Since 2019, with the launch of Project Booster Fun, the structure and contents of Magic: The Gathering booster packs have changed considerably. Foil cards, once a rare treat, now appear in every pack. Special Showcase cards, once reserved for supplemental products like Secret Lairs, can now be opened in regular Play Boosters. On the surface, these changes seem like exciting net positives for the game. It turns out, however, that not everyone is on board.
In a recent Blogatog post, a player requested that Showcase cards be shifted to Collector Boosters exclusively. In response, Mark Rosewater asked the wider community for their opinion on the issue, and it was surprisingly mixed. We’ve definitely started to take Showcase styles for granted in modern Magic, but maybe now the tides are shifting against them.
An Unexpected Pushback
In case you missed it, starting with Edge of Eternities, art cards will only show up in Collector Boosters, not Play Boosters. Players have been asking for a change like this for a while now, since art cards take up valuable token slots in regular Play Boosters. With them gone, every Play Booster now contains a guaranteed token, which should help address the game’s token shortage.
Reynoldsericd took to Blogatog to celebrate this change, and also to push for more. “Just want to echo the feedback that I definitely prefer things now that art cards were removed from Play Boosters and moved to Collector Boosters,” they said, “In fact, I feel there should be an even clearer line between Play Boosters and Collector Boosters.” They then went on to advocate for the removal of Showcase cards from Play Boosters, owing to their potential negative effects on gameplay.
This is a surprising stance, to be sure. Showcase cards have generally been positively received until now. Many players appreciate the extra options when it comes to deckbuilding. Reynoldsericd went the other way, however, and they weren’t alone. Mark Rosewater used their question as a jumping off point to discuss Showcase cards in Play Boosters. The results were surprisingly mixed, with many on Reynoldsericd’s side.
The Problems With Showcase Cards In Play Boosters
“As a frequent drafter I dislike when certain treatments make cards or the game state more difficult to read.”
Reynoldsericd, via Blogatog
The big issue with Showcase cards in Play Boosters is one of practicality. Unlike Collector Boosters, Play Boosters are used for Limited gameplay. This means the visual appearance of each card is more important than usual. In Draft, especially, being able to identify cards at a glance is the key to keeping picks flowing at the table. When cards have multiple Showcase variants, this can slow things down a lot.
These issues bleed over into regular gameplay too. The sheer volume of new Magic: The Gathering cards released nowadays makes it hard enough to keep up as it is. This is especially true in Commander, the game’s most popular format. When you’re dealing with three times as many opponents, that’s three times as many cards to keep track of as well. If you’re used to a base card art, a Showcase version can add unnecessary confusion.
This isn’t even factoring in the more extreme examples on the Showcase spectrum. The likes of the new Edge of Eternities Special Guests, with their retro poster look, totally change up the typical structure of a Magic card. Looking at these cards, it’s often not obvious what color they are, what their mana cost is, or what their stats are. Heck, some of them don’t even contain all of the card’s text. The baseline MTG setup, while stale to some, is very efficient at communicating this key information.
With these card treatments appearing in Play Boosters, players of all types take a practical hit. Drafters will have clunkier drafts, for one thing. Additionally, the increased availability of these treatments will make them more common in Commander pods or constructed games. If Showcase frames were Collector Booster-exclusive, this wouldn’t be so much of an issue.
Playing Artist’s Advocate
“I think silo-ing even more of the “fun” of Boosters into an increasingly expensive, increasingly unavailable product would be a net negative to the experience.”
Thisisanuncreativeusername, via Blogatog
Of course, not everyone in the comments agreed with Reynoldsericd’s opinion. Many defended the inclusion of Showcase cards in Play Boosters for a range of reasons. Chief among these was the impact their inclusion has on the pack opening experience. Because of how different they look from regular cards, opening a Showcase card feels pretty great. The comments were full of examples, like someone opening a Special Guest Sliver Overlord at Edge of Eternities Prerelease and wowing the whole table.
There’s also the issue of exclusivity. There are already lots of goodies like Japan Showcase cards and Serialized cards, which are only available in Collector Boosters. Adding regular Showcase cards to that list would feel like extracting even more value from Play Boosters and into premium products. If this change were accompanied by a reduction in price for Play Boosters, many would probably embrace it with open arms, but that seems unlikely.
The other main argument against Reynoldsericd’s point was that Wizards could aim to make Showcase cards more legible instead of cutting them. Again, this is a good point, but one unlikely to be realized. All signs point to Wizards leaning more heavily into the Secret Lair aesthetic, not less. We’re likely to see more experimentation in future sets, Universes Beyond being no exception.
With the way things are, despite the valid arguments for it, I doubt Wizards will remove Showcase cards from Play Boosters any time soon. The fact that some players are pushing for it does indicate a shift in popular opinion, however. This could manifest in real change down the line.
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