Is It Worth It To Buy Modern Horizons 2? A Magic: The Gathering Booster Box Review 

Many Magic the Gathering players truly appreciate the work you put into everything. Thanks professor.

It really can't be reiterated enough that if you're looking for specific cards, just buy $279 worth of singles rather than gamble on a box. that said, it's possible (as evidenced by the boost box game) to open above EV, and you can open cards you didn't know you wanted. but as the professor states, it's still a gamble. unless what you're looking for is a playset of a multiple valuable mythics (which you're statistically unlikely to randomly open, virtually 0%), more than likely you can buy the singles you want and have money to spare. save that for buying more singles from the next set, or splurge and spend it on interesting cards that don't have a home in your decks just yet.

It's just as you said in Game Knights' ad: BUY SINGLES!!!! xD

I got a draft booster to play with my friends this afternoon at my LGS, I hope I pull some goodies, but the draft experience is what drives me to getting this set.

my sister opened a prerelease kit....an arid mesa, and a foil arid mesa.....I was so freaking jealous let me tell you cause we had switched boxes before we opened (2-headed event)

"So, what kind of cards can I expect to see if I open a booster?" "Yes."

Considering the conversion rate of dollar to my own currency, I could probably buy a house with that price haha

5:31 This is actually really simple. Wizards wants players to blame LGS's for price increases and not Wizards themselves.

The prices here in Australia are kind of nuts. A LGS owner told me he had to take $50 off the collector boxes just because they cost so much, and he felt bad charging that

This product is amazing in respect to the cards included. However, as someone who lives in a small country and earns a couple hundred dollars a month, it's only going to be "opened" on my screen :)

I love how the singles have plummeted in price 😁

I found an alpha llanowar elves in a random lot and traded it for my set box. Pulled a foil borderless coffers, borderless chatterfang, And a retro arid Mesa so I'm pleased with my free box lol

I think it's really important to note that if you're cash-strapped and debating buying a box, and need fetches, they will inevitably rise in price, whereas many of the other singles that seem snazzy and needed in this set will go back down, so make sure you get your fetches first! Cheers

I disagree. If it's too expensive to actually play anymore, nobody wins. I can buy some singles, but I can't enjoy opening a box and drafting for fun because I can't afford the box anymore. If this is setting a "what people are willing to pay" precedence that carries forward into their more regular offerings, it's going to push me and many other players out of Magic. Magic may be becoming for the rich for real now.

This is the 1st set where I am definitely just going after singles. As much as I love cracking packs with friends in a draft or sealed this is just out of our budget.

You should do these a week after the general public has access to collector packs and get a chance to put their stuff on the secondary market to normalize. Prices atm are still free falling and have not stabilized yet.

Fooled by the seemingly white sketch jade avenger!

Support your local LGS, but just FYI Amazon is selling a box of draft boosters right now for $236, for an average pack cost of $6.55.

I pre-ordered a box of draft boosters from my LGS. I had to wait until Friday to set it, but I was NOT disappointed! I got 4 fetchlands, including an old-border Misty Rainforest (plus another regular MR, a Scalding Tarn, and a Marsh Flats), 7 mythics, and lots of good rares with value. I'm super happy with it, even if I didn't get the opportunity to draft.

I thought it was important to mention that some-and possibly all-local game stores are not getting prize support from WOTC for some reason. My lgs gave out a promo from a previous set because he didn’t know what else to do. It was still a fun event to do the prerelease, and I opened an esper sentinel which was amazing. I just wish WOTC would recognize it costs the exact same to print these cards as it does any other.

I got a pre-realase kit that was worth it monetarily but its also an expensive gamble. I was waiting for this video!

I need to start compiling my wish list from this set. For once, I think I'll take you're advice and just buy the singles I want.

Your videos are wonderful and your personality is very pleasant. I just came back to Magic after a 10 year hiatus (had not bought cards since 2003, onslaught/judgement) and just wanted to say thanks for the infotainment!

