What's Old Is New

Foundations is...a Core set. 

When Magic was starting, Core sets were the sets they'd release in the Summer and they held reprints, allowing new players to catch up on cards from sets they'd missed, giving WotC a chance to keep a steady supply of Giant Spiders in the format. 

They always sold like crap. 

As the game evolved, WotC used core sets to add in new art-so they wouldn't have to pay the extremely high royalties to older artists-and as a way to add older cards to the format that could help control the environment. Think: a place to add in sideboard cards that could act as safety valves in case they made, say, a set with impossibly powerful artifacts, well the core set could have 'destroy all artifact' cards to help keep things in check*.

*I never saw evidence of this--that's just what WotC said they were doing.

Then I believe in 2010, they started putting new cards in the core sets: hey, something for the older players too! 

They still sold like crap. Even though many cards were amazing, it just wasn't enough: the core sets rarely got the kind of attention others got, and the player base felt it. So they were discontinued. But: WotC still has a problem. How do we create an on ramp for new players?

Foundations seems to be their latest stab at that. And don't get me wrong, it looks like a proper Magic set-well done and with a Jumpstart supplemental set? I've always liked Jumpstart formats, and this one also looks like a banger. 

I'm just here to tell you that this isn't new. If Foundations sets are where they put more Magic product (as opposed to Universes Beyond stuff) then cool! Happy to see that. 

Because I don't think there's anything wrong with a core set. I wish they'd used those sets to reprint valuable, necessary game pieces (I'm almost exclusively thinking of lands here. Manabases should be cheap.). I am glad to see that they're using them to fill out the lore with characters and places from Magic's many worlds. I don't even object to the Fishing Pole card! Sure, it's bland but it's Magic bland.

Heck, it even might have a few cards bad enough to add to my Garbage cube! Looking at you, Chandra.