MTG Foundations is an incredibly interesting product featuring a boatload of cool reprints and new cards. Because these cards will all be legal in Standard for the foreseeable future, the format will undoubtedly see some major metagame shifts when the set releases.
As we continue to get bombarded by spoilers, it’s important to take a look at those that may have a big impact. With this in mind, today, we’re going to focus on a legendary red one-drop that scales nicely as the game progresses.
Kellan, Planar Trailblazer is powerful enough to have Standard potential, while also being a neat build-around option in Commander. Its efficiency goes a long way, and it has a lot going for it.
Kellan in Standard
- Mana Value: R
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/1
- MTG Sets: Foundations
- Card Text: 1R: If Kellan is a Scout, it becomes a Human Faerie Detective and gains “whenever Kellan deals combat damage to a player, exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn.” 2R: If Kellan is a Detective, it becomes a 3/2 Human Faerie Rogue and gains double strike.
As a two-power creature for only one mana, Kellan naturally has a very high floor. There are absolutely Standard environments where this alone would get Kellan close to seeing play in an aggressive shell. However, Kellan provides much more.
Once you invest two more mana, Kellan becomes a card advantage machine. There are plenty of cheap removal spells like Torch the Tower in Standard to help clear a path for Kellan. Plus, we already know Burst Lightning is getting reprinted in MTG Foundations as well.
Once you invest another three mana, Kellan becomes a massive threat. Double Strike is no joke, especially when factoring in combat tricks like Monstrous Rage.
Currently, there is a lot of competition for red one-drops. However, Monastery Swiftspear is rotating out in 2025, which could pave the way for an assertive shell that is less Prowess-focused.
Kellan does also pair nicely with Humans payoffs like Coppercoat Vanguard. There isn’t a strong incentive to play an assertive Humans shell at the moment, but that could easily change to help Kellan shine long-term.
Kellan in Commander
- Mana Value: 2R
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- MTG Sets: Commander 2021, Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, Modern Horizons 3
- Card Text: Haste. Whenever Laelia, the Blade Reforged attacks, exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn. Whenever one or more cards are put into exile from your library and/or graveyard, put a +1/+1 counter on Laelia.
Beyond Standard, Kellan is definitely a sweet Commander card. As a general, there are plenty of cards you can play that reward you for playing cards from exile. Wild-Magic Sorcerer is a great example. Kellan provides consistent fuel turn after turn.
Charred Foyer/Warped Space and Laelia, the Blade Reforged also work nicely with Kellan. Kellan’s card-exiling ability grows Laelia each turn, while Warped Space lets you play the card you exile for free. Of course, you do need ways to make sure Kellan keeps connecting in combat, but there are plenty of cards like Whispersilk Cloak that grant evasion.
In addition to being a decent Commander, Kellan is a perfectly serviceable card in your 99 with a different leader at the helm. From Rocco, Street Chef to Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival, there are plenty of legends that would love to have Kellan in the mix.
Kellan easily generates a ton of value over time if your opponents can’t answer it. Even if they can, you didn’t invest much in the way of mana or resources to get it going. Having a low-cost way to take over the game is strong, and we look forward to seeing what Kellan can do moving forward.