Damn. I just got into magic your page has helped me a ton. I went to my local and pre ordered forgotten realms and now I feel like I shouldn’t have

Hey Prof! Hope you're having a good day!

Confusion, The greatest ally to Hasbro

Took a gamble and opened my first collector booster box last night.. and got 5 fetches (2 retro foil, 2 retro etched foil, 1 extended non-foil) plus a few notables like Ragavan borderless, Cabal Coffers etched foil, Urza's Saga sketch foil, Esper Sentinel sketch, and the new Sword borderless foil. The 3 fetches alone paid back for the $380 box cash. I totaled just all the rares/mythics using TCGPlayer (lowest price) and total was $1122. So happy! :D

I gambled and got the Collector's box totally worth it!!!!! 2 foil Old border scalding tarns, scalding tarn extended art, Foil old border misty rainforest, foil old border arid mesa, and foil sketch Urza's saga! Those were just lands, and only opened 11 packs, as I save 1 back for years to come then open down the road!! Play set of Dauthi voidwalker 2 foil old border, 1 full art, and 1 regular foil! Many other goodies too, I'll never say it wasn't worth spending the money on this collection box, probably the best box I've ever bought!!!

I feel like the value in the singles of this set comes from the fact that the product is so expensive. Imagine if Eldraine was priced at $8-$10 a pack, it would probably have similar singles prices to this set. There is no legitimate reason why it has to be this expensive other than WotC saying “we can get away with it, so why not?” Its also very disappointing that their response to people saying they are priced out of the game is “maybe this game isn’t for you.” I’d say its time to attack these types of business moves with our wallets, but after seeing how effective that was with TWD i’ve honestly lost all hope. I’ve played this game for more than half my life and seeing the company that made my favorite escape from reality turning it into a product only the whales get to play is heartbreaking.

So… sets are good when Wizards doesn’t design them 😂😂😂

Great Video Professor. My concern is WotC will have every set be "premium" to justify all sets being grossly overpriced. I enjoy buying and opening booster boxes, and getting a chase card is a nice bonus. But i cannot see how opening a 10-40 dollar booster pack with the potential of it only being worth 80 cents is justifiable in any way. Unfortunately, this is the model that is moving toward the norm. As you always say, "BUY SINGLES!" ..also support your LGS.

Love your videos. I bought two boxes. One draft and one set. I will crack open the set box and will keep the draft box sealed for my collection. I do buy singles when I want certain things, but the fun of cracking packs with my kids is too fun to pass up. Even if we don't get our value back, the fun is part of the value in my opinion. Good luck to everyone cracking packs this weekend!

"Everybody wins" Except limited players. I'm glad singles prices are decreasing for constructed players, but drafts that cost double or more what they normally cost drive people away. We don't draft to gamble, we draft to play, and the cost of play for these sets are prohibitive. It feels like a case of identity crisis. Why design the set to be drafted and then price it so high that it drives limited players away? I personally feel it would be better to either lower the price or just do away with the attempt to make these reprint sets draftable.

Hey, Prof! Are you going to do a review of the new “All-Natural, Totally Refreshing” Secret Lair? Jen Bartel is my favorite comic artist and I’m sorely tempted by her artwork, but there’s also the Praetors… I’d love to hear your take on whether the release is worth shelling out for. Should I keep an eye out for that before ordering?

100% agree with your analysis. I did end up buying a booster box and a set box, just to have one for draft and the other to crack packs, but originally I had several more on order. I canceled those and bought the singles I needed, which ended up being less than the overall cost of the set booster box where I guarantee I wouldn't have gotten the singles I needed for my decks (I already have a set for fetch lands). As much fun as cracking packs are, buying singles is the way to go when the price creeps up this high. Also the set is super nice in terms of design. Lots of cards to upgrade my decks. I think Kaldheim is the best set in terms of new commander decks (I've built so many after that set came out), but there are a lot of good cards being printed here.

