The 43 Most Expensive and Must-Have Cards in Foundations

Last updated on August 29, 2025

Doubling Season | Illustrated by Kawasumi

I thought we weren’t doing this whole Core Set thing anymore? I guess this plan is better than doing M25, M26, M27….

Foundations is upon us, and with it comes this advance look at what’s hot on the collector's market. We’re breaking down (some) of this Magic set’s most expensive cards, and it should be really interesting this time given how it’s about a 50/50 split between new MTG cards and reprints. I’ve included the most valuable Foundations Jumpstart (J25) cards here too, so keep an eye out for those. (Note that Foundations Jumpstart cards are not Standard-legal.)

Base printings only. I had to leave aside some cards because no prices were available at the time of writing.

Quoted prices are taken from TCGplayer’s market price on November 5^th, 2024.

#43. Koma, World-Eater – $6.47

Koma, World-Eater is the kind of card that’s great for introducing players to the idea of building around one big threat. Turn this serpent sideways, get Koma's Coil tokens, use them as blockers, and start again on your next turn.

#42. Homunculus Horde – $6.56

Insert your favorite Mike Wazowski meme here.

Homunculus Horde is a really fun draw-second-card payoff, especially once you remember that the token copies gain its ability too.

#41. Giada, Font of Hope – $6.62

Giada, Font of Hope quickly became arguably the best angel commander, and Foundations brings this card back from Streets of New Capenna for another, longer Standard stint. Old card, new art. Do you prefer the original or this art? Or perhaps the far more expensive Foundations Jumpstart anime printing?

#40. Zul Ashur, Lich Lord – $6.69

Now there’s a reanimation enabler if I ever saw one. Zul Ashur, Lich Lord is made to play with zombies, but Assassin’s Creed recently gave us a bunch of Conspiracy printings to play around with…. I can see this warlock putting in work in a lot of different formats and decks.

#39. Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate – $6.77

Alesha’s original card (Alesha, Who Smiles at Death) is a fairly popular Mardu commander (), and Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate fits nicely in that deck. It’s no slouch as a Rakdos card on its own, and it gives us a reason to think about raid abilities again.

#38. Dread Summons – $6.99

A milling X spell that generates Zombie tokens is a really good payoff for zombie and mill decks. Dread Summons’ other printings average out at around $0.50.

#37. Taurean Mauler – $6.99

I don’t think it’s a stretch to call Taurean Mauler the best red shapeshifter, and one of the best typal support pieces for red decks that don’t access blue.

#36. Dropkick Bomber – $6.99

Known to his friends as “Murphy.”

Goblins are and will always be popular, so a goblin lord you can play in multiples is always worth a look. I like the flavor of Dropkick Bomber’s activated ability, letting you punt your goblins for explosive field goals.

#35. Crossway Troublemakers – $6.99

Crossway Troublemakers received both Foundations and Foundations Jumpstart printings, and it’s neat as a card from a Commander precon that’s making its way into Standard. Total vampire lord and payoff. Its other printings are still only around a dollar.

#34. Knight of Malice – $6.99

Don’t believe the hype. Knight of Malice’s Dominaria printing isn’t even worth a quarter.

#33. Predator Ooze – $6.99

I hated Predator Ooze as a newbie Magic player because I didn’t run (read: own) any removal that got around indestructible. And yet, the friend who got me into Magic made me face this ooze in multiples anyway. I wish I had a Predator Ooze in my starting collection (and you can, with the Foundations Starter Collection!).

#32. Nine-Lives Familiar – $7.47

Precious! Nine-Lives Familiar is nigh unkillable if you pair it with the right cards, like a certain counter-doubling enchantment that’s also in this set. Which means it also makes great sacrifice fodder to get your sacrifice engines and death payoffs rolling.

#31. Rise of the Dark Realms – $7.90

M14’s Rise of the Dark Realms returns to another Core Set, and it makes sense given Liliana’s presence here. A big spell that lets me pilfer everyone’s graveyard? Perfect for following up a mass edict effect… like Liliana, Dreadhorde General’s ultimate.

#30. Elvish Archdruid – $7.92

I don’t trust Elvish Archdruid’s initial market price tag on TCGplayer as of when I’m researching. This core set staple from M10 and beyond usually tops out at about a dollar, including its Foundations Jumpstart printing. Caveat emptor for any early listings here.

#29. Muldrotha, the Gravetide – $7.98

Muldrotha, the Gravetide returns to Standard after its original run from Dominaria. This Sultai commander () has a wide-open ability that you can pair with all kinds of themes, like self-milling, delirium, reanimator, and much more.

#28. Tinybones, Bauble Burglar – $7.98

I’m just happy because I get to talk about Tinybones, Magic’s cutest skeleton. Tinybones, Bauble Burglar can both support and lead your black discard decks, and it’s a cheap creature that represents a fan-favorite character. I’m sure I saw an ad for a plush dice bag as a tie-in to this….

#27. Rodolf Duskbringer – $8.00

Rodolf Duskbringer returns from Jumpstart 2022 for another round of Jumpstart fun. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This vampire angel has somewhat of keyword soup of abilities, and it’s useful both as a lifegain commander and in support of one.

