A new era of MTG booster packs begins through Play boosters in Murders at Karlov Manor

Wizards of the Coast is shaking up Magic: The Gathering booster packs for the launch of Murders at Karlov Manor, combining Draft and Set boosters into one product that’s called the Play booster. 

Set booster packs were first introduced into Magic through Zendikar Rising as a way to provide booster fun treatments in conjunction with singles that players wanted and needed to build decks across a wide variety of MTG formats.

Prior to Set boosters, there was only one booster pack, used for cracking packs and for the Limited format (Draft and Sealed). Starting with the launch of Murders at Karlov Manor, after the first of the year, WotC will mash together Draft and Set boosters into one— through Play boosters.

Play boosters in MTG are designed for the Limited format while containing booster fun treatments, along with the potential to pull up to four Rare and/or Mythic Rare cards in each pack. 

Prices of Play booster packs will have the same MSRP as the old Set booster packs. This will likely raise the price of prerelease and other Limited events slightly. A Play booster box will contain 36 booster packs. Each pack will contain 15 slots, with one slot getting used for an Ad/helper card or token. 

The change to how MTG products are sold will reduce confusion, prevent inventory issues at the local game store level, and consolidate the best of what both Draft and Set booster packs had to offer players, according to WotC. 

A foundational structure of what is included in MTG Play booster packs was created for the Murders at Karlov set. Some slots are subject to change based on the Magic set, according to WotC, to potentially include bonus sheet cards or a special type of Magic card, like double-sided ones. 

One of the big changes applied to MTG Play booster packs was a rework of The List. All The List cards will be legal to draft in Limited and play in Sealed. Players will also get the chance to acquire more Rare and/or Mythic Rare cards through The List, and the two Wildcard slots in a Play booster. And Commander-legal cards will no longer have a dedicated slot through Play booster packs. 

Collector boosters will remain as they are through the upcoming booster pack changes, and WotC doesn’t have any plans to change how collector booster packs work, in the near future. The new Magic Play booster packs will replace Draft and Sealed packs on MTG Arena. Entry fee prices for Limited events on Arena are not expected to change. 

Players can test out the new Play boosters during the Murders at Karlov Manor prerelease events which are slated to drop in early 2024.