Fat Pack or Booster Box
General forum
Posted on Dec. 26, 2012, 3 a.m. by GriffinRider
I'm deliberating over whether I should buy a Fat Pack or a booster box. Booster Boxes guarantee that I'm likely to get one good card, but provide me with too much commons/uncommons to poke a stick at. Whilst a Fat Pack only gives me a small chance at a mythic or good rare, I also get a life counter, a card holding box and other goodies.
Also, which set? I've always been attracted to AVR but now I'm thinking RTR.
Thoughts?
Epochalyptik says... #3
RTR is the better option. It has tons of good value, and it's a desirable set.
Monetarily speaking, fat packs offer a worse cash-to-pack ratio than both boxes and loose packs. If you actually need the box, spindown, and lands, then I suppose there's a little extra value in the fat packs. However, it's mostly just gimmicky.
December 26, 2012 3:23 a.m.
Thedren_The_Inquisitor says... #4
Buy the singles you want... very few boxes are ever worth their price tags but 108 bucks on ebay or CSI can pretty much get you anything your heart desires
December 26, 2012 4:49 a.m.
You get far more in a booster box than you could with equivalent cash. Card prices here in the UK are ridiculous but every time I buy a booster box I always get my money back in card worth. First time I did it I got Thragtusk, Garruk, Nicol Bolas and a ton of others that escape my mind now, I remember looking at sites that sold individual cards and working out that id broken even after only about 20 of my rares.... which left 16 more rares and a ton of commons to put me in profit. I got another at Xmas and got Rakdos return, Vraska, Isperia, temple garden in foil, necropolis regent, a ton of selesnya charms...... tons more. Same scenario - selling about 20-25 of the rares would give me enough cash to buy the box again (theoretically - of course I'm not going to because I wanted the cards in the first place!).
I'm a massive fan of buying buik booster packs - it's certainly cheaper than buying a few booster packs because the more you buy, the cheaper each pack is. It's arguably cheaper than buying individuals but that depends on which set you buy.
December 26, 2012 8:17 a.m.
I can try and make a full deck list if you're interested of the most recent box I bought, so then you can decide if its worth it. I gave the box as a gift to my brothers and they may have sorted all the cards into decks and stuff now but they dont have much RTR so it shouldn't be too bad. If you want me to do it, i'll just add it as a deck and call it booster box or something. Just message me :)
December 26, 2012 8:22 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
I'm inclined to disagree with ChiefBell. The EV of most packs is pretty terrible, and you'll usually fail to break even monetarily. Even in RTR, there are only 17 rares that are worth at least the MSRP of a pack ($4.00 USD). Of those rares, 7 are mythics. RTR has 53 rares and 15 mythics. Discounting non-rares, this gives you a 22.342767% chance of breaking even in a pack of RTR, which is not ideal Even at prerelease prices, most sets don't score well.
Therefore, if you're looking to open or trade for certain cards, just cut out the middle man and buy those cards as singles. If you prefer the thrill of cracking packs, want to hold a limited event with some friends, or something along those lines, then get the box (if you can afford it).
If you ever find yourself wanting a fat pack box, you could offer to trade someone for one. I have traded bulk rares for fat pack boxes before, and if you want to buy them (as opposed to getting one of the X-thousand count boxes available for the same cost), they're usually online for a few bucks.
December 26, 2012 8:33 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #8
My figure also discounts foils, in case anyone was wondering for some reason.
December 26, 2012 8:34 a.m.
I think RTR is a bit poor for boxes, some sets are a lot better. Although it is different in the US. You quote $4 for a booster pack but over here in the UK its the equivalent of $5.50, which is why a whole box of them is so good because you save so much per individual pack. Often singles are good $3 more expensive to buy over here. Perhaps I have a warped view because your magic economy is completely different to ours.
December 26, 2012 9:10 a.m.
These are the cards my brothers got in the booster box I gave them for Xmas. Missing about 40 or so. deck:booster-box
December 26, 2012 10:30 a.m.
I got an m12 booster box and got a foil Gideon Jura and in an rtr box I got a foil card:Sphinx's Revelation and a (non foil) Jace, Architect of Thought , which made back a ton of value.
December 26, 2012 11:15 a.m.
alpinefroggy says... #12
I day stay away from large purchases of booster boxes and fat packs. Not that iit is impossible to get good pulls just the chance of you actually not getting anything good. Then you are out money you could have spent just buying what you needed.
December 26, 2012 3:57 p.m.
You are guaranteed one rare per pack, 3 uncommons and then 11 commons. With the chance of foils as well.
