Over the years, Commander precons have become an accepted and expected accompnyment to every MTG set. Considering Commander is the most popular format, their prevalence is hardly a surprise. Even direct-to-Modern sets like Modern Horizons 3 come with Commander precons attached nowerdays.
Considering all this, it may come as a surprise that MTG Foundations does not have Commander precons as part of its product offerings. Despite offering a fully draftable set aimed at newer players that’s legal in Standard for the next five years, there are no Commander precons to introduce players to Magic’s most popular format.
MTG Foundations Has No Commander Precons
While the vast majority of draftable MTG sets in recent memory have launched with precons attached, there have been some exceptions. Remastered sets, such as Ravnica and Dominaria Remastered, haven’t ever offered plane-flavorered precons. Additionally, smaller, non draftable sets, such as the Assassin’s Creed set, didn’t get any precons either.
Outside of these two caveats for reprint-focused and Epilogue-esque sets, Commander decks have become an expected staple alongside every release. Thanks to this, many players have been thrown through a loop by MTG Foundations. While it may be reprint-focused, this set still contains a bunch of new cards and is Standard legal for good measure too.
This confusion caused some MTG players to inquire why Commander precons were missing. Taking their questions to Head MTG Designer Mark Rosewater, he didn’t seem to have an exact reason for the lack of Commander precons in MTG Foundations, either.
“I assume it was discussed. While I don’t know the definitive reason, my best guess was that it muddied the message of the product. Another good guess was it didn’t fit into the design timeline.”
Mark Rosewater
Considering that Commander was pushed for Modern Horizons 3, the first explanation seems somewhat suspect. Adding Commander cards to Modern Horizons 3, especially in the Play Booster packs, created no end of confusion for MTG players. Considering how confusing Outlaws of Thunder Junction was with three different sets nestled within, however, it’s not something we haven’t seen before.
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Mono-Colored Commander Disappointment?
Another potential barrier for Commander precons appearing in MTG Foundations may have been what would appear in those precons. Since MTG Foundations is meant to be a set catering to new players, it makes sense to include Commander precons that may be intuitive for a newer player. One way of doing this is introducing mono-colored Commander preocns in MTG Foundations.
Unfortunately, we know from past discussions on Blogatog that mono-colored Commander decks are a tough ask for Wizards of the Coast. Due to a history of unpopularity, these are not products that Wizards is confident in printing. Two-colored Commander decks are still not that complex in comparison, but a lack of overall themes in MTG Foundations may have made printing Commander product difficult.
Either way, for the first time in quite some time, a draftable MTG set with new cards does not have a Commander precon to go along with it. Hopefully, this should help players focus on the central parts of Foundations, making the onboarding process for newer players a smoother process.
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