Which to Buy???
Economics forum
Posted on Nov. 28, 2014, 5:27 a.m. by Caravaneer546
I am greatly confused as to which booster box I should buy. I am only going to buy a currently standard one, and I don't feel Journey into Nyx is worth it. I want to get Brimazes and Coursers from Born, Nissas and Pain Lands and Rabblemasters from M15, Stormbreaths, Thoughtseizes, Hero's Downfalls, Elspeths, Caryatids, and Polukranoses from Theros, and Fetches, Sarkhans, and Sorins from Khans of Tarkir. I want to aid in building my deck Mardu Control-Aggro (Help Wanted!) but I am also looking to gain money and build up an impressive collection, especially since I have a very small collection as I am relatively new to Magic (Came in during Gatecrash). Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much!
GeeksterPlays says... #3
I agree with the above comment, there's little point in buying a booster box as the chances of getting what you want out of it are slim, and you'll be left with hundreds of card you don't want (and probably no-one else will either at this point). For the same price as the box you could buy yourself a playset of Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Courser of Kruphix
Everything you've listed as wanting is top-tier and rare, so save up your cash and buy the singles you need, prioritise the ones you want most or need quickest for a deck and go from there.
The odds of "gaining money" from a booster box are slim at best, so don't think that you'll open a 36 pack box and triple your money back... at best you may break even if you were to open 3 Fetches and a Planeswalker but that would be one hell of a lucky box too.
Best, and only really decent time to buy a box is on release day or within the first week. Cards are rarer, not as many in circulation so worth more. Look at Khans; Bloodsoaked Champion was hitting 15 Pounds (UK) in the week it came out, now on eBay there are Buy-It-Now's of it for less than 2 pounds. Same for Butcher of the Horde as well, and in M15 Core, Garruk, Apex Predator was over 30GBP on release, now you can pick him up for 10GBP.
November 28, 2014 6:22 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #4
If you want to draft, buy a box, but I don't recommend this. Drafting at an LGS is much more well organized.
Buying singles is always the way to go when trying to get cards, or assemble decks.
November 28, 2014 6:36 a.m.
Buy singles, for suggestions of stuff that will retain long term value and enable you to trade up in format, I would suggest;
Khans fetch lands are amazing to pick up around now since their price will only go up from here since they're modern and legacy staples.
Thoughtseize is a good pick up as well since it also see's lots of play in modern and legacy and shouldn't be cheaper than it is now.
Eidolon of the Great Revel see's a good amount of play in modern and legacy too and shouldn't be overlooked, I'd pick up some of them now too while they're cheap.
Dig Through Time will go up if it's not banned and finds a home in a popular tier one deck.
Treasure Cruise will be a good pick up if you can get them super cheap. In a few years (if its not banned) they should end up being a few dollars each even though they're common. Think Serum Visions. Personally I have a stack of about 30 of them I got for about $2, even if they only go up to $2-3 each they'll be good trade bait in a few years.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos is seeing legacy play in most death and taxes lists too. But it's only as a 1 or 2 of, so I wouldn't expect it to go up, just stay where it is, unless it drops from those lists.
November 28, 2014 6:43 a.m.
Don't buy boxes if you want particular cards. Only buy boxes if you want to draft with friends.
November 28, 2014 7:43 a.m.
JakeHarlow says... #7
Packs are only good for cheap thrills. They are a terrible way to gain value. Whenever you pop open a money rare, Wizards counts on you getting intoxicated and wanting more! Nothing emulates the child-like joy of busting a booster, but it's a fool's errand most of the time.
The only times I get boosters are:
When I have an option to get them after Top 8'ing at my LGS's FNMs and other tourneys. Often, though, I opt for Store Credit instead. Even though the credit would buy slightly under the MSRP of the packs offered, it usually ends up having more purchasing power, since even a 20-pack winnings package will only have maybe 5-6 money cards. Plus, if they've got a single I want, my credit can basically pay for it. That's how I got my judge foil Nekusar, the Mindrazer. Waaaay better that busting a ton of probable junk rares, in my view.
Drafting or sealed tournaments
Playing a Conspiracy draft with friends (enormously fun)
Also, I buy ONE pack as a fun reward after working out four times a week. I know this is stupid and the expense adds up (~$16/week), but it's a little treat for working hard. And it's nice to pull a $5 rare or a fetch after working out. Feels like I earned it. :)
But seriously. Singles if you want to invest, gain value, speculate, or assemble a deck. You can kinda get away with some budget builds if you bust a box, but you'll still find yourself filling in a few gaps and making upgrades via singles vendors. Opening packs is fun, but I only have one actual focused deck that I built solely from opened cards.
November 28, 2014 7:45 a.m.
JakeHarlow - It's not stupid to reward yourself. After a long week at work I sometimes get myself 3 boosters, if I feel I've done a good job. It's just nice.
November 28, 2014 7:50 a.m.
JakeHarlow says... #9
You're right about that, ChiefBell. It feels good and it's a nice reinforcement to anticipate when you're in the thick of things. Though I'm still a little crestfallen about my workout pull from this morning, Herald of Anafenza. :D
November 28, 2014 7:54 a.m.
GeeksterPlays says... #10
I do treat myself to some boosters now and then, but I do seem to have crazy good luck with them lately.
My local vendor does any 3 for 10GBP, I've gotten very lucky from them though, last lot of 3 I bought 2x M15 and 1x Nyx and I opened an Ajani Steadfast and a Mana Confluence. That was a good day!
