Mtg Foundations Will Change Everything | Mtg

Out of nowhere, on a random Friday, Magic the Gathering announces it's putting out a set that will remain legal in standard for AT LEAST five years. Marketed as "what if we made a set called Magic: the Gathering", it's part Portal, part Starter, part Core Set, part Jumpstart, and part Cube, and it's going to change the standard landscape for years to come. So let's see some of the cards we're going to be very familiar with before they're out of standard!
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[@ericd1022]

What’s nice is that regular sets don’t have to worry about filling slots that are missing in standard

[@dr.zoidberg8666]

That's an interesting thought that I didn't consider. As long as this set doesn't have any crazy bombs or oppressive cards, that could be great

[@MP_Indy]

Regular sets still will though for drafting purposes.

[@goldcreeper7376]

Sets will still need fillers, both for draft and to make Wotc money

[@JJMadsen-gc3ux]

Yeah but I like seeing new versions of things like the two mana dork or 5 mana board wipe

[@HumdrumMadman]

I was just thinking about that. You don't need to use a spot in a new standard set for the basics, like Negate or Shock. It would also allow them to keep something like Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic in Standard, regardless of the types of planes we are going to.

[@QuestMode]

As a newly returning player from the 90s who loves the game even after all that’s changed, I will say that a set of simpler cards that don’t make me feel like I’m constantly deciphering if-then statements will be nice.

[@kingepostle]

Don't play Yu-Gi-Oh then... you will vomit at the card texts.

[@DX100HHH]

Yeah it's a bit of a problem now. Cards have so much text it's hard to get what it fully does sometimes.

[@willjackson5885]

​@@DX100HHH To be fair I think a lot of the recent wordy cards fall into the "Nines Lives Familiar" category 13:20

[@c0smicC0wb0y]

As a player returning to the game almost ten years along - the idea of having to buy little bits of cards from across 5 or more sets is both daunting and difficult (the older the sets, the more expensive and difficult to obtain they become). I may be niave in my presumption, but the idea of having a "core set" and supplementing with themed sets over the years is far more appealing to me!

[@matthewlaborde1080]

I think having a standard inventory of cards that don't change but then new sets add flavor of the month is a great idea. You can have a shell and then add some cool stuff as new things come in.

[@Tgaxgriffen]

I think this is what they want and provides a great introduction product that’s actually playable in the most competitive setting.

[@thelumitband]

I just hope they keep this set simple, don't need a bunch of chase cards. Just a good balanced set

[@volatilesky]

On the downside, the exact quote is "all the cool cards will be in boosters", so uhhh....

[@TheSventertainer]

@@volatilesky I hope they just meant alt art and showcase frames.

[@joelowdon1615]

@@volatilesky so just continue to buy singles

[@garak55]

lol you still expect wotc to do a good job lmao

[@STS-qi1qy]

I think the base concept is great. The card choice is going to be what makes or breaks it. Not going into 'sky is falling' mode yet but it has the potential. I do love Llanowar Elves coming back, missed those dorks, and green has really needed help for awhile now.

[@Pug8]

What's worrying is they are so hesitant to ban anything until players bring out pitchforks. So if they miss it would be very bad. I'm hopeful as well.

[@kunimitsune177]

Nailed it

[@SkiaSymphonia]

I'm excited to see how this shakes out, but I'm overall positive right now. Llanowar Elves in standard can help green there without making another new dork for pioneer to add to its 4/8/12 whatever they're up to now deck. I think it'll also help Draft, since they don't need to hit the checklist cards. We don't need boardwipe with sets mechanic in every set if DoJ is there in Standard. Hopefully, anyway.

[@IzzetTempo]

9:00 I used to really want Lightning Bolt in standard, but then I lost to Monastery Swiftspear 100,000 times

[@genzo454]

Now you see the truth. Embrace Midrange.

[@shadowseek27]

​@@genzo454dog there's that duskmourn card that stops you from healing, there's no hope lmao

[@genzo454]

@@shadowseek27 As long as they reprint Remedy, I'll be fine.

[@asgarzigel]

I am the one playing Monastery Swiftspear 1000000 times and I want lightning bolt. edit: although what I'm really hoping for is some goblin goodness. If I get goblin grenade in standard I'll play a mediocre goblin deck any day

[@shadowseek27]

@@genzo454 i guess theres the hexproof leyine too...idk its spooky though

[@dorsidhion81]

I have opened my fair share of Core Set boosters and there tends to be a pool of cards they tend to reuse as reprints (i.e. Negate, Cancel, Lightning Strike) so in a sense there was a good amount of cards that were basically "always" legal in standard. That being said, I concede that these were mostly low impact cards, so I am not sure having Omniscience legal for 5 years is a good thing. I'm okay with that being the outlier and the rest of the set just being more low impact stuff.

