In the fall of 2024, one of Magic: The Gathering’s most interesting sets was released. MTG Foundations brought a neat mix of reprints and new designs to the table. Impactful Standard staples, like Llanowar Elves, weren’t scheduled to follow the traditional rotation pattern, either. Instead, cards in MTG Foundations will remain Standard legal for at least five years.
Given this distinction from typical premier sets, there have been questions about the set’s ability to get reprinted. That way, popular singles may be easier to get a hold of. Well, it seems we finally have our answer about how MTG Foundations reprints are getting handled, and players aren’t too pleased. If you’re a fan of collector booster products, be prepared for prices to soar.
The News
In a recent interview, Wizards of the Coast WPN Community Manager Nelson Brown discussed the range of Foundations products that would be seeing another print run. This includes more play boosters, more beginner boxes, and more starter collections. More specifically, Nelson Brown believes more play boosters and beginner boxes will become available during Q2 of this year, while starter collections will see more printings later in the year.
Unfortunately, this range of products does not include collector boosters or bundles. Nelson Brown made it clear that because collector boosters are aimed with collectors in mind, the plan is to maintain a single print run for the product.
For players that are looking to get a hold of MTG Foundations cards for Standard, this isn’t a major change. This is because there are no collector booster exclusive cards in Foundations.
However, there are collector booster exclusive treatments and art that will become much harder to obtain. The spindown life counters from the bundles will also be in short supply. This will almost assuredly raise the price of these items.
Player Reaction
As you might expect, there are a lot of players that are disappointed by this decision. Reddit user CryNay states that it’s rather ironic that a set named “Foundations” won’t have enough printings for players to get the cards they want with cool artwork. Of course, the more common artwork on cards will still be available in play boosters, but mana foil cards, Japan showcase cards, and fractured foil Japan Showcase cards will be out of print.
As such, it’s not too surprising to see players complain about the prices of the anime cards. Dvusken mentions that they’ll “never be able to afford” the anime printing of Llanowar Elves. Similarly, RayEarthIX expressed their hope that Llanowar Elves would eventually drop in price so they could pick one up, but that window has likely closed.
Despite abundant disappointment, many players were not shocked by this decision. As MXCL mentions, collector boosters have always been a single print run in previous sets, so nothing has really changed with Foundations.
The problem is that, in many areas, collector boosters sold out almost immediately after release. Some players have been baffled by how hard it’s been to find any stores with collector boosters still in stock. Couple this with the fact that the anime artwork is in such high demand, and it’s no wonder why Foundations collector boosters are so expensive.
Absurd Prices
For those unfamiliar, the price of Foundations collector boosters has already far surpassed that of other Standard-legal sets. There have been a handful of Foundations collector booster displays purchased on TCGplayer over the past few days, and nearly all of them have sold for over $400. For reference, collector booster displays contain 12 collector booster packs, so each pack is valued at well over $30 a piece.
This is an enormous difference compared to other premier sets. Aetherdrift collector booster displays, for example, are worth just over $200. Outlaws of Thunder Junction collector booster displays are worth even less than that.
As Dexelele points out, even non-Standard sets like Innistrad Remastered, whose play booster display value is very similar to Foundations, have collector booster packs that are much cheaper to pick up. Innistrad Remastered collector displays are consistently selling for roughly $120 less than Foundations collector displays.
Based on the price of the top-end cards, this makes sense. Outside of serialized copies of Edgar Markov, no cards from Innistrad Remastered exceed $40, even with cool booster fun treatments.
By contrast, multiple fractured foils from Foundations surpass $200. Fractured foils of Doubling Season and Llanowar Elves are each over $450, while the more common Japan Showcase variants of both are still worth over $120 each.
These prices are only going to rise further and further following this announcement. The difference in price between traditional cards in play boosters and their fancy counterparts found in collector boosters is likely going to widen as well.
The good news, at least, is that anyone who did manage to get their hand on some Japan Showcase cards or mana foils of Twinflame Tyrant won’t lose out on value. With play boosters back in circulation, traditional copies of these cards may lessen in price, too. Still, the scarcity of cards with collector booster only treatments is certainly a pain moving forward.