One of the best bits of MTG Foundations is that it brought a plethora of classic reprints back to modern-day Standard. Some cards, such as Shivan Dragon, debuted over 31 years ago. Seeing lots of nostalgic reprints get some love in this new era of Magic is really cool.
That being said, not every MTG Foundations reprint is good enough to see Standard play. Standard is an incredibly powerful format in modern times, after all. Due to power creep, even cards that used to see play may not cut it anymore.
Today, we’re going to talk about two neat Planeswalker reprints that have started seeing an increased amount of Standard play in the past couple of weeks. While they may not show up consistently in playsets, they’re both powerful enough to run away with games in their own ways.
Vivien Reid
- Mana Value: 3GG
- Rarity: Mythic
- Stats: 5 Loyalty Counters
- Card Type: Legendary Planeswalker – Vivien
- Card Text: +1: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a creature or land card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest of the bottom of your library in a random order.
-3: Destroy target artifact, enchantment, or creature with flying.
-8: You get an emblem with “Creatures you control get +2/+2 and have vigilance, trample, and indestructible.”
Kicking things off, we have Vivien Reid. Vivien Reid is extremely strong provided that you can protect her. The main issue she has is that she can’t always impact the board in any meaningful way. Against decks like mono-red aggro, Vivien does nothing to help stabilize.
As such, it’s very common to see Vivien run as a sideboard card. This is because there are also matchups where Vivien is an absolute powerhouse. Golgari Midrange and Domain strategies are particularly vulnerable to the value that Vivien provides, and both of these decks can reliably get to the five-mana threshold to cast Vivien in the first place.
For Golgari players, in games where you continue to trade resources, Vivien rules from the moment she comes down. She can pick off opposing Demons like Archfiend of the Dross as well as Unholy Annex/Ritual Chamber.
If she doesn’t die, then you start accruing card advantage every turn with her +1. Even in a board stall, playing her and immediately bumping her up to six loyalty makes it tough for the opponent to attack her down.
Meanwhile, against Domain, you’ll also have plenty of targets for her -3 ability including Leyline Binding and the various Overlords. Vivien may not be quite the monster she was years ago, but she’s still making a name for herself.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride
- Mana Value: 1WW
- Rarity: Mythic
- Stats: 4 Loyalty Counters
- Card Type: Legendary Planeswalker – Ajani
- Card Text: +1: Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature.
-3: Target creature gains flying and double strike until end of turn.
-8: Create X 2/2 white Cat creature tokens, where X is your life total.
The other Planeswalker reprint worth discussing is Ajani, Caller of the Pride. Ajani first appeared back in Magic 2013 and is making his triumphant return. Once again, Ajani isn’t the best at protecting himself. So, in games where you’re far behind on board, Ajani isn’t going to be a savior.
Where Ajani shines is with his ability to push damage. He only costs three mana, and his -3 ability is incredibly scary in the right deck. The most common place to find Ajani in Standard is in the Azorius artifact shells.
This deck is capable of applying lots of early pressure with Zoetic Glyph and Regal Bunnicorn threatening lots of damage. Unsurprisingly, in a board stall, giving either of these heavy hitters Flying and Double Strike can end the game on the spot. Otherwise, using Ajani’s +1 ability to put +1/+1 counters on Warden of the Inner Sky is a strong alternative.
Vivien Reid and Ajani aren’t quite as game-warping as Planeswalkers like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. Still, if you can keep pace with your opponent, these reprints can be a nightmare to deal with.