Which booster box should I buy?
General forum
Posted on May 21, 2013, 1:54 p.m. by DarthScabrous1
I want to buy a 36-pack booster set, but I don't know which to buy. Should I buy Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, or Dragon's Maze?
ShimmerVoid says... #3
I would go for the Return to Ravnica booster box as you get valuable cards like:
Also, cards that see quite a bit of standard play that are in RtR:
May 21, 2013 2:14 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #4
Yeah, its not so much that I need anything, I more enjoy the thrill. I was leaning towards RtR for planeswalkers, but I don't know. When RtR goes out of standard, does Dragon's Maze go as well?
May 21, 2013 2:20 p.m.
hiddengibbons says... #5
actiontech is right on the money. It really depends on what you're trying to do and how much money you have. You're not guaranteed any of the cards you really want unless you order them specifically. But if you're just trying to break in to a set and build a collection of often times useless jank, then a box would be appropriate. Also, keep in mind that there is a minute chance of getting some super valuable foil in a box that might be difficult to come by otherwise. If the cards you want add up to less than the cost of a booster box, I'd just order them. Thats my take anyway.
May 21, 2013 2:22 p.m.
Depends on what you're looking for. RTR has a lot of solid utility cards as ShimmerVoid has already mentioned that fall in that $3-5 range and a few high value cards as well. But if you want to play the guilds represented in Gatecrash, then that's the way to go. If you want more high value cards that are hot right now but a fair amount of redundancy, then the smaller Gatecrash set is for you. I've always loved getting boxes, both now and way back in the day when I was a poor student (and the internet was in it's infancy). If you are looking for a specific card, boxes are a bad way to go. Traditionally, unopened booster packs have higher value then the cards inside (on average this means that once you open the pack, what you have is now less valuable then what you started with). If you are looking to build a collection that allows more diversity or play styles and you have the cash then boxes are a great resource. I typically buy 2-3 boxes for each expansion, trade for specific builds, sell a little on eBay to recoup some $, and play as much as I can at a local shop to try to win extra packs. I highly recommend shopping around on eBay. I've found that's where the best deals are and look for a seller with a great reputation (feedback). Anyway, good luck. I love opening boxes, it's a nice treat.
May 21, 2013 2:42 p.m.
I bought a Gatecrash and Dragon's Maze box. Both got me a few things I needed, but also things that I could trade with people. The Dragon's Maze box was awesome, I got a foil Voice of Resurgence and a regular one, but most boxes aren't nearly as good. I get them more for the commons/uncommons and for trades with people. Plus for the thrill.
May 21, 2013 2:42 p.m.
And yes, RTR and DMG go out together, but not until Fall 2014. They'll be standard legal for more than a year yet.
May 21, 2013 2:43 p.m.
P.S. If you're going to buy boxes on a regular basis, I highly recommend that you establish a relationship with a shop that sells boxes for a discounted price through eBay. Find a shop that sells through eBay and win an auction or "buy it now", then see whether that shop owner will sell to you direct at a similar price on a more continual basis. It's nice to have an established relationship and can help a lot in getting boxes for more limited releases.
May 21, 2013 2:46 p.m.
I get mine through my local game store. I know not everyone is lucky enough to have them, but mine does a great deal on them. Usually I pay $110 total with tax for mine.
May 21, 2013 2:49 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #11
We have a shop here, but he's an idiot who screws people over all the time. For example, wanted to buy a couple of Cathedral of Wars, he was selling them for $5.50, WELL over the actual price. And I checked, it wasn't a promo. He will end up giving out cards to random people, or even better, last week FNM was supposed to start at 8. He and his new gf went to the back and didn't come out for an hour, making everyone pissed off.
As for the boxes. I found a mixed box on ebay with all three expansion in the block for $80 bucks. And some booster boxes of Dragon's Maze for only $90.