Glad to see your evaluation =) I did buy a Set Booster ($265) and I bought; honestly, purely for trade value down the road. I am almost done rebuilding a good binder of tradable cards and view MH2 as the end point of that journey. Outside of a set here or there MH2 is likely the end of me building a trade binder through sets. If I buy a Draft or Set box in the future it will be because I like a lot of what I see in terms of design or style (Kaldheim as the most recent example). Thanks for your quality videos... always watch them =)

I'm just going to buy singles. As a commander player, i want at most 15 cards, fetches don't count 🤣

Miss MSRP. Hate the Sketch cards. It’s like “Here, have the unfinished version of the final art!” I would much rather have the Japanese woodblock print cards. Didn’t buy a Collector’s booster because of it.

I pulled Arid Mesa, Scaling Tarn, Flatland Marsh, Esper Sentinel, Ragavan, Urza’s Saga. The Arid Mesa was foil and the Marsh Flat was retroborder and I practically pulled every card I wanted so I got really lucky and I had fun opening packs from my set booster.

I will be buying about 3 singles. the box is completely out of my price range.

As someone from the US, I'm offended at how much math is in this video!

Excellent evaluation. I am frequently frustrated by reviews (of all sorts of products) which fail to separate cost from quality and treat the entirety of the review as a cost/benefit analysis, rather than a review of the product, on its own, and then, separately, of the cost in relation. It’s impossible for a reviewer to ascertain the relative impact of the cost of a product on a prospective buyer (everyone’s financial situation is different), so having the two in isolation is crucial for a consumer to make an informed decision. Well done as always, Prof.

As much as I hate the price I can't lie that as a more budget commander player, fetches and cabal coffers getting reprints is bliss. It was just 2 months ago when cabal coffers was 100 bucks. Also can't wait to get the new sword in my brago deck once prices go down.

You know, I wouldn't take the box even if I won it. I'm kinda to that point. I'll buy singles. Even though that kind of contributes to the issues. There's not much an individual buyer can do because so many suppliers are overbuying to such degrees. Just feeling blah about the game right now.

this is really a modern masters set in disguise. also, thank you for all your work prof. with a lot of doom and gloom in my life right now, it's nice to get away from it with a neutral discussion.

I played Magic from 1997 - 2003. I’m just now starting to get back into it. I appreciate your videos because It’s so overwhelming! Magic feels like an entirely new game from when I used to play. Thank you for helping me get back into it.

I dropped $50 on a prerelease kit and pulled a misty rainforest, Urza's saga, and a Ragavan. Couldn't believe my luck when I checked the prices

Buy singles, but admittedly this is probably the best sealed product of the year.

Professor: Sorts Road to Ruin into green card pile. Me: Dies a little inside.

I got a set box from my LGS for $226 and opened over $500 in stuff. I got lucky but I enjoy opening packs. Traded around to get a playset of arid Mesa (2 foils, 1 old border) and should have enough trade stuff to get a playset of all fetches and some other things I need. Definitely the best set in a long time imo.

I bought 2 pre release kits and a bundle(thats all my LGS had so i said screw it) and i pulled a Ragavan, a Scalding Tarn, a foil promo Verdant Catacombs, a regular Verdant Catacombs, a Garth One-Eye, 2 Svylun of Sea and Sky( 1 old bordered) and a bunch of 5-12 dollar cards that im going to use. I dont buy sealed product very often and im glad i did today because i got a ton of cards i wanted/needed.

"Can *NOT* play draft/sealed" Not with *that* attitude

Yup I got that box with only -one- fetch. Buy singles.

I just recently started getting back into Magic but your videos have been incredibly helpful with all of the new sets and mechanics. Even more so when starting to get into Commander! I've been subscribed for awhile now but decided to finally switch to my old account so I could have the chance to interact with you and all my fellow students! That being said, my favorite hero would have to be Black Panther. Wakanda Forever!

Hey prof! I want to share this with you: i bought a set booster box and a prerelease set (just for the sake of cracking packs open, sorry to dissapoint you). The quality of the cardboard came to my attention, being of a slightly superior quality than previous sets, particularly the cards in the prerelease kit, being thicker and smoother (almost with a waxy feel at touch). Maybe you could ask in other communities if they perceived the same as me. Cheers!

