MTG Foundations Starter Collection: Is It Worth It?

Tyler Holland November 7, 2024 Collecting, MTG Products, Review

Giada, Font of Hope | Illustrated by Scott M. Fischer

We were all new Magic: The Gathering players at one point. For a lot of us, that probably feels like a long time ago, and Magic feels like a different game than it was then. Over the years, Magic has both changed gradually over time and reinvented itself in numerous ways. Magic: The Gathering Foundations is meant to be a widely available Magic set that lays the groundwork for the future of Magic – especially Standard – to be built upon. Likewise, the Foundations Starter Collection is meant to be an introductory collection of cards for a new Magic player to build decks with and expand as they continue to play the game and acquire more cards.

Importantly, Foundations and the Starter Collection were designed around Standard, Magic’s rotating format where only sets from the last three years are legal. Since these products are the groundwork for Standard’s future, Foundations and the Starter Collection will be legal in Standard at least five years, making this the perfect product to start building Standard decks around.

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What Is the Foundations Starter Collection?

Lyra Dawnbringer | Illustration by Chris Rahn

The Foundations Starter Collection is a Magic: The Gathering product aimed at new players looking to, well, start their Magic collection. Magic’s lead designer Mark Rosewater explains in his “Making Magic: Starting With a Good Foundations” article that there were several goals for the Foundations Starter Collection: encouraging deckbuilding, promoting Magic’s potential for depth, providing players with key cards, and showcasing a wide variety of playstyles. He further explains: “The goal of the Foundations Starter Collection is to take a player from their first 10 games to the first 100 games.”

I’ll be looking at the Starter Collection with those goals, as well as the general value of the product in mind.

Starter Collection Contents

According to the official announcement from Wizards of the Coast, each Starter Collection includes:

387 Magic: The Gathering cards
- 26 of these are foil
3 Foundations Play booster packs
90 Basic Lands
- 10 of these are full-art
13 Tokens
2 Reference Cards
1 “How to Build Your Deck” booklet
1 Click wheel

All of this is included in a card storage box which also comes with some handy dividers for organizing your Starter Collection.

Source

Foundations Starter Collection Gallery

Every Foundations Starter Collection has the same identical list of 387 Magic: The Gathering cards. There are also three Play boosters to open in each Starter Collection – these are regular Foundations boosters and have randomized contents from the Foundations main set. These could include additional copies of cards in the Starter Collection, since it does share some cards with the main set.

White

Lyra Dawnbringer, Angel of Vitality, and Make a Stand are in traditional foil. One copy of Ajani's Pridemate has borderless art.

Blue

Rite of Replication, Confiscate, and Negate are in traditional foil. Refute has borderless art.

Black

Massacre Wurm, Feed the Swarm, and Gatekeeper of Malakir are in traditional foil. Vengeful Bloodwitch has borderless art.

Red

Gratuitous Violence, Guttersnipe, and Impact Tremors are in traditional foil. Abrade has borderless art.

Green

Both copies of Imperious Perfect are in traditional foil. Gigantosaurus is a traditional foil, full-art card. Reclamation Sage has borderless art.

Multicolor

Boros Charm and Unflinching Courage are in traditional foil.

Colorless & Lands

Adaptive Automaton, Gilded Lotus, Maze's End, Expedition Map, and Hedron Archive are in traditional foil. Swiftfoot Boots has borderless art.

Sol Ring, Arcane Signet and Command Tower are in traditional foil and have the FDC set code.

Does the Starter Collection Have New Cards?

The Foundations Starter Collection contains new cards, however no new cards are exclusive to the Starter Collection. Newcomers like Vengeful Bloodwitch are available both in the Starter Collection and in the Foundations main set. Others like Hinterland Sanctifier are available in the Starter Collection and the Beginner Box, another entry-level Magic product released with Foundations. Every card in the Starter Collection is available elsewhere too, whether they’re reprints from Magic’s past or new cards available in other Foundations products alongside the Starter Collection.

Are Starter Collection Cards Legal in Standard?

Yes, cards in the Foundations Starter Collection are legal in Standard. Foundations is one of the key parts in Wizards of the Coast’s new heavy focus on the Standard format, and part of the goal of the product is to get players building decks specifically for Standard. There are two exceptions to this rule.

One exception are the copies of Sol Ring, Command Tower, and Arcane Signet. These cards have the set code FDC and a unique set symbol.

