Last updated on July 8, 2024
Case File Auditor | Illustration by Ryan Valle
Another year of Magic, another new booster type hitting the markets. What, you thought we were gonna get it easy after the Play boosters announcement? I thought maybe we’d get a short reprieve, but just three sets after the launch of Play boosters, we’re seeing the new Beyond boosters hit the scene.
No, Beyond boosters aren’t vegan-friendly booster packs, though calling them the meat-free version of a Collector booster isn’t exactly the worst description either. Let’s dissect what a Beyond booster has to offer and compare it to the well-established Collector booster.
The Difference Between Collector and Beyond Boosters
Choice of Fortunes | Illustration by Irina Nordsol
Beyond boosters are smaller booster packs tied to Universes Beyond products, with Beyond boosters being our first and only example of a Beyond booster’s structure as of right now. Collector boosters are slightly larger packs that contain a collection of foils, alternate-art cards, special treatments, and occasional chase cards like serialized cards or textured foils.
Assassin's Creed Beyond vs. Collector booster contents – Collecting Magic: The Gathering – Assassin's Creed
A Beyond booster is essentially a mainline product for Universes Beyond sets while Collector boosters are an alternative product that can be associated with any set release (the Doctor Who Commander set had Collector boosters, for example). Neither of these packs work for Limited play.
Collector Booster Contents
Collector booster contents change from set to set, with the general structure being a handful of traditional foil commons and uncommons, a number of cards featuring the associated set’s special Booster Fun treatments, and various extended art and special foil versions of cards from the mainline set.
Assassin's Creed Collector booster contents – Collecting Magic: The Gathering – Assassin's Creed
The image lays out the contents of an Assassin’s Creed Collector booster, though you’ll note the structure’s a little different than a typical Collector booster, since the set has no commons. An ACR Collector booster includes:
- 3 Traditional foil uncommons
- 1 Traditional foil “Memory Corridor” treatment uncommon
- 1 Foil etched uncommon
- 1 Basic land slot, which can be replaced by a rare/mythic Scene card 13.6% of the time
- 1 Traditional foil rare or mythic
- 1 Non-foil extended art rare or mythic
- 1 Rare or mythic “wildcard” that can range from an extended art card to a serialized card
- 1 Foil etched rare or mythic
How Many Cards Are in a Collector Booster?
Collector boosters usually include between 15-16 cards (Outlaws of Thunder Junction and Doctor Who each had 16-card packs). However, Assassin’s Creed Collector boosters only contain 10 cards, due to the overall set size. That might be the number we can expect from future Beyond booster products, but the typical size is closer to 16.
Beyond Booster Contents
There’s only one Beyond booster product at the time of writing, so we’ll have to stick to Assassin’s Creed as our baseline for now. Here are the contents for an ACR Beyond booster:
Assassin's Creed Beyond booster contents – Collecting Magic: The Gathering – Assassin's Creed
- 3 Uncommons
- 1 Basic land, Scene card, or rare/mythic
- 1 Non-foil rare/mythic
- 1 Traditional foil (any rarity)
- 1 Traditional foil, or non-foil alternate-frame card (any rarity)
How Many Cards Are in a Beyond Booster?
The Assassin’s Creed Beyond boosters include seven cards total, retailing for around $120 for a 24-pack booster box (that’s roughly $5 a pack, though prices seem to be rising).
Which Is Better? Collector or Beyond Boosters?
This completely depends on your priorities. If you’re looking to get the flashiest versions of the cards from whatever set you’re buying into, Collector boosters are usually the way to go, albeit the most expensive option. If you’re chasing down serialized cards, Collector boosters are your only option. It's also worth noting that a set like Assassin's Creed is much smaller than the average set, so boxes are bound to have way more repeat cards than you'd usually find in a normal booster box.
Beyond boosters look like the more realistic purchase for those who are trying to collect some of the new cards but don’t necessarily care about all the fancy foils, Booster Fun treatments, and so on. Remember that these aren’t draftable, so you’re only buying them to open and add cards to your collection.
Best Collector Boosters
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan contains the cosmium foil versions of Mana Crypt and Cavern of Souls, some of the best and most expensive collectibles they’ve put in Collector boosters.
- JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF IXALAN—Discover powerful relics and craft tools to give you an edge against the deadly dinosaurs, cunning traps, and ancient gods at the center of the world
- BEST BOOSTERS FOR COLLECTORS—Collector Boosters are a shortcut to the coolest cards in a set, with packs full of Rare cards, shiny foil cards, and special alt-art, alt-frame cards
- EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL TREATMENTS—Found only in Collector Boosters, every pack contains at least 1 Extended-Art card and may even contain a Cosmium Neon Ink card with borderless art that radiates with the power of Ixalan’s inner sun
- JURASSIC WORLD CARD IN EVERY PACK—Get 1 Universes Beyond Jurassic World Collection card depicting iconic characters and moments from the Jurassic World franchise in every pack
- PLAY A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES & STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
Modern Horizons 3
They’re not cheap, but Modern Horizons 3 Collector boosters are jammed full of excellent cards, be it the New-to-Modern bonus sheet cards, or just valuable new cards from the mainline set, like the latest Eldrazi titans or transforming planeswalkers.
