Play Boosters vs. Collector Boosters: Which Should You Get? - Draftsim (2025)

Last updated on December 3, 2024

Obsessive Collector | Illustration by Reiko Murakami

Wizards of the Coast consolidated Draft boosters and Set boosters into a single product called Play boosters. The Play booster packs helped reduce the number of different boosters to choose from.

According to Wizards, players overwhelmingly chose to buy Set boosters over Draft boosters because of the increased possible value in each pack. However, stores still need to stock Draft boosters to run Limited games. The result is that some stores got stuck with leftover Draft boosters. Play boosters take what players like about Set boosters and add it to a draftable pack. This appeals to players and saves stores the trouble of buying different products.

It’s great to see Wizards make a move to try and help out stores and also give players what they want. With more chances to get rare cards in draftable boosters, some wonder if it’s still worth it to buy the more expensive Collector boosters. I break down the differences between these packs, go over what’s inside, and talk about which is better between Play boosters and Collector boosters.

The Difference Between Play and Collector Boosters

Collector Ouphe | Illustration by Filip Burburan

Play boosters are the a draftable booster pack. These packs are color balanced to ensure a good Limited play environment. They can contain up to four rares. Unlike Draft boosters, they have a chance to get cards from The List and art cards.

Collector boosters are premium-priced booster packs with more guaranteed rares. Though Collector boosters are tweaked with each set, they contain at least five rare cards. These packs also include more foil cards, special art treatments, and chances at set-specific art styles like the anime style Enchanting Tales from Wilds of Eldraine or the Brothers Hildebrandt cards from the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition.

Play Booster Contents

Play boosters contain 13 playable cards and one nonplayable which is either an ad, token, or art card. The contents of each play booster pack are as follows:

• Slot 1-6: Commons: These are six guaranteed common cards from the main set. They have a chance of being Booster Fun styles from the given set. These are no longer thematically connected to uncommons the way they are in Set boosters in favor of color balancing the packs for drafts.
• Slot 7: Common or The List: This slot has an 87.5% chance of being another common from the main set. The remaining 12.5% of the time, this will be a card from The List. The List cards are reprints that remain illegal in Standard. This slot may also be a Special Guest which is a subset of The List. Special Guest cards are popular reprints with new art.
• Slot 8-10: Uncommons: This slot is three uncommons from the main set. These aren’t connected to any commons like in Set boosters, but they’re possibly Booster Fun versions.
• Slot 11: Rare or Mythic: You’re guaranteed one rare or mythic in each Play booster. About 86% of the time, this slot contains a rare, and around 14% of the time you get a mythic rare. These are from the main set and may be a Booster Fun variant.
• Slot 12: Land: You get one basic land or common land in each Play booster. 80% of the time this land is non-foil, while it’s a traditional foil 20% of the time.
• Slot 13: Non-Foil Wildcard Slot: These can be any rarity.
• Slot 14: Traditional Foil Wildcard: This card is the same as the previous slot except in all the Pringley goodness of traditional foils.
• Slot 15: Miscellaneous Helper Cards/Ads: This is where you’ll find things like tokens, instructions, or placeholder cards for double-faced cards. 65% of the time it’s a token, helper card, or an ad. 30% of the time this is an art card. There’s a 5% chance for this slot to hold a signed art card.

Collector Booster Contents

The exact contents of Collector boosters change subtly from set to set, though there are some elements that seem pretty locked in. Collector boosters have five guaranteed rares, some with the chance of another rare or mythic in a certain slot. Most also dedicate three slots to the set’s specific bonus cards. For example, March of the Machine Collector boosters give three slots to Multiverse Legends cards, and Wilds of Eldraine Collector boosters include three dedicated slots to Enchanting Tales, with an additional chance to get a fourth.

When you need to know exactly what is in each Collector booster, you should check out the “Collecting” articles that Wizards releases. The article is titled “Collecting [insert set name here]” and gives highly detailed breakdowns of what each Collector booster contains. For example: Collecting Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

Which Is Better? Play or Collector Boosters?

I love drafting, so Play boosters are better for me. Now, do I want a Collector booster as my prize for a pack-per-win prize structure, absolutely! If you primarily collect or do MTG finance, rely on Collector boosters for shiny and showstopping cards.

