What is the expected value of a March of the Machine Draft Booster Box?

Opening a March of the Machine Draft Booster Box gets you about $150.12 of cards at market price. Selling them would return about $66.24 after fees. We do not hold a current list price for it, so compare both figures against what a sealed box actually costs you today.

Is the March of the Machine Draft Booster Box worth opening?

No: at MSRP the cards inside are worth about $29.17 less than the box costs, and buying the individual cards you want will be cheaper. The box only breaks even at $150.12 or less, and less again — about $66.24 — if the plan is to resell.

How much would you get back selling a March of the Machine Draft Booster Box?

About $66.24, against $150.12 of cards at market price. Market price is what a buyer pays, not what a seller receives: TCGplayer takes 10.75% commission plus a 2.5% and $0.30 transaction fee, and posting a single card costs around $1.10. Below roughly $1.66 a card is worth more in a bulk lot, at about $0.04 a rare, than listed and posted — and 36% of this box's value sits under that line.

March of the Machine

Cards inside $150.12$29 short of list

March of the Machine

March of the Machine Draft Booster Box

Open one box and you'll get $150.12 of cards, on average. A box costs $179 right now, so that means you're $29.17 short.

Cards inside

$150.12

Everything in the box, at today's prices

Box costs now

$179

TCGplayer market · from $180

Difference

-$29.17

Against you

Packs in the box

Each holds one rare or mythic

Box price from TCGplayer, checked September 2, 2026 · Card prices from Scryfall (TCGplayer market data) · last updated December 2, 2025

This is an average. A few very expensive cards pull it upward, so most individual boxes land below it. Opening one box is closer to a lottery ticket than an investment — the number below tells you whether the lottery is priced fairly.

And if you sold the cards?

$150.12 is what the cards are worth to a buyer. It is not what you would be paid for them.

Worth to a buyer

$150.12

Every card at market price

What you'd keep

$66.24

About 44% of it, sold card by card

Stuck as bulk

36%

Cards worth more by the thousand than listed

Two things separate the two figures. Fees take 10.75% commission plus 2.5% and $0.30 on every order, and postage on a single card runs about $1.10 — a bite a cheap card cannot absorb. And 36% of the box's value sits in cards below roughly $1.66, the point where a card is worth more thrown into a bulk lot at $0.04 a rare than listed, packed and posted. Selling the whole box to a buylist in one go pays less again.

Assumes one card per order, which is the cautious reading — a buyer taking several cards at once splits the fixed costs between them. Fees are TCGplayer Marketplace rates as of February 2026; bulk rates are current cash buylist.

What does a box cost you?

We start from what a box costs right now. Put in the price you're actually being asked to pay and the answer updates.

Box price

$20$450

I'd be selling the cards. Values every card at what you'd be paid for it rather than what it sells for — fees and postage on the ones worth listing, bulk rates on the ones that aren't. Comes to about 44% of $150.

-$29.17

per box, against you

You would do better buying the singles

At $179 a box you'd come up about $29.17 short on average. Buying the individual cards you want will usually cost less.

Break-even price

$150.12

Pay less than this and you're ahead on average.

Where the value comes from

Every pack has a few fixed positions — a guaranteed rare, a wildcard, a foil. Here's what each one is worth across the whole box.

Multiverse legend

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$1.89

Whole box

$68.04

$42.12 kept

45%

Single-faced rare or mythic

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.93

Whole box

$33.48

$16.92 kept

22%

Single-faced commons

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.66

Whole box

$23.76

$1.08 kept

16%

Single-faced uncommons

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.40

Whole box

$14.40

$3.60 kept

10%

Foil with showcase and mul

A foil version of this slot.

Per pack

$0.17

Whole box

$6.12

$2.88 kept

Basic or gainland

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.13

Whole box

$4.68

$0.00 kept

Double-faced common or uncommon

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.00

Whole box

$0.00

$0.00 kept

Uncommon battle

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.00

Whole box

$0.00

$0.00 kept

Rare mythic battle

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.00

Whole box

$0.00

$0.00 kept

Double-faced rare or mythic

One of the card positions in every pack of this product.

Per pack

$0.00

Whole box

$0.00

$0.00 kept

The cards you're hoping to hit

The ten most valuable cards a Play Booster can produce, and roughly how often one shows up.

#1 most valuable

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

$66.90

You'll open one about 1 every 4 boxes

#2 most valuable

Sheoldred, Whispering One

$29.49

You'll open one about 1 every 4 boxes

#3 most valuable

Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

$28.96

You'll open one about 1 every 4 boxes

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

mythicabout 1 every 4 boxes

$26.14

Aurelia, the Warleader

mythicabout 1 every 4 boxes

$16.73

Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon

mythicabout 1 every 4 boxes

$15.87

Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger

mythicabout 1 every 4 boxes

$15.14

Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur

mythicabout 1 every 4 boxes

$14.45

Tribute to the World Tree

rareabout 1 every 2 boxes

$10.79

Ayara, First of Locthwain

rareabout 1 every 4 boxes

$9.42

Every rare and mythic in the set

116 cards. “Copies per box” is how many of that exact card you'd expect from one box on average — under 1 means you usually won't see it at all.

			Foil price
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer	mythic	$47.26	$66.90	0.28
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice	mythic	$25.44	$28.96	0.28
Sheoldred, Whispering One	mythic	$25.27	$29.49	0.28
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite	mythic	$20.30	$26.14	0.28
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger	mythic	$13.95	$15.14	0.28
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon	mythic	$12.99	$15.87	0.28
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur	mythic	$12.45	$14.45	0.28
Aurelia, the Warleader	mythic	$10.56	$16.73	0.28
Tribute to the World Tree	rare	$9.74	$10.79	0.53
City on Fire	rare	$9.16	$8.48	0.53
Ayara, First of Locthwain	rare	$8.60	$9.42	0.28
Ozolith, the Shattered Spire	rare	$8.60	$8.91	0.53
Breach the Multiverse	rare	$5.63	$6.23	0.53
Drana and Linvala	rare	$4.75	$5.59	0.35
Wrenn and Realmbreaker	mythic	$4.70	$5.65	0.09
Urabrask the Hidden	mythic	$4.48	$5.78	0.28
Archangel Elspeth	mythic	$4.03	$5.00	0.09
Thalia and The Gitrog Monster	mythic	$3.87	$5.10	0.09
Sword of Once and Future	mythic	$3.86	$4.57	0.27
Baral, Chief of Compliance	rare	$3.85	$4.60	0.28

Compare with other boxes

Sets released around the same time, so you can see how this one stacks up.

March of the Machine

$222 of cards

$733 short of list

March of the Machine

$150 of cards

$146 short of list

March of the Machine: The Aftermath

$107 of cards

$166 short of list

Questions people ask

It's the average value of the cards in a box. Imagine opening a thousand boxes of this set and adding up every card at its market price — divide by a thousand and you get $150.12. It is not what your box will be worth. Most boxes come in lower, because a small number of very expensive cards drag the average up.

March of the Machine

March of the Machine Draft Booster Box

And if you sold the cards?

What does a box cost you?

Where the value comes from

The cards you're hoping to hit

Every rare and mythic in the set

Compare with other boxes

Questions people ask

What does “expected value” actually mean?

So should I open a box or buy singles?

Could I really get $150.12 back by selling the cards?

Where do the prices come from?

What counts towards the total?

How accurate is this?