Beyond Booster
Magic Beyond Boosters are booster packs specific to Universes Beyond releases.[1] They were first introduced for Assassin's Creed in 2024 as a variation on the earlier Epilogue Booster.[2][3]
Description
Beyond Boosters are 7-card Booster packs that contain five "slots" (or card options) — three cards are uncommon cards, one is a land card that has a chance to be replaced with a scene card, one is a rare or mythic rare, one card is a foil "wildcard" that can be of any rarity, and one card is a Booster Fun variant that can be of any rarity. Beyond Boosters also include one non-Magic card, with a chance for that to be either a token or an ad card. At seven cards in total, Beyond Boosters are not designed to be drafted.[4]
Each Beyond Booster is supposed to "tell a story". For Assassin's Creed, you usually get an Assassin first. Then, it features different components from the game— a location, a target for your Assassin, an action, an Equipment, etc. Note that none of the above components are guaranteed to be in any one particular booster, but the as-fan is high enough that many, especially the Assassins, should appear in most boosters.[5]
Beyond Boosters are designed specifically for 60 card formats (i.e. Modern) with a goal being to "provide evergreen staples".[2] A booster box of Beyond Boosters contains 24 packs.[2]
Magic Online
Wizards of the Coast has not announced whether Beyond Boosters will be made available on Magic Online.
MTG Arena
Beyond Boosters are not available on Magic: The Gathering Arena.[6]
Structure
| Slot | Quantity | Type | Chance of surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1-3 | 3 | Uncommon | |
| #4 | 1 | Land or Scene card |
|
| #5 | 1 | Rare or Mythic Rare | Guaranteed to be non-foil. |
| #6 | 1 | Foil wildcard | A card of any rarity from the set. Guaranteed to be traditional foil. |
| #7 | 1 | Booster Fun wildcard | A card of any rarity from the set. Guaranteed to be a booster fun variant. Can be either foil or non-foil. |
| #8 | 1 | Token or ad card | Non-playable card. |
History
Beyond boosters were designed to solve a set structure issue with Assassin's Creed, where the set was not a good fit for a Commander deck release because it lacked enough factions to build around but was also not a good fit for a full tentpole release. The lack of options forced Wizards of the Coast to examine alternate methods of getting cards into players hands. The middle ground was to use and modify the then unreleased Epilogue booster.
Design
Beyond Boosters had already been designed prior to the release of March of the Machine: The Aftermath, with Wizards of the Coast being internally happy using the Epilogue-style product structure.[2] The overwhelmingly negative reception to March of the Machine: The Aftermath caused Wizards to redesign the structure of Beyond boosters, minimizing the common complaints about card repetition and price. The booster was increased to seven cards in size, up from five, while booster boxes were reduced in size to 24 packs. These changes, coupled with the larger set size for Assassin's Creed, were aimed at reducing the number of duplicate uncommons players would open across a booster box. According to the designers, the new structure allows for players to open more "cool cards", with an increase in the number of potential rares and mythics going to four, up from three. The price of Beyond booster packs was also said to be changed in response to player complaints about the expense of March of the Machine: The Aftermath boosters, but in fact the price went up instead of down.[7]
References
- ↑ 30th Anniversary Panel at GenCon – A Recap of MTG's Past, Present & Future (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (August 5, 2023).
- ↑ a b c d Blake Rasmussen, Max McCall, Zakeel Gordon (February 13, 2024). "Epilogue on Epilogue (Video)". Magic: The Gathering. YouTube.
- ↑ Zakeel Gordon (June 18, 2024). "Collecting Magic: The Gathering® – Assassin's Creed®". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 5, 2023). "I got a bit confused about what the boosters beyond assassin's creed actually is.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 18, 2024). "Creed is Good". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c Zakeel Gordon (June 18, 2024). "Collecting Magic: The Gathering® – Assassin's Creed®". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Tolarian Winds: Are These 7 Card Magic The Gathering Booster Packs Another Aftermath? (Video). Tolarian Community College. YouTube (June 29, 2024).