Play Booster: Difference between revisions

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(Modified article to reflect Set booster article layout. Added references.)
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''[[Magic]]'' '''Play Boosters''' are a product introduced for ''[[Murders at Karlov Manor]]'' in [[2024]] to replace both [[Draft booster]]s and [[Set booster]]s.<ref name="PB">{{DailyRef|making-magic/what-are-play-boosters|What are Play Boosters?|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 18, 2023}}</ref> Going forward, they will be part of the regular product line of every set that comes with boosters.
''[[Magic]]'' '''Play Boosters''' are a type of booster product introduced for ''[[Murders at Karlov Manor]]'' in [[2024]] to replace both [[Draft booster]]s and [[Set booster]]s.<ref name="PB">{{DailyRef|making-magic/what-are-play-boosters|What are Play Boosters?|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 18, 2023}}</ref> They are the foundation product of every [[premier]] and [[Set#Tentpole sets|tentpole]] set.


==Description==
==Description==
[[File:Play booster structure.jpg|thumb|right|500px]]
[[File:Play booster structure.jpg|thumb|right|500px]]
In September 2023, [[Mark Rosewater]] first admitted that the existence of both [[Set Booster]]s and [[Draft Booster]]s had created a few issues and that audience confusion was one of them.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/728113529574588416|title=May I request that we get draft boosters with different artworks on the packaging again?|September 10, 2023}}</ref> The decision to combine Draft Boosters and Set Boosters was published a month later.<ref name="PB"/>  
Play Boosters are 14-card [[Booster pack]]s that contains eight "slots" (or card options) {{-}} six cards are [[common]] cards, one is a common that has a 12.5% chance to be replaced with a card from [[The List]], three cards are [[uncommon]]s, one is a [[rare]] or [[mythic rare]], two cards are "wildcards" that can be of any rarity, and one card is a [[basic land]]. Play Boosters also include one non-''Magic'' card, with a chance for that to be an [[art card]]. Each of the 14 playable cards can be [[draft]]ed, meaning The List and [[Special Guests]] form part of the [[Limited]] environment.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/731362991757475840|title=... will the list and/or special guest cards that are opened during limited ... be able to be used in that event?|October 16, 2023}}</ref>


The Play Boosters combine characteristics of their predecessors. They are designed to be draftable, while retaining the fun opening experience of finding surprise cards or [[card treatment]]s. They contain 14 playable cards (one less than in Draft Boosters, but two more than in Set Boosters), and one non-playable card. Play Boosters come at the same cost as Set Boosters.
Play Boosters are designed to combine the characteristics of their predecessors; they are draftable per Draft Boosters while retaining the fun opening experience of finding surprise cards or [[card treatment]]s per Set Boosters.<ref name="WPN-PB">{{WebRef|url=https://wpn.wizards.com/en/news/introducing-play-boosters-the-best-of-two-worlds-combined|title=Introducing Play Boosters: The Best of Two Worlds, Combined|author=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|publisher=[[WPN]]|date=October 16, 2023}}</ref> The structure of the Play Booster's slots result in each pack having one rare or mythic rare 58% of the time, two 37% of the time, three 4% of the time, and the chance four rares or mythic rares (1 regular rare/mythic, 2 wildcards and a card from The List/Special Guest) less than 1% of the time.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/731366879624658944|title=What will be the average number of rares/mythic per Play Booster?|October 16, 2023}}</ref>


Every playable card (as opposed to a token or art card) in a Play Booster can be [[draft]]ed. This especially means [[Special Guests]] and other reprints from [[The List]].
A [[booster box]] of Play Boosters contains 36 packs.


