Summary Dismissal | Illustration by Igor Kieryluk
Epilogue boosters are a brand new addition to the growing number of products that WotC produce for Magic, and they’re making their debut with March of the Machine: The Aftermath.
It’s clearly a bit of an experiment to gauge the interest of players, but what are they? What do they contain? Will we see them again post-Aftermath?
Let’s look at everything we know so far.
What Is an Epilogue Booster?
An epilogue booster is a new type of booster pack for a particular kind of MTG set, designed as a kind of top-up set to add new cards to Standard between the main set releases. These boosters are smaller in size to what we’re accustomed to, and they’re structured differently as well.
- THE FIRST STEPS AFTER THE LAST STAND—Rebuild the Multiverse while building up your collection in this epic conclusion to the March of the Machine storyline
- INTRODUCING EPILOGUE BOOSTERS—These special boosters fill in the story between sets with 5 Magic: The Gathering cards in each pack
- RARES & UNCOMMONS ONLY—Small but mighty, all 5 cards in each booster are of rarity Uncommon or higher, including 1–3 cards of rarity Rare or higher
- FOILS & SHOWCASE CARDS—Each Epilogue Booster contains 1 Showcase or Retro-Frame card and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- CONTENTS—1 Epilogue Booster Box containing 24 March of the Machine: The Aftermath MTG Epilogue Boosters
What Comes in an Epilogue Booster?
The Aftermath epilogue boosters contain five cards, with 1-3 being rare or mythic. The other 2-4 cards are uncommons. You’re guaranteed one foil in each pack with the potential for two, along with a guaranteed Showcase card.
Do Epilogue Boosters Contain New Cards or Reprints?
We know from a recent leak that although most of the cards in The Aftermath are new there are at least a few reprints, most notably Training Grounds. I can see this continuing going forward if we have any more epilogue sets like this since Wizards seems to try to find new avenues to reprint sought-after cards these days.
Do Epilogue Boosters Have Cards from the Original Sets?
No, epilogue boosters (at least in The Aftermath) only contain cards from their own set.
What's the Purpose of Epilogue Boosters?
Epilogue boosters are designed as another way to inject cards into Standard between releases, like the Alchemy sets do with Alchemy and Historic. It’s also an attempt to give us something to get hyped for between main set releases.
With The Aftermath, and potentially future releases too, it was also a way to keep the biggest spoilers of the story secret for longer to allow players a chance to read the lore behind the set before it’s spoiled in the cards.
What's the Maximum Number of Rares in an Epilogue Booster?
A normal epilogue booster can have up to three rares.
Do You Get a Foil and Showcase Card in Every Epilogue Booster?
Yes, you’re guaranteed to get at least one foil and one Showcase card in every epilogue booster.
Why Are There Only Five Cards in an Epilogue Booster?
The epilogue sets are “micro sets” that don’t have many cards in them, so the boosters are also smaller. The sets don’t have any commons, either.
Epilogue Boosters vs. Collector Boosters
Collector boosters have an extra card in them compared to “normal” epilogue packs. You also open more rares and foils in collector packs, along with a foil token on top of the other six cards. They’re more expensive though, just like the collector boosters in the main sets.
Are Epilogue Boosters Worth Buying?
Whether epilogue boosters are worth buying is completely dependent on what you’re after. They could be worth buying if there are a number of cards you want in the set. Other reasons to pick one up are to take part in this new experiment to see what it’s about, or to just crack for fun!
If you’re just looking to open a couple specific cards, you may be better off just buying the singles you need.
How Many Packs Come in an Epilogue Booster Box?
There are 24 epilogue boosters in an epilogue booster box.
Is a Booster Box or Individual Packs a Better Deal?
Booster boxes are almost always a better deal than individual packs. Retailers don’t seem to have prices on the individual packs at this point, but epilogue booster boxes are up on Amazon for around $80.
Will There Be More Epilogue Boosters After MOM?
It’s currently unknown whether we’ll see epilogue moosters after MOM: The Aftermath. Wizards has said it’s an experiment to see how they’re received, so it’ll depend on their popularity.
Can You Draft with Epilogue Boosters?
Epilogue boosters aren’t designed for Draft, although there’s no reason why you couldn’t include them in some sort of Limited play if you want to.
The Final Epilogue
Training Grounds (Judge Gift promos) | Illustration by Caroline Gariba
This is definitely an experiment by Wizards, and one that they'll be watching closely. Regardless, I’m happy to see Wizards trying something new. Who knows, it could be really popular!
But what about you? Do you like epilogue boosters? Can you see yourself buying any packs? I’d love to hear what you think could be done to improve the offering if you’re somewhere in the middle. Let me know in the comments below, or find us over on Twitter.
I’ll be watching closely. Until then, I’ll see you in the next one!
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1 Comment
Five cards for the price of a normal pack is too expensive. I like the idea, but the price is wrong.
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