While the Foundations spoiler is still ongoing (even though it's almost over), there is another one that has already ended, or rather never started, because Foundations Jumpstart (J25) was revealed in its entirety from the very first moment, without any spoiler session.
This is because it's not actually a Magic set but rather an appendix to Foundations, which is the main set and to which all the hype is dedicated, being legal in Standard and with a higher concentration of relevant cards.
Jumpstart, in fact, will not be legal in Standard, Pioneer, or Modern but will be playable only in Legacy and Vintage on paper and in Historic and Timeless on MTG Arena.
We can say it's a secondary set, just like Foundations Special Guests, with the small difference that while the latter contains only 10 cards, Jumpstart has... 779 of them!
Yes, you read that right! On November 15th, which is when all Foundations sets release, we will be flooded with cards, but don't be scared because the vast majority of these will be reprints or low-level cards!
In particular, since Jumpstart is only legal in Historic and Timeless, even something that would normally be interesting loses its meaning in formats with such a high power level, and, of these 779 cards, very few will actually be played. But let's see which ones together!
Dark Confidant
It's finally here! Dark Confidant was one of the most iconic cards of Modern a few years ago and was among the most anticipated missing pieces for MTG Arena! The reason is more due to a nostalgia factor than to the power level, which today seems much more balanced than in the past, when, together with Tarmogoyf, it was one of the most feared 2-drops in Jund.
It's certainly not that special anymore today, but it could still see some play in Historic, in a shell with Lurrus of the Dream-Den as a companion and thus keeping the curve within 2 mana so as to limit the damage, and/or together with Death's Shadow, taking effective advantage of the life loss.
It's unplayable in Timeless instead, with Orcish Bowmasters in the format and midrange decks not doing particularly well, especially because of Show and Tell.
In any case, people can now play with it on MTG Arena, and it's funny to see how before getting to this reprint they tried everything by giving us a similar effect basically in every set, like with: Thought-String Analyst in YMKM, Dark Tutelage in WOE, Caustic Bronco in OTJ, Darkstar Augur in BLB, and Glimmer Hoarder in YDSK.
Remand
Remand is another iconic card from old Modern: Splinter Twin's favorite tempo-counter, which acted as Cryptic Command on Snapcaster Mage's flashback spell (counter + draw).
On MTG Arena we already had its white counterpart with Reprieve, and, even if the two cards seem the same, in reality Remand is less strong. This is because while Reprieve allows you to return an uncounterable spell to your hand, the same does not happen with Remand, which actually needs to counter to bounce the spell, but it in any case always makes you draw a card, and therefore at worst it will cycle.
As for its usefulness, it's hard to say if there's any deck that currently wants this card. Azorius and Jeskai already have Reprieve, so basically it's just Izzet. The current Wizards version is too aggro to want this, but a more tempo-control oriented one with Snapcaster Mage could give it a try.
Violent Outburst
After Living End tormented players for years, Violent Outburst was banned in Modern and is now playable on MTG Arena, where (fortunately) the black sorcery is not present!
What is there instead is Crashing Footfalls, which could finally start moving on the digital platform too. Up until now, we had tried to brew with the only cheap cascade spell available, Bloodbraid Marauder, but that had no redundancy to support it and needed to unlock Delirium to work.
Now it's possible to play them together to have up to 8 copies of a low-mana cascade spell, but the result is not so obvious, since, even in this case, Delirium will still have to be active to avoid Violent Outburst cascades into Bloodbraid Marauder and not proceed further until finding Crashing Footfalls.
It's easier to play Violent Outburst with Bloodbraid Elf and Throes of Chaos, but that way you can't play other 3-drop spells, and the Rhinos would still be a bit late.
Sadly, until we get another 3-mana cascade, I don't see a very bright future for Crashing Footfalls!
Priest of Gix
Straight from Legacy comes Priest of Gix! This thing already has a home because you can put it in Mono-Black Jet Medallion, in any Historic or Timeless.
While it's fair to spend 3 mana to cast it and get back an equal amount of mana spent, it's instead easily breakable with Jet Medallion, which allows you to discount it and therefore add 1 mana.
Just as it can be used as a Dark Ritual if reanimated with a 1-mana spell like Unearth or Reanimate, or even as a Black Lotus if you activate a Chthonian Nightmare already in play!
It’s even possible to make infinite mana and win with combos!
- Jet Medallion + Chthonian Nightmare + Priest of Gix + any small creature (+ finisher) = Since reviving Priest of Gix adds 3 mana and Chthonian Nightmare only costs 1, you get infinite mana. Adding Marionette Apprentice/A-The Meathook Massacre to the combo wins the game.
- Greedy Freebooter/Shambling Ghast + Chthonian Nightmare + Priest of Gix + Marionette Apprentice = Starting with one of the two 1-mana creatures and Priest of Gix in the graveyard, you only need 2 mana to cast Chthonian Nightmare and go infinite. You get infinite entry/die triggers and win with stuff like Marionette Apprentice.