The chance of getting 2 rares in a Play Booster is 37%, the chance 3 rares is 4% and the chance 4 rares (1 regular, 2 wild cards and a card from the List) is less than 1%. This means you’ll get two or more rares in over 40% of the Play Booster packs.
Play Boosters do not prevent future sets from having a [[Bonus sheet]] but how they are integrated into the pack has not been outlined.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/731366445419790336|title=Does this mean The List is taking over the function of bonus sheets?|October 16, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/731372164480139264|title=In future sets with bonus sheets, what slot will they take in Play Boosters?|October 16, 2023}}</ref>


Because of the decrease in common cards in a pack, the total amount of common cards in a given set is also going down. R&D lowered the number of commons from 101 to 80 (and increased uncommons from 80 to 100).
===MTG Arena===
In alignment with tabletop, starting with ''[[Murders at Karlov Manor]]'', limited packs on MTG Arena include the same features as a Play Booster. Packs for [[Limited]] play events ([[Draft]] and [[Sealed]]) will include [[Special Guests]] and cards from [[The List]] but because MTG Arena's [[eternal]] formats are different from those of tabletop ''Magic'', the designers of MTG Arena have worked with the [[Play Design]] team on a few card swaps on The List when necessary.<ref>{{DailyRef|mtg-arena/play-boosters-on-mtg-arena|Play Boosters on MTG Arena|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|October 18, 2023}}</ref>


===Background===
===Structure===
The big reason behind the change was that the extra type of booster was a load in practice that escalated as the system went would have causing the Draft Boosters to go extinct. Stores and players couldn't manage having both after decades of not needing to choose, and each cycle of product ordering typically tilted towards Set Boosters, while Draft Boosters needed a much higher minimum count in order to support Limited events. Reportedly, some stores were capped on the Draft Boosters they could order, resulting in players less able to purchase Draft Boosters for personal Limited play as stores needed them for their own events. Attempts to play Limited with Set Boosters has been less enjoyable, while Limited players miss out on the various treatments on offer.
All playable slots (#1-14) have a chance for the card to be a [[Booster Fun]] version.<ref name="PB"/>
 
==Structure==


{| class="wikitable sortable"   
{| class="wikitable sortable"   
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|6
|6
|[[Common]]
|[[Common]]
|Opportunity to get [[Booster Fun]] versions.
|
|-
|-
|#7
|#7
|1
|1
|Common or [[The List]]
|Common or [[The List]]<ref name="WPN-PB"/>
|12.5% chance of a List card playable in Limited
|87.5% chance of a common from the set
*9.38% – A common or uncommon normal [[reprint]] from The List
12.5% chance of a List card:
*1.56% – A rare or mythic rare normal reprint from The List
*9.38% – A common or uncommon [[reprint]] from The List
*1.56% – A [[Special Guests]] card from The List
*1.56% – A rare or mythic rare reprint from The List
*1.56% – A [[Special Guests]] card
|-
|-
|#8-10
|#8-10
|3
|3
|[[Uncommon]]
|[[Uncommon]]
|Opportunity to get [[Booster Fun]] versions.
|
|-
|-
|#11
|#11
|1
|1
|[[Rare]] or [[Mythic Rare]]
|[[Rare]] or [[Mythic Rare]]
|Opportunity to get [[Booster Fun]] versions.
|
|-
|-
|#12
|#12
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|1
|1
|Non-foil Wildcard
|Non-foil Wildcard
|A card of any rarity from the set.
|A card of any rarity from the set. Guaranteed to be non-foil.
|-
|-
|#14
|#14
|1
|1
|[[Foil]] Wildcard
|[[Foil]] Wildcard
|A foil card of any rarity from the set.
|A card of any rarity from the set. Guaranteed to be foil.
|-
|-
|#15
|#15
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|[[Token]], [[art card]], play aide, ad
|[[Token]], [[art card]], play aide, ad
|Non-playable card, excluded for draft.
|Non-playable card, excluded for draft.
*65% – Token/play aide/ad card
*65% – Token/[[Helper card]]/ad card
*30% – Art card
*30% – Art card
*5% – Art card with signature
*5% – Art card with signature
|}
|}