[@Joker22593]

If you let your opponent get to 10 mana without dying, you deserve to lose to omniscience.

[@gimili_ice]

Comes down as early as turn 3/4 with whats currently present in standard​@Joker22593

[@darianm9741]

​@@Joker22593it might be a problem for non-blue control decks I suppose. You're less likely to kill them quick enough and without blue you can't just counter it on the way down. But then you can side in some anti-enchantment tech assuming they don't just win with their first free spell, so there's still options.

[@bumfricker2487]

@@Joker22593 yes as we know "hard cast for 10 mana" has always been the common play pattern for omniscience /s (we have 3 and 4 mana "reanimate anything" spells in standard until 2026 with decks that reliably fulfill their conditions, which are already pretty consistent and strong running the inferior "One with the Multiverse")

[@Dimitar_Tsanev]

I absolitely love this concept and think that for the first time in a while Wizards seem to have put a lot of thought into a product. I also love that it's not more commander shit. I've been playing on and off for about 15 years now and have always been nothing but casual in my games. However, the nature of my type of engagement with the game for the most part meant that I didn't really have a good grasp on how sets and formats worked, which cards are staples for which format and why. This all changed with Neon Dynasty though, that set finally got me into Magic semi-seriously and I now have af least somewhat of an idea how things work. I still only play kitchen table Magic because it's the most liberal form of the game but I'm really interested in pauper and have built several decks. This is now officially my first attempt at an actual Magic format and it feels great. The point I'm trying to make is that, given this context, my overall collection of cards feels very random for the most part and a set such as Foundations would be helpful even for someone like me who technically has a lot of experience (albeit very misdirected and confusing experience) with Magic. I'll finally be able to not only build a collection of staples but even pottentially dabble in standard. Also, I feel like the products they've prepared for this set would really be the perfect way to teach friends who might be interested.

[@MK-mh2bo]

The fact that we will have three sets of cards back in the pool 3 and a half months after rotation is notable. I really hope they don’t reprint Sheoldred,the Apocalypse, Goldspan Dragon and Wandering emperor or anything else that dominated their standard meta in the ‘forever’ set.

[@jackiespaceman]

“It’s nothing we’ve never seen before” Yeah and that’s why it sucks ):

[@Casual_BackPacking]

Oh boy I can play mono mono green big dudes in standard now??? Son of a bitch I'm in

[@AutkastKain]

Wake up everyone, new core set just dropped (in November) But actually I just want to see what lands they make. Imagine having the creature type matters lands always legal in standard. Like secluded, courtyard, unclaimed territory, maybe even ancient ziggurat. That means that kindred decks will always have the lands they want

[@skylerfether7184]

I'm excited for this! Hopefully they play-tested it well enough so none of the cards break anything, since it would really suck to have to ban cards from an intro sets specifically designed for newer players who probably won't be aware of the ban list

[@guessthatsitthen4982]

Oh hey we had a better version of this for a long time.. called core sets. Printing llanowar elves, omniscience and day of judgement into standard for 5 years is HORRIBLE.

[@collinbeal]

Something that I haven't seen talked about yet is the biggest boon this set could have, which is for onboarding on Arena. Right now, the Color Challenge starter decks contain cards that are only legal in Alchemy for rotating formats, and as they want paper-digital parity in shared formats, they use Alchemy for onboarding new players. If this toolbox allows Arena to use Standard for onboarding, it will improve the popularity of the format. I see this as a huge leap in the revitalization of the format.

[@clairbeeguitar]

If anything this seems like it would excite the old man in you. This feels like a return to the 4th-9th ed style of core set with out the downside of having to print a new version

[@JustMonikaOk]

Ah yes, the CoreSet. The product nobody ever wanted.

[@Aronax507]

standard is going to get reallllly big, thats for sure

[@AutkastKain]

It'll be large and (not) in charge.

[@TNTProductionsEX]

As a player that has been considering returning to the game, if they get the card choices correct, then Im very excited and will try standard out again. A big problem thats always occurred with standard is player onboarding. It does feel very bad to buy cards that eventually you wont be able to use. Having a “base set” of cards that are always legal “theoretically” means that if you take a break from magic for a bit for whatever reason, you can always return a bit later with your base set cards and only have to pick up a few new ones. Obviously the power in standard sets is going to determine how many new cards you’ll need, but then again you can always take a break when you’re not liking that standard and come back later. A base set like this could also make it much easier to introduce new players to the game with simpler mechanics. I’ve wanted to teach my partner the game for a while, and I feel like just busting out Foundations decks will be a good introduction. It really is all going to come down to card choice in this set, because this NEEDS to be the most thought out and balanced set they’ve ever made. If they cant deliver on that, it’s going to ruin things for a long time. So overall excited, but cautious.

