Any news on reprints of secret lair exclusives? After the initial few SLX runs, exclusives without non-lair reprints have started to pile up again (Honor Among Thieves, Doctor Who, Lara Croft, Arden Angel). Did the switch from Set Boosters to Play Boosters affect getting these out in the wild at all, and if so, is there a new solution in place yet?

Play boosters have added some new challenges to work through.

Maybe I am in the minority, but I previously only bought set boosters and never really cared for draft as I was primarily a constructed player. With Play Booster, I actually started to play in drafts and prereleases. So it's actually a win for me and my play group who would never play any form of limited.

I haven’t seen the data on this yet, but I believe you’re part of a larger group than you think.

For someone buying Play Boosters as a replacement for Set Boosters, the price of a booster has not changed. For someone buying Play Boosters as a replacement for Draft Boosters, the price of a booster has increased.

You are getting something for that price increase, more rares/mythic rares per dollar spent.

More a note and I don't even know if there is a solution to my problem: I am a 100% limited player with a tight budget. With play boosters being more expensive then draft booster, due to budget, this just leads to me playing less. Also inflation is additional stress on my budget. I feel, that I'm getting less and less enfranchised and engaged because now I do less drafts. I fear loosing MTG as a hobby. I mostly play in my LGS and don't have a private playgroup, where we could play cheaper options like cube. I know WotC is a company and has to show growing revenue but it just sucks, that I may loose this great hobby and game because of monetary aspects.

I hear your frustration. The popularity of set boosters meant when we consolidated draft boosters and set boosters, they were crafted more to match set boosters. We essentially made set boosters draftable. I will note that the price of boosters didn’t go up. Play boosters cost the same as set boosters, and, like set boosters, you do get a higher amount of rares/mythic rares, on average, to match the higher price point. But yes, if all you do is draft, the individual drafts got more expensive. None of this change was done to somehow squeeze extra money out of people. We just took the most popular booster product and sold it at the same price, but with added value (more cards per booster and made it draftable).

In 2021, WotC released an article saying that mechanically unique universes beyond secret lair cards would get universes within reprints approximately 6 months later. The exact wording of this was “The [universes within] versions will be available in The List, findable in Set Boosters…” Set boosters no longer exist, but The List still does. With the advent of play boosters, is the rule of “approximately 6 months later” still the case? Or is that promise now void because there are no Set Boosters anymore?

As the game evolves, we have to adapt. We still plan to make sure unique mechanical Secret Lair cards, in some form, find a home in randomized booster product.

Mark! Just realized something looking through MKC spoilers - Does the consolidation of set boosters into play boosters mean no more booster-exclusive cards from the commander set? Like, all the commander cards will be in the commander decks again, for good?? I really hope so.

They won’t be in play boosters if I understand what you’re asking.

The limited sets in the past 4 years have been unbelievable! I have been having an absolute blast, I have drafted them all! I was crushed to hear that draft boosters were going away. Why were draft boosters added, taken away, and replaced with play boosters? With the additional rare slot and less commons to fuse with the now obsolete set boosters, it feels like the push to make everything more profitable is creeping into limited play. Some things I like about limited 1) Each set is usually not impacted by must-have or oppressive commander or modern cards. 2) I like is that it's common centric. 3) I like that there is a lower frequency of rares. 4) low cost of entry, 15 bucks at my local lgs, 10 on Arena. In general, I am not happy about the limited booster changes but I will wait to try them.I am concerned that one day limited will be deemed "not profitable" and this golden age will end.

Play boosters are us ensuring that draft continues on. Draft boosters were selling so poorly, they were eventually going to be eliminated. We took steps to make sure you can keep drafting.

Hi Mark - I just wanted to offer my opinion on the UB distribution methods. When the Transformers cards came out, I thought that them being in set boosters was fine. It turns out that's just because I'm not that into Transformers. Now the Jurassic Park/World stuff is around, I really dislike this method. I like those films, and I have friends and loved ones I could get to play if I had more of the cards, but they're hard to obtain. LotR, Street Fighter, and Dr Who were better for this.

Which method do you prefer for Universes BeyondOwn productMixed inSee Results

Sorry to repeat this question but I just want some clarification. Cards that are unique designs for a commander precon that releases alongside a premiere set (ex. Murders at Karlov Commander) will not appear in any boosters. This means that unique precon designs will only be accessible in their precon.

I believe that was always true. There were a handful of Commander-focused designs that appeared in set boosters, but not draft boosters. That’s what’s going away.

Hi Mark. I'm actually really looking forward to play boosters. I like to play drafts occasionally, but the people I play with aren't the biggest fans, and I don't tend to go to draft events. So usually I get set boosters normally, and get a few draft boosters that sit around waiting to be drafted. But play boosters unifying the two packs means I don't have to decide what packs to get, I can choose how to use packs after getting them. This versatility means that, for me at least, play boosters aren't a substandard replacement for set or draft boosters, but are instead better than either of them on their own. So I'm very excited for this new product.

Happy you’re excited.