My local has 40 man modern events on fridays. Standard cant fire. Commander does get 60ish people. But modern is hot in atlanta.

Buy the singles people!

For the same price as a box of MH2, I was able to buy an entire new deck for EDH. That deck included All three Pieces of Kaldra; an extended art Embercleave; a Showcase Halvar, God of Battle; and all basics in snow versions.

I'm glad that people had a chance to re-evaluate the cards in the set because I felt that the preorder prices were far too high for some cards. As both an EDH and modern player, it was really frustrating to see cards that I wanted be way too high when I saw that they weren't worth almost $50. It's great that cards that my friends and I want to play with and build decks around are now more affordable, which should lead to more fun games between our play group.

Kind of weird to me that Set Boosters in America are cheaper than Draft, they’re significantly more here in the UK.

I may have fallen out of the loop. Commander legends was really my last time caring about these "special sets".

Lovely set, I myself picked up a draft booster display to play draft with some friends

Thanks Proff! Another great video. Crazy to see the prices already get cut like ~40-50% since prerelease weekend, but you can't have so many cards in the set over $40. I'll be saving any booster boxes I get for eventual draft, but I do, in general, enjoy opening set boosters for value. It also makes me feel less like I'm losing value, from not drafting with the cards, plus I think I've usually got more than 36 rares and less draft chaff. I do want to try making a commander deck out of a set box, I think LRR did that for strixhaven, and it worked out fairly well.

10 bucks a pack. Bought 3 packs that was it.

Modern horizon 2 is a great set to have whales. Cheapens the cards for regular folks like us.

Prof you are awesome, keep up the great work! Btw I watched you on Take off your shoes, it made me appreciate and like you even more than I already did. I truly hope you realize what an amazing human being you are and how many of us would love to be your friend.

My favourite super hero is Rogue. Maybe it was her depiction in the 1990s cartoon but I thought it was so cool that she could absorb powers from anyone she touches: a hero with so much potential variety!

I bought the missing two Verdant Catacombs and Arid Mesas because paying 100 bucks for all of them is great! Buy singles!!!

Let's all chant in monotone: Buy singles!

My favourite superhero is undoubtedly Groot. He perfectly embodies what I believe a tree would be like if it was granted consciousness and a humanoid form.

Great video as always, professor! In truth, I don't even know why I follow MTG-related stuff anymore. I feel as I have been priced out of MTG for some years now. Nowadays, I just play Pauper and Commander with my friends because it's the only thing we can afford without shelling out a ludicrous and unreasonable amount of money.

Almost paid 12dollars for a borderless Thrasta, waited until today and paid 5 lmao

This set is just so expensive.

A set booster box felt like a regular box of a master's set this time, similar price with the same amount of cards. I didn't get any fetches from packs of MM17, but I opened all five plus a foil Arid Mesa from this box. It was pretty insane

I was kind of hoping there might be more of a breakdown on stuff like what kind of packs give me the best chances of opening various showcase treatments, and also if buying a bundle or prerelease kit is worth considering since those are more in my price range than a whole box of this ludicrously expensive set.

Despite the economic it's still wise to invest in cryptocurrency

The transition graphic at about :38 is cool!

I’m brand new to the game and I find myself much more into the idea of collecting than playing currently. I’ve been wanting to get into this for years. First collection is Strixhaven, and now back tracking to Kaldheim because I want them Vikings. This set though, I just can’t get passed the pricing. Also, I’m finding this set doesn’t exactly “speak” to me. I appreciate the art but that alone isn’t drawing me into this one.

This set really made me _fetch_ my wallet. My dream singles for this set are Cabal Coffers and Misty Rainforest, both reprints. It felt like a dream seeing those new prices even if they are still expensive.

I opened 40 rares / mythics (including foils) in my set booster. Prof is on point.you'll get over 30 rares for sure.

Just used my TCGPLAYER in-store credit to pick up the fetch lands I've been wanting. Finally can foil out that second commander deck.

