Wizards of the Coast revealed new product line details for Magic: The Gathering - Foundations, a new base set, that will hit stores on November 15, 2024.

This surprise end-of-year release was announced back in June (see " 'Magic: The Gathering - Foundations'").  It is clearly focused on providing base cards for new players as well as Magic's stagnant in-store Standard format play, which has been an ongoing project since the pandemic (see "Standard Format").  Foundations provides the usual array of SKUs (Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, a Bundle, Prerelease Packs, etc.) with a few new surprises.

The first surprise is that Jumpstart is back again.  This product type had generally been a non-performing SKU at FLGS, which is why it presumably went away in the first place (see "Consolidate 'Magic: The Gathering' Product SKUs Further").  However, WotC product managers must believe that newer players will glom onto the Jumpstart product as an entry level vehicle in Foundations as it is an entire set aimed at brand-new players.  Time will tell on this one.

The next surprise is the Foundations Starter Collection SKU.  This SKU is almost a page right out of the Pokemon TCG playbook, as it is quite similar to their Trainer's Toolkit.  It is an instant collection that comes with over 350 Magic: The Gathering cards as a fixed set, 3 Foundations Play Boosters, 2 reference cards, 22 foil cards, 13 tokens, 95 basic lands (including 10 full art lands), a How to Build Your Deck Booklet, and a click wheel.  This is yet another SKU aimed at brand-new players.

The last surprise is the release of a Foundation Beginner Box SKU.  This seems like a trial product as it essentially repackages Jumpstart packs as an entry level product for two players.  It comes with 10 Jumpstart packs that two players can crack open and play with on the spot. Like the Starter Collection,  it also comes with reference cards and a How to Build Your Deck Booklet, but it also adds in a Reference Guide Booklet, 2 playmats, and 2 Spindown life counters.

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