Top 10 Cards You Should Look For in Foundations!
The New and Old Building Blocks of Commander
With the release of Foundations upon us, there is something worthwhile for all commander players to pick up. From new cards to powerful old reprints, today I will be presenting a few powerful eye-catching cards, both old and new, that you should be picking up for the commander format. I will be taking a closer look at a few cards I thought stood out from the set. So let’s take a deeper dive into Foundations and take a look at my top 10 cards to get from the set!
1. An Offer You Can’t Refuse
First on our list, is An offer you can’t refuse. Looking through the foundations set, I searched for cards that can be added to most decks, staples that are worth their cost, both in dollars and mana. “An offer you can’t refuse” was originally printed in Streets of New Capenna, and has slowly risen from a $1 card to almost $4 before it was reprinted in the Bloomburrow commander decks and Foundations set. For 1 mana, you can’t go wrong with a counterspell. While it does give your opponent 2 treasures and only counters non-creature spells, it is more than worth it if you are stopping something potentially fatal. For such a cheap card, you can’t go wrong in slotting this into any of your blue-colored commander decks.
2. Aphelia, Viper Whisperer
Next up, is Aphelia, Viper Whisperer. A brand-new card in Foundations, this card offers an entirely new playstyle as a gorgon and snake tribal deck. Immediately at first glance, this is a good card, a 1/3 with deathtouch for only 2 mana, with two great abilities to sink your mana into. I can already see decks being brewed with this card at the forefront for Commander. Play the best of gorgon and snake tribal cards Golgari has to offer, add in a few ways to make your creatures able to punch through along with a few cards that double the amount of life your opponents lost that turn and you have a recipe for a powerful and resilient commander deck that offers a unique playstyle not yet seen in the Golgari colors. A must-have commander to brew if you’re looking to try something new!
3. Grim Tutor
A card played since its initial release in 1999, Grim Tutor is a staple in almost every commander deck that plays black. For one colorless and two black mana, you can add any card from your deck to your hand. I’m sure that in a singleton format such as Commander, you can see how powerful of an effect that is. Even with the additional cost of 3 life, this is a no-brainer auto-include in any deck that can afford it. As with an offer you can’t refuse, this card can be slotted into any black deck. Historically, this card has always floated around the $15-20 mark, even with the multiple printings it saw in Core Set 2021 and Secret Lairs.
4. Wishclaw Talisman
Of all the cards on this list, this is a personal favorite of mine. Originally released in Throne of Eldraine, it hovered just under most players’ radar at only around $1 at the time of release, only to slowly creep up to around $4 before the reprint announcement in Foundations. On the surface, one may argue that this is a slightly worse, Grim Tutor. Sure, you only have to pay 1 black pip to play it, making it more flexible, but giving an opponent a tutor as well? Now while I don’t have to explain why letting your opponent tutor for any card they want is not a good idea, Wishclaw Talisman has a creative multiplayer aspect that very few cards have. The only downside to Wishclaw Talisman is that it can be negated by a little bit of politics. Often at commander tables, there is a player that is far ahead, with all the players struggling to catch up, and Wishclaw Talisman lets you make great deals with players who are behind. Sometimes, you may even get to tutor twice, presuming you make the deal with the right person! Honestly, you can’t go wrong with this card, getting a tutor, sometimes twice, and having some politics is always a great time!
5. Gornog, the Red Reaper
Another interesting legendary creature with a unique playstyle, Gornog is a fresh new commander I can see players building around. Only rare, this commander works by turning your opponent's best blockers into creatures that are unable to block him as well as any other warriors out on the field (including your opponents!) I can immediately see synergy with a few extra combat spells, some nasty warriors of the past, and a few pump spells. The creatures turned into Cowards stay as Cowards permanently as long as they’re out on the field, only serving to increase the damage output of your warrior tribal deck. Give this guy a try, I think he can do damage in commander pods!
6. Twinflame Tyrant
Now for a change of pace, the next card I think will be a great pickup is Twinflame Tyrant. Unlike the previous creatures on this list, Twinflame Tyrant serves its purpose in the 99 of your commander deck. This card is a powerhouse, rightfully earning its mythic slot in the new set. We’ve had similar cards that do the same, from Furnace of Rath to Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, to Dictate of the Twin Gods, to City of Fire, there’s plenty of damage multipliers to choose from. However, Twinflame Tyrant comes with the bonus of being a Dragon, meaning it has synergy with all the Dragon synergy of the past, a la Magda, Brazen Outlaw, or The Ur-Dragon. You can’t go wrong with adding this card to your Dragon tribal deck, or any deck that wants to double its damage with a powerful 3/5 flier to match.
7. Bloom Tender
Another great card to add in the 99 of your commander deck, we have Bloom Tender. With its original print in Evertide still floating at around $17-18, we can see why this mana dork is desirable in any deck that wants to play as many colors as possible. I can even see this being run in Elfball. While most mana dorks only offer you one mana most of the time, Bloom Tender scales based on the number of colors you have in play. This card is an absolute staple in any green deck that has a slot open for a green mana dork!
8. Doubling Season
With its original printing in Ravnica, City of Guilds, this card has always been a terrifying threat. Even with all the reprints it had, in Battlebond, Commander Masters, Double Masters, Modern Masters, and Throne of Eldraine, it is STILL hovering around a price tag of $25-$35. Reading the cards will justify the price tag, as this card doubles any tokens you create as well as doubles any counters you put on permanents you control. With so many ways to use this card, it is hard to not want it in any token or counter-based deck. It synergizes with so many strategies, and being in green, a color that is very much able to generate a lot of tokens on its own is a powerhouse you want to run in your 99 if your deck has any kind of token or counter generation.
9. Dionus, Elvish Archdruid
Staying on the theme of counters, Dionus is the next card I think is a definite pick-up. This card is arguably one of the most powerful cards you can include in an Elf-tribal deck. Being able to untap your mana dork elves, and any elves that have powerful tap abilities is just insane. Not only does Dionus provide you insane value, essentially giving your elves vigilance, mana dorks being able to tap twice for mana, and slowly buffing your entire army of elves is honestly everything you could want in an Elf-tribal deck. The cool thing about this card is even if you don’t want to run it as your commander, it is arguably if not even more powerful in your 99. And being only an uncommon, this is a card I will most definitely be picking up.
10. Aleisha, Who Laughs at Fate
Lastly, to close off my list of cards to pick up from Foundations, we have another new card, Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate. A super cool rare from the set, Alesha is an exciting commander to build around. Black offers plenty of mill tolls, red offers a multitude of pump spells, and Alesha mixes the two into an interesting self-mill/revival strategy to outvalue your opponents all the while punching harder and harder with Alesha every turn, threatening to kill with commander damage. An offensive on multiple fronts, Alesha makes for a great commander and can even work in the 99 of some decks. Being only rare, this is a definitive pick-up from the set.
In Conclusion
To summarize, Foundations offers plenty for players of all formats. From standard staples from years past, to powerful new commander cards, to amazing reprints of cards that needed it, the set has plenty for everyone. This set offers players a wonderful opportunity to buff up their commander deck, or if they’re just starting out in standard, it allows them the opportunity to use some of the cards to create their first very own commander deck if they would like to try the commander format. There are many other great cards in the set that I had not gone over. With such a large card pool, it is difficult to narrow down the best.
So what will you be picking up from Foundations? A few staples for your commander decks?
Or perhaps you will build a new commander deck with some of the new powerful legendary creatures introduced in the set?
