Play Boosters vs. Draft Boosters: Which Should You Get? - Draftsim (2024)

Last updated on May 14, 2024

Pack Leader | Illustration by Rudy Siswanto

Big changes are coming to Magic: the Gathering’s booster packs, with both Draft and Set Boosters being replaced by the new Play Boosters when Murders at Karlov Manor releases in February 2024.

Whilst there’s much discussion over whether this is a good or a bad thing, and I’ve already covered how this will impact Limited play in a separate article, today we’re going to look over what, exactly, the difference between Draft Boosters and Play Boosters are.

Let’s check it out!

The Difference Between Play and Draft Boosters

Play of the Game | Illustration by Jung Park

In short, Play Boosters are like Draft Boosters, but contain one fewer playable card, and have the potential of containing up to four rares, rather than the one rare that most Draft Boosters currently contain.

Play Boosters are a combination of Draft and Set Boosters, bringing the enhanced ‘Booster Fun’ experience of Set Boosters to a type of booster pack you can use in Limited MTG formats like Draft and Sealed.

Play Booster Contents

Play Boosters have a guaranteed one land, six commons, three uncommons and one rare/mythic in each booster. This makes up 11 of the 14 cards in the pack. The remaining three slots are more variable, and each have the potential of being an extra rare. First of all, there’s a slot that will normally be a common, but 1-in-8 boosters will replace this common with a card from “The List,” which can be of any rarity. The final two slots are “Wildcard slots” (not Arena wildcards), and can be any card from the main set, with one of them being a guaranteed foil. As far as we know right now, these Wildcard slots will not be from supplementary products, such as Commander decks.

But who are Play Boosters for? Well, they’re for pretty much everyone. If you’re not wanting to splurge out on a Collector Booster, but still want to open some MTG product, Play Boosters are going to be for you. Similarly, if you’re wanting to play Limited (because you have amazing taste in your Magic formats!), Play Boosters are also for you. We no longer have this split in the playerbase of whether you’re a Set Booster or Draft Booster person.

Draft Booster Contents

Draft Boosters are the type of booster that you’ll have played with if you’ve ever drafted, with 10 commons, three uncommons, a rare and a land card. Sometimes (around 1-in-3 packs) you get a foil instead of a common.

These boosters were the primary packs that existed since the advent of Magic, until Collector Boosters appeared in 2019 and started expanding the types of boosters you could buy.

Which Is Better? Play or Draft Boosters?

Wizards clearly think that Play Boosters are better, and there’s a lot of reasons why. Firstly, there’s more opportunity for booster fun style alt-arts and foils. There’s also the chance to open more rares, with the average pack containing around 1.4 rares instead of only 1.

One downside to Play Boosters, though, is the price. Previously, Set Boosters were around $1 more per pack than Draft Boosters. Play Boosters are roughly the same price per pack as Set Boosters, making them more expensive than Draft Boosters. This also affects the price of playing Limited formats, and it’s the biggest downside to Play Boosters overall.

Best Play Boosters

Outlaws of Thunder Junction

The drafts are wild with Outlaws of Thunder Junction play boosters. The strong rares and the slight increase in the number of them, make pack openings more difficult to navigate. Then, the games are a noticeable notch higher in power level, not just at the power creep level either. Expect to play against a few of those busted rares at every Limited event.

Murders at Karlov Manor

Murders at Karlov Manor drafts end up surprisingly aggressive for a set with a mystery theme. The Murders at Karlov Manor play boosters make it a regular thing to have two rare options as your pack 1 pick 1. Even though a few duplicate commons showed up. The draft with play boosters is not as bad as some speculated, and personally, it's exciting to see Wizards do something completely new.

Best Draft Boosters

Whilst the best Draft Boosters are pretty closely linked to the Limited formats they’re from, and therefore fairly subjective, here are a selection of the best ones that are still generally available at reasonable prices.

Dominaria United

Dominaria United was one of the most popular Limited formats in recent years. A super well-balanced set, with plenty of nostalgia of Magic’s original plane thrown in to boot, this is in many players’ all time favourite sets.

March of the Machine

This is a bit of a cheeky one. If you look at the makeup of a March of the Machine booster, it’s very similar to the proposed make-up of a Play Booster. It’s clear that MOM was used as a trial for Play Boosters in Limited.

Time Spiral Remastered

The first paper release of a Remastered Magic set (MTGO had some previously), Timespiral Remastered was an extremely fun draft set. Since then we’ve also had Dominaria Remastered, which was another great set, and we’re also due to get Ravnica Remastered in January 2024 (which, coincidently, will be the last set with Draft boosters). Clearly these remastered sets are popular!

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

Another recent set that’s loved by both Limited players and fans of flavourful Magic sets, this return toKamigawa 2000 years after the first visit was exactly what some players were looking for.

Modern Horizons 2

Although Modern Horizons sets have had a mixed reception (and Modern Horizons 3 is sure to have one too) for Constructed formats, they’ve been incredibly popular Limited formats. Given the opportunity to open some spice such as a fetch land, or an Evoke Elemental, Modern Horizons 2 packs are still surprisingly cheap and available.

Final Thoughts

Play with Fire | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov

For better or worse, Draft Boosters are going away and we’re getting Play Boosters in their place. Play Boosters do have a lot of advantages over Draft Boosters, but the increase in price is going to be a bitter pill for some people to swallow. How they affect drafts is also going to be something we’re going to have to judge once we’ve got them in our hands and have played with them a bit.

What do you think, though? Do you like them? Are you intrigued to see how it affects Limited formats? Or is the price increase enough to stop you playing prerelease (I honestly hope not)? Whatever your thoughts, let me know down below. And until next time, may all your boosters, no matter which one you’re opening, be fun!

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Chris Reay

Chris is a passionate drafter who loves limited formats both online and (particularly) in person. He started his YouTube Channel, Pass Left Drafts MTG as a lockdown project and still loves putting out content for Magic players of all varieties.

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