Magic: The Gathering’s latest release, Foundations, invites new players to experience the game like never before. Designed as an ideal entry point for new players, the set features simplified mechanics and accessible product options. Foundations includes iconic cards from MTG‘s history, reprinted with modernised (read: simplified) wording for clarity, in an attempt to make it easier for new players to understand core gameplay.
Magic the Gathering: Foundations focuses on a mix of straightforward and impactful cards, allowing new players to grasp powerful strategies without being overwhelmed.
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Beginner-Focused Products
With the release of MtG: Foundations, Wizards has placed an emphasis on providing straightforward product options to new players. At the forefront of this is the Beginner Box. Tailored for new players, it contains two starter decks and a step-by-step guide that walks players through their first turns. It also gives new players a playmat that clearly marks where to place their cards, two spindowns to track life and a reference rules booklet.
They’ve also provided a Starter Collection, which features over 350 staple cards! This product will give new players an extensive foundation from which they can build decks across all colours and playstyle. Containing tutorials and recommendations, the collection is aimed at players who already understand the game who are looking to take the leap into designing and building their own custom decks. The Starter Collection retails for $59.95.
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Foundations also sees the return of Jumpstart Boosters. One of the easiest ways to get started with Magic, you simply grab two boosters, shuffle them together and voilà — you’ve got a playable deck.
Enhancing Accessibility for Newbies
When designing Foundations, Wizards placed an emphasis on including gameplay mechanics that are easy to pick up, while still trying to make them engaging for experienced players. The set includes basic, recognisable keywords for new players to understand Magic essentials.
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They also focused on clearing up card design, modernising the wording and streamlining card designs to help new players explain each card’s function quickly. An obvious example of this is what effects such as “Vigilance” or “Deathtouch” mean on each card, helping new players understand exactly what each effect means.
The inclusion of some ‘vintage’ cards that often are simpler — whilst still being powerful — was clearly a deliberate strategy when choosing which cards to reprint in the set. Many of the reprint cards have simple, powerful effects that are approachable to new players.
Collector and Player Experiences Combined
While Foundations was certainly designed with new players in mind, they’ve made sure to try and strike a balance to keep experienced players and collectors interested too. For new players, the Beginner Box and Starter Collection are tailored specifically to them. But they do include some premium art and memorable character cards.
For the collectors, Foundations includes 51 ‘Japan Showcase’ cards which are rare and feature vibrant artwork. Collector Boosters also include a chance to pull an Eclipse Mana Foil, alongside the usual guaranteed Rares, Foils and Borderless cards.
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Getting Started
If you’ve had a friend who is interested in Magic and has asked, “but where do I start?”, Foundations is a great place to jump in. Quest Daily will put the Beginner Box to the test in the coming weeks, with new-to-Magic players being given a box with the simple instruction: Play a game of Magic: The Gathering.
Foundations is available now at your friendly local card shop!
Quest Daily was supplied with a Foundations Beginner Box, Starter Collection, Bundle and Pre-Release packs for the purposes of this article.
