It is the perfect time for anyone who wants to get their friends into playing Magic: The Gathering over the holiday season or needs to shop for someone who recently joined the TCG hobby. The latest set from Wizards of the Coast, aptly named ‘Foundations,’ has all the products to get new players into the game while offering a limited format that will make introducing friends and onboarding new players easier than most sets.

Whatever your thoughts are on Wizards teaming up with so many other brands to do cross-over releases from everything between Transformers and Doctor Who, there’s a simplicity to Foundation release that makes it feel like a return to basics. All of the cards here are relatively straightforward; there’s no crazy mechanics and plenty of tribalism from angels to elves, but that’s some core MTG stuff that gets you into the game in the first place. What this set might lack in the flashier cards or gimmicky types of cards you’ll find in Collector’s Boosters, is that it makes up for delivering a set that’s easy to get your head around and imagine teaching to other players.

For you older players, that might make this set sound like the many ‘Core’ sets we used to get. However, this set isn’t devoid of any flavour or fun as those sets quite often were. There are no genuinely outrageous cards in here that will nearly win you limited matches by themselves, but there’s also not a sense of missing power. The bigger cards in this set for limited play have been some re-printed staples like Day of Judgment, which won me matches by clearing my opponent’s board on turns 8-9 after they’d unloaded their hand and over-committed. It’s a simple mistake, but definitely something you learn not to do when you’re aware of any board being in a set and in a player’s colours you’re pursuing. Simple reads like that and learning to beware of easy-to-understand cards like Day of Judgment are just other details that make this set one of the best ways to teach your friends or family how to play Magic: The Gathering this holiday season.

With this release, Wizards of the Coast has seen an opportunity for new players to join the game, or those who have only been collecting, to take the jump into actually playing some MTG. And with all of that in mind, they’ve released a ‘Beginners Box,’ which is about as a good starting point for learning to play MTG as I’ve ever seen. It comes with two decks, pre-designed in a way you don’t shuffle upon first play and, instead, follow along with a book in making your turn’s actions and learn the basics this way. After that, you can shuffle in some more cards and keep going. There are even two hard boards here for players to use and place their decks on, and they help you learn a basic setup of where you’d place your creatures, graveyard, and more when playing a game of MTG.

@explosionnetwork Unboxing the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Beginners Box. #MTG #MTGTIKTOK #mtgfoundations #mtgunboxing ♬ Ambient Electronic Background Music – UrbanGodzilla

Investing in this set if you want to play Standard is also a sound bet, as it will remain a legal Standard set until sometime in 2029. There are a lot of staples here currently, and who knows what cards here could become more useful in decks in the coming years as more sets are released. What weird combos could come up?

Foundations is a set made for playing, be that Limited, Commander, or Standard. I know I said this set is missing some of the more flashy collector’s items that we’ve become used to seeing, but this set sees the return of ‘Japan Showcase’ cards. First debuting in Duskmourn: House of Horror, this type of card works well here as a showcase of Japanese artists who are integral to the game, its history, and some might even say…  a foundation to Magic: The Gathering itself.

@explosionnetwork Lets crack some Magic: The Gathering Foundations Collectors Boosters! #MTG #MTGTIKTOK #mtgfoundations #mtgbooster #mtgboosterpacks #mtgopenings ♬ Magic – wayudance

If you’d like to dive into some MTG Foundations, you can buy some packs, the Beginners Box, Collectors Boosters and more by heading to your local game store or buying from Amazon. You can also find Foundations in MTG Arena if you’d prefer to play digitally.

(Magic: The Gathering product provided to Explosion Network.
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