Magic: The Gatheringgoes back to basics with the upcomingFoundationsset. Designed for newcomers to the hobby, it contains a flexible variety of boxes, bundles, and boosters to take players from their very first games ofMagicto building their first decks. It also coincides with a special series ofMagicAcademy events at local game stores throughout the world.
Uniquely,the new cards introduced byFoundationswill remain legal in Standard formatMagicuntil at least 2029, breaking from the usual two- to three-year rotation. Foundations comes inall the usual set formats, plus a couple of new and improved bundles for beginners. Whether it’s a player’s first or their fiftiethMTGset, here’s everything to know aboutFoundations.
MTG Foundations Release Date Info & Preorders
Plus, Magic Academy Details
Magic’s newFoundationsset will be released worldwide on Jul 23, 2025, following a prerelease period of November 8 - 14. During prerelease, players can be among the first to test out the new and returning cards contained inFoundationsduring a series of special events. Prerelease (and otherMTGevents) can be found through Wizards of the Coast’s officialMagicEvents Locator.
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Plus,the release ofFoundationswill coincide with a series ofMagicAcademy: Learn to Play and Deck Building events, beginning on November 15 alongside the set’s launch and continuing into the end of January 2025. At these beginner-friendly events, players can receive coaching on the ins and outs ofMagic: The Gathering, engaging in casual matches against fellow newcomers and experienced Community Tutors. These can also be found locally using WotC’s Events Locator.
All Magic: The Gathering Foundations Products & Lineups
Boosters, Bundles, & Boxes Galore
First and foremost,Magic: The Gathering’s Foundations set will come in all the usual release formats: Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, and various bundles. As is typical, each Play Booster contains 14 cards, including anywhere between six and nine Commons, four and five Uncommons, and one and four Rares/Mythic Rares. One card of a random rarity in each Play Booster will be a foil card. Each Play Booster costs roughly $5 USD.
Players can also purchase a Booster Bundlefor between $35 and $40 depending on the retailer, including an alternate art foil card, 20 foil basic lands, and 20 non-foil basic lands alongside nine Play Booster packs. This also comes with an oversize spindown life counter and a deck box. Collector Boosters instead include 15 cards each. 12 to 13 of those are foils: five of Rare or higher, four Uncommons, five Commons, and one land. In less than one percent of Collector Boosters, players will find aJapan Showcasecard with a fractured foil design.
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Prerelease packs include six Play Boosters each, as well as a foil Rare or Mythic Rare promo card stamped with the set’s year. These also come with promo codes for the online gameMTG: Arena, card storage boxes, and a spindown life counter in one of five colors, representing the five mana colors inMagic: The Gathering.
Interestingly, although not uniquely,Foundationswill also be available in the form of Jumpstart Boostersfor between $6 and $9 each. Each Jumpstart Booster follows one of 46 possible themes, and is designed for quick-start play. With 20 cards in each pack, two Jumpstart Boosters are enough to create a Limited format-legal deck; players can simply open two, shuffle them together, and start a game with a brand-new deck on the spot.
ManyMTGformats require decks to have 60 cards minimum, so two Jumpstart Boosters alone may not be enough to build a deck for Standard play.
The Beginner Box contains everything a new player (and a friend) will need to get startedwithMagic: The Gathering. It contains 10 Beginner Box-exclusive Jumpstart packs, two reference cards and a booklet explaining the basic rules ofMagic, two “How to Play” guides, two playmats, and two spindown life counters. It costs roughly $30, depending on the retailer.
The Starter Collection is the most complete release of theFoundationsset,containing over 350 cards (22 foils) for $50 to $60. This includes everything players need to start building their own decks from scratch, bundled in with aHow to Build Your Deckbooklet, and a click wheel for keeping track of things like life points and counters.
New Cards Confirmed For MTG’s Foundations Set
Llanowar Elves, Omniscience, Anthem Of Champions, & More
Foundationswill likely include roughly 150 new cards and 150 reprints of olderMagic: The Gatheringcards, with each type making up half the set. However,almost exclusively reprints have been revealed so farahead of release; only two cards, Nine-Lives Familiar and Anthem of Champions, is all-new. The following cards are confirmed to appear inFoundations:
Enchantment
Foundations
Nine-Lives Familiar is a 1/1 creature, requiring two black mana and one additional mana of any other color to cast. Although low on power and toughness, as its name implies,it enters the game with eight separate revival counterson it. Each time it dies, instead of sending it to the graveyard, the player removes one of its revival counters and returns it to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.
Anthem of Champions is an Enchantmentcardrequiring one green mana and one white mana to cast. It simply buffs all the player’s creatures, giving each of them a +1/+1 counter for the duration. Featuring new art and new flavor text, reprints of Savannah Lions, Omniscience, Llanowar Elves, and Day of Judgment will also appear inFoundations.
For now, that’s everything to know aboutMagic’s upcomingFoundationsset. With alternate art and foil versions of classic cards, alongside comprehensive and beginner-friendly bundles, it’s perfect for bothMTGveterans and first-timers.Foundationswill be coming to localMagic: The Gatheringretailers around the world on November 15, with prerelease events beginning a week before; until then, players are free to speculate on the other new cards inside.
Source:Wizards of the Coast