#26. Blasphemous Edict – $8.49

Thirteen Candles sounds like the cheap horror knockoff of John Hughes’s Sixteen Candles. Blasphemous Edict is expensive if you’re using it as a total board wipe, but it shrinks to a 1-mana spell if there are more than 13 creatures on the board. Flexible? Situational? I don’t care; I think it’s neat.

#25. Banner of Kinship – $8.89

And I thought Bloomburrow’s Patchwork Banner was the best generic typal payoff I’d seen in a while. Banner of Kinship is a growing typal anthem for your creature-themed decks. Best played in the mid to late game when your board is already somewhat developed… oh geez, can you picture this thing paired with rabbits?

#24. Dark Confidant – $9.00

Foundations Jumpstart gives Dark Confidant a new printing with some brand new Magic art and flavor text. Card advantage in black that asks you to pay some life… doesn’t get any more classic, foundational Magic than this 2-power creature.

#23. Time Stop – $9.07

Hammer Time! Effects that end the turn like Time Stop and Obeka, Brute Chronologist are fun because we don’t see them terribly often. The power comes from being able to exile everything that’s on the stack, stopping storm and spell copy players dead in their tracks.

#22. Ancient Greenwarden – $9.50

Zendikar Rising’s Ancient Greenwarden gets a reprint in J25. It’s an ability trigger doubler that’s specific to landfall, which makes sense with some of the other Foundations Jumpstart cards. Oh, and it’s a big creature that lets you play lands from your graveyard. Sheesh.

#21. Authority of the Consuls – $9.67

Great, just what I needed. A 1-mana stax piece. That also plays into lifegain. Authority of the Consuls is just an oppressive white enchantment. Yay….

#20. Omniscience – $9.91

This blue enchantment basically turns everything in your hand into an optional free spell. Omniscience’s mana value proves that knowledge is costly. Do they really want this thing in Standard?

#19. Crystal Barricade – $11.16

This wall is a problem if you manage to put together a deck with multiples. Crystal Barricade gives you hexproof and prevents noncombat damage that’s done to other creatures you control. The second you have two or more of these, your opponent needs cards like Tragic Slip to get around them.

#18. Zimone, Paradox Sculptor – $11.32

Zimone’s been getting a lot of love lately, between a Duskmourn card, a Duskmourn Commander precon (Jump Scare!), and now Zimone, Paradox Sculptor in Foundations. And this Simic commander () is doubling counters, what more can I say?

#17. Quilled Greatwurm – $11.46

I’m just itching to pair Quilled Greatwurm with double strike enablers. Decks that add and remove +1/+1 counters are just going to love this wurm. Wait, it’s a 6-mana 7/7 with this much text?!?

#16. Niv-Mizzet, Visionary – $11.56

So when are we getting a Niv-Mizzet calendar? We must have enough cards by now. Niv-Mizzet, Visionary liberates you from hand size restraints and draws you cards for dealing damage to your opponents. It’s a good Izzet card, it represents a popular, practically evergreen character… and now Niv can go infinite with other Nivs!

#15. Chandra, Flameshaper – $12.04

Babe, wake up! We got a new Chandra.

Chandra, Flameshaper comes in with enough loyalty to use any of its abilities the turn it comes down, and you can’t say that about a lot of planeswalkers.

#14. Liliana, Dreadhorde General – $12.06

Liliana, Dreadhorde General makes a return from War of the Spark in Foundations, which means another round in Standard for this black planeswalker. All this sacrificing is going to enable all kinds of death triggers, descend is still around, and you just know that there’s going to be some kind of sacrifice archetype in many of the upcoming Limited environments.

#13. Herald of Eternal Dawn – $12.40

As befits an angel, Herald of Eternal Dawn is miraculous with its flash ability and extremely oppressive. You literally can’t lose with this.

#12. Valkyrie’s Call – $12.41

This is one of those cards that I could take or leave in most of my decks, but I could also play it in a lot of my decks. Any non-angel commander can use this Valkyrie's Call to reduce how often you pay commander tax. I just had the thought of sticking this in my Naya () dinosaurs deck? A +1/+1 counters theme could make good use of this white enchantment too, but so many white+ decks can slot this in.

#11. Sphinx of Forgotten Lore – $12.95

This sphinx has a lot of potential homes, but it’s mostly spellslingers and flash-matters. As an attack trigger, it makes me think of Sphinx of Forgotten Lore as more of an aggressive card for playing with combat tricks? Feels wide open for brewing though.

#10. Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator – $15.46

Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator is tailor-made for ninja decks, and decks that care about saboteur effects in general. Planeswalkers usually come out of the gate hot, so we’ll see where this settles once we’ve started cracking some Foundations booster packs.

#9. Twinflame Tyrant – $16.74

Twinflame Tyrant looks like it’s going to be Standard’s damage doubler for a while. Given that 2025 sees us return to Tarkir in Tarkir Dragonstorm, this guy’s about to have a lot of friends to play with.

