Since its debut in 1993, Magic: The Gathering has evolved both on and off the table. With over 170+ sets released and dozens of crossovers, Wizards of the Coast are aiming to expand MTG for decades to come. It was just over 30 years ago when you had to purchase a single starter deck and booster pack to begin your journey as a Planeswalker.
Nowadays, players have loads of options for adding to their collection or building their decks; perhaps too many options. Thankfully, Wizards has recently reworked their booster pack options to simplify the process. It’s never been easier to figure out what packs are right for you. So whether you’re a daily kitchen table player or a collector whose cards live in binders, we’ll show you the different types of booster card packs in MTG so you know what to add to your shopping list.
All MTG booster card pack types
Currently, MTG has four different types of booster packs that cater to different types of players; from beginners and casuals to Drafters and collectors, there’s a booster pack for everybody.
At the beginning of 2019, Wizards of the Coast removed the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP) from its Magic: The Gathering products. Because of this, we won’t be providing any price info for each booster pack type.
| Booster Pack Type | Purpose | Card Composition |
|---|---|---|
| Play Booster | Deck-building, Draft format, casual collecting | 14 Cards total: 6 Common 1 Common/List card 3 Uncommon 1 non-foil Wildcard 1 Rare/Mythic Rare 1 foil of any rarity 1 basic land 1 token/non-playable card |
| Collector Booster | Targeted at collectors: More foils, alternate art, premium cards not meant for active use | 16 Cards total, all of which are either foil, alternate, extended, or full art: 11 Common/Uncommon 4 Rare/Mythic Rare 1 token/non-playable card |
| Jumpstart Booster | For beginners or casual players, intended to be combined with a second Jumpstart Booster to create a 40-card starter deck | 20 Cards total: 1-2 Rare/Mythic Rare An assortment of Commons, Uncommons and Lands to fill out the rest of the pack |
| Beyond Booster | The latest booster pack type, used exclusively for the Universes Beyond (crossover) sets | 7 Cards total: 3 Uncommon 1 Rare/Mythic Rare 1 foil of any rarity 1 “fun” variant of any rarity 1 Land that has a chance to be a Scene card (full art, borderless) |
Play Boosters
The beginning of 2024 saw a new era of Magic: The Gathering booster card packs. Play Boosters were introduced to merge the functions of the now-discontinued Set and Draft Boosters of the past. This streamlined the purchase process of packs and made things easier for both Local Game Stores and players alike.
Play Boosters are considered the standard booster pack in the current era of MTG. Whether you’re playing a game of Draft or want to build a Commander deck using cards from the latest sets, Play Boosters are what you’ll want to buy.
Collector Boosters
Opening shiny foil or extended art cards is one of the most exhilarating experiences in MTG. No booster pack grants this dopamine better than Collector Boosters. These booster packs guarantee every card to be special in some form or another. Whether it’s a pack filled with foil Planeswalkers or some full, borderless art staple cards, Collector Boosters are worth every penny.
Due to containing guaranteed special cards, Collector Boosters are priced much higher than Play Boosters. These cards are more suitable for the binder than the deck box, but nothing is stopping you from throwing these cards into action. Just remember that MTG involves a lot of shuffling and that the protection of sleeves only extends so far.
Jumpstart Boosters
Jumpstart Boosters are the perfect entry into MTG and are the most accessible of all booster pack options. These packs each contain 20 cards and various themes, which can be combined with a second pack to form a 40-card starter deck. Most game formats require at least a 60-card deck, but Jumpstart Boosters keep things simple and let new or casual players ease into the complex realm of Magic: The Gathering.
Many players would agree that the deckbuilding side of MTG contains as much fun as the actual gameplay– I’m certainly one of them. But for new players trying to build a deck of their own, the process can be quite intimidating. Deckbuilding requires learning the core mechanics of the TCG, and there’s no better way to learn than to jump right into a game.
Beyond Boosters
Beyond Boosters are the newest booster pack type that will find its way onto the shelves with the Universes Beyond: Assassin’s Creed set. While these packs only contain seven cards, much less than the other booster pack types, the crossover sets from Universes Beyond are smaller collections than traditional sets.
These boosters provide fun crossover cards from various franchises. All of the cards within Beyond Boosters are intended to become evergreen staples across non-standard formats. So while these cards are highly sought after by collectors (even ones outside of Magic: The Gathering), they will be viable in play for years to come.
Discontinued card pack types
Magic: The Gathering is constantly evolving both inside and outside of the game. Wizards of the Coast haven’t been afraid to try new things and are quick to pull the plug when new ideas don’t play out too well. There are three card pack types that have been discontinued and replaced in an effort to streamline the purchase process for players.
| Booster Pack Type | Purpose | Card Composition | Discontinued after: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set Booster | Deck-building, casual collecting | 14 Cards total: 6 Common/Uncommon 1 Common/Uncommon with a unique treatment (foil, showcase, borderless) 2 Wildcards 1 Rare/Mythic Rare 1 foil of any rarity 1 token/list card 1 land card 1 art card | Murders at Karlov Manor, 2024 |
| Draft Booster | For use in the Draft format | Varied by set. But most commonly 15 cards: 10 Common 3 Uncommon 1 Rare/Mythic Rare 1 land | Murders at Karlov Manor, 2024 |
| Epilogue Booster | Only used for the March of the Machines: Aftermath set. To hold players over in between sets, finish the ongoing lore of the previous set | 5 Cards total: 2-4 Uncommon 1-3 Rare/Mythic Rare 1 guaranteed foil 1 guaranteed showcase card | March of the Machines: Aftermath, 2023 |
Set Booster
The Set Booster packs are one of the two pack types that were discontinued due to the introduction of Play Boosters. Previously, these filled the role of being the standard set booster pack used to build decks and casual collections. They had a similar amount of cards as the Play Boosters, but these packs contained much wider ranges of rarity, boasting a maximum amount of four Mythic Rare cards per pack! While fun to open, these packs, along with Draft Boosters, were a common source of confusion amongst players and collectors.
Draft Booster
The sibling to the Set Booster packs, Draft Boosters were the other pack type replaced by Play Boosters. The existence of two similar packs with different purposes sowed confusion amongst the player base. Why the composition of the packs needed to be different isn’t immediately obvious to players who aren’t familiar with the Draft format of MTG.
Draft’s pre-game phase involves players opening a Draft Booster and choosing a card from the pack, then passing it to the next player. In order for Draft to function properly, the cards within the pack needed to cater to that format. This meant that the packs weren’t in line with the typical thrill-based composition that Wizards of the Coast has developed for their other boosters. Draft Boosters contained a fixed rarity distribution and were vastly outsold by Set Boosters during their final years.
Epilogue Booster
Epilogue Boosters have a very fitting name; their story ended before it could even begin. Wizards of the Coast aren’t shy when it comes to admitting that the March of the Machine: The Aftermath set was a flop. Containing only five cards yet sporting an equal price to the standard booster packs, a majority of players chose to save their money for the next set. There weren’t very many cards in the set anyway, so players felt like they weren’t missing anything.
The types of booster card packs come and go. While some are discontinued due to marketing failures, others simply evolve into new types of packs to satisfy the players. With Wizards of the Coast increasing the number of sets released every year, we’ll certainly see some new pack experiments from them in the future. When they do, we’ll make sure to update this list.
Published: Jun 1, 2024 09:37 am