There’s no doubt that Final Fantasy is the most popular MTG set of all time. Even before the set got its first spoilers, MTG players and Final Fantasy fans alike have been rabid for this release. For better or worse, this hype only increased as new cards, Commander decks, and ultra chase Chocobos were revealed.
While it’s great to see an MTG set with so much good stuff, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Pre-order prices for Final Fantasy MTG products quickly reached worrying highs. Mercifully, Wizards was quick to reassure players that reprints would be coming to keep these prices in check. While this was good news, sadly, not every product gets this luxury.
The Collector Booster Problem
Unlike Play Boosters and Commander precons, Collector Booster boxes don’t get reprinted by Wizards of the Coast. This is due to their innate collectible nature, as well as the inclusion of serialized MTG cards. Since a reprinted wave of product wouldn’t have more of these ultra chase cards, the expected value would be significantly lower.
Due to the lack of potential reprints, the current supply of Final Fantasy Collector Boosters is all we’re going to get. For most MTG sets, this isn’t inherently a problem, as prices are slow to creep up over time. Final Fantasy, however, is proving to be more popular than any other MTG set, so demand is consistently high.
Fueled by the fancy Surge Foils and the elusive Golden Chochobos, players have been eagerly cracking Collector Boosters en masse. This has steadily depleted the available supply, which in turn has pushed prices up.
For most products, while prices rise, there becomes a point where they’re too dear for players to realistically purchase. If a Collector Booster has little to no chance of returning the expected value, most players will stay away. For Final Fantasy, however, the overwhelming demand has kept players purchasing product, even as prices soar.
$1200 Booster Boxes
When the Final Fantasy MTG set first launched, Collector Booster Boxes should have been priced at around $455. According to Wizards of the Coast, the MSRP for a Collector Booster was $37.99, and each box contains 12 boosters. Sadly, despite this enticing MSRP, Collector Booster Boxes for the set were basically never available at this price.
Looking at the price history graph, from TCGplayer, Collector Booster Boxes were $600 at their absolute cheapest. This low price was only available until late April, long before the set’s debut, which started to reveal spoilers. At this point, no one knew that the serialized Chocobo cards existed, yet prices started to climb regardless.
As the hype for the Final Fantasy MTG set increased, so too did the price of Collector Booster Boxes. When spoilers started to be revealed, including the golden Chocobos, pre-orders ramped up massively, as expected. By the time the Final Fantasy MTG set was released on June 13th, Collector Booster Boxes were $814 on average.
Since then, prices have only been increasing more and more as supply continued to dwindle. As you can see above, sales haven’t exactly slowed down, which has left very few Collector Booster Boxes available for purchase. At the time of writing, there are only six listings for Final Fantasy Collector Booster Boxes on TCGplayer.
Currently, the average price for a Final Fantasy Collector Booster Box is at an eye-watering $1000. Worryingly, recent sales have pushed even higher, with some players paying as much as $1,199.97. Sadly, available listings are even more expensive, with prices starting at $1334.96, including shipping.
No End in Sight?
Sadly, there’s no telling when, or if, these obscenely high prices will ever fall. While we’d like to think that prices will come down eventually, there’s a very real chance that won’t happen. Over time, Collector Booster prices do fluctuate, but they tend to almost always trend up.
For comparison, we can look back at the Collector Boosters for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set. At launch, these boxes sold for around $400 on average; however, prices have been climbing steadily since then. Currently, a The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Collector Booster Box will set you back $1000.
Miraculously, this isn’t even the most expensive Lord of the Rings MTG product. This set also got a unique Special Edition Collector Booster Box, released later in 2023. Once again, prices for this product started fairly low, around the $300-$400 mark; however, this price soon skyrocketed.
Once players realized the low supply of this product, multiple buyouts effectively eradicated almost all the remaining supply. This caused prices for Booster Boxes to shoot up massively. Currently, the average price for a Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition Collector Booster Box is $1749. New listings are priced even more aggressively at $2034.96, including shipping.
A Saving Grace?
Looking ahead, things aren’t looking good for the price of Final Fantasy Collector Booster Boxes. Unless you’re an investor who got in on the ground floor, you may struggle to pick up a box now. That said, Wizards of the Coast could come to our rescue by releasing a new Collector Booster product, just like the Lord of the Rings.
In theory, if a new special edition Collector Booster had a much wider print run, prices could be kept in check. Additionally, the lack of serialized Chocobos could help keep the price of these boxes in check further. While this would all be well and good, there’s currently no indication that Wizards is planning such a product.
Right now, we know that Wizards is planning some special Final Fantasy products for later down the line. Sadly, the leaks only show that we’ll be getting a new Chocobo-themed bundle and a Scene Box. While these products could have some decent value, they’re not going to help bring down Collector Booster prices.
Due to this, it seems there’s a non-zero chance that Final Fantasy Collector Boosters will just get more and more expensive. Ideally, things will plateau before too long; however, more expensive boxes could force up Collector Booster exclusives, too.
Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens in the coming weeks and months. That said, we’re definitely not optimistic about things getting cheaper anytime soon.
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