I already love this nasty MTG Foundations pirate deck, and you can see it exclusively here

MTG Foundations promises to be a no-fuss gateway into one of the best card games, and its decks are advertised as an on-ramp for Magic: The Gathering’s many playstyles. To provide a taste of what you should expect when it launches this November 15, GamesRadar+ can exclusively reveal one of those decks from the upcoming Beginner Box.

Containing several pre-constructed decks built around popular archetypes in the game, ranging from life-stealing vampires to cats, the Beginner Box provides players with a ‘foundation’ for choosing which style of deck they like to play. The MTG Foundation cards we’ve been given to reveal for you are a good case in point. Meet the Pirate-themed deck, designed to frustrate and harry opponents.

Pirates is a Blue deck built around versatility and making opponents pay for crossing them. The deck includes seven Island land cards, a special land card (Uncharted Haven, which represents a color of the player’s choosing when it enters play), seven creature cards, three enchantment and aura cards, and an equipment card.

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Each actual Pirate character card in the Pirate deck rewards aggressive play of some kind. The Corsair Captain (a 2/2 Human Pirate card) generates a Treasure Token and adds 1/1 to all other pirates the player controls. The Brineborn Cutthroat and Spectral Sailor cards are both Flash cards, designed to jump into play during an opponent’s turn, either to block incoming attacks or otherwise harass opponents. The Brineborn Cutthroat is especially vicious, as it gains 1/1 counters anytime a player casts a spell during their turn. The Bigfin Bouncer also pushes opponent characters out of the way by automatically bouncing an opponent’s creature back into their hand when it enters play.

Other cards are specifically meant to reward the player for attacking. Both the Skyship Buccaneer and the Storm Fleet Spy have the Raid keyword, which allows the player to draw a card when the creature enters play if the player has attacked that turn. The Kitesail Corsair, meanwhile, is flying only when attacking, which means it’s able to skim past most defenses for aggressive attacks.

The Pirate decks’ powerhouse is the Tolarian Terror, a 5/5 serpent that costs 7 mana to enter play. However, players can reduce Tolarion Terror’s mana cost by 1 for every instant and sorcery card in their graveyard. In addition to being the strongest card in the Pirate deck, it also has a Ward 2 ability, which automatically blocks all spells and abilities unless a player pays 2 mana.

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Rounding out the deck is Cancel, which serves as a standard Counter spell, Opt, which allows players to look at the top card on their deck and then draw it, and Eaten By Piranhas, which reduces a target creature into a 1/1 black Skeleton. There’s also a Pirate’s Cutlass, an equipment card that adds 2/1 to a Pirate character and only a Pirate.

Blue decks are known for their ability to counter almost any strategy. The Pirate deck in the Foundations Beginner Box is a perfect example of what a blue deck can be capable of. Although it lacks a lot of punch, the Pirate deck is designed with versatility in mind. Players should enjoy combining the Pirate deck with other decks in the Foundations Beginner box to find the perfect deck combos, either to lean into the aggressive gameplay style or balance it out with characters and spells that have some staying power.

You can check out the full Magic: The Gathering Beginner Box when it releases on November 15, 2024.

Want to build your collection for less? Be sure to keep an eye on the upcoming Black Friday MTG deals this November. As for something to play in the meantime, why not try the best board games?