Following its announcement at MagicCon: Amsterdam, Wizards didn’t wait around to show off Mystery Booster Commander Edition. This set just reappeared at Gen Con with MTG Designer Gavin Verhey hosting a Draft for the set well ahead of its wider release. This bombarded players with a massive amount of spoilers, but Wizards didn’t stop there, as the full card image gallery has just been released.
Naturally, this has been a lot for MTG players to digest, and reactions haven’t been entirely positive. In fact, thanks to this set’s unorthodox distribution method, there are huge concerns about the availability of the new cards. Hopefully, these issues won’t actually come to pass, especially since the set looks so good.
The Good
Even with only 59 new mechanically unique cards, Mystery Booster Commander Edition is a flavorful slam dunk. With tons of deep-cut references to classic and beloved characters, this set feels like a love letter to fans. This was evident as soon as Joven and Chandler was revealed, and it has only gotten better since then.
Beyond all the old characters, Mystery Booster Commander Edition also returns to newer planes like Bloomburrow and Duskmourn. As if that wasn’t enough, this set also makes an Alchemy card, Tsagan, Raider Warlord, real and paper playable. Considering MTG players have long been asking for all of this to happen, this set feels like a dream come true.
On top of the fantastic flavor, the mechanics on the new mechanically unique cards are equally fantastic. Many of these feature deep cut references, too, like Rikala, Homarid King being High Tide on a stick. When it comes to new cards, however, the Rulebreaker cards are obvious standouts, even if they do all follow the same safe formula.
As is to be expected from a Commander-focused set, there’s also plenty of new power pieces for underplayed archetypes. Between compelling Commander options and legends that are better in the 99, this set is all around fantastic. Hell, cards like Seluma, Light of Aysen may even be the new best-in-slot for Angel Typal decks going forward.
While this is all very exciting, the flavor, power, and utility of these new cards means demand should be very high. If this expectation does end up proving correct, then this set might be insanely expensive. Sadly, this is where the problems come in, and MTG players are already seriously concerned.
The Bad
While Mystery Booster Commander Edition undeniably looks good, it might be a little too good. Even without knowing about any reprints in the set, the new cards already have demand absolutely through the roof. Potentially, this might make getting a hold of the set almost impossible, which would be a crying shame.
Technically, since Mystery Booster Commander Edition hasn’t been released yet, its actual availability is almost entirely unknown. We do know it’ll appear at MagicCon events and be sold via the Festival in a Box, but print runs haven’t been announced. Similarly, there’s no word on whether this set will see a wider retail release due to player demand.
Despite all of these very important details being unknown, the chances of this card selling out feel exceptionally high. Considering Festival in a Box products containing Mystery Booster 2 sold out almost instantly, it almost feels inevitable, in fact. If this does happen, most of the new cards will surely be insanely expensive, pricing out regular players.
That being said, while there is a major concern that prices will be high right away, Mystery Booster 2 isn’t a total hellscape. Even if boxes do sell out stupidly quickly, many rares from the set aren’t overly expensive. Future Sight frame cards like Serum Powder, for instance, are just $1.25, and even Thassa’s Oracle is only $21.
Considering these Future Sight frame cards also have a dedicated slot within boosters, the new cards could easily sell for similar prices. Sadly, given that demand will likely be higher, this isn’t guaranteed, but supply is still a mystery too. There is a chance, albeit slim, that Wizards will print more than enough to go around, but that remains to be seen.
The Ugly
If anything, it’s just frustrating that Wizards of the Coast has been so quiet about Mystery Booster Commander Edition. Even the fact it’d be at Gen Con was weirdly guarded, with Wizards almost misdirecting players toward MagicCon: Atlanta. While this convention will be the set’s official release, they must have known the sheer volume of spoilers that were about to be revealed.
Thankfully, now that the full card image gallery has been released, things are slightly clearer. We know, for instance, that MagicCon: Atlanta will be the first chance for players to get their hands on this set in earnest. While this clarity is good news, there’s still no information about print runs or whether it’ll get a wider release.
Hopefully, if supply does become a problem, Wizards will do something about it. For now, we can only hope that any potential issues won’t come to pass, so the set can be enjoyed by all.
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