I'm so jealous of your pulls! Old frame Arid Mesa followed by Raghavan?... must... resist... cracking... packs...

I love Venom because the ideas of the corrupted hero make for good stories and there have been so many different interpretations of Eddie Brock both by himself and as a dark reflection of Peter Parker. I like Spiderman too, but Venom is my favorite because you rarely see the "two sides of the coin" archetype both end up aspiring to be ultimately good.

I bought a prerelease kit, even though I'm not going to get a change to do a proper prerelease, ostensibly to "practice" sealed, but mainly just as a way of getting a few packs to fill that "rip wrappers" craving without diving in too far.

Looking sharp and cutting to the quick with great discussion as usual. Loved the review, thanks for the hard work on this.

Double masters already had a collector booster, and you can still do draft and sealed with set boosters if you open your mind to fun

Superb review. I bought some singles already & will continue to do so!!!

I have opened 2 set booster boxes and have also seen several friends open 8 boxes amongst them. The set booster boxes have averaged ~47.5 rates/mythics per box. The lowest was 41 and the highest was 52.

I love your videos, always very informative! I do not agree with the buy singles mantra though but maybe that is just me ;) I have a habit of buying exactly one display and one bundle of each set (well almost each set, I might have missed one or two over the years) and to build decks with those. I do fully agree though that MSRP should return and that WotC should stop making the product artificially scarce. Currently my LGS (in Belgium) has no draft boxes anymore, no collectors edition anymore. So the only boxes available are set boxes. Personally I still don't know where I stand on set boxes by the way ... on one hand: only 12 cards and 1 is a useless art card (yeah yeah its pretty ... careface, I want playing pieces), less boosters per box. On the other hand though: less common crap in comparison, more rares/mythics than regular boosters, more bling

I understand fetches are important but as a commander player getting both urborg and cabal coffers reprints is a dream come true.

Thanks for another great video. I’m getting singles the rest of the time and glad I watched your video on card sleeves. I to wish they would have done comic versions of the dc characters. I’ll be thinking like a winner.

Value was definitely worth buying at pre-release, but prices have definitely dropped alot. Good to have this videos insight. I did buy a fat-pack because the box looks cool... don't judge me!

At my LGS here in Canada, Collector booster boxes total at 503 dollars....but your also pulling insane value. I got 3 etched foil fetchlands in mine, among Many other playable goodies in various formats. Also...HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW STUFF FOR MODERN JUND?! SO Good!!

I'm going to pick up a couple of prerelease kits for this and that's about it. Love the set but for the same price as a Collector's Booster box, I could buy a revised Badlands. Oh and I'd shuffle up those prerelease packs with Black Widow, she just seems like she'd actually have fun with it and not take it too seriously.

I agree with your views on the set, I got a set booster box and pulled way below value, but I still am happy with what I got. Especially since I'm not one to sell My cards anyway.

On Amazon as of this video. The Draft Booster for Modern Horizons 2 is actually 236 a 40 dollar difference with free shipping. A modern horizon bundle is 70 so times four is 280. Prerelease is about 55 to 60 so times that by 5 is 300 but 30 packs and 5 rares or mythics being prerelease promos.

Opened 6 fetches in my set booster box and 9 mythics. Pretty epic. 3 of the fetches were Standard border, 1 Standard border in foil and two Retro frames. And best mythics were radavan and cabal coffers

Really happy that I was able to attend a prerelease last week for $30. No prize support but I did pull a borderless foil Cabal Coffers though!

I got my hand on 6 set boosters and pulled an "Arid Mesa", "Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth", "Fury" and "Verdant Catacombs" (Retro frame), very lucky I guess. I can't help but try my luck on a single collector booster.

I'm more a collector than a player (although I am also). My main goal is to get every new cards of this set, while opening boosters because I like the randomness and the cracking boosters experience. With all of that, I chose to buy a certain number of bosters, rather than a whole box, because I felt it was better to be a little cash saving for this set. ~Skoyatt