Every Magic: The Gathering set that comes out has some cards that are just flat-out better than other cards. Oftentimes, they’re just giving a three-mana 2/2 some ability that makes it better than one without an ability.
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Every now and then, though, you get a powerful card that pushes out other similar cards by a marginal degree. If you’re on the hunt for the next upgrade to your Commander deck or want to make a few tweaks to your Standard deck, we have all the cards that got an upgrade from Magic Foundations.
1
Twinflame Tyrant
Strictly Better Than: Fiendish Duo
Big ol’ Dragons are a popular card type in Magic, so getting one that has a powerful effect on it just makes it that much better. Twinflame Tyrant is a new Dragon that costs just five mana for a 3/5 with flying, and if you deal damage to an opponent or something an opponent controls, that damage is doubled instead.
This functionally makes Twinflame Tyrant a 6/5 flying Dragon, but more importantly, turns all your other damage dealt into twice as much. So all your burn spells get an upgrade, and then all your combat damage becomes that much more deadly.
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This is a strict upgrade over another Foundations card, Fiendish Duo. This is a six-man card that has the same effect, though on a Devil rather than a Dragon. The Twinflame gets an additional bonus since Fiendish Duo only doubles the damage dealt to players, while the Dragon is all damage done to opponents and permanents.
2
Banner Of Kinship
Strictly Better Than: Coat Of Arms
Have you ever played a game of Magic with a Coat of Arms in play, either you playing it or one of your opponents? It’s an artifact found almost exclusively in Kindred decks and is actually pretty strong. Each of your creatures gets +1/+1 for each other creature that shares at least one creature type with it.
As an example, if you have a Cat Warrior and a Cat Noble out, both of those creatures will get +2/+2. But it gets a bit more complicated since it also affects your opponent’s creatures while also taking those creatures into consideration.
In an effort to streamline this effect a bit and make it a ton easier to track, Baner of Kinship has you pick a creature type when it comes into play, then add a fellowship counter to it for each creature you control of that type. So if you have ten Elves in play, Banner of Kinship gets ten counters, and they all get +10/+10. There’s not a way to add more counters to it naturally, though you can always proliferate them up separately.
3
Herald Of Eternal Dawn
Strictly Better Than: Platinum Angel
Very similar in just about every aspect, Herald of Eternal Dawn and Platinum Angle share most of the same effects and abilities, with the Herald just barely taking the lead in terms of versatility. Platinum Angel is an almost infamous card that says that you can’t lose the game and your opponents can win the game.
This type of lock all but secures you a victory since, for as long as the Angel is out on the battlefield, nothing your opponents can do can stop you. You can have 52 poison counters, no cards left in your deck, and -100 life, and you’re still in the game.
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Herald of Eternal Dawn comes in with a little keyword that helps it sneak ahead just a bit. Herald of Eternal Dawn has the same ability but gets an upgrade in power, a 7/7 over the Platinum Angel’s 4/4, and it has flash. This lets you slam down the Herald seconds before certain doom, giving you a chance to cast it in response to practically anything your opponent could do.
The downside to the Herald is that it does lock you into a mana commitment since it costs three white mana and four generic to cast, rather than Platinum Angel’s seven generic mana.
4
Blasphemous Edict
Strictly Better Than: Blasphemous Act
Take one of the better mass damage spells in Magic and give it a slight upgrade that helps it get around one of the biggest hurdles in the game, and that’s what you get with Blasphemous Edict. A slightly more sideways upgrade to Blasphemous Act, Blasphemous Edict does something similar, does it a little better, and sometimes a little worse.
Blasphemous Edict costs five mana and has each player sacrifice 13 creatures of their choosing. It comes with an alternate casting cost of just one black if there are 13 or more creatures in play, which is pretty easy to hit in Commander. Forcing your opponents to sacrifice 13 creatures helps get around indestructible creatures, something Blasphemous Act struggles with since it’s only dealing damage.
The downside to Blasphemous Edict is if you’re up against a tokens list with a substantial board presence, sacrificing 13 creatures probably won’t do much.
5
Day Of Judgment
Strictly Better Than: Split Up
Day of Judgement isn’t a new card, but it certainly is the best at what it does. This Foundations reprint is going to be a Standard all-star for as long as it is legal, so be prepared to have it around for quite some time.
Most other mass removal spells in Standard right now either cost more mana, have some sort of stipulation on them that gives your opponent something in exchange for blowing up the board or just isn’t as efficient as Day of Judgement.
Magic: The Gathering
- Franchise
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Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
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August 5, 1993
- Player Count
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2+
- Age Recommendation
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13+
- Length per Game
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Variable