Today I have a quick question. When my birthday rolls around, what set should I buy a booster box of? Most likely I will play a sealed tournament with it or draft it. Not only do I want it to be fun to play, but I want to get some good cards that are played in multiple formats.
What set fits the bill?
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Modern: G Stompy G UR Izzet Prowess/Delver UR UWB Spirits UWB UWB Brain Control UWB WUB Esper Reveillark WUB EDH: WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG W Nine-and-a-Half TailsW WGUR Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis WGUR
Do you have a budget? Is standard one of the "multiple formats" the cards should be playable in?
First, of all, let me applaud you for intending to do draft or sealed with your box. This is, IMO, something that should be done with every box instead of just cracking.
The current sets in standard are Shadows over Innistrad [SOI], Oath of the Gatewatch [OGW], Battle for Zendikar [BFZ], Magic Origins [ORI] and Dragons of Tarkir [DTK]. All of these boxes are still easily available at non-exorbitant prices. [SOI] is very fun to draft, but a little weaker as sealed, and containst cards that are relevant for standard (and will stay in standard the longest), but few cards for older formats. [OGW] isn't intended for limited play without [BFZ], it could probably work out fine though. The draft format recieved mixed reception. [BFZ] also had some mixed reception for it's draft format, though I personally enjoyed it quite a bit. There are two types of cards for constructed you'd want to open in [OGW] and [BFZ] one is expeditions which are highly playable and sought after, but extremely rare; the other are eldrazi which, while powerful, are only really playable in eldrazi-focused decks. [ORI] is pretty meh for draft and sealed, you're basically encouraged to draft creatures on curve and removal over "fancy" stuff; creatures that transform into planeswalkers (e.g. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy) are the best cards to open, but at mythic that isn't all that likely. [DTK] was not intended to be drafted without Fate Reforged, but it could probably be done just fine. DTK draft was fun, giving every color big fliers at uncommon made the late game pretty different. You can open dragonlords, commands and Collected Company, which are relevant for modern, standard and commander. Note that ORI and DTK will rotate out of standard before any of the other sets mentioned here.
If you're willing to go outside of standard sets, consider Conspiracy, Khans of Tarkir, Return to Ravnica, Innistrad. Conspiracy is still quite affordable, it's a very different format intended for multiplayer games and contains a lot of cards that are great for EDH, and some that are relevant for legacy and vintage (e.g. Dack Fayden, Stifle, Exploration). Khans of Tarkir was a very solid draft format and you can open fetchlands at rare, which are relevant in pretty much every format that allow them. Return to Ravnica is a personal favorite, fun draft format, still reasonably priced and you can open shocklands for modern and Deathrite Shaman, Abrupt Decay etc. The original Innistrad is not cheap, but it's widely regarded as one of the best limited formats, and it contains constructed staples for all non-standard formats (e.g. Liliana of the Veil, Snapcaster Mage, Delver of Secrets).
I'll make a short list:
If standard is important: Shadows over Innistrad
If modern is more important: Dragons of Tarkir
If you don't care about standard, but do care about other competetive formats: Khans of Tarkir
If casual play is the most important: Conspiracy
If you hate money: Innistrad
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Today I have a quick question. When my birthday rolls around, what set should I buy a booster box of? Most likely I will play a sealed tournament with it or draft it. Not only do I want it to be fun to play, but I want to get some good cards that are played in multiple formats.
What set fits the bill?
G Stompy G
UR Izzet Prowess/Delver UR
UWB Spirits UWB
UWB Brain Control UWBWUB Esper Reveillark WUB
EDH:
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
W Nine-and-a-Half TailsW
WGUR Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis WGUR
First, of all, let me applaud you for intending to do draft or sealed with your box. This is, IMO, something that should be done with every box instead of just cracking.
The current sets in standard are Shadows over Innistrad [SOI], Oath of the Gatewatch [OGW], Battle for Zendikar [BFZ], Magic Origins [ORI] and Dragons of Tarkir [DTK]. All of these boxes are still easily available at non-exorbitant prices. [SOI] is very fun to draft, but a little weaker as sealed, and containst cards that are relevant for standard (and will stay in standard the longest), but few cards for older formats. [OGW] isn't intended for limited play without [BFZ], it could probably work out fine though. The draft format recieved mixed reception. [BFZ] also had some mixed reception for it's draft format, though I personally enjoyed it quite a bit. There are two types of cards for constructed you'd want to open in [OGW] and [BFZ] one is expeditions which are highly playable and sought after, but extremely rare; the other are eldrazi which, while powerful, are only really playable in eldrazi-focused decks. [ORI] is pretty meh for draft and sealed, you're basically encouraged to draft creatures on curve and removal over "fancy" stuff; creatures that transform into planeswalkers (e.g. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy) are the best cards to open, but at mythic that isn't all that likely. [DTK] was not intended to be drafted without Fate Reforged, but it could probably be done just fine. DTK draft was fun, giving every color big fliers at uncommon made the late game pretty different. You can open dragonlords, commands and Collected Company, which are relevant for modern, standard and commander. Note that ORI and DTK will rotate out of standard before any of the other sets mentioned here.
If you're willing to go outside of standard sets, consider Conspiracy, Khans of Tarkir, Return to Ravnica, Innistrad. Conspiracy is still quite affordable, it's a very different format intended for multiplayer games and contains a lot of cards that are great for EDH, and some that are relevant for legacy and vintage (e.g. Dack Fayden, Stifle, Exploration). Khans of Tarkir was a very solid draft format and you can open fetchlands at rare, which are relevant in pretty much every format that allow them. Return to Ravnica is a personal favorite, fun draft format, still reasonably priced and you can open shocklands for modern and Deathrite Shaman, Abrupt Decay etc. The original Innistrad is not cheap, but it's widely regarded as one of the best limited formats, and it contains constructed staples for all non-standard formats (e.g. Liliana of the Veil, Snapcaster Mage, Delver of Secrets).
I'll make a short list: