MTG Foundations is here, and a lot of players are understandably excited to utilize the new cards in a Constructed setting. This set is chock full of reprints and new designs that have already begun making waves in Standard, Pioneer, and even Eternal formats. Beyond MTG Foundations’ role in Constructed, this set is also a top-tier Limited environment, in my opinion.
Harkening back to the good ol’ days of core sets, MTG Foundations offers a very welcome change of pace. In a world where Magic has been dominated by power creep, it’s awesome to be able to get back to the basics of Limited. It may not happen often, but MTG Foundations offers exactly the kind of limited experience we’ve been craving.
Back to the Basics
Over the years, draft environments have changed quite a bit. Not only have threats gotten significantly more efficient, but the best decks are often driven by elite synergies rather than just raw power. Duskmourn: House of Horror really put this shift on full display.
Many of the best commons and uncommons in Duskmourn were elite build-around options that not every player in the pod would be equipped to maximize. Final Vengeance is a great example of this. On the surface, this card is rather mediocre, since you have to sacrifice on-board resources to get the effect you want. In Rakdos sacrifice shells that have access to Clockwork Percussionist and Disturbing Mirth, however, Final Vengeance becomes a premier removal spell.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some benefits to this style of Limited. After all, it makes the actual drafting portion quite skill-intensive. If you identify that Rakdos sacrifice is open in your pod, you may be able to wheel copies of Final Vengeance and end up with a really strong deck for your troubles. The problem is that many of the threats that aren’t super synergistic fall by the wayside, even if they’re strong on rate.
MTG Foundations turns this notion on its head. Many of the best commons and uncommons in Foundations are simple designs. According to 17lands.com, a site that tracks MTG Arena user draft data, the commons with the highest win rates in the set are Dazzling Angel, Felidar Savior, and Burst Lightning.
Every one of these cards is going to be strong in a bread-and-butter Limited deck with lots of creatures. Sure, Dazzling Angel synergizes well with Ajani’s Pridemate and such, but it’s also totally fine in an Azorius fliers deck all the same.
In a normal modern-day premier set, however, there’s a good chance cards like Dazzling Angel, that look perfectly reasonable, would play out much worse. Heck, to this day, Cackling Slasher from Duskmourn still looks like a totally fine card to play. However, it has the worst win rate when maindecked of any black common by far. MTG Foundations finally brings us back to classic Limited, which has a lot of benefits.
Upside for New and Veteran Players
Obviously, this simplicity is a big deal for newer players. Rather than having to figure out which creatures are best in which decks on the fly, they can focus on finding an open lane and simply drafting the strongest cards available. While new players were surely the focus for MTG Foundations, this simplicity is also awesome for longstanding players.
For many players, it’s incredibly refreshing to read cards with simple text boxes. Furthermore, because these cards aren’t quite as pushed, it’s easier to catch up with basic removal spells. You’re not under as much pressure to match your opponent on board stride for stride. We can see that when comparing how often players win on the play versus on the draw.
In MTG Foundations, people on the play win just barely over 51% of the time. This is a huge improvement over Duskmourn, Bloomburrow, Outlaws of Thunder Junction, and Murders at Karlov Manor. Each of these sets had players winning on the play over 53% of the time, apart from Dusmourn, which was 52%. This showcases just how much being on the front foot can generate an advantage in modern-day Limited.
On top of this, MTG Foundations doesn’t have the reliance on instant value which has come to define modern MTG. Not only does this slow games down, but it also makes removal significantly more effective. Bake into a Pie, for example, has the 11th highest win rate when maindecked amongst the commons in Foundations, despite being a tad inefficient.
By contrast, Murder didn’t even crack the top 50 commons in Murders at Karlov Manor draft. The better these removal spells are, the easier it is to keep yourself afloat and help you catch up.
A Sense of Nostalgia
Since the pace of Draft tends to be slower in MTG Foundations, unexpected and nostalgic threats like Serra Angel and Shivan Dragon have been able to shine. For some players, it’s an awesome feeling getting to put these cards in your deck and sense an opponent’s fear that they may take over the game.
I feel the exact same way. Because there’s ample removal in the set, cards like Serra Angel create a sweet subgame of “Do you have an answer?”. If not, then Serra Angel will dominate the board, often running away with the game. If the answer is yes, however, then the opponent likely gets a decent tempo advantage by killing your creature while investing less mana on the removal spell.
It truly is awesome seeing creatures from way back in Alpha get some love today. I think Wizards did a great job balancing these reprints accordingly. For instance, making Shivan Dragon an uncommon put it in a perfect spot. It isn’t too strong at uncommon, and players get to draft it more often too.
As a personal fan of throwback draft formats and cubes, MTG Foundations hits the nail on the head. Hopefully, we will see more Limited settings follow suit.
