MTG Spider Man is a very strange set. Not only was its scope increased following multiple product failures, but it also created a brand-new format. With pick-two, no precons, and only 198 cards, this set is definitely odd, but it’s still a Universes Beyond release. Thanks to this, it’s expected that the MTG Spider Man set will sell incredibly well.
Proactively proving this point, the prices for Spider Man Collector Booster boxes are absolutely wild. Even though the set doesn’t officially release for ten more days, secondary market prices are already well over MRSP. That said, in the past few weeks, prices have dropped dramatically, crashing by around $350.
MTG Spider Man Collector Booster Boxes
It’s no secret that Collector Boosters are the chase product for any MTG release. Often loaded up with unique art, foiling techniques, and occasionally even serialized cards, these packs can mean big money. Unfortunately for anyone looking to open these packs, this also means big price tags get attached to them.
Even at MSRP, Collector Boosters cost between $24.99 and $37.99, depending on whether or not it’s a Universes Beyond set. Already, this puts the price of a box at upwards of $455.88, but this price would actually be a steal. Thanks to Collector Boosters only getting one printing, they’re incredibly susceptible to scalpers and demand spikes.
Sadly, this is exactly what we’ve been seeing recently, as increased demand from collectors has pushed prices up dramatically. A Final Fantasy Collector Booster box, for instance, currently sells for around $1260. Even Collector Booster boxes for in-universe sets are starting to sell for upwards of $1000.
Curiously, despite being a Universes Beyond set, Spider Man isn’t continuing this costly trend. While prices did hit a peak of $1098 in August, they’ve been falling since then, rather quickly, too. For a brief window, a Spider Man Collector Booster box could be yours for under $700.
Sadly, prices have bounced back slightly since then. Currently, you’ll have to spend around $744 for a Spider Man Collector Booster box on TCGplayer. While this is a great deal lower than past highs, this dip has left the future uncertain.
Pretty Poor Pulls
As much as the price of Spider Man Collector Booster boxes has been falling for some time, early pulls have been especially damning. Recently, MTGGoldfish got their hands on five Collector Booster boxes and recorded a pack opening. Valued at $4000 at the time of recording, these boxes should have been an MTG goldmine, but they fell massively short.
According to Saffron Olive, who opened the packs, the cards inside five boxes were only worth $1997. On average, this means each box is only worth $399, less than even MSRP. That said, this video did use pre-order prices, which are notoriously not very accurate. Post-release, it’s highly likely the value of these cards will be dramatically different.
Given these fairly dire pulls, you may think that the price crash of Spider Man Collector Booster boxes is justified. While there’s no denying they’re overly expensive, it’d be foolish to ignore the potential. Within these boxes, there’s the possibility that MTG players can break even with a single card.
Currently, three of the seven “Costume Change” variants of Spectacular Spider-Man are worth over $1000. The borderless Gauntless version of The Soul Stone, meanwhile, is worth $880. Should these presale prices stick, then a high pack price may be justified. That said, these cards aren’t exactly common.
According to Wizards of the Coast, the Gauntlet Soul Stone and Costume Change cards only appear in less than 1% of Collector Boosters. This might seem rare, but rarer still is the cosmic foil version of The Soul Stone. For this card, Wizards doesn’t even give us odds; instead, it simply states that it “appears in an extremely low quantity of Collector Boosters.”
The Bubble Is Bursting?
Given the potential for a lottery win of a pack pull, arguably, some of the Collector Booster price tag is deserved. That said, Wizards has long had plenty of chase cards in Collector Booster packs. March of the Machine, for instance, has tons of serialized cards, but its Collector Booster boxes are only $400.
For better or worse, ultra-rare variants are very rarely the driving force behind pack pricing. Instead, the main driver tends to be scalpers and investors looking to turn a profit. These groups have been living it up following MTG’s Final Fantasy-driven popularity boon, but that might be coming to an end.
If the recent price crash of Spider-Man is anything to go by, the bubble has definitely burst. While this would be nice to keep prices down, realistically, it’s far too early to tell. Until the MTG Spider Man set is actually released and demand is known, it’s impossible to tell the ramifications of this dip.
Similarly, it will take until Avatar: The Last Airbender is released for us to know whether this is a long-term trend. Since this set is a full-scale release, even if it doesn’t have precons, it should be a much better indicator. Hopefully, this will be an actual trend that makes Magic slightly more affordable. Given how troublesome scalpers can be, however, we’re not too optimistic about that.
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