Foundations (FDN) Limited Overview — Multicolor

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

Foundations (FDN) prerelease events run on November 8, 2024, with the official release one week later on November 15, 2024. Want to know more about how individual cards rate in Limited, plus some pick advice? Then check out this series of FDN Limited overviews!

Rating Scale

5.0: Unconditional first pick; gives you a near-winning advantage
4.5: Unconditional first pick if you are in the right colors; gives you a huge advantage
4.0: Worth a first pick; synergizes extremely well with the archetype, and can be the deciding card for splashing / switching colors or moving into a color pair
3.5: Top uncommons and commons of the set and other sufficiently strong cards; synergizes well with the archetype and can be the key card for moving into a color pair
3.0: Important cards for the archetype, plus other above-average cards; you want these in your final deck
2.5: Average; usually a decent curve filler
2.0–1.0: Below average; you generally prefer not to play them, can be used as filler if necessary, but not too many
0.5–0.0: Unplayable; basically never play them, they will only help you lose

Card Ratings

Score: 4.0
Comment: A resource engine that can both fight and earn value. Each time it attacks it widens the mana value range of the creatures it can reanimate, and first strike makes it more likely to survive combat. Note that as long as any of your creatures attacked this turn, you can trigger its ability in the end step. Strong enough to meet the first-pick standard.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Past cards with the same ability were mostly three mana, such as Glorious Anthem. This ability mostly suits go-wide decks, which usually cannot do without a white base, so it makes perfect sense to take green as the second color because of this card.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A 4/4 trampler for four is already good stats, and giving another creature +X/+X and trample in combat is basically like adding double strike to itself. A very fitting mid-to-late game creature for aggressive decks.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A 2/2 flier for three is very ordinary stats, but with its enters-the-battlefield loot it can improve your hand quality and also speed up meeting the condition for its last ability, at which point a 3/3 flying deathtouch creature is enough to be a threat the opponent must respect.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A 4/4 lifelinker for four is already very good stats in Limited, and hexproof from instants forces the opponent to deal with it on their own turn. The second ability is more of a win-more ability, but if you take this in the first pack and build around lifelink, it has a chance to reach 4.0 or higher.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A card that rewards gaining life. Although its base stats are not the best, its last ability earns back a card when it dies, which gives it above-average value.

Score: 4.5
Comment: Once this card goes on the stack, the game basically enters a countdown. Eight power with trample greatly raises the chance of triggering its last ability, and connecting adds 12 points of attack to your board, which the opponent will basically never come back from. Ward 4 also makes it hard to remove. Unless it completely mismatches your colors from the first two packs, it is a must-pick.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A 3/4 flier for four is a passable ability. With non-creature spells limited in Limited, its second ability is hard to trigger. Making a 1/1 flier might add more evasive damage, but its impact on the game is limited, and unless you pair it with a good enters-the-battlefield ability, it is hard to gain a significant advantage from this card.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A powerful late-game evasive threat; its card advantage efficiency is so low it can be nearly ignored.

Score: 3.5
Comment: The last ability is extremely good, and its deathtouch lets you attack with other creatures to trigger the ability while keeping this one home to defend. A card worth splashing a second color for.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A 3/4 for four is passable stats. Its ability does not limit the trigger to your own or the opponent’s creatures dying, which raises its value further, and it can repeatedly choose between gaining life and earning resources. Green-based decks are worth splashing black for it.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A 1/4 for four is not the best stats, but if it enters and goes to combat the same turn, it provides an extra +2/+2 of total offense and defense. With no other conditions, it adds to total offense and defense every turn, forcing the opponent to remove it quickly, or it can swing the game fast.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A card you must build around, not suited to normal Limited decks. If you take it early, you can steer your draft toward more instants and sorceries, but it is not a card worth splashing for late in the draft.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A bomb-level card. Once it resolves, every spell you cast afterwards can mill the opponent, and having them name a nonland card to go to the graveyard lowers the proportion of live cards in their library while also growing its stats. Casting an instant in combat also works as a combat trick. A threat the opponent must deal with quickly.

Score: 2.5
Comment: An ability that boosts fliers suits a specific theme, and its strength depends heavily on the deck. But setting aside the second ability, a 2/3 flier is still a decent evasive threat.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Giving every creature a +1/+1 counter as it enters does a lot for green-white go-wide decks, effectively improving creature quality. A card that brings a considerable advantage when it lands early.

Score: 3.5
Comment: For go-wide decks this can count as a finisher. If there are already five or more creatures on the board, it brings +9 or more of attack, and with almost no counterspells in Limited it has real value.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Menace improves its chance of connecting, and if you can pair it with other spells that grow it, it speeds up meeting the condition for activating its last ability.

Score: 4.0
Comment: Very straightforward: a card that quickly pulls ahead. A 6/6 for six, combined with the ability to cast permanents from the graveyard, greatly raises its value. A bomb worth splashing a third color for.

Score: 0.0
Comment: A spell that basically cannot be cast in Limited. If you want to win, please do not try to put it in your deck.

Score: 4.0
Comment: Haste lets it produce mana the turn it enters, so it can be treated as a one-mana spell. On top of that it has an ability that grows in combat, making it an excellent early creature for aggressive decks.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Unless you can put an Aura or Equipment on it, it is hard to show its value. A rare you do not need to take too early.

Score: 4.0
Comment: An excellent resource engine. The condition for earning cards is very easy to meet, and it also effectively relieves flooding. Gaining life while earning resources makes it a strong mid-to-late game card.

Score: 0.0
Comment: A very unsuitable card for Limited. Please do not try to put it in your deck.

Conclusion

This time the multicolor cards are strong overall, and can effectively raise your competitiveness in decks of all types. Many strong cards from earlier sets are back too. Everyone is welcome to try them and relive some of the old fun. Wishing everyone a great Limited experience.