Magic: The Gathering may have just released its new set, Throne of Eldraine, but there is never time for rest in the world of Planeswalkers. With a few major convention events right around the corner, Wizards of the Coast is also teasing a mysterious new product called the Mystery Booster.
The official Magic: The Gathering Mystery Booster tease offered literally no context, so players are grasping at straws trying to figure out what the product is or how it will be used. It has been confirmed that the Mystery Boosters will be used in limited events at two upcoming conventions, so it seems likely that whatever is inside has been specifically designed with Draft and Sealed in mind... That gives us a few ideas about what to expect.
Constructed players likely have nothing to worry about and this product will not impact the Magic Standard format rotation. That said, there's no guarantee that the contents of the pack might not include some Standard or Modern legal cards. If speculation is correct, then it seems possible that these boosters will have something to offer fans of legacy formats.
When Are The Mystery Boosters Available?
MagicFest Richmond
The first time planeswalkers will be able to play with Mystery Boosters will be at MagicFest Richmond on Thursday November 7, 2019. The event takes place shortly before Mythic Championship VI and Grand Prix Richmond. Players can choose between Draft and Sealed events that will be firing off on Thursday for $45 to $75. There will also be $25 on-demand drafts available on Friday.
PAX Unplugged
The next opportunity to play with the Mystery Boosters will be at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, PA. The event takes place December 6-8, 2019 and both Draft and Sealed events will be available.
What Is In the Mystery Boosters?
At this point, it's obviously still a mystery, since Wizards of the Coast has offered basically no clues about the packs. That said, we still have some theories about the product.
One popular speculation is that the boosters are part of an attempt to release an official Cube-like limited product that players can purchase by the box in the near future to host their own Cube drafts without building a whole Cube. For those who are unaware, a MTG Cube is essentially a large pool of cards specifically designed to be played together in either Draft of Sealed. Oftentimes Cubes have a theme like super powerful cards, no rares, or a focus of Legendary creatures.
WotC has been hinting at a paper-based Cube product for a while, so this could finally be happening. Many of the cards that make Cubes so fun are super rare and valuable, so it seems unlikely that those sorts of things would be printed here unless it's a super limited run. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how fun the Cube format is if that rumor ends up being true. One strike against this theory is that the product would just be called Magic: Cube 2019 or something like that, right? Certainly seems like better branding and would match some of the terminology established already in Magic Online.
Another possibility is that Mystery Boosters could be an official product built around the idea of Chaos drafts. In a Chaos Draft, players put a random assortment of boosters together and each player randomly selects three for their draft pool. This experiment leads to some bizarre draft decks, but is very fun in casual circles or with groups of players who happen to have random unopened prize packs laying around.
A Chaos Draft type of product could make more sense with the Mystery Booster name, but would likely be way less popular than an official Cube product.
Although both of these theories make sense for the way the product is being used at conventions and the prize tag for the events, there's obviously the chance that all the speculation is way off base. With no spoilers in sight, it seems like players are just going to have to wait until early November to really find out what is inside the Mystery Boosters and how they will be used.
After MagicFest Richmond kicks off, it seems likely that official news will drop about the Mystery Boosters, which cards they contain, and how they will become a part of the official line of Magic: The Gathering products outside of the convention exclusive tournaments.
Be sure to check back in the near future for more Magic: The Gathering strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, draw well, planeswalkers!
Magic Arena is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices. The Magic: The Gathering Throne of Eldraine expansion set will release October 4, 2019.