Ranking of each special guest on foundations

Key takeaways

• Foundations includes ten special guest cards with reprints that match the theme of the set.

• Special guest cards at foundations are powerfully reprinted but do not change validity.

• Cards like Grim Tutor and Temporal Manipulation are great cards in Magic.

As with every set release, Magic: The Gatherings Foundation includes ten special guest cards. These are sets of ten cards that are less likely to appear in Play Boosters, and all are reprints of older cards with new art that matches the theme of the set (although in the case of Foundation, this theme is showcase frames of various Magic settings).

Special guests do not change legality in their respective formats, so any cards included will not be legal in standard play (only in formats where they are already legal and in limited formats). The special guest list in Foundations has many powerful cards that are worth adding to your deck.

10

Condemn

Weak swords in halosairs

Condemnation isn't necessarily a bad card, but it's the weakest of the Foundation's special guest cards by a very significant margin. It's a mana removal spell, but requires your opponent to attack with a creature, and instead of getting rid of it in a more permanent way, it just puts it on the bottom of the library.

In formats where Condemnation is legal, Path to Exile is almost always going to be good, and it's especially weak compared to Swords To Plowshares which cost the same and don't require a condition to remove it.

9

Paradise Druid

Untouchable Mind Dork

In general, mana dorks (creatures that can tap for mana) that cost more than one mana are not worth playing. However, by paying an extra, you get a hexproof creature to play with. The downside is that it's only hexproof when not in use, so when you use its ability, Paradise Druid is vulnerable.

Paradise Druid is especially useful for cards that mutate or rely on having a creature on the battlefield. You exclude yourself from using it for mana, but having a hexproof creature is never a bad thing to have around the board.

8

Sphinx's Tutelage

Mill, mill, mill

Sphinx's Tutelage turns all cards you draw into milling for the opponent. This includes a draw for your turn, guaranteeing that you will match at least two cards to someone. Your opponent is likely to make multiple cards, especially if they are in a deck that is playing a lot of the same suit.

There are many cards that draw cards in magic making it incredibly easy to trigger Sphinx's Tutelage. Even if you don't have any card draw spells, Sphinx's Tutelage has its own effect that will let you draw a card that you can activate at instant speed.

7

Fan Artisan

Teacher any creature

Fiend Artisan is a creature that can quickly grow in stats in the graveyard deck, and can sacrifice any creature from the library to a different creature. You still pay mana equal to the mana cost of whatever tutor you draw from your library, but as a static ability it makes Fiend Artisan better.

Fiend Artisan doesn't see play in many formats, but it has its place in certain Legacy and Commander decks. The card is easy to cast with a solid effect, with many decks liking it around.

6

Goblin Bushwhacker

Classic Host Enabler

Goblin Bushwhacker is one of the best ways to give haste to all your creatures, as it only requires two red mana. It also comes with a small stat boost, and while it's small, Goblin Bushwhacker is often played in decks that want to go wide with a ton of small creatures and deal a ton of damage quickly with haste.

A weak version of the card sees Reckless Bushwhacker play in decks like Boros Convoke, while Goblin Bushwhacker sees a ton of Pauper play and will be sure to see a ton of play in Pioneer for the aforementioned Boros Convoke and other aggro decks.

5

Akroma's Memorial

Give keywords to all your creatures

Akroma's Memorial can be a bit mind-blowing to cast, but the amount of abilities it gives all your creatures is more than worth the investment. All of them are very strong in combat, and if your opponent(s) have red or black spells, they won't be able to do anything to your creatures because they will be protected from them.

There are various ways to cheat Akroma's Memorial instead of paying its mana cost, to make it better. In late formats like Commander, paying seven mana for a spell is not uncommon, making it great in that format.

4

Amberclave

Surprise Trampling Double Strike

Emberclave was used by many players when it was in Standard, and the card still sees some play in Pioneer and Commander decks. Emberclave is very easy to cast for just two mana, which can turn any fight around when your opponent least expects it.

Once it hits the battlefield, equipping three is a bit high cost, but it's more than worth it for the stat boost and abilities it provides. With the right creatures, Emberclave can be a game-ending tool by dealing massive bursts of damage.

3

Bloom tender

Five hearts for one

Bloom Tender is one of the best mana dorks in magic. It requires you to be in a multi-color deck to maximize its effect, and is most useful in decks that use all five colors. It will tap for at least one green mana as it counts itself, but if you have each color permanent on the battlefield you can tap to add one mana of each color.

If a permanent has multiple colors, Bloom Tender will see all of those colors. So if you only have one permanent that has all five colors, Bloom Tender can tap to add five mana.

2

A serious teacher

Anything at hand

The Grim Tutor is the absolute best tutor in all of magic. For three mana, you get to put any card in your hand. While slightly weaker than the likes of Daemonic and Vampiric Tutor, it's still a phenomenal card.

Three mana is on the high side for a teacher, but it's a price worth paying to be able to get something you need in your hand. This is especially great in slow formats like Commander, as high mana is hardly a downside for the format's slowness.

1

Temporal manipulation

There are two other cards that are practically identical (Time Walk and Capture of Jingzhou), and Temporal Manipulation is just as good as them. It's just a five mana unconditional extra turn spell. Notably, it goes to the graveyard, which makes it easy to loop with cards that let you cast spells from the graveyard for endless extra turns.

There's almost no reason why you wouldn't want to take an extra turn. This is especially good in the late game when you have a big board, as the extra turn will be more effective than using it early.