Planning some holiday shopping for a Magic the Gathering player in your life? I'll go over several failsafe gift ideas for every type of MTG player—from newcomers to longtime veterans of the game. Whether you're clueless or know everything about Magic, I'll try to help you figure out the best gift ideas!
1. Booster Packs & Prebuilt Decks
Every Magic player loves the thrill and excitement of cracking open booster packs. Packs contain 15 random cards which can range in value from $1 to (on rare occasion) over $100! If you'd like to check out the most recent MTG sets, you can find them on the official site, here.
If you're just looking for a pack or two, you can pick them up for around $4-5 each at most major retail stores (typically by the boardgames section or near the checkout area by the gift cards). A failsafe gift for any MTG player is a Bundle Box. Each box includes 8 booster packs as well as a few extra collectible items. Sound like a winner? Grab one here!
Have a larger budget? Buy them a Booster Box! A booster box contains 30-36 packs. It may seem like overkill, but believe me—any Magic player would absolutely love to crack open 30 packs!
If you're buying for a newer player, consider grabbing them an assorted collection of 1000 Magic cards! This is a great way to start or add to their collection. Keep in mind that these types of assorted bundles are typically not as useful for longtime players!
Looking to teach friends or family the game? Pick up a Duel Deck or Planeswalker Duel Deck. They're great for learning the core mechanics of the game. Also, each deck is on a relatively equal power-level, so matches won't be one-sided!
Interested in trying the 4-player free-for-all Commander format with your friends or family? The Commander Anthology is a great place to start. It comes with four unique and ready-to-play 100-card Commander decks as well as four 100-point spinning life counters!
2. Card Sleeves, Binders, and Deck Boxes
If you're not into the whole buying cardboard as a gift idea—don't fret—there are plenty of other options! Since many cards are quite valuable, it's important to protect them since damaged cards lose their value quickly.
Card sleeves are a win-win. They make shuffling your deck a lot easier while protecting that valuable cardboard! I highly recommend Dragon Shield sleeves. They're durable and seldom smudge or tear. Just make sure you get the "matte" type—they're much higher quality.
PRO-Matte Eclipse sleeves are another durable and affordable option. The front side of these sleeves is a bit matte, so they might not be the best option for somebody that plays a lot of foil cards.
A card binder is another great way to protect and display cards. The Ultra Pro 9-Pocket Binder is a solid & affordable option. It holds up to 360 cards and showcases 9 on each page.
Loose binder pages are a cheap option for newer players. Just attach them in any 3-ring binder and you've got yourself a fully functional card binder! The rings can sometimes damage cards, so be cautious when using this method.
Deck boxes are essential for organizing and transporting decks. An Ultra Pro Satin Tower Deck Box is a great option. These 80 Card Deck Boxes are a super affordable entry-level option as well! If you're after something with a more personal touch, there are a bunch of incredible hand-crafted boxes over on Etsy.
3. Card Storage and Carrying Cases
Magic collections may start out small, but over the years, they can grow exponentially—at which point, card organization & storage becomes imperative!
For bulk cards, these Cardboard Storage Boxes will do the job. Each box holds ~800 cards. They make organizing and labeling huge collections very simple.
When it comes to transporting cards, I recommend the Pirate Lab Carrying Case. These cases are highly configurable, protect cards, and are built to store all Magic accessories (playmats, dice, card boxes, etc). For those with a larger budget, consider the Large Pirate Lab Carrying Case.
4. Custom Illustrated Token Cards
If you're shopping for somebody who's played for a while, they probably have everything I listed above (and more). Custom token cards are a unique gift option for magic players. Tokens are cards that don't actually start in your deck but are generated by a number of different mechanics—at which point, the player brings in a token card from outside of their deck. If you're not sure what token cards your gift recipient uses, just ask somebody they play Magic with!
Cardamajigs carries a plethora of custom token cards by several different artists. Styles range from animated tokens to 8-bit retro style art and everything in-between!
Magic artist rk post is a super talented illustrator with a huge collection of token designs in a unique and intricate artistic style.
Aaron Miller is another extremely gifted mtg artist with a large selection of beautiful custom token cards.
5. Epic Upgrades Magic T-Shirts (shameless plug)
Last up are my Magic shirt designs! For the past couple of years, I've been hard at work designing unique t-shirts for magic players. I felt there wasn't a good way for players to represent their favorite deck or playstyle. My collection has recently grown to over a hundred designs with something for just about every type of player!
Browse all 100+ designs here or check out the archetype/deck-specific designs here. If your recipient is into EDH, you can browse my Commander Collection here! I also have plenty of other designs that don't fall into those categories, check them out here!
If you're in the US and you're looking for any of my designs on a playmat, you can find them here! Searching for something specific? Use the search box in the top menu. Feel free to shoot me a message using the chat box in the corner and I'd be happy to help =)
Use the coupon code: BLOG15 for 15% off your order from my shop!
Thanks so much for checking out my MTG gift guide! If you found it useful or think somebody else would benefit from it, feel free to use the share buttons below!
*Several of the above products linked to Amazon are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases—which helps support my blog!