December 26, 2012 4:38 p.m.
IMHO:
Booster boxes are only worth the money at release as almost all rares are super inflated in price. You can pull rares that cost $40+ online.
However, 2 months after release, I would say purchasing singles is better. The chance of pulling enough rares to equal the cost of a booster box is slim; let alone the fact that your "worth" is going to be in rares you might not like. I would recommend TCG Player to guarantee you that you will get the card you want.
December 26, 2012 4:54 p.m.
Also, if you're worried about not picking up the commons/uncommons that is needed from a set (Think Twice , Unburial Rites , Azorius Charm etc.) you can normally purchase a playset of each good uncommon/common for about $10 (inc. shipping).
December 26, 2012 4:57 p.m.
Yeh. If you have a deck in mind then definitely do not buy booster boxes because you're never going to get what you want but if you want a large selection including some of the best then it's good.
However - I still absolutely stand by my claim that if you buy a booster box you will not be ripped off in terms of the worth of cards you obtain. Both times I've bought a box I've ended up with somewhere in the region of $400 dollars worth of cards. However - that does include commons and uncommons etc.
December 26, 2012 5:06 p.m.
Yeh. If you have a deck in mind then definitely do not buy booster boxes because you're never going to get what you want but if you want a large selection including some of the best then it's good.
However - I still absolutely stand by my claim that if you buy a booster box you will not be ripped off in terms of the worth of cards you obtain. Both times I've bought a box I've ended up with somewhere in the region of $400 dollars worth of cards. However - that does include commons and uncommons etc.
December 26, 2012 5:06 p.m.
And its also worth remembering that the card valuation in the UK is ridiculous but booster boxes are also about $140
December 26, 2012 5:12 p.m.
Sorry for like endless posts I just think its really weird how the UK prices are so different to the US ones. So it's hard to compare whats good value and what isnt, which is really annoying me now.
December 26, 2012 5:14 p.m.
"if you buy a booster box you will not be ripped off in terms of the worth of cards you obtain."
I disagree, especially with such of a definitive word as "not".
Myself, I have bought boxes of: NPH, M12, DKA, AVR, M13 (JP), RTR.
Out of those boxes, I made money on: RTR AVR (only because someone bought a foil Gisela on release weekend for $30)
Ones I broke even: M13 (JP) (actually lost ~$5, but I'll call it even)
Ones I lost money: NPH, M12, DKA
I purchased the booster boxes shipped/with tax for $90-$100...I honestly haven't felt satisfied with any of them, that's why I'm resorting to buying singles after 2 mos. after a release of a set.
December 26, 2012 5:15 p.m.
Fair enough. I bought M13 and made a profit but can't remember how much. The RTR one I published what I got, the link is way up there in the conversation somewhere. Profit on that one as well. I've pre ordered 2 for Gatecrash and I'm confident I'll make a profit but I think it will be interesting to see what happens there. I might publish those as deck lists.
I think it's all a bit hard to say and lost in translation. As I've been realising through ebay and US shops - A shock land like steam vents I'd pay the equivalent of about $20 for (I live in the UK). On ebay in the US there's a playset of 4 for $32 right now. The price difference is just ridiculous. I might just back down and agree that where you live - it's a probably a bad deal but here in the UK it works fine for me.
December 26, 2012 5:24 p.m.
@ChiefBell I concur. Considering the fact you said booster boxes are more expensive, I think that would raise the prices of UK singles. In the US, some LGSs sell boxes for $120; however, some online shops and some LGSs sell for $80-$100. The chance of buying booster boxes so cheap makes prices very cheap in the US for singles, making booster boxes less of an investment, and more of a gamble.
December 26, 2012 5:32 p.m.
I bought a box of M13 and pulled:
$10: 4 rare dual lands
$5: Talrand (foil)
$5: Garruk Primal
$25: Thundermaw
That's it for money cards in an entire box. I paid $90 for the box and lost $45. I will admit though that M13 is terrible if you're looking for value.
I will however advocate getting occasional packs. Whenever I have store credit at my lgs I always get some packs. I opened a Bonfire of the Damned , a Jace, Architect of Thought several shock lands and more all for free, got more credit, get more packs, sit on store credit.
It works for me but yeah, you WILL lose money on any box you buy, don't do it.
ptburnham says... #2
If you're going to draft buy a box. I do buy a Fat Pack per set for collecting purposes. Beyond those two reasons, it comes down to which set to waste money on the magic lottery. You're better off buying the exact singles you need.
December 26, 2012 3:13 a.m.