[@thekkidd3d]

Dev, what you want isn't standard; it's block constructed.

[@N8Maple01]

Bring back Block!

[@wlangley71]

I am just getting into Magic the Gathering, this makes me feel so much better about getting into it. Trying to get a deck that can work feels so tough, with what they cost and how complex the cards are.

[@jmangan17]

Omniscience in standard for "AT LEAST 5 YEARS"..... guess i'm done with standard. heck this may be the end of Arena all together for me. have a feeling this is going to turn standard into a mini historic, and we have enough of those formats. this is very upsetting.

[@AutkastKain]

I don't think omniscience is the problem for this. Llanowar Elves is more concerning to me. Omniscience is a cheeky and stupid wincon, and there are ways to cheat it out, but we've had a similar card that was less mana and let you cast one free spell a turn (also from the top of your deck) and it hasn't seen play like at all in MONTHS if not an entire year.

[@computerwaste5950]

complaining about Omniscience is crazy btw

[@Cybertech134]

@@computerwaste5950 It's really not

[@darangen]

I only play premodern now. It seems like the only format, although not officially endorsed by WotC, that they can't put their hands on and ruin. No rotations, no new cards being pumped into it. They ruined standard before, they have no idea what they're doing with it now, they're in the process of ruining commander, modern is a joke with the horizons.

[@theyuuzhantar]

I was reading Nine-Lives Familiar while driving when you said “don’t read it if you’re driving” 🤣 love your content! Thank for the info, the set seems a cool idea.

[@crazedlink]

So it's kinda like the Deck Builder Toolkit

[@johnbts9216]

Everytime Wotc creates a core set, sales eventually fall to where they cancel it. Hmmm, wonder what is going to happen this time. Any guesses?

[@bumfricker2487]

yeah I mean what would drive sales of these sets? Even if players want these cards as a permanent backbone of their gradually changing decks, eventually they can just collect all of the cards they want, or even all the cards in the set, and then what?

[@warpdrivefueledbyinsomnia8165]

Llanowar Elves has had long periods of time in Standard in the past, and I don't think it caused a problem. It was legal from the beginning to 2003, 2005 to 2012, and 2018 to 2019. I know in general that one-mana dorks tend to cause some complaining, but I really don't think it's too serious of a deal. Core Sets/Starter Sets have done more dangerous than that in the past. I like this change. I've always loved Portal/Starter products and will gladly buy some whenever they come out because I want to support this kind of on-ramp for new players. Magic is certainly suffering from complexity creep right now, so I'd be excited for cards that are simple and competitive. I hope they bring back Leatherback Baloth, or something similar for a green three drop. That was my favorite turn two play back in original Zendikar standard (after a turn one elf of some sort). Sure, there are better options than the Baloth for GGG that have been printed since. But, I think that'd be a good way to demonstrate that you don't need a whole lot of text on a card for it to be good.

[@ccarvalho99]

I don’t know what to think. I’m amenable to the idea of one large core-like set that gets updated every 5 years or so that forms the baseline of standard, but I’m already concerned about the standards (pun intended) they’ve set just with these previews. For example: One-mana dorks like llanowar elves (or elvish mystic, or whatever) historically tend to accelerate green pretty quickly. Given the pushed low-mana cards standard has been getting over the past few years, imagine being on the draw and your opponent getting down a powerful green-based 3-drop on turn two when you had a tapland or just no one-mana play or removal spell of your own. M15’s elvish mystic and Dominaria’s llanowar elves were already strong at their respective times in standard, and the value you can get in the early turns has only increased since then. They moved away from one-mana dorks historically for very valid reasons, and yet they’ve decided that at least one will be legal for another five years. Will they design with that in mind, limiting the power of 3-4 drops for that time? Will we be getting very strong and cheap removal to counteract it? If they do that, will we continue to see higher-mana creatures even more reliant on immediate (and thus less-interactive) value upon play? Or will we continue to get pushed cheap value creatures while they just ignore the acceleration? Either way, I think they’re going to have to be very careful. The same goes for unconditional four-mana wraths. We’ll see. As an aside, they should have it rotate in 2028 and have a new set for the 35th anniversary. Just make the 5-year anniversary sets the standard “core”. Seems like a thematic slam dunk to me.