May 21, 2013 2:56 p.m.
hiddengibbons says... #12
I know the kind of place you're talking about. The owner isn't very well organized and doesn't have a head for business. Its not long before people realize what a bad store it is and he goes out of business. I bet he and his gf were organizing boxes in the back. LOL.
May 21, 2013 3:01 p.m.
if you are looking for money cards,
rtr and gatecrash are best for lands, which will retain their value the best over time. both have a handful of nice money cards
if you looking for short term investment money cards, dragons maze. voice and ral seem to be falling out of booster boxes like no tomorrow, in 6 booster boxes i have hit 6 voice's two of which are foil and 4 ral's, thankfully i have only hit one mazes end, the shock lands seem to be about one in 8 packs, based on the fact across the 6 boosters i have pulled 17 of them.
after seeing the pro tour stuff that i have seen, voice is going to spike in the next little while, being called the best card in the RTR block, by more than one person.
May 21, 2013 3:03 p.m.
I only have seen two shock lands from about 80-90 packs in Dragon's Maze.
May 21, 2013 3:05 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #15
Is Maze's End bad? I've not even looked at that card yet.
May 21, 2013 3:13 p.m.
It just forces you to play 5 colors and be pretty slow generally speaking. There are some cards that take advantage of gates, but generally speaking it's not very good or optimal.
May 21, 2013 3:14 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #17
Although I did see a neat casual deck that takes advantage of Hold the Gates with cards like Doran, the Siege Tower that used Maze's End as a potential win condition.
May 21, 2013 3:19 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #18
I saw on coolstuffinc that they were having a sale on DM booster box for $84.99. Is it a good deal, or could I even find it cheaper than that?
May 21, 2013 3:22 p.m.
best i can get them for is about 94+ shipping so, depending on their shipping cost, that is a great price.
May 21, 2013 3:23 p.m.
Dragon's Maze is definitely the least expensive of the 3 and with a little patience you should be able to get them for $95 or less (including the shipping) on eBay. Also, be sure to buy factory sealed booster boxes.
@toysm1th 6 Voice of Resurgence and 4 rals? I got one Ral in 2 boxes and no voice. Now I want to gamble and get another box! LOL.
May 21, 2013 3:28 p.m.
@DarthScabrous1 If the box is factory sealed, then it's a good price.
May 21, 2013 3:30 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #23
I went ahead and bought it. Hell, even if I get one or two good cards, it was worth it. I've already got 2 advent of the wurm, finding another one would give me a good reason to rebuild my token deck. Should I keep the thread alive and let everyone know what I pulled later?
May 21, 2013 3:30 p.m.
TheLameSauce says... #25
I would go with RTR myself, but if you can wait, you might be better off getting M14 or Theros.
May 21, 2013 3:52 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #26
Oh, I'm definitely buying both when they come out as well.
May 21, 2013 3:54 p.m.
I got a third of a box and opened a Voice in my second pack. I didn't pull any other chase cards though except for a Breeding Pool.
May 21, 2013 3:57 p.m.
actiontech says... #28
I top 8'd at two FNMs recently. One pack had Advent of the Wurm and the other Voice of Resurgence . I had already ordered two booster boxes of Dragon's Maze by that time, each of which had another Voice but through it all I never saw a single Ral Zarek and only 3 shocklands. Still, pretty happy with 3 voices. I suppose that's partially why I recommended DGM over the other two options listed.
One side note: if you buy a box of Dragon's Maze be prepared to get really angry at all the cluestones you'll be throwing out. Seriously, it's like 60 per box. Total waste of card stock.
May 21, 2013 3:58 p.m.
If we're telling "value for boosters" stories. I opened 6 booster packs (not boxes) and got 3 mythics. Super awesome right?
Maze's End . Reap Intellect . Deadbridge Chant . Hurraaaaaaay . . .
May 21, 2013 3:59 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #30
Yeah, and I realize why they had so many cluestones as well. Since they decided to showcase all 10 guilds, they felt it was necessary to have a card to help them along. Personally, I hate them so much. They don't really contribute to my gameplan ever.
