Foundations (FDN) Limited Review: Red

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Foundations (FDN) will hold its prerelease events on November 8, 2024, and officially launch a week later on November 15, 2024. Want to learn more about how each card rates in Limited, with recommendations? Then check out this series of FDN Limited reviews!

Rating Scale

5.0: An unconditional first pick that brings you close to winning on its own.
4.5: An unconditional first pick if you are in the right colors; brings a huge advantage.
4.0: Worth first-picking. Great synergy with the color pair’s theme, and can be the deciding card for splashing / switching colors or moving into the color pair.
3.5: The set’s top uncommons and commons, plus other cards of sufficient power. Good synergy with the color pair’s theme, and a key card for moving into the color pair.
3.0: An important card for the color pair’s theme, or another above-average card that you want in your final deck.
2.5: Average. Usually a decent curve filler.
2.0 to 1.0: Below average. You generally lean toward leaving it out, and can use it as filler when necessary, but not too many.
0.5 to 0.0: Unplayable. Basically don’t play it; putting it in only helps you lose.

Ratings

Score: 3.0
Comment: It has trample on its own without needing to attack, which makes it a good uncommon.

Score: 1.5
Comment: The new one-mana deal-three, but it can only hit faces. As a way to finish the game in Limited it’s relatively poor, so I’d recommend it only when your deck is on the faster side.

Score: 2.5
Comment: It directly doubles power and has flashback, but the flashback cost is on the high side. Watch out for the damage this card brings when you play against red.

Score: 4.5
Comment: Most of the time on entering you’ll use [-4] first for a sweep that deals eight, and after that rely on [+2] or [+1] to gain resources. Note that since it costs seven, it comes down relatively late. If you’ve been playing a threshold theme or the like beforehand, evaluate whether your library has enough cards: you can’t keep using [+2] to flip over three cards, and you can just use [+1] to copy a creature with a good enter-the-battlefield ability or a good body and keep pushing.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A solid creature. In red-green decks it has a higher chance of triggering its pump and trample effect.

Score: 2.0
Comment: When building your deck, you can run more noncreature spells to boost its pump, and paired with combat tricks like the power-doubling one you may get a big swing, but in the vast majority of games you’ll be happy to trigger it once per turn.

Score: 3.5
Comment: You can treat it as a five-mana 4/4 flier. If you can reuse its enter-the-battlefield ability, it’s an excellent creature.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A copy-a-creature effect you can use twice. Remember the copy has haste!

Score: 3.0
Comment: A three-mana instant that deals five, and if the target dies it’s exiled. This set has seven Equipment, so exiling equipment is just extra value.

Score: 3.0
Comment: If you attacked this turn, it’s a three-mana 4/3, which is a pretty good body.

Score: 2.0
Comment: A relatively expensive burn spell. Remember the number you create equals the excess damage you deal. When you’re ready to cast it, if you have spare mana with nothing else to do, just pour it all in.

Score: 3.0
Comment: If you attacked this turn, it deals two damage to any target on entering. You can use it to finish off a creature left damaged after combat, or just go face. The body is also average, so it’s a good common creature.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Only seven creatures in this set can’t be killed by it, so it’s a solid single-target kill with an extra rummage effect.

Score: 3.0
Comment: It’s our Kellan, with an effect that keeps evolving and getting stronger. Unfortunately this time the evolutions don’t stack and can only keep going upward, but as a one-drop it’s already quite good.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A somewhat expensive six-mana enchantment. With one sorcery-speed activation you instantly make a 5/5 flier, and getting it off twice in a game will win it.

Score: 3.0
Comment: If you attacked, it’s a two-mana two-for-one, and one of the best among two-drop creatures.

Score: 2.0
Comment: Probably only a fairly aggressive deck would be willing to use it. It usually dies after one hit, and your opponent is unlikely to not block it.

Score: 3.0
Comment: You can keep activating it as long as you have the mana, and it’s very strong as a late-game source of trample.

Score: 2.5
Comment: When you attack, exile two cards and choose one to play until next turn. It’s very good in aggressive decks, but unfortunately its body is a bit weak, and it needs first strike or menace to support its attacking power.

Score: 5.0
Comment: All damage dealt by any source you control is doubled, and it only costs five and flies. A textbook bomb.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Deal three damage or destroy an artifact. A modal card, which is quite good.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Once it’s down on turn two, every creature you play afterward has haste and rushes in wildly. Decks that beat down early with aggro will love it.

Score: 1.0
Comment: When you have seven mana you use it once to make seven Treasures, then spend only five of them and play a nine-mana turn the next turn. I think that’s the ideal best case, and the Treasures you make through ramp or mana dorks are relatively few anyway. A poor card.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A 3/3/3 with haste. Nothing much to say; just play it.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Fine both as cheap removal and as a late-game finisher. It’s a great burn spell.

Score: 4.0
Comment: When it attacks, first deal four to one target, then deal three each to up to two others. If it really gets to attack, the game is basically decided. Remember the targets must all be different, so you can’t end up dealing 6, 7 or 10 damage to a single creature.

Score: 5.0
Comment: Six mana is so easy to get it onto the battlefield. If you attack once and get two activations off, that basically seals the win.

Score: 2.0
Comment: An early creature that chips in damage, and also a piece for finishing off damage in the mid to late game. Remember that once you let it attack, you can no longer sacrifice it.

Score: 2.0
Comment: A two-mana filler creature with a slightly weak body.

Score: 2.5
Comment: The body is also a bit weak, but at least it flies.

Score: 3.0
Comment: In red-green decks, a creature with a high chance of coming back again and again and being a blast. The condition is only that you control it, with no need to attack, which is quite good.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Aggro decks value trample highly. There are quite a few one-toughness creatures in this set, and your opponent may not want to trade with it, so it’s an annoying creature.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Either a team-wide +2 or instantly making two creatures. Both halves are very good, making it a solid modal card.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A very good two-drop. Once you trigger prowess once you come out ahead, and it works well for trading into creatures or planeswalkers with a sacrifice attack.

Score: 1.0
Comment: A card that only works when you are at exactly ten life. In Limited it’s a bit hard to control your life total to meet the condition, unless you are a life-total actuary.

Side note: I took on the job of writing the red article because of this card. If I see this in Limited I’ll definitely play it, so if you’re up against me playing red you’d better watch out. Out of personal bias, on entertainment value alone I’d give it a full five.

Score: 2.0
Comment: An Act of Treason that costs one more, but it gives you a Treasure back.

Score: 4.0
Comment: The classic Commander Krenko, Mob Boss. In Limited, if you don’t deal with him in time, you’re about to get swamped by a sea of Goblins.

Score: 2.0
Comment: A sweeper that only hits ground creatures. Usually only decks that include red but want to play the late game will use it.

Score: 4.0
Comment: The oldest of old friends. It has flying and pumps its damage, which makes it a very threatening presence in Limited.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A sweeper early or a three-damage finisher to the face late. A very good modal card.

Score: 3.0
Comment: The body is decent, and it deals one damage when a land enters. A very good creature.

Score: 2.0
Comment: Pump plus first strike is a decent combat trick, but note that this set has the power-doubling trick.

Score: 2.5
Comment: An instant-speed discard one, draw two. It’s pretty good.

Conclusion

Red has quite a few good mid-to-late-game bombs this time. If you open one, it’s well suited to being your main color. The thing to watch out for in particular is that the damage from the power-doubling card can be a bit terrifying.

Of course, you should also be careful when your life total is exactly ten.