Mystery Booster 2 is the latest surprise addition to the 2024 release calendar. Announced, and released, at Gen Con this year, this miraculous set is unlike many others in Magic’s history. Comprised predominantly of reprints, this set is built first and foremost around the unique and nostalgic Limited experience.
Technically released first at Gen Con, Mystery Booster 2 is not yet widely available. Uniquely, this set will be sold via the Secret Lair store, and won’t be getting a traditional retail release. Despite this notable detail, MTG players are nonetheless hugely excited about this surprise set and can’t wait to play it.
Whether you’re hoping to pick up a box yourself, or just surprised by the new announcement, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything there is to know about Mystery Booster 2.
Mystery Booster 2 Release Date
Technically, Mystery Booster 2 has already launched and is in the hands of MTG players. This initial release happened on August 3rd, shortly following the set’s announcement. To celebrate Gen Con, and the set itself, players in attendance were able to Draft the set ahead of everyone else.
Following this early showing, Mystery Booster 2 will be properly released as part of the Festival in a Box. This product will be sold via the Secret Lair website ahead of MagicCon: Las Vegas. This product is being released on August 19th, 2024, at 9 AM Pacific Time.
Notably, Mystery Booster 2 is not expected to get a full retail release. There is a slight chance this may change in the future, however, it’s by no means guaranteed. Due to this, the actual release of this product may be rather strange. Rather than having one major release date, this product will likely be available at multiple MagicCons.
Mystery Booster 2 Spoilers
Unlike most Magic: The Gathering sets, Mystery Booster 2 doesn’t have a scheduled spoiler season. Instead, MTG players have been steadily revealing cards via social media as they play with them. This meant there was a huge number of spoiler reveals over Gen Con weekend, but there has been little since.
If you want to keep track of the set’s spoilers, there is an official Card Image Gallery for the set. Unfortunately, this page currently only displays 28 cards. These are a mix of reprints with new frames as well as a handful of playtest cards. It is unclear when the official Card Image Gallery will be updated, or if it will eventually contain every single possible reprint.
Thankfully, alongside Wizards showcasing a few official reveals, we’ve also been covering the most interesting and important spoilers. So, if you want to keep up with the latest spoilers and reveals, read some of the below articles.
- New Playtest Cards Are The Wildest MTG Designs In Years
- MTG Players can Play with Power Nine in Mystery Booster 2
- White Border Cards Look Awful, In The Best Possible Way
- MTG Alchemy Mechanic Appears on Paper For the First Time
- New Spoilers Reveal Noteworthy New-to-Paper Printings
Mystery Booster 2 Reprints
Much like its predecessor, Mystery Booster 2 is expected to contain a vast amount of reprints. Theoretically, the set can pull from any set and reprint any non-Reserved List card. For reference, the original Mystery Booster contained over 1600 unique reprints.
To set itself apart from the original Mystery Booster, this sequel gives many reprints unique treatments. The set also has a low chance of containing foil cards, which are expected to be tremendously expensive.
White Border Reprints – For the first time since Ninth Edition, Wizards has reprinted cards with the white Border. Notably, some Legendary cards and Planeswalkers are getting this treatment, which looks rather strange. Some cards, such as Whiteout, are also getting unique white-border-themed art as well. You can expect one of these cards per pack.
Futureshifted Reprints – Originally created for Future Sight, Wizards is bringing back the Future/Futureshifted Frame after 16 years. Many powerful and unique cards can be found in this treatment, which is fitting for the boundary-pushing frame. Flavorfully, Future Sight is one of the many reprints getting this treatment. Notably, some Future Sight Frame cards are only getting reprinted in foil. One Futureshifted card can be found in every pack.
Alchemy Reprints – Remarkably, this very unique set is bringing multiple Alchemy cards to paper for the first time. Notably, these cards are not playable outside of Draft since they have the Acorn security stamp. For better or worse, this means Oracle of the Alpha is not legal in Commander, Legacy, or Vintage.
Non-English Reprints – Last but not least, Wizards has decided to reprint some cards in this set not in English. So far these non-English cards have all been vanilla creatures, such as Horned Turtle. This should hopefully make these otherwise unassuming cards more interesting and unique.
Mystery Booster 2 Playtest Cards
Last but not least, Mystery Booster 2 also includes many brand-new Playtest cards. Despite their name, the vast majority of these cards don’t appear to be would-be MTG cards that were scrapped during development. Instead, these Playtest cards are largely in jokes, memes, and references.
Notably, Playtest cards in both Mystery Booster 1 and 2 are not legal for constructed play. While these cards can be played in Draft, and put in Cubes, you can’t use them anywhere else. For added clarification, a reminder about Playtest card legality is printed on each one.
Similarly to cards found in Un-sets, Playtest cards feature truly wacky and wild mechanics. TL;DR, for example, exiles any creature that “has any abilities other than keywords.” Jund ‘Em Out meanwhile, creates copies of Jund classic while having “no room for reminder text.”
One Playtest card can be found in every pack.
Read More: MTG Players Request New Format After Controversial Changes
