Magic: The Gathering Foundations: A Beginner's Guide to the New Set!
MTG Foundations: Back to Basics (and Ready to Expand!)
Wizards of the Coast is dropping Magic: The Gathering Foundations, a new set designed for newcomers! It makes learning the game easy. Think of it as your ultimate MTG starter kit. This special release includes various products – boxes, bundles, boosters and more; bringing both seasoned veterans, as well as complete newbies to the forefront, regardless of experience. The cool part? It even works alongside special Magic Academy events, happening at local game stores across the globe – which should help increase the number of active players and increase visibility amongst the various regional stores involved.
This isn't your average set, either. The new cards will stick around in the Standard format until at least 2029. Normally these cards last only for about two to three years – but in this case, you have those cards stick around, extending that playing time. It really means that a significant effort had gone into creating those unique formats and making these completely worth the extra planning effort!
When and How to Grab MTG Foundations
Foundations hits stores worldwide on November 15th, 2024, after a prerelease period (November 8th-14th). This prerelease is key, allowing people to explore some of those new and old cards using those specialized events in your local Gaming stores. The official Wizards of the Coast (WotC) Magic Events Locator will help you find those. That website and official source provides updates on new events and all the news concerning MTG products.
Those Magic Academy events – those “Learn to Play” and deck-building sessions, running alongside that launch through the end of January 2025 – all easily findable via that website, too. So, whether you're brand new or have many decks sitting around, expect many learning events along with other community members! It could provide the ideal jump-start or learning experience.
MTG Foundations Products: Something for Everyone!
Foundations comes in typical formats, plus new beginner-friendly options.
- Play Boosters (around $5 USD each): 14 cards (6-9 Commons, 4-5 Uncommons, 1-4 Rares/Mythics). One random foil card.
- Booster Bundles ($35-$40 USD): Nine Play Boosters, a foil alt-art card, 20 foil basic lands, 20 non-foil basic lands, oversized life counter, and a deckbox. It has some extra bonuses compared to what you would get from the normal Play Boosters; which make this worthwhile, given that the pricing increase remains relatively moderate.
- Collector Boosters (15 cards each, 12-13 foils). This includes several rares and mythics which makes it worth considering, particularly if there's already interest in a particular format; potentially increasing its appeal given that those valuable cards have increased value for more intense game modes.
- Prerelease Packs (6 Play Boosters, a foil promo card with a year stamp, online MTG Arena codes, card storage, and a life counter). Getting extra packs of cards for early access adds significant additional appeal, providing unique promo materials alongside additional bonus gameplay for other formats outside this physical setting, namely Magic Arena, greatly extending the amount of value that this package truly offers.
- Jumpstart Boosters ($6-$9 USD each): 20 cards in one of 46 themes. Open two, shuffle them, and you have an instant deck!
- Beginner Box (around $30 USD): Everything needed to play (with a friend!). Includes those exclusive Jumpstart packs, rulebooks, playmats, and life counters. This package is clearly optimized for the beginning and intended to provide more accessible introductory sessions, as well as help attract those completely new to the game!
- Starter Collection ($50-$60 USD): A large collection – 350+ cards (22 foils) – with everything for starting your own decks plus deckbuilding guides and life counters.
New Cards and Reprints: A Mix of Old and New Magic
Foundations will include about 150 new cards, and 150 reprints. But most revealed so far are reprints! These already-familiar, iconic cards get a fresh design to appeal to current and newer audience members. Here's a tiny sampling.
- Savannah Lions
- Nine-Lives Familiar (a new card)
- Omniscience
- Llanowar Elves
- Day of Judgment
- Anthem of Champions (a new card)
Nine-Lives Familiar is particularly intriguing! This 1/1 creature keeps returning after dying, burning through its eight revival counters one by one!
Conclusion: Foundations - Jump Start Your MTG Adventure!
MTG Foundations offers everything. Whether you're starting your MTG journey or looking to upgrade your collection with retro versions of those classic MTG cards, this is the thing you must look into. That long-term Standard play and these well-planned packages promise plenty of fun!