- MODERN’S NEVER BEEN MORE MARVELOUS—Introducing a heaping helping of exciting cards for Modern, one of Magic’s most celebrated formats, plus the return of competitive favorites, there’s something for everyone to love in Modern Horizons 3
- BEAUTY AND BRAWN—Crush with a deck full of gorgeous special treatments; every Collector Booster contains 7 alt-frame cards, including the possibility of Retro-Frame, Borderless Profile, Borderless Frame Break, Borderless Concept Eldrazi, and Borderless Fetch Land cards
- MODERN MIGHT THAT SHINES BRIGHT—Both powerful and flashy, every pack contains 10-12 Traditional Foil cards and may contain Collector Booster exclusive, like Foil-Etched cards, a Textured Foil card, or even a foil Serialized card
- POWERFUL CARDS FOR LIMITED, CONSTRUCTED & COMMANDER PLAY—Spice up your deck with powerful New-to-Modern cards or discover Legendary Creatures with striking special treatments to inspire your next Commander Deck
- GET DIRECT ACCESS TO THE COOLEST CARDS—Collector Boosters give you direct access to the most desirable Modern Horizons 3 cards, including 5 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
Commander Masters
A Commander Masters Collector booster is a bit of a gamble (usually north of $50 per pack), but they contain a great assortment of Commander staples, and various treatments like the profile arts. There’s also a shot at some big-ticket cards like the frame break Jeweled Lotus, among others.
- FIRST MASTERS SET FOR COMMANDER—Masters boosters are super-charged packs full of the finest Magic: The Gathering reprints; Commander Masters brings the first Masters packs specifically designed for Commander, Magic’s most popular format
- GET THE BEST OF THE BEST—Collector Boosters are a shortcut to the coolest cards in an already extraordinary set, with packs full of Rare cards, shiny foil cards, and special alt-art, alt-frame cards
- COLLECTOR BOOSTER-EXCLUSIVE TREATMENTS—Collector Boosters are the only boosters where you'll find Extended-Art, Foil-Etched, and possible Textured Foil treatment cards
- 5 BORDERLESS CARDS IN EVERY PACK—every pack contains 5 Borderless cards, 1 of which may be a Textured Foil Borderless Rare or Mythic Rare card destined for a starring role in your collection
- PACKED FULL OF RARES & FOILS—each booster contains a total of 9–11 Traditional Foil cards, 1 Foil-Etched card, a possible Textured Foil Borderless card (1 in 25 of packs), and a total of 5 cards of rarity Rare or higher
Best Beyond Boosters
Assassin’s Creed
Assassin's Creed is the only example of a Beyond booster we have to go off of right now, though we expect to see them again with upcoming sets like Final Fantasy and the big Marvel crossover. ACR has plenty of new cards for various formats, as well as a handful of pretty great reprints, so I’d say it deserves its default “best Beyond booster” title for now.
- EXPLORE WITH 7-CARD BEYOND BOOSTERS—Open 7-card packs full of classic characters, items, and moments from your favorite Assassin’s Creed games with a box of 24 Beyond Boosters
- LEAP INTO HISTORY—Assassin’s Creed emerges from the shadows to join Magic: The Gathering. Freerun through ancient locales with your favorite Assassins, equip deadly weapons, and ensure your targets are history
- TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH—Bring the beloved video game series to your tabletop with new art and thematic game mechanics sure to delight Assassin’s Creed and Magic fans alike
- TRACK DOWN ELUSIVE RELICS—In each pack you’ll find 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher, at least 1 shining Traditional Foil card, and at least 1 card with full, Borderless art—no scouring the streets required for these collectibles
- FOIL and BORDERLESS CARD IN EVERY PACK—Every Beyond Booster includes at least 1 shining Traditional Foil card and 1 Borderless Card featuring gorgeous alt-art that extends all the way to the edges of the card
Wrap Up
Choose Your Weapon | Illustration by Olivier Bernard
We’ll have to see how Beyond boosters shape up in future sets to really get a good sense for how they stack up. It’s a shame they’re not draftable, but if Assassin’s Creed is any indication, they’re not really being designed with Draft in mind anyway, and that’s fine.
Bottom line: Buy Collector boosters if you’re aiming for the high-ticket versions of cards, stick to the Beyond boosters if you just want to crack a few packs and get a feel for the set. We’ll report back with changes from future Beyond boosters.
Do you plan to buy into Assassin’s Creed, or are you looking forward to any of the upcoming announced Universes Beyond products? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord or on Twitter/X.
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