Keep your eye out for the best Commander cards from Magic: The Gathering Foundations and you’ll be very happy.
The best Commander cards in Magic: The Gathering Foundations are ones you’ll want to keep an eye out for, because if you pull them in a Draft or just a pack, you’ll probably want to hold onto them. Foundations is a full treasure trove of incredible cards for us Commander fanatics, and perhaps most interestingly, it does this without being overrun with new legendary creatures.
Instead, we’ve got great cards in all forms to pick up that’ll help you either keep on top of some staples, upgrade your decks with new and exciting cards, or even present entirely new opportunities for pure Commander nonsense. We all love Commander nonsense, right?
Best Commander Cards in Foundations
Commander cards are going to have different values depending on the player. If we rank a White card here, for example, and you think that White is the worst thing to happen to Magic, then you’re not going to vibe with that. That’s okay, because there are plenty of cards on this list, and we reckon you’ll love most of them.
#15 Reclamation Sage
Reclamation Sage
Foundations, Uncommon
Another great reprint that has a lot of power in Commander. Reclamation Sage is a little more niche than just about anything else on this list, but if you combine the ability to destroy an artifact or enchantment as it enters with any Blink effect, you’ll be able to counter entire playstyles with relative ease.
#14 Swiftfoot Boots
Swiftfoot Boots
Foundations, Uncommon
A staple in just about every Commander deck going, Swiftfoot Boots is a cheap and efficient way to protect your commander from other players, and even grants haste to boot. Yes, that pun was intended, and no, we’ll never be sorry about it. While not an especially exciting card, this is undoubtedly an excellent pick up for anyone who doesn’t have ten copies already.
#13 Opt
Opt
Foundations, Common
Ah Opt, what a spell. This one-mana Blue instant lets you Scry one and then draw a card. It’s a wonderful little cantrip that’ll help you trigger Prowess, Magecraft, buff up your Storm, maybe even for Storm, or just add a bit more damage, thanks to Guttersnipe. It’s just a very cool spell, and is a great one to have a few copies of.
#12 Solemn Simulacrum
Solemn Simulacrum
Foundations, Rare
This four-mana artifact creature might be sad, but it’s only because it doesn’t know how powerful it really is. Solemn Simulacrum, or Sad Robot as many of us call it, is a staple of Commander that’s similar to in a vast number of decks, and should probably be in more. It lets you get a land into play when it enters, and then draws you a card when it dies. That’s just good value.
#11 Phyrexian Arena
Phyrexian Arena
Foundations, Rare
Another staple here with Phyrexian Arena, a very potent three-mana black enchantment. This beast of a card lets you draw an extra card in your upkeep and also lets you lose one life. That might not sound like a good thing, but a lot of decks can turn that into a big bonus, and in Commander, one life is a very small price to pay for more cards.
#10 Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Foundations, Mythic
Muldrotha, the Gravetide is an incredible Commander, but also an almost essential addition to any Sultai deck. The ability to play lands and cast permanents from your graveyard is so offensively useful when you’re filling your graveyard in purpose, and allows for very easy access to repeatable Fetch Lands and sacrifice outlets.
#9 Doubling Season
Doubling Season
Foundations, Mythic
The final reprint on this list, and what a doozy. While Doubling Season isn’t as pricey as it once was, every reprint should be celebrated, and with Foundations being the future of MTG for a while, this printing should bring this excellent card down a fair bit. This five-mana Green Enchantment doubles any tokens you create and any counters you put on permanents you control. It’s incredibly potent, and it fits in a huge number of decks.
#8 Arahbo, the First Fang
Arahbo, the First Fang
Foundations, Rare
CATS! Arahbo is back, but this time as Arahbo, the First Fang. This three-mana white 2/2 gives other Cats you control +1/+1, which is always nice, but more importantly, creates a 1/1 Cat token whenever it or another Cat you control enters. This should lead to a disgusting board state that’ll open up Cat decks completely, and make them stronger than ever.
#7 Niv-Mizzet, Visionary
Niv-Mizzet, Visionary
Foundations, Mythic
Next is Niv-Mizzet, Visionary, a six-mana blue and red 5/5 with flying that allows you to have no maximum hand size. Along with that, you get to draw cards equal to any noncombat damage you deal to an opponent. This means it can help burn-style decks refill their hands, but more impressively, allows for a fun combo with Niv-Mizzet, Parun, where you win the game when you draw a card.
#6 Bloodthirsty Conqueror
Bloodthirsty Conqueror
Foundations, Mythic
Bloodthirsty Conqueror is a monstrous five-mana 5/5 black Vampire Knight with both flying and deathtouch. Just that’s not actually bad, given the creature types, but the kicker is that it allows you to gain life whenever an opponent loses life. This is a great bit of life gain in any deck, but if you combine it with Sanguine Bond, you’ve got an infinite and game-winning combo.
#5 Quilled Greatwurm
Quilled Greatwurm
Foundations, Mythic
Quilled Greatwurm is a six-mana 7/7 with trample that lets you put +1/+1 counters on creatures when they deal combat damage, which is great. Along with that, it’s a pain to get rid of, because you can cast it from your graveyard as long as you remove six counters from your creatures as you do so. That’s a lot of power and an impressive degree of replayability too.
#4 Valkyrie’s Call
Valkyrie’s Call
Foundations, Mythic
Valkyrie’s Call is a five-mana white enchantment that just makes all of your non-Angel creatures come back to the battlefield if they die, and with a +1/+1 counter on them. It also makes them Angels, to make it fairish, but will allow cards like Lyra Dawnbringer to synergise with entirely new creatures.
#3 Twinflame Tyrant
Twinflame Tyrant
Foundations, Mythic
Ah Dragons, what a concept. Twinflame Tyrant is a five-mana red 3/5 with flying that doubles your damage to opponents and their permanents. It’s so simple, but so absurdly powerful, and it’s likely to see play in a huge number of Red Commander decks, as well as Standard decks for as long as it’s legal.
#2 Banner of Kinship
Banner of Kinship
Foundations, Rare
Banner of Kinship is a five-mana artifact that lets you choose a creature type as it enters. It gets counters equal to the number of those Creatures you control as it does so, and then any Creatures of that type get +1/+1 for each counter on the Artifact. Given how popular typal decks are in Commander, this thing should be a sure-fire hit.
#1 Crystal Barricade
Crystal Barricade
Foundations, Rare
Finally, we have Crystal Barricade, a very powerful protection card that costs two-mana for a 0/4 artifact creature. This card grants you hexproof, which is great on its own, but also prevents all noncombat damage to any other creatures you control. It means that your opponent will have to target this thing first, but should be a great bit of extra life against anyone playing direct damage spells.