What is The List in MTG? How Does The List Actually Work in 2024?

Last updated on January 17, 2024

Frantic Inventory | Illustration by Aaron Miller

Did you open a card from an outside set in a set booster and wonder where it came from? Well, the short answer is, The List!

Today I’ll be going over what exactly The List looks like currently, including the design philosophy behind it!

Let's jump in!

What is The List?

Press for Answers | Illustration by Steve Prescott

The List is a rotating list of cards that can be opened in certain booster packs. These cards have a 25% chance of being opened in the marketing card slot in Set Boosters, and 12.5% of the time in Play Boosters. They’re printed with the same art, frame, set symbol, and collector number as when the card was first printed except with a planeswalker symbol in the lower-left corner, just like Mystery Booster cards. The set of cards in The List for Play Boosters will also contain “special guest” cards, which are special inclusions on a set-by-set basis.

The List contains every card rarity and each card appears with the same frequency as if it were in a regular booster. If a card is on The List and you open it in a Standard set booster, that doesn’t make it legal in Standard. The List also changes from set to set.

The List also contains Universes Beyond cards like Rick, Steadfast Leader reprinted with Magic-themed artwork.

Why Does The List Exist?

There are lots of reasons for The List’s existence. The first is pretty simple: it’s a cool surprise to find cards like Ancient Tomb in a regular, Standard-legal booster pack. WotC is looking to give you a chance for something a bit unexpected in the world of online spoilers and set lists.

The second reason is to have a place where Wizards can reprint cards that come from sets and Secret Lairs that are part of Universes Beyond with Magic-themed artwork without impacting their scarcity too much.

The List also helps WotC reprint some of the more sought-after cards in Magic without affecting the draft integrity of other sets. This is especially true for cards that tend to warp their draft environment like Ancient Tomb or Mana Crypt.

Where Can You Find Cards from The List?

The only place where you can find cards from The List is set boosters from Zendikar Rising forward. The sets that contain cards from The List are:

• Zendikar Rising
• Kaldheim
• Strixhaven: School of Mages
• Modern Horizons 2
• D&D: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
• Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
• Innistrad: Crimson Vow
• Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
• Streets of New Capenna
• Dominaria United
• The Brothers' War
• Phyrexia: All Will Be One
• March of the Machine
• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
• Murders at Karlov Manor

The Current Complete List

The List underwent some changes in October, 2023. With the announcement of the new Play Booster and release of Lost Caverns of Ixalan, The List will be shortened to 40 cards without new art (10 rare or mythics, 30 common or uncommons) as well as the individual set's “special guest” cards which vary with each set. While Lost Caverns won't have any Play Boosters, The List changes will still be made. This is a huge change from the list of 300 cards previously on The List, but makes for some more exciting pack openings!

Here are the odds for opening The List cards in a Play Booster:

• 87.5% – A common from the main set
• 9.38% – A common or uncommon normal reprint from The List
• 1.56% – A rare or mythic rare normal reprint from The List
• 1.56% – A Special Guests card from The List

History of The List

The List started with Zendikar Rising and has changed quite a bit set since. Here I’ll be looking at what cards were added and removed with each instance of The List.

Zendikar Rising

Spoils of Adventure | Illustration by Zezhou Chen

The inception of The List. The first 300 cards were added with no removals (obviously).

Kaldheim

Rampage of the Valkyries | Illustration by Billy Christian

The first update to The List came with Kaldheim.

Strixhaven

Aether Helix | Illustration by Torstein Nordstrand

Modern Horizons 2

Prophetic Titan | Illustration by Slawomir Maniak

Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures In The Forgotten Realms

Skeletal Swarming | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov

Innistrad: Midnight Hunt

Siphon Insight | Illustration by Livia Prima

Innistrad: Crimson Vow

_{Hullbeaker Horror | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov}

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

_{Moonsnare Specialist Illustration by Lie Setiawan}

Streets of New Capenna

_{Void Rend Illustration by Rovina Cai}

Dominaria United

Shivan Devastator | Illustration by Brent Hollowell

The Brothers' War

Myrel, Shield of Argive | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

Phyrexia: All Will Be One

Migloz, Maze Crusher | Illustration by Zezhou Chen

March of the Machines

Breach the Multiverse | Illustration by Liiga Smilshkalne

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth

Samwise Gamgee | Illustration by Marko Maney

Commander Masters

Obscuring Haze | Illustration by Campbell White

Wilds of Eldraine

Hylda's Crown of Winter | Illustration by Volkan Baga

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan

Magmatic Galleon | Illustration by Cristi Balanescu

Murders at Karlov Manor

Analyze the Pollen | Illustration by Anna Christenson

How Many Cards Are on The List?

Previously, The List always contained exactly 300 cards. With the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, this was brought down to 40 cards + 10 special guests.

How Often Does The List Change or Update?

The List has changed for every set containing set boosters so far and is likely to continue to do so.

How Are the Cards Different from Their Original Version?

For non-Magic: Universes Beyond cards, they’re only different from their original printing in that they have a planeswalker symbol in the bottom left corner. Take a look at the small white planeswalker symbol on the bottom left of Animate Dead to the left:

Universes Beyond and The List

The List contains Magic-themed reprints of cards from Universes Beyond sets. These appear more often than other cards for a time and serve as functional equivalents of the original Universes Beyond cards, much like the Kaiju themed cards in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.

Does The List Exist on MTGA?

While you can't get Set Boosters on MTG Arena, the addition of Play Boosters in Murders at Karlov Manor allow these cards to come to Arena fully for the first time. Wizards announced there will be some slight swaps to ensure this can happen. As for Draft and Limited legality, that will also likely mirror face-to-face play.

Reactions to The List

First Response | Illustration by Slawomir Maniakby

The List is a relatively controversial addition to Magic. Some players see it as a way to get reprints of rare cards while others view it in a more cynical light, feeling that The List will do little but provide an excuse to not reprint these cards in sets. Lots of people also don’t like the fact that Universes Beyond cards are only printed on The List after their non-Magic-themed version comes out. They feel like this lowers the game’s thematic and artistic integrity.

I feel like The List is an extremely cool concept. Who doesn’t want to pull a card from 15 years ago in their booster pack? But there are some issues with its current implementation. The chances of you pulling a mythic rare off of The List is 1/1250 per booster thanks to the fact that they’re as rare as they are in regular boosters, except you’re only getting one list card in each set booster. This means that The List reprints do next to nothing to affect the price of the most sought-after cards at the mythic rarity.

All in all, I feel like The List is a very welcome addition to Magic. At the same time, I hope that its implementation skews more toward providing meaningful reprints in the future.

Wrap Up

End Hostilities | Illustration by Jason Rainville

That’s all there is to know about The List, the cards on it, and where you can find them! What are your thoughts on the whole thing? Do you think it’s good for Magic? Bad for it? Let us know in the comments down below, or head on over to our Discord if you’re looking for more of a discussion.

Thanks for your time. If you found this useful to you at all, make sure to check out some of our other pieces. We put out tons of great content every day, all for you!