/4 lifelink for four is fine but hexproof from instants is insane. No Go for the Throat or Tear Asunder or Witchstalker Frenzy will help you here.
If you have 21 or more life, she is a 5/5 menace, lifelink, which means she is going to have a better time attacking in to get to the threshold of 30 life, where she will become a 10/10 menace, lifelink.
So I think that Elenda, Saint of Dusk is just going to be great against the current meta. She comes down, holds down the fort against aggro, gets attacking against other midrange decks, buffs up your life total, and turns into a real scary threat if you are able to keep your opponent’s pressure off the table.
The good news is there are a variety of sorcery speed removal spells that could start to see play to fight her, such as Exorcise, or Maelstrom Pulse, which we will discuss below.
Immersturm Predator
Immersturm Predator returns and this is just a sweet card. A 3/3 flying for four mana is not a great rate, but it grows every time you attack with it or use its ability to tap it. What makes this card is just all of the extra goodies. Not only does it grow, but it gives you graveyard hate. It can protect itself, and most importantly, is a free sacrifice outlet.
I mentioned above when talking about all of the sacrifice cards that sacrifice decks need a critical mass of sacrifice outlets and sacrifice payoffs, and Immersturm Predator is not only a free sacrifice outlet, but it is a sacrifice outlet that can protect itself from most removal in the format.
I’m not sure if the mana is good enough in Standard to build Mardu sacrifice, but even if you just decided to forgo Raise the Past and build Rakdos Sacrifice, Immersturm Predator is the top end threat you want to have to tie the deck together.
Maelstrom Pulse
Maelstrom Pulse is so sweet. Three mana, kill a permanent, and if they have multiple copies of it, take those out as well. We have a similar card in Standard already in Legions to Ashes, but Maelstrom Pulse gives the already popular Golgari Midrange a clean way to answer enchantments and planeswalkers, etc.
It is worth noting that Maelstrom Pulse does not only take out your opponent’s stuff. If you have an Unholy Annex, and so does your opponent, and you target their annex, they will both die, so be careful of that when using this card.
Unflinching Courage
Azorius Enchantments has been the go to build of enchantments so far, but I did play around with a Selesnya build at the beginning of Duskmourn that I think still has a lot of legs. Unflinching Courage gives that deck a big boost, as it gives another way to grant trample, which is so important when you are trying to force through a big creature.
So will Selesnya come roaring back to replace Azorius? Probably not, but I think that Unflinching Courage opens up the conversation and breathes some new life into the previously abandoned Selesnya build.
Colorless
Mazemind Tome
Mazemind Tome is back, and it is just a good tool for midrange and control decks that want an easy source of card advantage. You will mostly want to be patient with this card, and use it to draw a card when you have extra mana, but in a pinch you can use it to scry to find answers, and work towards that life gain.
This card isn’t going to break Standard, but it’s just a good option to have around.
Secluded Courtyard
Secluded Courtyard returns, which combines with Cavern of Souls to give us eight creature typal lands in Standard. Most creature types don’t need this many, such as Elves which are all green cards for the most part. But a creature type like Humans could benefit from having that many typal lands, as humans span across all five colors of magic.
So if you are playing a typal deck that is just one or two colors, I would start with Cavern of Souls and then see if you want Secluded Courtyard on top of that. It is worth noting that Secluded Courtyard can make colored mana for activated abilities, which Cavern of Souls does not do, so if you have a lot of activated abilities you could favor Secluded Courtyard instead.
Wrapping Up
Foundations is a really interesting set to try to evaluate. It is easy to think about its immediate impact on Standard, but since it will be legal for at least five years, there are cards that might not be players right now but are just waiting for the right cards to be printed to make an impact.
I hope this card evaluation was helpful as you look over the set and plan what cards you want to build new decks with. I will be back on Monday where I will go over all of the decks I have brewed for the format, so look forward to that!
Foundations releases on Tuesday the 11th, so until then, best of luck in all of your matches!