May 21, 2013 4 p.m.
One of my friends however had the rare chance to open 3 mythics in one pack. Maze's End , foil Legion's Initiative , and Deadbridge Chant .
May 21, 2013 4:01 p.m.
yep did my normal, picked up 2 cases, one goes into storage, the other i open slowly and use for kitchen table drafts. the case that got cracked was amazing, the other mythics, one Blood Baron of Vizkopa , three Deadbridge Chant , one Master of Cruelties , two Reap Intellect , and a mazes fail. all but four foil i got was a common and most were gates, the other foil was Varolz, the Scar-Striped , and a foil Advent of the Wurm and the two voices, the rares were painful got a boat load of Pyrewild Shaman and Emmara Tandris , cannot complain with the lands and mythics that i got thou.
May 21, 2013 4:01 p.m.
I hate the Cluestones as well. They're great for flavor, but I'd run the Keyrunes over the Cluestones any day.
May 21, 2013 4:02 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #34
To be fair, I've had amazing luck pulling from random booster sets. In total, in the past 2 months, I've gotten 2 Angel of Serenity, 3 Thragtusk, 2 Domri Rade, 5 Stomping Ground, 2 Sacred Foundry, 3 Boros Reckoner, 2 Gideon, Champion of Justice, and 3 Thundermaw Hellkite. That's not including the Dragon's Maze stuff I've pulled. Here's hoping my luck continues!
May 21, 2013 4:02 p.m.
hiddengibbons says... #35
I some some people buy a bunch of booster boxes once and they went through the packs, opening them carefully so as not to destroy the wrapper and checked for money rares. They extracted the best cards and explained they were going to sell the rest as a repack box and be totally up front about the fact it is a repack box and any good rares have been replaced with lesser ones and that it is a way to get commons, uncommons, and lesser rares. They weren't planning to deceive people in anyway (or so they said) and be totally honest and up front about what it was. I guess this is one option- get a booster box, pull out the good stuff and sell the rest as repacks without deceiving people and of course at a cheaper price.
May 21, 2013 4:38 p.m.
Again depends, but RTR has the most overwhelming playables in all formats. Gatecrash has a few, DGM still needs time to find it's place, only voice has made an impact at this point. I would say get RTR, DGM, GTC in this order.
May 21, 2013 6:58 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #38
So...just got it today. Got 2 Voice of Resurgence, and 2 Ral Zareks. Sold one of the voices already on Ebay for $32. Nice :)
May 25, 2013 4:42 p.m.
CastleSiege says... #39
You could always dump some money into a Worldwake and hope you get a foil Jace, the Mind Sculptor :P
May 25, 2013 5:06 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #40
I would die, a million, million times.
Btw, I want to sale some of these. Is there anywhere you trust? I like Coolstuffinc.com, but they don't purchase a lot of cards.
May 25, 2013 5:22 p.m.
DarthScabrous1 says... #42
I do, but most of my cards go unnoticed. I put up an Angel of Serenity, Obzedat Ghost Council, and Blood Baron of Vizkopa, and never even got a hit on them.
May 25, 2013 5:34 p.m.
@DarthScabrous1 I use eBay but don't expect to get tcgplayer prices. Auctions will almost always sell while buy it now is slow, unless you go a bit lower then the lowest buy it now that is already listed. Rough estimate, you'll get ~80% of median tcgplayer price gross, minus the 10% that eBay takes and shipping costs. It sucks but at least you recoup a little bit back.
actiontech says... #2
Unless you need a lot of commons I'd suggest none of the above. You can spend your money on singles and get what you need/want a lot more effectively. If you're just into gambling I'd go with Dragon's Maze based on the card odds of pulling Voice or Ral, plus in general all of those cards are going to be in higher trade demand right now. Good luck.
May 21, 2013 2:06 p.m.