[@KDiaz-hy1xx]

Won't Standards still rotate anyway though? Those cards stay, but there will be new cards coming in all the time? But anyway, Dev, you've been playing long enough to remember that the original white bordered core sets (going back to Revised) were basically the same reprints over and over, essentially meaning that certain cards (like Llanowar Elves) were in Standard for years. This is not different.

[@thesamuraiman]

Day of Judgment is gonna make an interesting standard for...five years. I feel like "semi-indefinitely" is a weird approach for standard, but I guess people like enternal formats. So this is..."semi-eternal" standard.

[@kaba9926]

This could make me play standard again. For real. I quit because of a rotation and "had"' to convert all my funny decks into non-rotating formats. Had the same issue with Brawl.

[@HollowShard]

I think that having a Core set every year was a bit tiring, if WotC is just going to be doing one off large expansion sets I'd rather have this as a kind of bedrock for the game, and not just in standard. A kind of "This set is the 2 drop 2/2 for Magic" in general, to gauge where the game actually is without all of the fluff and cruft of the expert sets. As someone who wants to see more reprints of classics, and making cards like these available to people who don't necessarily want to engage in just buying singles for their decks- this is really exciting. I think the game will be healthier for a product like this existing... *so long as* the price of the booster products is kept either in line with other, *regular*, booster pricing, or is made *cheaper* as a loss leader for onboarding into the expert sets later.

[@stebobibo]

Your'e right that this is the biggest change to standard we've seen. And every card they previewed is very playable. This kinda scares me. I already thought 3 year standard was too big. If they really wanted to do something like this, should of just stuck to low powered cards for new players.

[@GreenwhiteblueGWU]

I think this is kinda nonsense.. I mean if they are showing omniscience for standard "semi-indefinitely" I can only imagine what other bs they will be crowbaring in... As you said it is terrifying.. just about every single new set/announcement just makes me feel sad about the state of the game I love.. I am not looking forward to a stale standard...

[@CrashMk]

Well. This is exactly what I wanted from Mtg, product-wise. Yet still, my lack of trust in WotC FAR exceeds my interest.

[@leodalkey651]

The problem for standard is the good cards cost a grip then they rotate out and become a pile of nothing. I absolutely agree with WOTC. Standard, if people are ever going to play it in paper, could use some sort of semi-eternal element.

[@MarioJPC]

Foundations is close to the old cards that were legal allways on Bo1 Standard before, and now they are legal allways on Alchemy. I am ok, but a bit worried about the avalaibility after a few years, and that this year there will be 5 Standard legal sets released before december.

[@oblobear2093]

Is wotc trying to kill standard now? Printing commander cards in standard set and in mh3. And wotc wondering why no one plays standard.😅

[@torreyjohnson6193]

I'm mostly nervous about playing the same 5 decks forever more if this set is to powerful in the wrong ways

[@tonythepokemonguy751]

*Bautista voice* Give me what i want, give me my grizzly bears and storm crows

[@forloveofthepage2361]

I think a core set is a good idea in theory, but WotC just cannot help themselves. They will find a way to biff the landing by making this set super expensive or it will have 2 mega rare chase cards that they will refuse to ban till they sell enough product. I have skeptical hope.

[@wellokthen9471]

Im kinda excited for this. Ive been playing standard for a little while now since boros aggro was a semi cheap way to get into the format but with this set hopefully ill be able to get my other mainly commander focused friends to give standard a try for once.

[@Earwaxeater88]

3years was rough. 5years is brutal

[@kerolokerokerolo]

standard is dead

[@jeremysette3657]

My thoughts exactly

[@bumfricker2487]

to me it feels more like five years of baseline cards which *should* be good if they aren't powercrept to fuck

[@Diomenesx]

There's what like 4+ sets that don't rotate with the additional 3rd year. We are talking about a singular set not multiple.

[@jasonharris8515]

Oooo, Aristocats...I see what ya did there, and that's y I'm here

[@somefishhere]

Llanowar Elves & Day of Judgment oh my goodness

[@cole3823]

I swear to god if the wandering emperor is in this set...I'm gonna keep playing, but I'm not gonna like it. I do like the idea of the set as a whole though

[@STS-qi1qy]

(Spoilers) They desparked Emperor for Duskmourn. I know this set is likely 'outside of canon' but I suspect they won't reprint any of her Planeswalker cards so close to that.

[@astrowerm]

Was there a creature wanderer when they printed any walkers? I don't see them doing the reciprocate imo.

