Magic Foundations Set Review: Red | Magic: the Gathering

[@sallomon2357]

For those confused why firespitter whelp is in the reprint slot despite being a new card, it's also in Foundations Jumpstart with that set's set symbol, so I can kind of get why they did it this way... Still feels unnecessaringly confusing to me for nothing in return.

[@samogburn2662]

Even if I lose 100 games with Hidetsugu's second rite in hand, it'll still be worth it when it works that 1 time

[@jaiclary8423]

How dare you say such terrible mean things about Shivan Dragon!? I'm not saying you're wrong, but how dare you say them!?

[@virtueofabsolution7641]

I think it’ll be a perfectly reasonable top end finisher for RG decks and maybe RB if it’s grindy enough but that’s about it.

[@svankensen]

@@virtueofabsolution7641 You said it! I loved it as a kid, and now, 31 years later, it's still playable. If the opponent doesn't have removal, it can still terrorize the skies and end a game, even if it is a bit inefficient. I'm proud of it. May not be a bomb, but you will still at least think of adding it to your deck when you come across one.

[@virtueofabsolution7641]

@@svankensen oh absolutely. Is it the finisher you want? No probably not. Is it the finisher you _need_ when you whiff on the rares and mythics? Absolutely. After all how bad can an uncommon 4RR 5/5 flying fire breather be in a format where Llanowar Elves is common? 😈

[@elijahlyons8164]

Shivan dragon is nerfed with the new combat rules

[@svankensen]

@@elijahlyons8164 Explain?

[@slendyspy2675]

Red is very easy to understand. White has lifegain and counters, blue has some decent tempo plays and buildarounds, and black cares about graveyard midrange shenangans. Red? Smash face, easy. Blessed be FDN.

[@woodysmith2681]

I loled at Dragon Trainer followed by Electroduplicate.

[@sallomon2357]

With the set's Chandra not that far before both lol

[@arthurbattesini5124]

So good to have Nizza's opinion on the set! Looking forward to drafting Foundations, sounds like it'll be a pretty fun set

[@STank-bot_88]

My ass. Limited is going to be trash until the next set. There's like no complexity to this set at all.

[@virtueofabsolution7641]

@@STank-bot_88it’s essentially a core set. Personally I love core set limited as it’s essentially guaranteed to be very balanced but eh some people don’t care for it I guess🤷

[@arthurbattesini5124]

Yep, we need to consider it as a core set. Also, it'll be an easier set than the last two, which were a lot of fun but a tad bit complex

[@STank-bot_88]

@arthurbattesini5124 The only thing is that I feel the complexity of the last few sets is what made them fun or, at least for me, contributed to it's staying power and my want to keep drafting. I understand this is a Core set, but I feel the lack of complexity is going to result in a boring format after the first few weeks. I hope I'm wrong.

[@stuflames4769]

Hidetsugu's second rite may be bad, but we will still have to account for it when letting through creatures and doing combat math!

[@AingealWroth]

Twinflame will be the end of me at some point and I honestly... can only be so mad. It's such a nice card.

[@blacklancejeo6625]

Shivan Dragon downshifted to uncommon. How the mighty have fallen indeed

[@superspen97]

I know I'm in my aggro era of limited when Nizzahon gives a relatively low grade to a card and my reaction is "but that just kills people" :3 I love threaten effects and combat tricks that just pump power rn. This week I used a threaten effect on someone's fear of immobility and the delirium double strike trick to kill them when they "stabilized" at 9.

[@MaskedTai]

Count all the times that Nizzahon says in the black and red videos that "there's no dedicated black/red sacrifice deck" and you got yourself a black/red sacrifice deck, lol

[@svankensen]

I'm definitely gonna win a couple games with Shivan Dragon. Sure, sometimes it will be removed with 2 mana, but we had terror back then too.

[@NizzahonMagic]

It'll definitely win some games. Not saying it won't!

[@svankensen]

@@NizzahonMagic Oh, I think your assesment is spot on. I may be biased cause I had a binder of them back when, but C sounds about right. Slow and vulnerable, but if it goes through? Big fat flier with firebreathing! That's some 8 damage each turn. It just needs proper support.

[@littlemrdoom5997]

How much you guys wanna bet that he's gonna get got by second rite in a draft?

[@EBurstyn]

Anyone remember that TV ad for Puppy Surprise?

