If you've ever wanted to try Commander but didn't know where to start, the Foundations Commander decks were made for you. Releasing October 2, these are five mono-color, ready-to-play 100-card decks, one for each color of Magic. Each one has a single, easy-to-follow game plan, a commander that tells you exactly what the deck wants to do, and a pile of strong reprints that make them great value even for veteran players.
Here's a breakdown of every deck: the commander, how it plays, and the cards to watch for.
A quick Commander refresher
- Your deck is exactly 100 cards, including your commander.
- Other than basic lands, you can only have one copy of each card.
- Your commander starts in the command zone and can be cast from there any time, costing {2} more each time it's been cast before.
- Everyone starts at 40 life, and games are usually played with three or four players.
Because every Foundations deck is a single color, you don't need to worry about mana bases or color identity. Shuffle up and play.
Calling All Angels (White)
Commander: Giada, Font of Hope. Giada makes every Angel you cast bigger, giving each new Angel extra +1/+1 counters based on how many Angels you already control. She also taps for mana that can only be spent on Angel spells, so she speeds up the whole deck.
How it plays: Ramp into a sky full of big flying Angels, gain life along the way, and swing over the top of everyone's defenses.
Cards to watch for:
- Lyra Dawnbringer: A 5/5 flier with first strike and lifelink that gives your other Angels +1/+1 and lifelink.
- Sephara, Sky's Blade: Gets cheaper by tapping your fliers, and gives your other flying creatures lifelink.
- Linvala, the Preserver: The ultimate catch-up card. If you're behind on life or creatures, she fixes it.
- Court of Grace: Makes you the monarch for extra card draw and creates Angel tokens while you hold the crown.
- Swords to Plowshares: One of the best one-mana removal spells ever printed.
- Austere Command: A flexible board wipe you can tailor so it hits their stuff and spares yours.
Best for: Players who like big, splashy creatures and a deck that's forgiving to pilot. Shop Calling All Angels
Keen Engineering (Blue)
Commander: Sai, Master Thopterist. Every time you cast an artifact spell, Sai makes a 1/1 flying Thopter. When you have spare artifacts lying around, Sai can sacrifice two of them to draw a card.
How it plays: Cast lots of cheap artifacts, build a flying Thopter army, and use your extra artifacts to keep your hand full. It's a deck built around a card type instead of a creature type, which makes it a great introduction to engine-style decks.
Cards to watch for:
- Steel Overseer: Puts a +1/+1 counter on each of your artifact creatures every turn, including all those Thopters.
- Myr Battlesphere: A huge finisher that shows up with an army of Myr.
- Master Transmuter: Swap cheap artifacts on the battlefield for expensive ones from your hand.
- Counterspell and Propaganda: Classic blue ways to stop threats and keep attackers off your back.
- All Is Dust and Nevinyrral's Disk: Reset buttons for when the table gets out of hand.
Best for: Players who like building engines, drawing cards and outthinking the table. Shop Keen Engineering
Wretched Ranks (Black)
Commander: Ghoulcaller Gisa. Pay {B}, tap Gisa and sacrifice another creature to create a number of 2/2 Zombie tokens equal to that creature's power. Sacrifice something big and you get a whole horde.
How it plays: Flood the board with Zombies, turn creatures that are about to die anyway into more bodies, and drain the table out with graveyard value.
Cards to watch for:
- Grave Titan: A 6/6 deathtouch that brings two Zombie friends every time it enters or attacks.
- Gray Merchant of Asphodel: Drains every opponent based on how much black you have on the battlefield. In a mono-black deck, that's a lot.
- Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet: Exiles your opponents' creatures when they die and gives you a Zombie instead.
- Death Baron: Gives your other Zombies +1/+1 and deathtouch.
- Army of the Damned: Thirteen Zombies in one spell, and you can flash it back for another thirteen.
- Phyrexian Arena and Go for the Throat: Steady card draw and efficient removal.
Best for: Players who love going wide, making tokens and grinding value out of their graveyard. Shop Wretched Ranks
Reign of Dragons (Red)
Commander: Lathliss, Dragon Queen. Whenever another nontoken Dragon enters under your control, Lathliss makes a 5/5 flying Dragon token. She can also pump all your Dragons at once.
How it plays: Ramp with Treasure and cost reducers to land Dragons ahead of schedule, double up with Lathliss, and burn the table out.
Cards to watch for:
- Drakuseth, Maw of Flames: Deals a huge chunk of damage every time it attacks.
- Scourge of Valkas: Every Dragon that enters shoots damage at a target.
- Dragon Tempest: Gives your fliers haste and turns every Dragon into a burn spell.
- Warstorm Surge: Every creature you play deals damage equal to its power.
- Blasphemous Act and Chaos Warp: Mass removal and a catch-all answer for anything.
- Lightning Bolt: The classic.
Best for: Players who want big flying threats, lots of damage and fast, aggressive games. Shop Reign of Dragons
Tramplesaurus Rex (Green)
Commander: Ghalta, Primal Hunger. A 12/12 trampler that costs less for each point of power among creatures you control. With a solid board, Ghalta often comes down for just a couple of mana.
How it plays: Ramp early with mana creatures, fill the board with huge creatures, cast Ghalta for cheap and trample over everyone.
Cards to watch for:
- Carnage Tyrant: Can't be countered and can't be targeted. Good luck answering it.
- Elder Gargaroth: One of the best creatures in Commander. It gives you a creature, life or a card every time it attacks or blocks.
- Birds of Paradise and Llanowar Elves: Classic mana creatures to get you going on turn one.
- Beast Whisperer: Draws a card every time you cast a creature.
- Rishkar's Expertise: Refill your hand based on your biggest creature's power, then cast something for free.
- Overwhelming Stampede: Pumps and gives trample to your whole team for a game-ending attack.
Best for: Players who want the biggest creatures on the table and a simple, powerful plan. Shop Tramplesaurus Rex
Which deck should you pick?
- Want to play big fliers and gain life? Calling All Angels
- Like engines, card draw and counterspells? Keen Engineering
- Love tokens and graveyard value? Wretched Ranks
- Want Dragons and damage? Reign of Dragons
- Just want to smash with huge creatures? Tramplesaurus Rex
Because they're all built at a similar power level, the five decks are also a perfect way to get a whole playgroup into Commander at once. Grab one for each friend, pick your colors and battle it out.
