MTG players agree more bonus sheets should come in future sets, according to a dev poll

Bonus sheets from recent Magic: The Gathering set releases have left players wanting more in upcoming releases, according to a poll from game designer Mark Rosewater. 

Wizards of the Coast has been adding bonus sheets to several recent MTG sets, from The Brothers’ War and March of the Machine to a digital rollout of four bonus sheets from the MTG Arena Shadows Over Innistrad Remasted set. Bonus sheets added to these recent Magic sets have provided a fun gameplay variance to the Limited format while also offering players a chance to pick up the reprint singles on the secondary market. 

A poll created by Rosewater on his Tumbler page asked players whether a bonus sheet added to a set enhances, lessens, or is neutral to a Limited Draft. Out of over 800 votes, a majority of players say a bonus sheet enhances a Draft.

• Enhances a Draft: 67.1 percent
• Lessens a Draft: 13.5 percent
• Is neutral to a Draft: 19.4 percent

What is an MTG bonus sheet?

A bonus sheet in MTG consists of reprints that are added to a set release, legal to play only through the Limited Draft and Sealed format. Within the BRO set, the bonus sheet included reprinted Artifacts, and the MOM set contains reprinted legendary creatures from throughout Magic’s history. 

Bonus sheets have been showing up in sets more often throughout the 2022-2023 season, with a total of six taking place throughout the history of MTG. 

• Time Spiral Timeshifted cards
• Time Spiral Remastered Timeshifted cards
• Strixhaven: School of Mages Mystical Archives
• The Brothers’ War Retro Artifacts
• Shadows over Innistrad Remastered Shadows of the Past
• March of the Machine Multiverse Legends

Why MTG players want more bonus sheets

Most players enjoy bonus sheets for a variety of reasons. Reprinted cards found throughout Magic’s history that have a specific theme and line up with a set release provide variance within the Limited meta. Sometimes the variance is bomb heavy, like with the MOM set. But even with a slew of powerful cards getting added to Sealed and Draft, players like having the ability to create a deck that doesn’t necessarily fit into one of the 10 predesigned archetypes for that specific Limited format. 

Related: All MTG March of the Machine cards worth money

Many of the bonus sheet reprints help reduce the price of singles on the secondary market, making it easier for players to purchase these cards when playing other MTG formats like Commander, Pioneer, and Modern. WotC also tends to add booster fun treatments to the bonus sheet cards, providing players with cards to chase when cracking booster packs. 

Not all future MTG sets will contain a bonus sheet. But based on the Magic communities response to bonus sheets, players can expect to likely see them showing up in sets at least twice a year. This includes the serialized foil treatment WotC has been adding to MTG bonus sheet cards.