[@nope7832]

they're doing the hearthstone and snap thing, and good for them! good choice. A lot of us play standard non-competitively and spend the least possible and have weird brews. S'gonna be fun! They'll be able to ban or add to foundations like Hearthstone and design new sets around foundation which is really exciting to me.

[@Aaackermann]

This is exactly what standard was for a very long time!

[@TheLordRumfish]

This seems like a great idea. I have been advocating for a core set return for a long time, this implementation feels wonderful. I just hope it doesn't have too many Omnisciences in it, that establishes a baseline that's hard to design around (create a weaker card, it's irrelevant, create a stronger card, it breaks the game).

[@neoteo7478]

As a player who stepped away from playing magic daily after Throne of Eldraine rotated, I'm intrigued by the Foundation set. I didn't find my home in commander or modern and I'm hoping this can revive standard and give me something new to play in paper. I think I'll be satisfied if I'm able to keep a Foundation set and jump into the game when I'm excited about a new standard set like I am for Bloomburrow. This set gives them the opportunity to do set or block constructed with Foundation as a backdrop, depending on how many cards are in the set. In terms of balance I like that Foundation gives them tangible examples of what is acceptable for the power level of standard. Maybe this set was conceived as a return to form: to give them a guidepost to prevent the excitement of fire design and commander design from unbalancing Standard as they've done the past 5+ years. Or maybe I'm just hopeful like any gamer lol

[@neoteo7478]

Another thought: they've already learned that magic players don't want to buy basic core sets. Foundation precon collections give useful cards to sell to new players and the booster products can have Foundation cards alongside new cards that rotate. The evergreen nature of Foundation lets them choose archetypes to buff with rotating sets At the very least Standard will be hit with new and interesting design space

[@brandonsanders649]

I have the feeling that many already-entrenched standard players are going to get sick of this after not too long and moving on to something else. I know I don't like slow rotation and increased card pool. I also don't like the idea of 1-mana dorks back in standard. Maybe it will bring in new players but I'm not terribly optimistic. I hope I've not left the format by then.

[@brandonsanders649]

@marshallscot Soon Modern is going to "rotate" more often than standard the way things are going

[@EricAbroad]

as a player not at all interested in Standard, I will be giving Standard a try with the release of Bloomburrow/Duskmourn/Foundations. The idea of some core cards not rotating out is very interesting to me. Foundation will have succeeded in at least getting myself to check out the format

[@christofaber508]

I like that sets rotate but I think this type of product is great. It gives new players an entry level set that's easier to learn and master - later they can use those same cards to play in standard without feeling overwhelmed. As someone who has taught friends how to play only to drop the game because of difficulty spike, I think this product might be a hit.

[@andrewsummit8314]

ohh im sure the boosters will have good cards but sadly also a bunch of starter garbage as well. with power creep in 5 years llanowar elves will be replaced by the one mana 2/2 that taps for 2 mana :P :) :P from now on every sentence about foundations cards must end with "for 5 years!"

[@SpectrumIntruder]

I like this set for teaching newer players

[@kevinbaltzell2949]

I like this idea if the standard amount of sets in standard is less than like five or six at a time.

[@andrewmakar2035]

Well day of Judgement is a problem I think. It's a huge format definer... and it might make wrath effects harder to design without having to creep them up. It does however provide some constants in the format.... (i.e. a turn 4 boardwipe is a possiblity) which would make designing cards for standard easier to design around

[@grimtrix]

I like it. I have always felt like not having a core set was a VERY annoying money grab.

[@grimtrix]

I have also always disliked how 1 rotation was always able to completely change the core theme of how a color's theme was supposed to work.

[@djkatsuo]

If you want to rotating. Go to modern 😂

[@rjphilla]

I dont play standard anymore but i feel this is fundamentally changing standard. It wont be the same format ever again.

[@timothykrzywonski]

Hearthstone's core set was static, but now rotates willy nilly (it's free). I think it can be fine/good especially if the cards are supposed to rest just below the ceiling of the format. 4 mv sweepers are awkward; people prefer 5-6 mana sweepers w/ upside or 3 mana sweepers that don't hit everything. Ideally they also give every mtga player the 350 card package for free so it might make it easier to get people into it.

[@markcarr154]

When I first heard a bit of news about this set I assumed it was just an arena thing. Now that I know everything about it and thought about it I think it mostly an arena thing. I‘ve already invested in timeless and historic so I’m not going back to start standard. But I think a ton of new players will stay longer on the client because their cards didn’t rotate. And without that feel bad experience they might eventually move onto formats like explorer and become entrenched. I think this is a great business idea to retain players online. I don’t think it’ll do anything to make paper standard less dead. As a new paper player experience product my thoughts aren’t fully formed.

