Box Sets

Pursuit of Knowledge card art

Continuing (and perhaps concluding) this month's focus on types of Magic products, today I look at some box sets. A box set differs from a typical Magic release in that you know all the cards beforehand; there is no randomization or 'blind buy' element. Wizards has produced many different kinds of box sets, broadly binned into preconstructed decks and a select list of cards. I will focus on the former; specifically:

- Duel Decks

- Premium Deck Series

- Challenger Decks

- Commander Decks

Duel Decks

Duel decks started way back in 2007. They ran through 2018 and had 21 releases. Each release had two 60-card thematic decks designed to face off against each other. I think they were casual, meaning they were never standard-legal. The theme was based on some rivalry in the Magic universe, and could be tribal (Elves vs. Goblins, Divine vs. Demonic, Knights vs. Dragons), planeswalker (Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas, Sorin vs. Tibalt), archetype (Speed vs. Cunning, Mind vs. Might), or feature other approaches. See example below and the complete list here.  

Duel decks were okay but of limited financial value. The first few had a lot of powerful cards, but that tapered off in subsequent releases (for the most part). 

Premium Deck Series

Premium decks had only three releases, from 2009-2011. As the name implies, these were top-notch. They were 60-card decks, entirely foil, with some powerful cards, updated frames, and potentially alternate art. 

- Slivers (2009)

- Fire & Lightning (2010)

- Graveborn (2011)

Their limited run suggests that they were not good for business . . . still, I enjoy my Graveborn deck and have left it largely unaltered.

Challenger Decks

Challenger decks started in 2018. They are considered a successor to duel decks, but with some important differences. They are standard- or pioneer-legal (upon their release) and immediately competitive, featuring popular archetypes and powerful cards prevalent at the time. Most releases feature four different 75-card decks (60-card main deck + 15-card sideboard). There have been seven such releases to date; five focused on standard and two on pioneer. Links are to deck lists.

Decks released as Pioneer Challenge decks in 2022

- Challenger Decks (2018)

- Challenger Decks 2019

- Challenger Decks 2020

- Challenger Decks 2021

- Pioneer Challenger Decks 2021

- Challenger Decks 2022 

- Pioneer Challenger Decks 2022

Apparently challenger decks were not well-received. Though powerful, being standard-legal meant they became obsolete as soon as standard rotated (less than a year after release). Wizards stopped them in 2022.

Commander Decks

Commander is perhaps the most popular format in Magic. This 100-card singleton (one copy max of each card) format, started by players, took Magic by storm. In 2011, Wizards embraced the format officially and released five preconstructed Commander decks, featuring ~50% new cards. They continued almost annually, generally releasing five decks (one year had four) and appending the year to the product (Commander 2013 through Commander 2019). These were 'independent' releases, meaning they were not tied to any expansions/etc. That all changed in 2020.

Starting with Commander 2020, preconstructed Commander decks were tied to a specific set. They varied in number, from 2–5 decks released per set, and skyrocketed in frequency: after three releases in 2020 (for nine decks total), every year since has had five releases (15–17 decks total). See example below or the complete list here.

I enjoy these preconstructed Commander decks. I own a number of them, and they are a great introductory product (for newbies) and suitable for veterans. I'm spending a lot less money on Magic this year, but these preconstructed decks are still high on my list for both fun and value.

Final Thoughts

Preconstructed decks are a personal favorite. If you want to experience Magic, this is a great way to do it.