[@EndTheEnding]

6:48 might be another case of overate. Molten duplication in OTJ was an F (GiH win rate was 45.8%) this one costs 1 more but can flashback. I would say adding flashback is not enough to make a dead card playable, probably a D in my book.

[@Caskindragon]

7:49 I really feel Goblin Negotiation just doesn't pan out, even using the example situation with Incinerating Blast killing a 3/3 you mentioned later, you are still spending 5 mana (with an extra R) to kill a 3/3 with no upside. Sure you can use it earlier as well, but you are spending 3 mana to kill an X/1 at sorcery speed? Even if you are wanting to use it for goblins, on 5 mana you can kill an X/1 and get 2 1/1s? Just feels very under rate for a B- grade.

[@poiri]

Fireballs usually play far stronger than they look, especially in slower formats.

[@HughRMungustein]

Had someone dump 12 mana into it on a board stall. Still didn't do anything because in response I killed my creature and made it fizzle

[@skylorwilliams5036]

Electroduplicate is an A. My opponent copied a Sphinx for 15 flying haste.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Nice. One experience isn't enough to say a card is an A, though.

[@JimmyVilde]

Red seems to me as the strongest color in this set.

[@darkdemon653]

I think goblin negotiation is way overrated.

[@keiharris332]

I thought ball lightning was legal again?

[@matthewkeeling886]

Unfortunately they put it only in the Jumpstart packs, which are (mostly) not Standard Legal.

[@Murph_.]

Crackling Cyclops seems to be a more powerful, non flying, Slickshot Show-off. Just imagine attacking with this with 3 mana open, and it doesn't get blocked. Turn Inside Out, Monstrous Rage, and a Might of the Meek. You end up with a 15/4 creature and a card draw. 16/4 if you have a mouse on board. Have 2 of these or this and a Slickshot and some combat tricks and you are close to a fatal attack.

[@pewwwwooop]

How is this Berserker guy a b - in the last set there was a common that was giving out +1 and firststrike. It was solid but not a b - this menace buff is much worse.

[@Memnarch]

After watching all color reviews, I get the overwhelming sense this is a poopy set for Limited all the way around. That being said, if you were to go to your local Magic hangout and participate in a draft with this set, what kind of deck would you build? And why? What combos would you be looking for? And why? I think there were two cards you gave an “A” rating too in multicolored, neither of which are connected, no blue cards😪, one black card, one green card, a couple of white cards, and multiple red cards. I typically use your videos to help prepare me for draft matches, but this set is kind of all over the place. Can you help us out here?

[@poiri]

You really shouldn’t go into a draft with a goal of what to draft unless one color/color-pair is waaaaaaaay better than the others, something we can’t know yet. But even if there is something that’s far better than the field you should still play what’s open.

[@Memnarch]

@ I never do go into a draft with any goals of what to draft. You kind of have to play the hand you’re dealt. I am not new bro. I already know that. What I am asking about is ideas for combos within the draft set or cards that create high synergy I may have overlooked. I started playing in draft matches 20 years ago. I know how to draft. But top tier players almost always find the cards that go well together, no matter what. So is that always luck? No. It can’t be. It is preparation, knowledge, and skill. I’m just looking to increase my knowledge and skill set here.

[@poiri]

@@Memnarch the way you wrote your original comment simply sounded like some stuff I hear from newer players, mainly in focusing on the bombs and their colors. And ‘looking for combos’ sounds quite different to me than ‘which synergies seem most likely to come together’, though that one is probably just me. Also “what kind of deck would you build?” seems pretty antithetical to drafting (and therefore building) what’s open, but if you meant it more as ‘do you think this format is slow/fast?’ I can see the point of the inquiry.

[@Memnarch]

@ Thank you for your confirmation. I appreciate it. That being said, what kind of draft deck would you build - on average - given the format provided? I know it depends on what you get in your packs of cards during the draft, but give me an example of a real world possible scenario. Please.

[@Memnarch]

@ This. I was looking for this, or something like it… kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmS6Y6hpYr2nqdUsi=1-ktNuPG1-3i3V8X

[@Jawzah]

22:42 - almost strictly worse Earthquake and rarely as good as the recently reprinted Pyroclasm. Where's the power creep?

[@svankensen]

This is foundation, the power level is gonna be low, as it should be.