[@kunimitsune177]

I like core sets. I love the IDEA of an indefinite core set that I can always buy boosters of to get some fun playable cards - maybe some cards get bumped off the list after 5 years when they get crept, maybe we call it rotation 😅

[@mawtaus]

I like the idea that Foundations should contain the "baseline" versions of cards so that the other premiere sets might be able to include more focused equivalents. Llanowar Elves will be the baseline green mana dork, but if (when) Frog kindred takes off in standard then you'll want to swap it out for Poison Dart Frog or whatever else we get in Bloomburrow. I just wonder if the set will become integrated with drafts? Could we see a change where drafts become 2 packs from the current set and 1 pack of foundations?

[@kwagmeijer26]

This is something hearthstone does, I wonder how much of this was influence from that

[@daveclarke1990]

I think foundations is a great idea of addressing perceived desire of the fanbase. Part of the selling point of Commander is that cards never 'rotate' and your decks are never made obsolete. And yet everyone online discussion I see of commander involves people bitching about not being able to 'keep up'. People seem to want some guarantee of long-term value even if theyre going to buy the new sets and update their decks anyway. Having a chunk of standard be 'non-rotating' will help onboard players even if none of those cards are relevant in the top meta decks. Its also nice for stores to have an intro product that they dont need to rush off shelves before it becomes obsoleted by the next years intro product.

[@danielslinger9017]

I'm still upset about 3 year standard. Cards that stay legal for 5 years sounds bad to me. Any given new set is going to be mostly cards that aren't good enough for standard so why bother collecting them? New card cycles, synergies, keywords, tribes are not going to get their chance to shine, just immediately unplayable.

[@ericwaynewiltbank]

Generally excited, hoping that it's a fairly low-powered set with basic spells that help support generic color flavor and deck types. Definitely feels like they're trying to make Standard less of a rotating format though, but maybe it helps allow for more flavorful design space in other sets

[@lbradshaw316]

I'm constantly trying to figure out how to introduce new players to the game in an efficient and affordable way. I am all for this.

[@putonghua73]

Jumpstart

[@ebgamer29]

This is sounding almost exactly like the power level I want: strong enough that a strong player with no collection could pilot decks from this set to a reasonable WR in a tournament... But weak enough that other sets can specialize into stronger or easier to run archetypes

[@orangerightgold7512]

oh great, core sets are back.

[@brianmarini4841]

I want my cards to have a long play-life. I only have so much money, and I don't want the cards I buy to only be playable for two short years. The idea that I can get cards that will be playable for 5 years is amazing. I'm sure there's a dollar to play-life value in there somewhere but I'm too dumb to calculate any of that myself.

[@strangemolars]

"Every time I've seen this world change, it's always been for the worse." - Natalie Portman on that movie

[@thebigsquig]

Magic is the first to have a non-rotating core set as part of a rotating format. It was called type 2. It used to be the current edition set was standard legal until it was replaced. They could be years apart

[@phoenixkane1986]

I like the idea of an onboarding product and cards that are always available. I think the list will determine its success.

[@chasdufour2771]

I understand your trepidation over cards that will be released that can last 3+ years in standard... that being said, my 7 year old kid learning to love mtg and we're not rich, this foundations idea sounds good for the game. There are so many ways associated with this game (a game that I now too do love) that make it challenging having started just 2 years ago... and working in education with kiddos, it is good there are renewed efforts to make the game assessable and fresh for new generations.

[@TeraHojim-y5y]

People are missing the big picture. We use to have coresets yearly that would reprint the base mechanic cards. Reds burn, blues control and so on. And then the expansion brought new mechanics that allowed people to make new decks if the wanted but the corsets were there if the wanted to go classic mono colored or ravnica guilds. But from what I see u guys have been stuck in this new standard rotation, i looked at the last 6 sets, and the core mechanic cards have little presence and some sets not at all. Foundation is gonna do what we always had 10 years ago. Core mechanics and themes. Thank god for this set

[@josukex42]

by the original definition it its "Awesome" causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear

[@ThePhantomphan11]

Interesting. I don't play much standard but you're right, this is a huge change. I will say there are cards like Negate and Wind Drake that are basically always in standard anyway since they get reprinted so much. But this seems to be a lot more than just those

[@samuelgames8970]

I am so absolutely pumped for this, I have been wanting for MTG do something like this for a while after I saw hearthstone did this for their standard. However, I am holding my breath as you and others are saying this all really depends on the card pool chosen, as we CANNOT have standard get any more crazy than it is. Llanowar elves and omniscince are definitely a bit more powerful than I was hoping for (but tbh I am HYPED for 1 mana dorks back). If we see lightning bolt kiss BO1 standard goodbye lol.

