Theros
Open one box and you'll get $153.36 of cards, on average. A box costs $301 right now, so that means you're $148.11 short.
Cards inside
$153.36
Everything in the box, at today's prices
Box costs now
$301
TCGplayer market · from $289
Difference
-$148.11
Against you
Packs in the box
36
Each holds one rare or mythic
Box price from TCGplayer, checked September 2, 2026 · Card prices from Scryfall (TCGplayer market data) · last updated August 29, 2026
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.
$153.36 is what the cards are worth to a buyer. It is not what you would be paid for them.
Worth to a buyer
$153.36
Every card at market price
What you'd keep
$60.48
About 39% of it, sold card by card
Stuck as bulk
47%
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 47% 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.
We start from what a box costs right now. Put in the price you're actually being asked to pay and the answer updates.
-$148.11
per box, against you
You would do better buying the singles
At $301 a box you'd come up about $148.11 short on average. Buying the individual cards you want will usually cost less.
Break-even price
$153.36
Pay less than this and you're ahead on average.
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.
Rare or mythic
The one guaranteed rare or mythic in every pack. This is where most of a box’s value sits.
Per pack
$2.31
Whole box
$83.16
$52.20 kept
Share
54%
Commons
The bulk of the pack. Individually worth very little.
Per pack
$1.02
Whole box
$36.72
$1.44 kept
Share
24%
Uncommons
Three per pack. Occasionally one is worth real money.
Per pack
$0.46
Whole box
$16.56
$0.36 kept
Share
11%
Foil (any rarity)
The guaranteed shiny card in every pack. Usually a common, occasionally something expensive.
Per pack
$0.34
Whole box
$12.24
$6.48 kept
Share
8%
Basic land
The basic land. Worth essentially nothing unless it is a full-art foil.
Per pack
$0.13
Whole box
$4.68
$0.00 kept
Share
3%
The ten most valuable cards a Play Booster can produce, and roughly how often one shows up.
#1 most valuable
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
$151.98
You'll open one about 1 every 2 boxes
#2 most valuable
Swan Song
$53.19
You'll open one about 1 every 2 boxes
#3 most valuable
Purphoros, God of the Forge
$35.24
You'll open one about 1 every 3 boxes
Erebos, God of the Dead
$24.03
Xenagos, the Reveler
$22.64
Nylea, God of the Hunt
$19.00
Thoughtseize
$18.79
Medomai the Ageless
$18.78
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
$15.79
Gift of Immortality
$15.71
68 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.
| Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx | rare | $52.19 | 0.62 |
| Purphoros, God of the Forge | mythic | $32.08 | 0.31 |
| Erebos, God of the Dead | mythic | $10.45 | 0.31 |
| Nylea, God of the Hunt | mythic | $10.28 | 0.31 |
| Swan Song | rare | $9.48 | 0.62 |
| Whip of Erebos | rare | $8.74 | 0.62 |
| Thoughtseize | rare | $6.39 | 0.62 |
| Medomai the Ageless | mythic | $4.34 | 0.31 |
| Thassa, God of the Sea | mythic | $4.12 | 0.31 |
| Heliod, God of the Sun | mythic | $3.92 | 0.31 |
| Bow of Nylea | rare | $3.50 | 0.62 |
| Elspeth, Sun's Champion | mythic | $3.20 | 0.31 |
| Mistcutter Hydra | rare | $2.62 | 0.62 |
| Prophet of Kruphix | rare | $1.98 | 0.62 |
| Colossus of Akros | rare | $1.94 | 0.62 |
| Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver | mythic | $1.60 | 0.31 |
| Xenagos, the Reveler | mythic | $1.59 | 0.31 |
| Master of Waves | mythic | $1.46 | 0.31 |
| Gift of Immortality | rare | $1.39 | 0.62 |
| Sylvan Caryatid | rare | $1.15 | 0.62 |
Sets released around the same time, so you can see how this one stacks up.
