Last updated on June 28, 2024
Inscription of Ruin | Illustration by Zoltan Boros
Play boosters were introduced into Magic as a way to remove the divide between Draft boosters, which were obviously necessary for Limited, and Set boosters, which were designed for players who just wanted to crack open packs. It was an inelegant change, but it at least simplified how many different booster packs were on the market. But fear not consumer, Beyond boosters are here to once again widen the number of booster packs available for new sets!
As the name suggests, Beyond boosters are tied to new Universes Beyond products, Assassin’s Creed being the first taste of what these new boosters look like. Let’s compare them to Play boosters and see where you should be spending your money (bills, probably).
The Difference Between Play and Beyond Boosters
Fork in the Road | Illustration by Jung Park
The main difference here is that Play boosters are draftable and Beyond boosters aren’t. If you’re intending to get packs to play Limited with others, Beyond boosters won’t help. In fact, Assassin’s Creed doesn’t even have Play boosters, since the set wasn’t designed to be drafted in the first place. Instead, Beyond boosters offer a smaller pack-opening experience that’s just meant to get cards from a Universes Beyond product into the player’s hands.
Play Booster Contents
Play boosters have only been around for three sets at the time of writing, and each one has been structured differently from the last. I’ll be using the most recent Modern Horizons 3 Play boosters as a comparison point for Assassin’s Creed Beyond boosters. MH3 Play boosters have the following contents:
- 6 Commons (Special Guests appear in one of these slots every 1/64 boosters)
- 3 Uncommons
- 1 Rare/mythic (including various frame treatments)
- 1 New-to-Modern card (essentially a bonus sheet slot)
- 1 Wildcard (any rarity)
- 1 Traditional foil Wildcard (any rarity)
- 1 Land or a 7th common
- 1 Tip/Token/Ad card
While this exact configuration changes from set to set, this is the basic structure of a Play booster. They typically contain 6 commons, 3 uncommons, a rare/mythic, 2 wildcards, and a few other slots dedicated to various elements of individual sets. For example, Outlaws of Thunder Junction had a Breaking News slot instead of MH3’s New-to-Modern slot, and Murders at Karlov Manor had 40 cards from “The List” that could appear in place of a common.
How Many Cards Are in a Play Booster?
All three iterations of Play boosters so far have included 14 cards plus an ad/token/tip card.
Beyond Booster Contents
Assassin’s Creed is the only set with Beyond boosters as of right now, so we’ll be looking at the breakdown of packs based solely on this set:
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?
Beyond boosters include seven Beyond boosters total, though it’s unclear whether this is the norm for future Beyond boosters or not.
Which Is Better? Play or Beyond Boosters?
Weighing one booster type versus the other doesn’t really matter right now, since there aren’t any sets that have both Play and Beyond boosters. If there were to be a set in the future that offers both, you’re generally going to lean towards Play boosters if you’re interested in drafting your packs, and Beyond boosters if you’re just opening packs to add cards to your collection. Beyond boosters are also slightly more expensive for half as many cards, which may impact your decision.
Best Play Boosters
Murders at Karlov Manor
The debut of Play boosters, Murders at Karlov Manor has a few pretty interesting cards, but it’s overall not that great of a set for collectors and players, given how niche and parasitic some of the mechanics in the set are. This is the only set with surveil lands though, so it has that going for it.
- INTRODUCING PLAY BOOSTERS—Get the best of Draft and Set Boosters, combined into one! Play Boosters are great for Limited play and fun to open, with a possibility of multiple Rares and at least 1 shining foil card in every pack
- TRACK THE CLUES. CRACK THE CASE—Play detective as you collect evidence, don disguises, and identify suspects to decipher the deadly murder mystery at the heart of Ravnica
- PACKS MAY CONTAIN MULTIPLE RARES—Each MKM Play Booster contains 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher, including the possibility of a special Borderless Mythic Rare card from Magic’s history
- SHINING FOIL CARD IN EVERY PACK—Every Play Booster contains 1 shining Traditional Foil card of any rarity; in 20% of packs you’ll also find a Traditional Foil Land card (which may even be Full-Art!)