==MTG Arena==
==History==
In alignment with tabletop, limited packs on MTG Arena will include the features of a Play Booster, starting with ''[[Murders at Karlov Manor]]''. Packs for [[Limited]] play events ([[Draft]] and [[Sealed]]). will include [[Special Guests]] and cards from [[The List]]. Because MTG Arena's older formats are different from those of tabletop ''Magic'', the designers of MTG Arena have worked with the [[Play Design]] team on a few card swaps on The List.<ref>{{DailyRef|mtg-arena/play-boosters-on-mtg-arena|Play Boosters on MTG Arena|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|October 18, 2023}}</ref>
===Background===
In September 2023, [[Mark Rosewater]] first indicated that the introduction of [[Set Booster]]s alongside [[Draft Booster]]s had created a number of compounding issues.
<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/728113529574588416|title=May I request that we get draft boosters with different artworks on the packaging again?|September 10, 2023}}</ref> Set boosters had proved so popular with players that they were significantly outselling Draft boosters.<ref name="PB"/> This put pressure on [[LGS|local game stores]] to stock Set boosters at the expense of Draft boosters. In some smaller regions, this resulted in LGSs only stocking Set boosters and being unable to run limited events. For those that did stock both, it cause problems with inventory management as ordering too much of one booster type, or not enough of the other, resulted in a loss of profit.<ref name="PB"/>
 
Based on its internal numbers, Wizards of the Coast projected that without change the pressure on LGSs to stock Set boosters would eventually lead them all to abandon purchases of draft boosters.
 
The decision to combine Draft Boosters and Set Boosters was announced in October [[2023]].<ref name="PB"/>
 
===Design===
With Set boosters being the more popular booster option, [[R&D]] decided to move the draft booster closer in design to Set boosters. Through their market research and player feedback, R&D identified that the likelihood of getting 1-4 rares and/or mythic rares in a pack was the top reason for why players like Set Boosters.<ref name="PB"/> This put a limit on the number of cards in the new booster and the type of slots available in the pack. R&D settled on a 14 card booster as the best mix of draft play-ability and Booster Fun.
 
To facilitate the reduction in cards, the way sets are designed for limited needed to be modified. At the highest level, the number of cards per pack was reduced from 15 to 14 and the number of common cards per pack from 10 to 7. To compensate, the number of common cards in a set was reduced to 81, from 101, to keep the frequency of seeing any one individual common at approximately the same rate.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/731363275374297088|title=... I'm worried about what the drop from 15 card packs to 14 cards would mean for limited.|October 16, 2023}}</ref> To balance the frequency of commons with that of uncommons, the number of uncommon cards in a set was increased to 100 (from 80).
 
The intent is to reduce the number of [[List of Magic slang#Chaff|draft chaff]] common cards across the set while increasing the number of answers to [[bomb]] rare and mythic rare cards.
 
Unlike Set boosters, Play boosters don't contain booster-only [[Commander (format)|Commander]] cards.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/731363128488624128|title=Will they include cards from the Commander set, or booster-only Commander cards, like Set Boosters do now?|October 16, 2023}}</ref>  
 
===Introduction===
Play Boosters will be introduced with the release of ''Murders at Karlov Manor'' in 2024.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 09:28, 17 October 2023

Magic Play Boosters are a type of booster product introduced for Murders at Karlov Manor in 2024 to replace both Draft boosters and Set boosters.[1] They are the foundation product of every premier and tentpole set.

Description

Play Boosters are 14-card Booster packs that contains eight "slots" (or card options) — six cards are common cards, one is a common that has a 12.5% chance to be replaced with a card from The List, three cards are uncommons, one is a rare or mythic rare, two cards are "wildcards" that can be of any rarity, and one card is a basic land. Play Boosters also include one non-Magic card, with a chance for that to be an art card. Each of the 14 playable cards can be drafted, meaning The List and Special Guests form part of the Limited environment.[2]

Play Boosters are designed to combine the characteristics of their predecessors; they are draftable per Draft Boosters while retaining the fun opening experience of finding surprise cards or card treatments per Set Boosters.[3] The structure of the Play Booster's slots result in each pack having one rare or mythic rare 58% of the time, two 37% of the time, three 4% of the time, and the chance four rares or mythic rares (1 regular rare/mythic, 2 wildcards and a card from The List/Special Guest) less than 1% of the time.[4]

A booster box of Play Boosters contains 36 packs.