[@lioco6124]

"and releasing in January, 2025 is the new Foundations 2, where we print the power 9 back into standard. it shouldn't be a big problem since in the same set, where power creeping them!"

[@navebucketdude]

Been playing since 2006 and have really enjoyed the core sets! Think this is a great idea and love a simple set that can be a bedrock for standard. The question will be if the commander only players will pick up the set and maybe try 60 card

[@chaseykplays]

I like it. By having this sort of base set, it gives Wizards the freedom to go even further with new sets and push what's possible. As a person who primarily cares about commander (i know, boo me), one of the things that bugs me is that we get these almost functional reprints every set. "Here's a new slightly different wrath effect." "Here's a new slightly different mana dork." And many of those cards just serve as another copy to make a commander deck smoother, more efficient and inherently less interesting. But if Day of Judgement and Llanowar Elves are in standard semi-indefinitely, that means (ideally) Wizards doesn't have to add variations of cards like these to every new set, and can instead explore completely new mechanics and strategies more freely. I'm most excited about the potential lands though. Just as Dev was asking for Bloomburrow, in a previous video, can we just get some lands that help us more easily cast our spells? I hate the swapping between allied and enemy colored duals we seem to get with each new standard set. Foundations could provide some stability for mana bases, and let us all build interesting decks knowing that getting the right colors of mana won't be an issue.

[@TeraHojim-y5y]

These cards are core cards. Green has ALWAYS had a single mana green that ramp. Im so glad they are bring these core cards back. N dont worry u guys can ride the deck rotation with the 4 expansions a year plus the themed sets

[@gabbyghoulish3574]

i am that annoying bant player that loves blinking her frogs and friends off the field and back on and off and in my hand and in exile and double my etb effect and abilities and blah blah blah insufferable strategy etc etc... that having been said, i'd love a simple set. i never got to experience what my friends call "Old magic" but it sounds fantastic so i am looking forward to this

[@nerdstrong]

I'm all about foundations. We don't know all the cards coming, but Llanowar Elves coming to standard is going to be huge!

[@lioco6124]

i like the idea. i really really hope WOTC pulls it off cause it could be great. knowing them its probably just going to be a highly profitable flop.

[@armadyllan2351]

I love the idea of the set, hearthstones base set feels good to have access too and I can’t see this being worse.

[@AbsolutDog]

if it brings new players on board I'm all for it!!

[@MGmirkin]

Personally, I feel like it should go back to being a "white border" set, and be composed of inexpensive good/"staple" **reprint** cards from throughout MTG history, like an expanded "Chronicles" type thing. Where new players can get many of those "old cards" that have been around for 30 years, but they're maybe priced out of the original releases or black-border versions, but still want to be able to play with them in a semi-evergreen "Standard" format. And just call it like "Standard '25-'29" with like a "banner"/flag (or a "standard," get it??) background as the set icon, with the specific years in the foreground. I think it would be potentially a good way for new players to get into the game cheaply (assuming it's priced cheaply, given it being a reprint set in white border [at least in my way of thinking what it should be] or whatnot)... And then once they're into the game, they can then go after some of the more advanced / competitive / older cards from prior sets, or the various rotating "expansion" sets, or whatnot. If that makes sense... And then if you have a bunch of the "old standards" or "old staples" in the basically "core"-ish set that will be around for 5+ years, you wouldn't have to keep reprinting certain cards in every... single... expansion... set..., barring trying to create some kind of "block" that stands on its own.

[@Crisper333]

What a load of BS. This is a terrible idea. 5 years!?!?!? MTG has been ruined for all time by the greedy, stupid decisions this company makes. It's been hard watching the game we LOVE go down the toilet. I'm thankful that I've played since Ice Age and was able to experience the game in its purest form. Modern MTG is almost unrecognizable, our once proud game has been gutted. The only way to save MTG is a return to its roots, but that won't happen. R.I.P. MTG.

