When Wizards of the Coast announced new ‘Value’ boosters for Magic the Gathering, I was among the first to clown on them. With just seven cards and no guaranteed rares, labelling them as a ‘value’ product feels like quite the claim, at least until prices are revealed. But a commenter responding to my first article pointed out that, if the price is right, they could be the basis for a sweet new draft format.
Value boosters for the Bloomburrow set will debut on the MTG release schedule at the start of August. They will only be available from “select retailers”, and my working theory is that Wizards intends to stock these packs in the toy aisles of stores like Walmart, selling them to kids who have been priced out of the market for regular MTG boosters. I don’t think they’re designed to appeal to adult players at all.
But that doesn’t mean adults won’t be able to play with them. Commenter Christopher Stoner pointed out in the ‘Magic: The Gathering MTG’ Facebook group that six Value booster packs will produce a 42 card pool that’s light on rares and dense with uncommons: perfect for “tight knit drafting”.
A few years ago that might not have been a very exciting suggestions, but with the modern design of MTG sets, that honestly sounds great. Modern commons and uncommons are more powerful and more interesting than ever. The video above, from MTG streamer Nizzahon, is full of pushed commons and uncommons from Modern Horizons 3 that players have totally underrated.
Uncommons are often both the signpost for draft archetypes, and the key enablers that unlock a deck. A draft pool with more uncommons in it should make it much easier to build decks with strong synergy.
As for drafting with fewer rares, sign me up! Outlaws of Thunder Junction was a solid set, but overstuffed with powerful rares and mythics that could warp a draft table, and steal games out of nowhere. Modern Horizons 3 has its bombs, but the format rewards synergistic decks much more than stacks of powerful but unrelated cards. It’s better for it: winning is more interesting, and losing feels fairer.
Whether Peasant drafting with Value boosters is a real prospect will depend on how much they cost: any more than half the price of a Play booster and this whole idea will be a non-starter. We’ll find out in August!
If all this talk of ‘value’ and ‘boosters’ has your fingers tingling to crack some packs, check out our guide to all the MTG Arena codes that are still live. Grab some freebies and bump up your MTG Arena decks!
Source: Wargamer
