Following Bloomburrow and Duskmourn is Foundations - a multiversal planed set designed for Magic: The Gathering beginners.
Following what is likely to be one of the best selling expansions ever - Bloomburrow - and the just in time for Halloween expansion - Duskmourn - Magic has another expansion coming in late in the year - Foundations.
So first of all, what is it? It seems to be the odd man out - a multi-versal theme in between a western plane, an all animal plane, a horror plane, a death race, and Tarkir. Well, the multi-versal theme goes all over the Magic map, with a 50-50 split of both new cards and reprints. This is designed for beginners, sort of the gateway set for people coming into magic to fully get it and get used to the many different formats. And the wide varieties of spells, creatures, instants, and planeswalkers guarantees something for everyone, rather than tying everyone down to a certain theme.
It's also a "evergreen core set" that will remain legal until 2029, and even after that, some formats will still allow the cards. Plus it's not as complex.
Magic needed a set like this for awhile. In recent years, Magic has had a lot of dark, heavy sets.
Bloomburrow was a bit of a breather and brought in a lot of younger players, as have some of the more IP sets like Lord of the Rings and Fallout. But for many they haven't built up to that strategy complexity. Foundations will do that. It's like a big starter kit, and will likely include many fan favorites from every plane - it's multiverse for a reason. The big five planeswalkers are Ajani, Kaito, Liliana, Chandra, and Vivien, so they are really going for a popular introduction. Plus it incorporates the recent string of expansions, so players who may have struggled there can have a more basic experience to master the basics.
Problems with it is the mere simplicity of it.
Long-time players may not get into it as much. Plus, many players have been yearning for an old fashioned three expansion around a plane block for some time now. Tarkir could have been a good candidate. Bloomburrow too. But it is also pushing what looks like straight up fantasy. A lot of players have been wanting that for some time now. Deathrace is due to bring that, and Bloomburrow proved how straight fantasy is still very popular. No gimmicks. No other IPs. Just a good old fantasy expansion or set.
If anything, Wizards should have redone the order here. After Thunder Junction, Foundations should have been a lead off for players coming into the game. As Bloomburrow picked up many first time players, it would have been a great intro in. After that, Duskmourn to show the darker side of things before going right into the yet-to-be-named Deathrace set.
But, as it is, Foundations seems like something Magic has needed. The big question is how this fits in the Magic storyline. There are many different planes and times here. Putting them all together can be a bit of a challenge.
But again, Magic needed an easier way to on board newer players for awhile, and Foundations can do that. Deathrace now seems like a little bit of treat for long-time fans afterwards, so there was a plan. Let's see how it plays out.
It's all in the name: Foundations.