Balustrade Spy
Banned in Pioneer, Balustrade Spy arrives bringing with it the dream of a new archetype being born in Historic! However, I fear that in this case too, as with Violent Outburst, there is a problem of redundancy, because unfortunately it's the only one of its kind, not yet having access to its peer Undercity Informer.
You could still try to force the strategy, using Neoform or Eldritch Evolution to tutor Balustrade Spy directly onto the battlefield, although with these premises the deck appears much more for fun than competitive.
Ok, but what is Balustrade Spy for? The plan is to play only Modal Double-Faced lands, like Goblin Charbelcher does, so as to self-mill our entire library once the Vampire hits the battlefield. The rest of the deck will be filled with the same tools used in Dredge, like Creeping Chill, Narcomoeba, Bloodghast, Prized Amalgam, and Silversmote Ghoul, so as to flood the battlefield with creatures and win by value.
And so as not to lose by mill? It's possible to use at least a couple of copies of the new Foundations reprints: Darksteel Colossus and Progenitus, so as to guarantee at least 1 or 2 attacks to win!
The Affinity package
And without irony, here are what I consider the strongest cards in this set... Just commons!
The lack of Thoughtcast has been felt several times in Affinity, but now it can risk a more all-in strategy focused on affinity and low-cost artifacts, using both Thoughtcast and Thought Monitor to recover spent cards and gain advantage.
To reinforce this, the first artifact lands from Mirrodin also arrive, although unfortunately not in their complete cycle, but only in two of five: Seat of the Synod and Vault of Whispers.
The blue land is definitely the best and will be played in 4x, while, rather than the black land, we would have definitely preferred Ancient Den, unlocking: Portable Hole, Esper Sentinel, and Ingenious Smith.
Unfortunately, there is no reprint of Frogmite among the many Jumpstart commons, and this means that you will still have to spend 4 mythic wildcards to be able to play with it, in case you haven't already done so.
The Goblin package
Just like Foundations, Jumpstart also brought Goblins and here are some new ones!
Goblin Rabblemaster, being legal in Pioneer, seems to be a preview of next month's Pioneer Masters and is a welcome addition to Goblins but not only!
Its design in fact suggests that it was not designed with the tribe in mind, since all Goblins must attack and not only the tokens it creates. It's still a great aggressive card for an “attack every turn” strategy, and even in Historic, better on the play and ramped with Birds of Paradise on turn 2, it could cause trouble!
Less interesting, but not entirely rubbish, are General Kreat, the Boltbringer and Dropkick Bomber.
General Kreat, the Boltbringer has a worse first ability than Legion Warboss, but on the other hand it has Impact Tremors which can snatch some extra damage. It's legendary so it can be considered in no more than 1 or 2 copies in some suitable Goblin build.
Dropkick Bomber is one of the many lords at cost 3, but personally I will still keep it in consideration for its generic mana cost, without double red, like for Goblin Chieftain or Hobgoblin Bandit Lord. This is relevant in case of a build with Goblin Anarchomancer, Goblin Warchief and Goblin Influx Array.
Its evasive ability, on the other hand, could be useful to hit lethal with Goblin Rabblemaster, Muxus, Goblin Grandee and Goblin Piledriver (in case it's reprinted in Pioneer Masters); as well as sacrificing Cacophony Scamp, Fireblade Charger, and any Goblin under Rundvelt Hordemaster.
The speculations
Finally, I highlight a couple of cards, not ready to play but to keep in mind.
Pestermite arrives on MTG Arena and now we just have to wait for the coming of Splinter Twin!
In the meantime, it is possible to play it together with Reflection of Kiki-Jiki or The Jolly Balloon Man, creating a copy of the Faerie for each mana spent.
Wriggling Grub is a new card that I spotted from the bunch and that caught my attention! What's special about it? Like Mogg War Marshal, it's one of the few cards that allows you to create 3 bodies with only 2 mana, and this can be relevant in a sacrifice shell with Priest of Forgotten Gods, Ashnod's Altar, and any sacrifice engine you can think of.
Dionus, Elvish Archdruid is here because it's causing a lot of hype, although I wasn't particularly impressed, and I don't think it's enough for Elves in Historic.
Priest of Titania, Elvish Archdruid, and Circle of Dreams Druid, all add double the mana by untapping, and then maybe use Wirewood Symbiote to bring Dionus, Elvish Archdruid back into your hand and play it again, adding even more mana!
Note that it also acts as a lord, since, even by simply attacking, all the Elves untap and get a +1/+1 counter.
That's all for today! As you've seen, there's not much going on in Foundations Jumpstart, and the set is mostly designed to introduce new players and get them familiar with many iconic cards but with the Limited or Standard power level, without too much complex stuff.
This is a positive for everyone, even veterans, who would otherwise have found themselves dealing with two sets at once, now that Foundations is coming in a couple of weeks!