A family tradition is about to end for us! This sounds dramatic but it’s not quite as momentous as you might think. So, what happened?
WOTC this week announced that it is ending its Buy-a-Box program in early 2026. They announced their decision rather quietly in a Wizards Play Network (WPN) post a few days back. Based on “careful review,” they plan to sunset the program with Lorwyn Eclipsed, the first set to come out next year.
The Buy-a-Box program provided a bonus card with each booster box purchased at an LGS. The cards offered were not always spectacular but there some some pretty desirable ones as well. Both Nexus of Fate and Kenrith, The Returned King spring to mind as good examples of some great card to come through the program.
The program ran for 17 years, longer than the family has been playing Magic. No reason was provided for the decision but WOTC does promise new future promotional initiatives:
We remain focused on investing in promotional programs and incentives that drive long-term growth and repeat play in stores. You will continue to see strong in-store support through initiatives that reward player engagement, spotlight new releases, and help you activate your local audience through in-store experiences. We will also continue testing new event structures, support, and promotions to identify and expand your store’s experiences.
So, how does this announcement end a family tradition? Anyone following our adventures knows that we buy a box with every set. Well, almost every set as we put an end to that tradition with The Last Avatar given our lack of interest in the set.
We gather together at our gaming table and crack open the box. We then go around, one at a time, picking up a pack until the box is empty. The real fun then follows. We all together crack a pack and go through our cards. We reveal the Rare and Mythic pulls. We then repeat until we have gone through all the packs. Surrounded by the empty booster wrappers, the final part of the tradition is to give the Buy-a-Box promo card to the person who pulled the least Mythics. While most of these have little value, it was the consolation prize (and it did work out in a few cases!). Some even became favourites. I’m fond of Firesong and Sunspeaker (despite the fact that Noah has it). And Noah built a cats and dogs deck with Rin and Seri, Inseparable. And while we were not playing when Surgical Extraction was the promo, it might have been a nice card to end the opening tradition with.
It is rare for whatever reason that we end up with equal number of Mythics. There is typically one person who does really well while there is also someone disappointed with their pulls (the trial and tribulations of opening booster packs). Sliding the BaB promo over to that person was essentially with some light-hearted teasing.
With Lorwyn Eclipsed coming up next, the boys and I had already talked about resuming the tradition. We are still discussing the timing given that Noah is now out of the province for university but we are looking forward to the new set. Unfortunately, we’ll have to see if we can come up with an alternative tradition for the compensation prize.
Family Magic 
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