How to get started with Magic: The Gathering's Streets of New Capenna expansion

Magic: The Gathering (MTG) will be getting its 92nd expansion, Streets of New Capenna, on April 29, 2022. This design and theme of the new expansion is based on 20th century organised crime, noir gangster movies, and art deco.

The lore involves the city of New Capenna, where the glitzy glamour of famous people is contrasted only by the dark seediness of the underworld. It's a city built by angels but ruled by five demon crime families, consistent with the theme of stark duality.

As with any new expansion for MTG, there will be a bevy of products released, and it can be hard to know where to even start. Thus, we have listed down the different types of box sets available so you can get the one that best suits the format you want to play.

Set Booster Box

 

Each Streets of New Capenna Set Booster Box contains 30 booster packs and a foil box topper card. Each booster pack contains 14 cards:

This means that within each booster pack, it is possible to get up to four rare or mythic rare cards! The box topper will be a copy of Gala Greeters, which is a rare card you can get in a regular booster pack. However, the box topper comes with alternate art, which each region or language getting their own special version of the card.

The Set Booster Box is a great choice for those looking to add cards to their collection, enjoy the thrill of opening packs, and those who want to try their luck and find those special gilded cards or rare cards with special art. Each box is priced at S$169.99, and is available for pre-order now on Wizards of the Coast's Shopee store.

Draft Booster Box

The Streets of New Capenna Draft Booster Box is meant for those who prefer the unpredictability and randomness of the Draft format over Constructed play. Each box comes with 36 draft booster packs and a foil box topper card. Each draft booster pack contains 16 cards:

Noteworthy here is that Draft Booster Boxes are meant specifically for the Draft format, and as such, there are 18 Commander cards that won't be present in these packs.

It is a great way for those players who wants to enjoy the process of deckbuilding with a bit of randomness involved, rather than the min-maxing approach of Constructed play. Each box is priced at S$149.99, and is available for pre-order now on Wizards of the Coast's Shopee store.

Collector Booster Box

While MTG is a game meant to be played, the design of the cards, history, and popularity make the cards highly collectable as well. The Collector Booster Boxes are built with the collector in mind. Each box contains 12 packs and a foil box topper card. Each pack contains 16 cards:

These packs are full of MTG card bling and are meant for those who want the prettiest and rarest cards of the set. The Collector Booster Box is the box for those trying to get the shiniest collection. Each box is priced at S$319.99, and is available for pre-order now on Wizards of the Coast's Shopee store.

Commander Decks

Every MTG set nowadays comes with its own array of Commander decks. These decks serve as a great way for newcomers to the game to get right into the gameplay without having to stress over how to build a deck.

This thus serves as an easy way for them to get a feel for the mechanics and what kind of decks and format they'd enjoy playing going forward.

For Streets of New Capenna, there are five Commander decks available, with each including a foil-etched display commander belonging to a different demon crime family, two distinctive legends, and 15 new MTG cards.

Each deck also comes with a Collector Booster Sample Pack, which contains two cards — one traditional foil rare or mythic rare card, and one foil common or uncommon with special art (either golden age or skyscraper).

The full set of five Commander decks is priced at S$248.88, and is available for pre-order now on Wizards of the Coast's Shopee store.

Bundle

A Streets of New Capenna Bundle contains eight set boosters, a traditional foil alternate-art Mysterious Limousine, 20 traditional foil basic lands, one exclusive oversized 20-sided spindown die, and a box to store everything in.

A Bundle is meant for those who want to get a nice selection of cards from the set without having to commit to a full booster box. It is a nice slice of the set, enough for players to get a feel for its flavour and mechanics before deciding whether to invest more heavily into it as a whole.

The Bundle is priced at S$42.88, and is available for pre-order now on Wizards of the Coast's Shopee store.

Prerelease Pack

Finally, there's the Streets of New Capenna prerelease pack, which available for those who participate in the prerelease event happening between April 22 to April 28, 2022 at their local game store. At the event, players will each join a crime family, get their themed prerelease pack, and build a deck using the cards inside.

Each prerelease pack contains — one family booster (one rare or mythic rare card, three uncommon cards, eight common cards, two lands matching the chosen family, one traditional foil rare or mythic rare card), five draft booster packs, one 20-sided spindown die, one deck box with divider, one MTG Arena code card.

For those who want to browse the various MTG packs and boxes, including those from previous expansions, the Wizards of the Coast store on Shopee is a great place to start. For those wanting to dip their toes into the hobby, we have a primer that smooths out the process for you.

ALSO READ: Magic: The Gathering Adventures in the Forgotten Realms - how to get started for beginners

This article was first published in Geek Culture.