[@jakehr3]

The reason standard doesn't do well is a few things, but I think the major one is the price. Decks routinely cost $300-500, and when you have that sort of investment going on, and these sorts of investments require massive shakeups every year or so, in addition to buying to play at your LGS, or going to more regional or national standard events, you are talking about easily spending $300-500 up front, and then an additional $300-500 to maintain the deck you built for a year, and then rotation hits, and key pieces get taken out, and a new meta arrises, and that $600-1000 investment is now worthless and you have to invest in another $300-500 worth of cards (hopefully some of the cards from your old deck match the new one, so you can take some price off). It just gets ridiculous. Compare this to PTCG. Decks there are routinely under $100, and when rotation hits, decks do change, but the meta actually changes pretty slowly. Looking at the most recent one that pokemon just had, prior to rotation, the top 10 decks comprised ~90% of the meta. Of those 10 decks, 3 (19.73%) were pretty much invalidated due to rotation (key cards rotated out), 5 (46.39%) replaced some of the rotated cards with different alternatives in the card pool, and 2 (24.2%) were made significantly weaker. Now, that may look bad for that 45% that had to get new decks, and I'm sure it was, but let's say you had no cards that could be transferred from the old deck you had to the new one you wanted to build. The most you would have to spend on a new deck is $100, for specifically 1 deck archetype. For the other 9 top 10 decks, you would spend around $40-80 in building a whole new deck. I feel like if decks were significantly cheaper that people would not mind rotation, and people would be much more willing to experiment and explore the format. They'd be much more willing to dip their toes in the water of the set. Oh, you are doing standard? Ok, well let me drop $50 on this deck that just won the latest standard PT, and I'll come over and we'll have some fun playing magic. Print cards, make the play pieces accessible, and people won't mind having to spend to stay up to date with the format.

[@fromtherockpile55]

Honestly - I quit MTG probably…3-4 years ago. Right after they started doing all the IP stuff. My local scene died and I was just playing MTGA. I can’t tell you the real reason I quit if I’m honest - but your video popped up for me…and while there is definitely snark in the video and I’m sure some unease in the community about this - I think I’m subscribing to your channel for updates in the thought that this for some reason may bring me back to the game. Maybe I just miss the game. Maybe I’m crazy. But I’m interested

[@antivalidisme5669]

I'm super fine with the concept. I hope there will be a ton of reprints of those pretty simple but still sometimes effective or even helping cards. I can't see any of this cards shaping an entire standard. Though as an eternal Sac aficionado and animal lover, I have to say that I love this cat though. 'Isn't she the cutest thing you've almost seen?" could say my best cauldron pal. Come on you can't pass a turn 4 Wrath? No flashback, escape, Heroic Intervention, Angel of Restoration or even undying or Reanimate like effect or whatever Bruh? Let's face it you should rethink your decks 'cause they suck and you should be aware of it. Same thing for the blue Omniscience Timmy who get eviscerated by mono Red or fail the Disdainful Stroke pass and quickly gets the lesson. And so on and so forth. I trust Gavin on this one. Such an antidote to the neverending torrent of reveals I've been experimented this past two-three years. Simply exhausting. A FOMO card, really? What about a Simulacre and Simulacrum one WotC?

[@BraghDaMan]

I, for one, welcome DoJ back to Standard, even if it brings back some caw-blade PTSD. If nothing else, maybe with this's existence WotC will finally stop printing another new busted wrath effect every gorram set ever. F%$#.

[@llongone2]

Didn't they put 8-mana Ugin a standard set? That card was oppressive and dominating and should have been banned. When it was no longer standard-legal, non-douchebags rejoiced. Now they want to make a set that basically won't rotate? I'm not sure I trust them to select cards for that kind of set. They might choose another terribly oppressive card...like Omniscience or something. That would absolutely suck!

[@alexandersims1613]

Bro, they keep ruining standard. 8 set rolling rotation. 2 full years for every card in standard. Pioneer can be a 4 year. All those other sets can be other times frames. People played standard and not modern bc they liked the rotation. People just don't like paper magic anymore bc they did too good of a job with arena.

[@dnbjedi]

Ages ago I got a Man o' War in a Portal pack. I was popular that day. They were HUGE cards!!!! Senior and child sized!! Everyone wanted to trade me for it. Popular for an hour! This was like...30 years ago!

[@HalTuberman]

I've always felt that WotC should make a set of Standard cards that are "bread and butter" like Disenchant and such, and that the set doesn't rotate. That way, they can focus all their energy on making cards that will provide a fresh MtG experience in each individual set. Also, I DON'T think Lightning Bolt in Standard is too much to ask. Bolt makes MtG a WAY better game. It makes 4 toughness critters more relevant and would lessen the need to design cheap and annoying cards to push mono red aggro. Plus, pure burn would be a viable archetype.

[@mantissaPuc]

I still would prefer go back to the old core sets formula (the formula up to Tenth Edition I think 🤔), where most of the core set were kept from the previous one (more than half sometimes 70-80%) and new cards were always reprints. At the time, there was always a big hype on what would stay, what would leave and what would de added on each new core set 🤗 Good old times.... 😓