Most new Magic: The Gathering sets arrive in several kinds of booster and box, and the names don’t always make the difference obvious. Here is what each product is for, so you can buy the right one for a draft night, a collection or your first Commander game.

Play Boosters

Play Boosters are Magic’s main pack. They arrived in 2024 with Murders at Karlov Manor and replaced both Draft Boosters and Set Boosters, so one pack now works for drafting, sealed play and simply opening for fun. Each pack has 14 cards, with at least one rare or mythic rare and a chance of more rares and foils in the other slots.

Collector Boosters

Collector Boosters are the premium option. They are packed with foils, borderless and alternate-art cards and other special versions, with several rares or mythics in every pack. They cost far more per pack and aren’t meant for drafting. They are for collectors chasing the flashiest version of a card.

Bundles and gift bundles

A bundle puts a stack of Play Boosters in a storage box with basic lands and a spindown life counter, and many sets add a promo card. Gift bundles usually add a Collector Booster and come in a nicer box. Exact contents change between sets, so check the listing before you buy.

Commander decks

Commander decks are ready-to-play 100-card decks for Commander, Magic’s most popular multiplayer format. They are the easiest way into the format, and they often include new cards you can’t open in boosters.

Booster boxes

A booster box of Play Boosters is the cheapest way to buy packs in bulk and the usual choice for drafting with friends. Collector Booster boxes hold 12 packs and are normally the most expensive sealed product in a set.

Which one is right for you?

• Drafting or opening for fun: Play Boosters, or a Play Booster box for a group.
• Chasing special versions of cards: Collector Boosters.
• A gift, or a set to keep: a bundle or gift bundle.
• Starting Commander: a Commander deck.

See every Magic product we stock in our Magic: The Gathering section.