#8. Rite of the Dragoncaller – $17.57

Whelp. We now have a spellslinging payoff that pumps out Dragon tokens. Rite of the Dragoncaller is one of those cards that makes you happy that you packed that enchantment removal.

#7. Generous Pup – $20.00

I have a feeling that there’s going to be some kind of cats and dogs deck. Between Foundations Jumpstart’s Generous Pup and Scythecat Cub, there’s a lot of +1/+1 counters distribution. Anywhere that The Lost Caverns of Ixalan’s Sovereign Okinec Ahau is legal is a good bet.

#6. Sandstorm Crasher – $20.00

I love me a minotaur. Sandstorm Crasher’s exert ability gets you a copy of your best attacker, which is highly impactful. Minotaur decks in EDH are always on the lookout for new toys.

#5. Frontline Heroism – $20.00

Combat tricks are the name of the game with this Jumpstart card. Frontline Heroism is a red enchantment that essentially gives all your creatures a heroic ability. The naming flavor is on point, and as someone who was weened on Theros block heroic decks, I’m a very happy (Camp Half-Blood) camper.

#4. Bloodthirsty Conqueror – $28.57

This vampire knight is Exquisite Blood on a stick, which means we have one more way to enable infinite lifegain and lifedrain Sanguine Bond combos with. Bloodthirsty Conqueror, indeed.

It's also a bomb in Foundations Limited, and probably one of the best Foundations cards overall, so you're always happy to find them in your Play boosters!

#3. Sire of Seven Deaths – $29.12

Sire of Seven Deaths sports a keyword soup of seven keyword abilities to go along with its 7 mana value and its 7/7 power/toughness. It’s a honking big non-legendary Eldrazi; what more do you want?

#2. Doubling Season – $29.36

To borrow from The Zombies: “It’s the time of the season for doubling.” Or something like that. Doubling Season exists in a Standard format that starts with oil counters and poison counters, but what kind of counters do you think we’ll be doubling by the time this rotates back out? What kind of tokens will we be doubling?

#1. Scythecat Cub – $34.00

Dang, this cat is a bear. Scythecat Cub’s landfall ability distributes +1/+1 counters, and its second trigger each turn doubles counters on your target. Outside of Commander, you can play it in multiples. Did you notice which green enchantment is returning to Standard with this set?

Special Card Treatments

Foundations features a bunch of different foil and showcase treatments that can impact the value and desirability of a card. Some are Booster Fun treatments, while others are specific to the Foundations Jumpstart boosters or the Foundations Starter Collection.

Foundations boosters feature 10 Special Guest cards, which are:

• Condemn
• Sphinx's Tutelage
• Grim Tutor
• Embercleave
• Goblin Bushwhacker
• Bloom Tender
• Paradise Druid
• Akroma's Memorial
• Temporal Manipulation
• Fiend Artisan

Some cards in Foundations received a borderless treatment (70) or an extended art (41) treatment. Rare and mythic borderless cards have a chance to be a mana foil printing, a foil treatment that stamps Magic’s mana symbols into the card.

Japan Showcase cards only appear in Collector boosters, and only 10 cards received Japan Showcase printings. These Japan Showcase printings also have a small chance of being fracture foil printings.

• Day of Judgment
• Herald of Eternal Dawn
• Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator
• Think Twice
• Bloodthirsty Conqueror
• Twinflame Tyrant
• Doubling Season
• Llanowar Elves
• Muldrotha, the Gravetide
• Progenitus

A total of 51 cards were given anime treatments specifically for the Foundations Jumpstart set, including reprints like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Kodama of the West Tree, and one of Magic's best demons, Vilis, Broker of Blood, as well as new cards like Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder and Dionus, Elvish Archdruid. I didn’t include these in the main rankings because their anime art often has them sorted separately, and some cards have both regular Foundations printings and Foundations Jumpstart anime printings.

The full art Gigantosaurus printing is exclusive to the Foundations Starter Collection. An alternate art Phyrexian Arena is included in the Foundations Bundle, and an extended art Solemn Simulacrum serves as the Buy-a-Box promo.

Wrap Up

Sphinx of Forgotten Lore | Illustration by Dmitry Burmak

Foundations is really going to be interesting to look at over time. Wizards says that they intend for the set to be Standard legal until at least 2029, which means to me that they intend to print and ship enough product to support that. Expect these prices to fluctuate a lot, but I’m curious what the return of cards like Doubling Season and Omniscience to Standard is going to do for the price of older printings.

Some of these cards are making me wonder: “Really, you want this in Standard? For half a decade?” But on the other hand, why keep trying to reinvent some of these cards when you can just have them? Time will tell, I suppose.

As I mentioned, this list isn’t entirely exclusive because some cards don’t have a market price yet, so always give an eye to current listings when trying to evaluate your booster pack pulls.

Which of Foundations’ most expensive cards are you looking forward to add to your collection? Which, if any, of the Booster Fun treatments call out to you? Let me know in the comments below, and come share your finds on the Draftsim Discord.

Thanks for reading, and happy hunting!