Play Boosters do not prevent future sets from having a Bonus sheet but how they are integrated into the pack has not been outlined.[5][6]

MTG Arena

In alignment with tabletop, starting with Murders at Karlov Manor, limited packs on MTG Arena include the same features as a Play Booster. Packs for Limited play events (Draft and Sealed) will include Special Guests and cards from The List but because MTG Arena's eternal formats are different from those of tabletop Magic, the designers of MTG Arena have worked with the Play Design team on a few card swaps on The List when necessary.[7]

Structure

All playable slots (#1-14) have a chance for the card to be a Booster Fun version.[1]

Slot Quantity Type Chance of surprise
#1-6 6 Common
#7 1 Common or The List[3] 87.5% chance of a common from the set

12.5% chance of a List card:

  • 9.38% – A common or uncommon reprint from The List
  • 1.56% – A rare or mythic rare reprint from The List
  • 1.56% – A Special Guests card
#8-10 3 Uncommon
#11 1 Rare or Mythic Rare
#12 1 Basic land In sets with no basic lands, this will be a common land.
#13 1 Non-foil Wildcard A card of any rarity from the set. Guaranteed to be non-foil.
#14 1 Foil Wildcard A card of any rarity from the set. Guaranteed to be foil.
#15 1 Token, art card, play aide, ad Non-playable card, excluded for draft.
  • 65% – Token/Helper card/ad card
  • 30% – Art card
  • 5% – Art card with signature

History

Background

In September 2023, Mark Rosewater first indicated that the introduction of Set Boosters alongside Draft Boosters had created a number of compounding issues. [8] Set boosters had proved so popular with players that they were significantly outselling Draft boosters.[1] This put pressure on local game stores to stock Set boosters at the expense of Draft boosters. In some smaller regions, this resulted in LGSs only stocking Set boosters and being unable to run limited events. For those that did stock both, it cause problems with inventory management as ordering too much of one booster type, or not enough of the other, resulted in a loss of profit.[1]

Based on its internal numbers, Wizards of the Coast projected that without change the pressure on LGSs to stock Set boosters would eventually lead them all to abandon purchases of draft boosters.

The decision to combine Draft Boosters and Set Boosters was announced in October 2023.[1]

Design

With Set boosters being the more popular booster option, R&D decided to move the draft booster closer in design to Set boosters. Through their market research and player feedback, R&D identified that the likelihood of getting 1-4 rares and/or mythic rares in a pack was the top reason for why players like Set Boosters.[1] This put a limit on the number of cards in the new booster and the type of slots available in the pack. R&D settled on a 14 card booster as the best mix of draft play-ability and Booster Fun.

To facilitate the reduction in cards, the way sets are designed for limited needed to be modified. At the highest level, the number of cards per pack was reduced from 15 to 14 and the number of common cards per pack from 10 to 7. To compensate, the number of common cards in a set was reduced to 81, from 101, to keep the frequency of seeing any one individual common at approximately the same rate.[9] To balance the frequency of commons with that of uncommons, the number of uncommon cards in a set was increased to 100 (from 80).

The intent is to reduce the number of draft chaff common cards across the set while increasing the number of answers to bomb rare and mythic rare cards.

Unlike Set boosters, Play boosters don't contain booster-only Commander cards.[10]

Introduction

Play Boosters will be introduced with the release of Murders at Karlov Manor in 2024.

References

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Mark Rosewater (October 18, 2023). "What are Play Boosters?". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 16, 2023). "... will the list and/or special guest cards that are opened during limited ... be able to be used in that event?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  3. ↑ a b Wizards of the Coast (October 16, 2023). "Introducing Play Boosters: The Best of Two Worlds, Combined". WPN.
  4. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 16, 2023). "What will be the average number of rares/mythic per Play Booster?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  5. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 16, 2023). "Does this mean The List is taking over the function of bonus sheets?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  6. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 16, 2023). "In future sets with bonus sheets, what slot will they take in Play Boosters?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  7. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (October 18, 2023). "Play Boosters on MTG Arena". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 10, 2023). "May I request that we get draft boosters with different artworks on the packaging again?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  9. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 16, 2023). "... I'm worried about what the drop from 15 card packs to 14 cards would mean for limited.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  10. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 16, 2023). "Will they include cards from the Commander set, or booster-only Commander cards, like Set Boosters do now?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
Types of booster packs
Current
Obsolete
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