At my LGS I saw a fresh brick of M15 being unsealed, bought 1 random booster from it (literally, I dug around and picked 1 out of the box) and got myself a Goblin Rabblemaster for my trouble! Later that week I bought a box of Khans boosters, opened Polluted Delta, Flooded Strand, Bloodstained Mire and Sorin, Solemn Visitor with hardly any junk rares from the whole box.
I'm scared to buy anything more now, reckon my luck has to run out sometime soon! lol
November 28, 2014 8:26 a.m.
Last time i played sealed with a friend i pulled 2x Flooded Strand, 1x Wooded Foothills, 1x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker, 1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor and a Abzan Ascendancy. So from 6 packs i got 3 fetches and 2 planeswalkers. That was a good day and i never buy boosters again :)
November 28, 2014 8:59 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #12
Khans probably will give you the most value, plus the fetches have the most eternal value. You can check out estimated values of each set here
Still, if you are trying to build a deck then just buy the pieces you need. More likely to actually get what you want.
November 28, 2014 9:41 a.m.
Caravaneer546 says... #13
Well this is mostly asking for a gift from family who has no knowledge of magic, and having them buy me singles would be an absolute nightmare, so I was going to ask them to buy me a box. I don't just want to build up my deck, I want to build up my collection. Since these are for Christmas, Fate Reforged is out, and my question still stands.
November 28, 2014 10:51 a.m.
Oh yeh. I ask family members for boosters. I'm going for Khans just because a foil fetchland would make me very happy.
November 28, 2014 11:13 a.m.
Caravaneer546 says... #15
I might go Khans, but I have only seen one person get a foil fetch, and in his box he got 3 foil deltas and 2 foil foothills...But anyway, should I get Khans hoping for Fetches and Walkers, Born hoping for Courser, Brimaz, or Kiora, M15 hoping for a Rabblemaster, Walkers, or Pain Lands, or Theros hoping for Thoughtseize, Walkers, Stormbreath, Caryatid, or Polukranos?
November 28, 2014 11:20 a.m.
Add up the number of cards you want
Khans - 5 rares, 2 mythic
Born - 2 rares, 1 mythic
M15 - 6 rares, 6 mythics (but this really depends on WHICH planeswalkers you want)
Theros - 2 rares, 5 mythics
I did that in my head so i may have made some errors.
Go for the box which has the greatest quantity of rares you want. Then you're bound to be happier than if you go with a box that has very few things you want.
November 28, 2014 11:27 a.m.
Caravaneer546 says... #17
I see M15 has the greatest number, but when it comes to those, they aren't really ones I want as much as Theros ones, but in Theros, I want a bunch of mythics and I don't feel like I'd get them. Born is really only good for the 3 I listed and a bunch of <$5.00 rares and mythics. I feel like leaning towards Theros of Khans, and they have the same amount of rares/mythics I want, but the 5 rares I want from Khans are kind of a separate rarity in between rare and mythic, and their value is dropping more and more. I feel like going theros, but as I said, most of the cards I want are mythics and I feel like I would be disappointed opening up like 10 promo rares.
November 28, 2014 12:04 p.m.
Lol yeh. Don't buy boxes hoping for mythics. You're ever likely to pull around 3.
November 28, 2014 12:12 p.m.
Caravaneer546 says... #19
I'm still not sure which one to get...probably Khans. I would be likely to get 4 or so fetches which pays for almost half my box.
November 28, 2014 12:22 p.m.
Theros man...my buddy cracked 2 boxes of theros and one of Khans. The Khans pack paid for itself. The two theros boxes had over $200 in rares each. Plus he pulled a foil caryatid...so hell ya
November 28, 2014 1:30 p.m.
If I should want one booster box for christmas, should it then be Theros or Khans? :D
November 28, 2014 5:08 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #23
@NorthernRaven Khans has more value, more eternal value, and cooler cards. Additionally, it will be in Standard longer.
November 28, 2014 5:46 p.m.
Don't buy boxes off Ebay/Amazon, even if they are cheaper, as they're usually tracked. One of my friends bought a box of Dragons maze off Ebay, and got a Master of Cruelties and a Savageborn Hydra as his only mythics. He had a limited amount of playable rares, and the rest was trash. Singles are a better alternative, if you want to make a specific deck, and many online merchants have reasonable prices (comparative to my local card shop, who mark up scg prices) and include deals. If you wanna get a box, then get one that has the most rotation value. Also, Kiora and Elspeth are being reprinted in a duel deck, so watch it there.
November 28, 2014 6:45 p.m.
Vyxil - just make sure the box specifies that its in its original plastic protective wrapping...........
I mean if you buy a box thats not in its original packaging then really its kinda your own fault.
November 28, 2014 6:58 p.m.
Caravaneer546 says... #26
notamardybum Read my one comment. I am asking for a box from my relatives, it would be chaos having them get me singles, and my relatives refuse to just give me cash.
Scytec I was really considering Theros, and I am pretty sure I am going for it.
November 28, 2014 7:34 p.m.
JexInfinite says... #28
If you specifically want to draft, Conspiracy is the best set for that. Sure, KTK and THS have standard staples, but if you just care about fun, Conspiracy is by far the craziest and most fun. You will need 7 other people to draft with, though.
November 28, 2014 9:27 p.m.
Yeah I think Khan's is an incredible set. It's also a ton of fun to draft so if you have 2-3 friends and you don't mind holding the openings over a week or two definitely sit down and draft just the couple of you until you're all done with the box. I've done this a couple of times and it always makes a BOX worth it. The cards you get are just gravy.
Boza says... #2
NONE. Buy the singles you need. It is hella cheaper than playing the lottery.
If you are hellbent on buying a booster box, at least wait for the next expansion Fate Reforged before making a purchase. New sets generally have a lot of value associated with them.
November 28, 2014 5:34 a.m.