MTG Foundations spoiler season should begin in earnest this weekend, but before then, Wizards of the Coast has shown off a few more cards to the world. For the first time in quite a while, we have at least three Planeswalkers appearing in a Standard-legal MTG set. Some of these reprints are decently powerful and will be legal in Standard for (at least) the next five years.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Ajani, Caller of the Pride is a three-mana Planeswalker that was first seen in Magic 2013. By today’s standards, the Planewalker is still decently powerful. Capable of growing creatures and allowing one creature to temporarily deal massive damage, this is a reasonable Planeswalker in a low-curve deck. Obviously, the ultimate is game-breaking, but getting there is incredibly difficult.
As far as monetary value goes, this Planeswalker isn’t even worth $2. That said, this Ajani isn’t currently legal in Standard, and all of the other MTG formats are likely too hostile to allow this card to see play. Now that Ajani will be Standard legal, its playability and monetary value could increase.
An important thing to remember with these spoilers is, even if Ajani, Caller of the Pride doesn’t see play in the near future, or even this year, Ajani is legal in Standard for the next five years. This means that Ajani has many opportunities to break out into the format. If a +1/+1 counter matters deck ever breaks out, for example, Ajani is likely an incredible addition to the strategy.
Liliana, Dreadhorde General
Unlike Ajani, Liliana, Dreadhorde General has some secondary market value behind it. The card has only seen two main set printings in War of the Spark and Ravnica Remastered, so it’s not easy to get your hands on.
While Liliana is too expensive to see any constructed play in the formats that she is legal in, Liliana, Dreadhorde General is a powerhouse in the Commander format. Her static ability can generate ludicrous amounts of value if you have any aristocratic synergies in your deck. Otherwise, board wipes will also refill your hand, allowing you to keep up with the table. Combine this with a devastating ultimate ability, a plus ability that essentially acts as card advantage, and a -4 that can generally deal with a problematic threat, while drawing two cards in a Commander game, and Liliana is incredibly powerful.
While Liliana did not see much play in Pioneer, Modern and beyond, that is likely not going to be the case in Standard. We already have larger Planeswalkers, namely Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting, that see play in Standard. Liliana provides similar value to Vraska and, while not ending the game outright with a fully leveled up Innkeeper’s Talent, will still likely put your opponent so far behind that they cannot come back.
This particular reprint still goes for a crisp $16 on the secondary market.
Vivien Reid
Vivien Reid from Core Set 2019 is, honestly, a rather weak Planeswalker compared to the other two. I would not expect to find Vivien in Standard maindecks outside of warped formats that are dominated by slower strategies. This Planeswalker does not have the capability of impacting the board outside of a niche removal option, which can make it quite the liability against faster strategies. As a result, you are likely to find this in the sideboard of green creature strategies that need to play a longer game against some archetypes.
Because this particular Planeswalker has a reprint in a Modern Horizons Commander deck, the cheapest variant of the card does not even go for a dollar.
What Do We Think?
It seems evident at this point that we will see Planeswalkers in all five colors appearing in MTG Foundations. So far, the three Planeswalkers revealed above are the three we’ve seen for the set. That means a red and blue Planeswalker are likely not to have been revealed yet.
I wouldn’t be surprised if all three of these Planeswalkers saw some Standard play in the next three years. Liliana seems to be the strongest of this cohort, and Vivien is the only Planeswalker that may truly struggle in the coming years. If this has whet your appetite for everything MTG Foundations-related, more details should be revealed later this week.
