Last updated on January 20, 2025
Chandra, Torch of Defiance | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve
Aetherdrift is changing how booster boxes work once again. It was previously announced that Play Booster boxes were being downsized (from 36 packs to 30 packs), but in addition to this, there will be a new “Box Topper” pack in every Play Booster box. These are listed as containing “1 of 10 first-place foil, full-art basic lands and 1 of 127 first-place foil cards.”
What Are “First-Place” Cards?
We don't know yet, exactly. An easy guess is they're some kind of Booster Fun variant, likely with a “high octane” art style appropriate for the racing genre. There have been art pieces scattered throughout the MTG story articles that seem like they'll fit this description, but given that Aetherdrift spoiler season starts tomorrow, I'm sure players will find out real soon! Either way, seems like you're guaranteed at least one as the box topper for any Aetherdrift Booster Box, and likely more in the individual boosters.
- IT’S ONLY A DEATH RACE IF YOU DIE—Buckle up for a death race across the Multiverse full of high-octane action and adrenaline-fueled Magic gameplay
- BEST BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Play Boosters are the best way to discover what Magic: The Gathering has to offer; they're perfect for building decks, playing Limited games with friends, and are tons of fun to open
- 2 FOIL BOX TOPPER CARDS—A tantalizing prize for a high-stakes match, with every booster box you’ll score a Box Topper containing 2 cards gleaming with a brand new foil treatment
- PACKS MAY CONTAIN MULTIPLE RARES—Each Play Booster contains 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher, including the possibility of Special Guest Mythic Rare from Magic’s history featuring new Borderless art
- SHINING FOIL IN EVERY PACK—Every booster also includes at least 1 shining Traditional Foil card of any rarity; in 20% of packs you’ll also find a Traditional Foil Land card
Do Any Other Aetherdrift Products Come with Box Toppers?
The Finish Line Bundle
There will be two other Aetherdrift products that come with Box Topper packs: The Finish Line Bundle and Collector Boxes. The Finish Line Bundle seems to be a new in-between of the previous Bundle (which is still being sold) and a Collector Booster box. WotC says they'll have more to say on it in the future, but for now we know that it contains:
- 6 Aetherdrift Play Boosters
- 2 Aetherdrift Collector Boosters
- 20 Basic lands
- Includes 15 traditional foil basic lands
- Includes 5 first-place foil basic lands
- 3 Finish Line Bundle promo cards
- Each is a traditional foil extended-art card with new artwork.
- 1 First-Place foil Box Topper pack
- 5 Stickers
- 1 Oversized spindown die
- 1 Aetherdrift card-storage box
- STEP INTO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE—Turbo-charge your collection and claim the gold with this high-velocity bundle full of boosters, special cards, and exclusive accessories
- COLLECT THE COOLEST AETHERDRIFT CARDS—Get 2 Collector Boosters for a shortcut to the coolest cards in the set; each pack is full of Rare and/or Mythic cards, shiny foil cards, and special alt-art, alt-frame cards
- 6 BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Perfect for building decks, playing Limited games, and tons of fun to open, this Finish Line Bundle includes 6 Play Boosters, with a possibility of multiple Rares and at least 1 shining foil card in every pack
- 3 EXTENDED-ART CARDS—Soup up your decks with 3 Extended-Art cards featuring alternate art exclusive to the Finish Line Bundle
- 2 FOIL BOX TOPPER CARDS—A tantalizing prize for a high-stakes match, in every Finish Line Bundle you’ll score a Box Topper containing 2 cards gleaming with a brand new foil treatment
Collector Boosters
Collector Booster boxes still come with 12 Collector packs, so the Box Topper is a nice addition. Presumably some number of slots in Collector Boosters will also be dedicated to additional “First-Place” alternate arts.
- IT’S ONLY A DEATH RACE IF YOU DIE—Buckle up for a death race across the Multiverse full of high-octane action and adrenaline-fueled Magic gameplay
- STEP INTO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE—Rev up your decks and lead the pack with top-gear cards; Collector Boosters are the ultimate way to add unique and exclusive cards to your collection, with tons of foils, special card treatments, and more inside every pack
- 2 FOIL BOX TOPPER CARDS—A tantalizing prize for a high-stakes match, with every booster box you’ll score a Box Topper containing 2 cards gleaming with a brand new foil treatment
- COLLECTOR BOOSTER-EXCLUSIVE TREATMENTS—Collector Boosters are the only place you may find certain coveted card styles, including Collector Booster-exclusive foil treatments, Japan Showcase cards, or the grand prize: a special Serialized card printed with a unique number
- COLLECT ALT-BORDER CARDS—Turbo charge your collection with a grand total of 6 alternate-border cards in every Aetherdrift Collector Booster
Are These Box Toppers any Different Between Products?
Yes, you may have noticed that the first Box Topper says “1 out of 127 foils” and “1 out of 10 foil full art basics,” while the others are listed as “foil Box Topper packs.” This implies they are packs full of foil/”first-place” cards, while the Play Booster variant is only guaranteed to give you two of them.
Have There Been Box Toppers Like This in the Past?
Yes, we have. A good example would be Ikoria‘s Godzilla-themed Box Toppers, where Ikoria boxes would come with tiny packs including one random card like King Caesar, Ancient Guardian or Mothra, Supersonic Queen. These were reskins of other cards in the set.
We saw a similar “Dracula” treatment with reskinned version of cards from Innistrad: Crimson Vow. Again, these were alternate version of cards from within the set itself.
Does This Mean no Buy-a-Box Promos?
No, Aetherdrift will still have a Buy-a-Box promo available! This was revealed to be an alternate-art version of Lifecraft Engine, which seems like a glue card for Limited and should appeal to Commander players, if no one else. So if you decide to order an Aetherdrift Play Booster box, you'll get two extra goodies this time around.
Finish Line
Draftsim will have more Aetherdrift news coming as the spoiler season unfolds, so don't lose sight of us during the race! You can also expect a full set review, Sealed guide, and more before the set's prerelease on Feb 7th!
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