The price per pack of Play boosters is more than draft boosters, but not as much or as fluid as Collector boosters.

A Collector booster guarantees five rare or mythics, whereas a Play booster guarantees one, with a decent possibility of two and very rare chances of three or four. If I estimate that a Collector booster costs roughly four times the amount of a Play booster, my recommendation is to stick with Play boosters. You have a shot at more total rares, and you can still play Limited with them. I personally buy a box of Play or Draft boosters from sets I enjoy and keep them around to redraft once they’ve gone out of print, an added value you can’t really get out of Collector boosters.

If you’re strictly into collecting Magic and not playing it, Collector boosters are a nice option. You do get fewer slots of chaff in a Collector booster, so if card storage is an issue and you chase value, these may be the best for you.

Collector boosters are a fun gamble if you want to chase serialized cards and you have the money to do so. At the end of the day, you’re gambling, and you’re very likely to lose. If you want to open it for the thrill, that makes sense, but I wouldn’t call it a smart purchase.

Ultimately, there’s a level of subjectivity here. I know some players love Collector boosters and as someone who bought multiples of the Ponies: The Galloping 2 Secret Lair, I can’t lecture anyone about their money. But if you struggle to make the decision, I recommend Play boosters.

Best Play Boosters

Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Thunder Junction is a crossroads of cards with great rarity. Outlaws of Thunder Junction Play boosters can include cards from three different “mini sets”: Breaking News, The Big Score, and Special Guests. While they're really exciting if you are drafting, some of these are not only the most expensive cards from OTJ but also reprints that continue to make an impact in eternal formats, which makes it much more likely they'll hold their trade value.

Duskmourn: House of Horror

The mechanics inside Duskmourn: House of Horror Play Boosters are so fun to play with and some powerful modal cards and strategies are well woven into the fabric of Magic as a whole. Players will reach for these cards for years, there is a cycle of cards with “Enduring” in their name after all.

Modern Horizons 3

You pay a premium with Modern Horizons 3 Play boosters and get high quality drafts out of it. The Limited decks that come from Sealed and Draft with these MH3 boosters is deep and there is value to be had at every rarity in this set. Besides which other set has a spread of lands that includes landscapes, snow lands and fetch lands (examples: Tranquil Landscape, Snow-Covered Wastes, and Wooded Foothills)?

Best Collector Boosters

Foundations

Foundations Collector boosters are a treasure with many cards that are established and cherished pieces of collections. Fan-favorite legendaries and planeswalkers combine for a good choice for a great top end of money cards that includes incredible Japan Showcase cards.

Ravnica Remastered

Ravnica Remastered Collector boosters tap into the nostalgic nerve in many Magic players. These are filled with 4-5 retro frame cards, just imagine Seventh Edition card frames and older. One of the biggest draws to Ravnica are the borderless shock lands, which are highly prized by players and collectors alike.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Collector boosters were the boosters that could have contained the one-of-one, serialized The One Ring, and while that card is no longer in such a pack, there are so many cards that spark emotional connections to fans, that these will remain collectibles for a long time.

There are also a lot of goodies in these packs. You have the Lord of the Rings box toppers with awesome reprints like Ancient Tomb. There are the elven rings, serialized or otherwise, which are both really cool and valuable. There are also scene cards which are fun collectible pieces from this set, especially if you’re a LOTR fan. These also have two slots that might give you the very sought after Nazgûl. This set also has pretty decent value thanks to cards like The One Ring and Orcish Bowmasters which have made a splash in Modern.

Wrap Up

Sin Collector | Illustration by Mike Bierek

Whenever a new booster type is introduced, it’s worth it to take stock of whether to change your buying habits. Personally, I think anyone who bought Draft and Set boosters should be pretty happy with the Play boosters, and save the collector boosters for prizes or special occasions.

What do you think of Play boosters? What other moves could Wizards make to help stores? Let me know in the comments or on Draftsim’s X.

Thank you for reading and see you next time!

Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to make a purchase, you’ll help Draftsim continue to provide awesome free articles and apps.

Sean Migalla

Related Posts