- MAY CONTAIN ART CARDS, A PLAY BOOSTER EXCLUSIVE—Now found only in Play Boosters, some packs also contain an Art Card showcasing a piece of art from the Murders at Karlov Manor set, sometimes with a foil signature from the artist
Outlaws of Thunder Junction
Outlaws of Thunder Junction is a significantly stronger set than Karlov Manor, with a bonus sheet that adds a lot of potential value to packs (Mana Drain, in a Standard booster pack?!). It also has a half-cycle of fast lands, which were pretty pricey before the reprint, and a mess of other cards that see play across different formats, like Slickshot Show-Off, Terror of the Peaks, and Bristly Bill, Spine Sower.
- SADDLE UP FOR A WILD RIDE—Join Oko’s crew of deadly desperados as they plot a brazen heist in the frontier world of Thunder Junction, Magic’s first western-themed setting
- FUN TO OPEN. FUN TO PLAY—Get the best of Draft and Set Boosters, combined into one! Play Boosters are great for Limited play and fun to open, with a possibility of Art cards, Showcase cards, additional Rares, and a foil card in every pack
- THE BEST OF THE WEST—Each Play Booster contains 1–5 cards of rarity Rare or higher, including the possibility of a Borderless Mythic Rare card from Magic’s history
- BREAKING NEWS CARD IN EVERY PACK—Every Play Booster contains at least 1 Breaking News card, a reprint featuring new art and a front page news-style frame reporting the spell as a crime; do you dare become that spell-casting outlaw?
- 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 (which may even feature a Full-Art Western Landscape)
Modern Horizons 3
Modern Horizons 3 Play boosters are expensive, so I’d try to get a Draft in with these to get some extra value out of your packs. Between the New-to-Modern reprints and the random inclusion of MH3 commanders, there’s a decent amount you can open here, though Collector boosters are the way to go if you’re really trying to strike gold.
- YOUR NEW FOREVER FAVORITES—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
- POWERFUL CARDS FOR MODERN CONSTRUCTED, LIMITED & COMMANDER PLAY—Spice up your deck with powerful New-to-Modern cards, host a supercharged Booster Draft with friends, or discover Legendary Creatures with striking special treatments to inspire your next Commander Deck
- MODERN’S NEVER BEEN MORE MARVELOUS—Expand your horizons with novel twists on classic mechanics and more cards for beloved Modern strategies
- FUN TO OPEN. FUN TO PLAY—Get the best of Draft and Set Boosters, combined into one! Play Boosters are great for Limited play and fun to open, with a possibility of Art cards, striking alt-frame cards, and more
- MODERN MIGHT THAT SHINES BRIGHT—Both powerful and flashy, every MH3 Play Booster includes 1-5 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 1-2 shining Traditional Foil cards
Best Beyond Boosters
Assassin’s Creed
We’ll report back once we’ve seen what future Beyond boosters look like, but for now Assassin's Creed is all we can go off. It’s actually a pretty nice mix of interesting new cards for different formats (read: Commander), and a handful of awesome reprints. It’s a tough sell charging extra for a 7-card booster pack, especially after the flop that was March of the Machine: The Aftermath, but it’s not as bad as it sounds unless you really had your hopes up for all those missing commons.
- 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
Pick Your Poison | Illustration by Julia Metzger
Play boosters and Beyond boosters offer different pack-opening experiences for players, but there’s not a lot of reason to compare the two directly as of right now. If the upcoming Final Fantasy/Marvel sets have a combination of Play and Beyond boosters, then we can offer a more realistic side-by-side comparison of the two. It’s a bit apples and oranges for now, with Assassin’s Creed setting the stage for what to expect from future sets, and beyond.
Are you planning to buy any Beyond boosters, or are you passing up on the set altogether? Are you also eagerly awaiting the announcement of yet another type of booster pack in the near-future (nothing’s official, but you know it’s coming)? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord or on Twitter/X.
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