If you’ve already found yourself struggling to keep track of the myriad products that accompany each Magic: The Gathering set release, we’re sorry to inform you that the headache is about to get a whole lot worse.
Beginning with the release of Zendikar Rising later this year, Wizards of the Coast will be debuting a new type of pack dubbed Set Boosters. How do these differ from the standard and collector’s boxes already available with each expansion, you ask? Put simply, they’re essentially a combination of both, with the cards found inside each wrapper generally deemed to be more of more worth than the former, but less than the latter. That’s the gist, at least – there are a few nuances worth discussing here, so let’s jump right in.
First and foremost, Set Boosters will mark the return of a popular feature from 2018’s Modern Horizons. One art card – unplayable and strictly for collection purposes only – will be inserted into every Set Booster and can be themed after any standard card appearing in the set (in this case, Zendikar Rising). What won’t be guaranteed to appear in every pack, on the other hand, are what Wizards refers to as Wild Cards. These will only be pulled from one in four packs and those included will be part of “The List” – a curated list of 300 cards from the CCG’s past.
The three revealed so far are:
- Cloudgoat Ranger
- Pact of Negation
- Muscle Sliver
As part of this new initiative and to avoid any confusion, packs found in standard booster boxes have been rebranded as Draft Boosters and will remain the most affordable option for those looking round out their collection. Set Boosters, on the other hand, will be approximately $1 more expensive, though Wizards says the increased frequency of foils and Mythic Rares should ultimately make the two equally valuable.
Does the latest addition to Magic: The Gathering‘s pack-opening experience sound like something tailored specifically to your tastes though, or will you be sticking with those existing products? Let us know in the usual place below!