The second exception is Special Guest cards, which have a small chance to appear in the Play Boosters (1 Special Guest in 64 Play Boosters), which are included in the Starter Collection. These cards have a unique set symbol and have the set code SPG rather than the regular set’s FDN set code. Special Guest cards are also always mythic rare with borderless art.

Any cards in the Starter Collection with the regular FDN set code and symbol are Standard legal. This is 384 of the 387 included cards.

What Are the Foundations Commander Cards?

The Foundations Starter Collection includes one copy each of Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, and Command Tower. These cards aren’t Standard legal and are included so that Commander decks can be made from the contents of the Starter Collection. The deck building guide explains these cards, why they’re included, and how they work.

Is the Starter Collection Worth It?

For the Magic player looking to start or expand their collection with useful and iconic cards, the Foundations Starter Collection is worth it. Obviously, the specifics of what you’re looking for in a Magic product make that a more complicated question, but the product is certainly worth the $60 pricetag for those who purchase it.

This product is targeting players that are new to Standard (and new to Magic) and interested in establishing a collection of cards, so if that sounds like you, I can’t recommend this product enough. There’s plenty of playable cards, and while you won’t likely be able to take on the high-level tournament meta with this product out of the box, there’s enough quality cards in here to make some genuinely formidable decks for local-level play like Friday Night Magic at your local game store. There’s even a deck building guide with general tips and even specific combos and synergies included in the Starter Collection that can be built around.

For example, there are four copies of Llanowar Elves and two copies each of Imperious Perfect and Dwynen's Elite, which forms a solid baseline for an elf typal deck. There’s even a two-card game-winning combo that comes in the Starter Collection by default – Harmless Offering and Demonic Pact.

If “new Standard player looking to start a collection” doesn’t sound like you, whether that means you’re not interested in Standard and/or you already have a collection, I’d recommend taking a look at the full gallery of included cards and determining if the Starter Collection is worth it based on what you own and what you need. For most enfranchised and established Magic players though, this product won’t be necessary.

Where to Buy the Foundations Starter Collection

You can buy the Foundations Starter Collection anywhere that regularly stocks Magic: The Gathering. This includes, but is not limited to your local game store and Amazon.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering Foundations - Starter Collection

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SUCCEED—Gain an instant Magic collection. This truly astounding box boasts over 350 cards with essential staples for any color and any way you want to play.
BORDERLESS CARDS and FULL-ART LANDS—Crown your collection with cards featuring gorgeous pieces of alternate art that fill each card; the Foundations Starter Collection includes 6 Borderless cards and 10 Full-Art Land cards
RARES and SHINING FOILS—Collect coveted Rare and Mythic Rare cards and cards that gleam with a beautiful foil treatment; this collection includes 75 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 26 Traditional Foil cards (8 of which are Rare or Mythic Rare), plus you’ll find more in the included Play Boosters.
3 PLAY BOOSTERS—Whether you want to draft with friends or open packs just to see what you get, Play Boosters are specially balanced for play and fun to open, with 1–2 foil cards and 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher in each pack, plus the possibility of an Art card showcasing a piece of art from the set
DECKBUILDING GUIDE—Learn how to construct your own decks with expert tips and recommendations in the included Deck Builder’s Guide booklet

A Standard Conclusion

Ball Lightning | Illustration by Trevor Claxton

I’m very glad that the Foundations Starter Collection exists. Magic: The Gathering has desperately needed a straightforward onboarding process for new players for a long time. One of the negative consequences of Wizards of the Coast’s open-armed embrace of Commander has been that too many players are being introduced and taught the rules of Magic with Commander, an incredibly complex multiplayer Eternal format. Commander is a fantastic format once you understand Magic, but actually reaching the point of understanding Magic is a lot more difficult than most of us established players remember.

Standard, on the other hand, is a great format for teaching new Magic players the ropes. A product that multiple Standard decks can be built out of that explains and teaches the fundamental principles of deck construction will be an incredible place for new players to begin their Magic journey.

Are you going to pick up the Starter Collection? What’s your favorite card included in it? Are you as excited as I am to hit people with the Harmless Offering and Demonic Pact combo in Standard? Let us know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord!

Thanks for reading, and in the meantime, play some Foundations Standard – it’s a great format!

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Tyler Holland

Tyler’s been a Magic fan since slinging spells at the middle school lunch table. Being introduced to Commander in 2019 got them into the local community, and since then, Magic has been a daily feature of their life. Fast forward to now, and you’ll probably find Tyler jamming Standard at the game store, drafting on Arena, or brewing some Izzet jank that almost works.