MTG Foundations Jumpstart is a real curio of a set. While it falls under the Foundations umbrella, none of its cards are actually legal in Standard. This is an eternal-legal product, which means Legacy, Vintage, and Commander only. Success in the first two is extremely unlikely, but Foundations Jumpstart actually has some of the best new Commanders we’ve seen in a while. If you don’t mind the non-optional anime art, these new legends could be your next deckbuilding obsession.
5 | Slinza, The Spiked Stampede
- Mana Value: 4G
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 5/5
- Card Text: Beast spells you cast cost 2 less to cast. Each other Beast creature you control enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. Whenever Slinza or another creature with power 4 or greater enters, you may pay 1R/G. When you do, Slinza fights target creature you don’t control.
Let’s kick things off with a good ol’ fashioned typal Commander. While Beasts are very common in Magic, there’s little support for the type outside of a few scattered cards like Krosan Warchief. Thankfully, Slinza, the Spiked Stampede gives Beasts a ton of help right out of the command zone.
A two mana discount on all future Beasts is fantastic, especially when you consider how big and expensive they can be on the high end. With just a little bit of ramp you can be dropping the likes of Titanoth Rex on turn five, possibly earlier. It’ll come with a nice little +1/+1 counter, too, thanks to Slinza’s second ability.
The third ability is where things get really interesting, however. Getting to cast a fight spell on demand whenever one of your big Beasts enters is solid enough, but Slinza actually triggers off of your opponent’s creatures too. As long as you have mana to spare, you can set a 5/5 Beast on your opponent’s utility creatures with aplomb. This gives Slinza a surprising amount of play, and makes it one of the best Commanders in Foundations Jumpstart for sure.
4 | Plagon, Lord Of The Beach
- Mana Value: 2U
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 0/3
- Card Text: When Plagon, Lord of the Beach enters, draw a card for each creature you control with toughness greater than its power. W/U: Target creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power this turn.
Toughness-matters is not a new archetype in Commander by any means. Since Doran, the Siege Tower back in Lorwyn, this strategy has been possible. It’s only gotten better since with new Commander options like Arcades the Strategist, too. Plagon, Lord of the Beach aims at a similar niche, but with enough distinct elements to make it stand out.
First of all, that art is completely ridiculous, and ‘Starfish Wizard’ is a sensational type line. On a more serious note, the fact that Plagon replaces itself on entry, at the very least, is a great start for the card. It also draws you additional cards based on the number of toughness-heavy creatures you have in play. While this is great with Walls and Crabs just like Arcades et al, it’s also great with creatures that just happen to be slightly bigger on the backside. Creatures like Beza, the Bounding Spring, to give a recent example.
In fact, a deck with lots of creatures like this is Plagon’s ideal home. Since his ‘deal damage equal to your toughness’ ability costs mana to activate, you don’t want to run too many creatures that rely entirely on it. You’ll also want to leave room for a blink engine to really get the most out of Plagon’s potent card draw effect.
3 | Thurid, Mare Of Destiny
- Mana Value: 2WW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 2/4
- Card Text: Flying, Lifelink. Whenever you cast a Pegasus, Unicorn, or Horse creature spell, copy it. (The copy becomes a token.) Other Pegasi, Unicorns, and Horses you control get +1/+1.
Like Slinza, Thurid is a typal Commander through and through. Only this time for three types at once: Pegasus, Horse, and Unicorn. These three types collectively include around 120 creatures, so they’re not as niche as they sound on the surface. With a Commander like Thurid at their back, they may even end up a serious part of the meta.
The anthem effect for your other equine creatures is nothing new, but it is great to see. Especially when paired with Thurid’s headliner copy ability. Getting an additional copy of every creature you cast is something most creature types would kill for. It’s like a Necroduality on a body that you can run in the command zone. Even with fair, on-rate creatures, this card can get out of hand very quickly indeed.
The only real issue with Thurid is its linearity. This is a Commander that asks you to play Horses, Pegasi, and Unicorns, and nothing else. If you’re looking for a more dynamic or interactive strategy, then this may not be the steed for you. If you just want to crush your opponents under an avalanche of hooves, however, then Thurid is one of the best Commanders in Foundations Jumpstart.
2 | Evereth, Viceroy Of Plunder
- Mana Value: 2B
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- Card Text: Flying. Sacrifice another creature or artifact: Put a +1/+1 counter on Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder. If the sacrificed permanent was a Treasure, Evereth gains lifelink until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery. When Evereth dies, you may pay 1B/R. When you do, Evereth deals damage equal to its power to each opponent.
Speaking of powerful effects in the command zone, how about a free sacrifice outlet? That’s exactly what Evereth offers, at a fairly competitive rate too. You can feed her your spare creatures and artifacts in exchange for +1/+1 counters, which can then be converted into direct damage when Evereth herself dies. Sounds simple enough, but there’s a lot of nuance to Evereth that makes her a seriously powerful new Commander.
First of all, the Treasure effect here is a bit of a red herring. Sure you can gain some extra life if you generate Treasures in your deck, but you definitely don’t need to go all-in on a Treasure theme to make Evereth good. Where she really shines is as a Commander for a Rakdos Aristocrats deck. Between Judith and Juri such a deck wasn’t lacking for good Commander options, but getting a free sacrifice outlet guaranteed is a pretty big deal.
On top of that, Evereth can also be your win condition. Late in the game you can drop her, sacrifice your entire board to pump her up, then sacrifice her to another effect and dome the table for lethal damage. Alternatively, you can get some kind of Gravecrawler loop going and win on the spot in the early game. Don’t expect to make many friends if you go down that route, however.
1 | Gornog, The Red Reaper
- Mana Value: 2R
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/3
- Card Text: Haste. Cowards can’t block Warriors. Whenever one or more Warriors you control attack a player, target creature that player controls becomes a Coward. Attacking Warriors you control get +X/+0, where X is the number of Cowards your opponents control.
Gornog may seem like a surprising choice for the top spot here, but hear me out. Beyond the ‘Cowards can’t block Warriors’ callback meme value, I think this is one of the scariest Aggro Commanders we’ve seen in a long time. Even alone, Gornog can permanently disable an opposing blocker and get in for three damage unblocked the turn he comes down. One you add more Warriors to the mix things get dangerous very quickly.
With a full force at your back, you can turn three creatures into Cowards per turn cycle. This results in a +3/+0 buff for your whole board, and essentially removes three creatures that could’ve otherwise stemmed the bleeding. It’s worth noting that the change to Coward also removes all other creature types, so opposing typal decks will really suffer against Gornog. This change persists even if Gornog leaves play, too, making him a less desirable removal target than he may have been.
The game plan with Gornog is very simple: play Warriors and turn them sideways. It still looks like a fantastic Commander for a popular type, however. Only granting access to red is disappointing given how many great Warriors there are in black and white, but there are still plenty of good options for Gornog decks. If someone reveals this mighty Minotaur as their Commander, don’t expect that game to go long.