[@Jawzah]

@@svankensen Dunno if it should be that low.. The set is going to be standard legal for a long while.. Well - I suppose there's not going to be many cards that are going to be actually playable even semi-competitively for long.. Looks like there's no X spells - perhaps the idea is t have the set quite simple also - tho not all cards seems to be that simple. But I kinda hoped it would be relatively high power level - lightly above the recent sets - but simple so it would be good place to start (again).

[@bunk328]

Okay, early prediction for your "Oops, cards I rated wrong" video next month: Kellan, Planar Trailblazer. How in the world is that an A-?!? It's a Savanah Lion. On the play, turn 1, it sits there. Turn two, its still a Savanah Lion, but you can dump all your turn two mana into it to make it... a Savanah Lion that exiles the top card of your deck. You can't play that card, because you already played a land and you spent your two mana. But lets say you effectively skip turn two to level him anyway. Turn three - he's a Balduvian Barbarian (only vanilla 3/2 I could find) with Doublestrike. Okay, that's a pretty darn good creature for three mana. But its also the only creature on your board on turn three, and it dies to shock. He costs 6 total mana to get him to the point of being a good card, doesn't potentially draw anything until the next turn, and his "card draw" is only until end of turn. It's not a horrible card, but a card that takes 6 mana of investment and only matters if your opponent has no 4 toughness blockers, and can be shocked/cut down? Better than a C? sure. Lower bomb range? Huh?

[@romankozelov5078]

It is a Figure (whatever that red/white evolving Kithkin was called, which did not have real play even in Standard

[@YourAdHere4]

why are u evaluating kellan in the context of leveling him up on curve? The common play will be playing it on t1 to get a hit in, then using the level ups in the lategame after exhausting your hand. a 1 drop that becomes a relevant body (3/2 double strike is always real) later is extremely playable in limited.

[@Snowbener]

I'll be posting a comment underneath this for every time I lost to Hidetsugu's Second Rite. Trust me, I'll be back.

[@NizzahonMagic]

LoL, People will meme it for sure. But it's not going to be a winning strategy game in, game out

[@Snowbener]

I have done 3 drafts so far, and I am back to comment...

[@NizzahonMagic]

@@Snowbener I've done 40 and haven't lost to it once lawl.

[@Snowbener]

@@NizzahonMagic man, I guess it is just my luck :(

[@jmshear]

Are you just gonna ignore what's happened with Universes within not being a thing anymore?! I stopped watching religiously after wotc called in the Pinkertons. I haven't bought a non-proxy since LOTR.

[@virtueofabsolution7641]

I love the fact that the art for the first 7 mana Chandra be lookin a thiccer than usual. 🤤

[@439801RS]

Gross

[@Plottwisting999]

first

[@The29Dave]

Red getting the short end of the stick as usual

[@Controlqueen31]

Not at all IMO. Red has good removal and decent creatures for some strategies. Blue is awful in general in this set for Limited, and Black seems bad because it only has good removal and cards that are good when played with other colors, like Life Gain ones. White is busted as F, and Green seems fine. But I think Red is in the middle this time

[@virtueofabsolution7641]

I’m mostly annoyed red didn’t get Lightning Strike at common but I guess having burst at common and Abrade at uncommon is supposed to be the compromise. I guess they just weren’t comfortable making Strike be a permanent fixture in standard even though it has been said MANY times that Llanowar Elves is too good for standard 🤷

[@virtueofabsolution7641]

@@Controlqueen31also dawg what are you saying? Blue seems quite good. Tolarian Terror alone will probably once again be format defining in both UR and UB, essence scatter always pulls its weight and the “second draw per turn” is likely going to be way better than it looks as there are a TON of incidental enablers. Honestly I’m a little concerned. I don’t think it’ll be as imbalanced as decayed but I have a feeling the incidental value from looting is going to get a lot of cards on the “cards I was wrong about” list. UR spells looks so hype

[@WyattAndrews]

Really? You think red "usually" get the short end of the stick for limited? I could be wrong, but just looking at the 17lands data for two color combos for the past few sets, some form of red deck has been pretty close to top tier quite often, especially as formats have trended towards being on the faster side of things. Obviously that interpretation isn't perfect but I have a hard time remembering a format where red was the least powerful mono color, which is what I think of as "the short end of the stick"

[@sallomon2357]

@@WyattAndrews Bloomburrow I would say, even blue felt better to me