The Brothers' War Booster Boxes, Commander Decks, Jumpstart and More...

Introduction

New set release is one of the most exciting times for any serious magic collector. Like little children with our faces pressed up against the sweet shop window, we are just desperate for a taste of the exotic excitement held within those mysterious, colorful packets. The release of The Brothers' War makes no exception. This set looks pumped to the max with exciting, interesting cards that will brighten our gaming nights and hopefully add value to our collections.

With the main set containing an incredible selection of powerful additions to the game you could be forgiven for looking no further. However, contained within the Brother’s War are two additional sets of cards both with their own set symbol and set code. The first of these, The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts contains a selection of powerful artifacts reprinted from MTG’s history in the evocative retro frame. The second takes on a different flavor offering fans of the Transformers an opportunity to open copies of cards such as Optimus Prime and Megatron.

As usual, Wizards of the Coast have released a plethora of products each containing a different selection of possible cards. This article is designed to give you as much information as possible about the cards in each of these sets and to let you know exactly which products they are available in. Let's get into it!

The Brother’s War Main Set

The Brothers' War (BRO) contains a total of 287 cards. This breaks down to 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 63 rares, and 23 mythic rares as well as 20 basic lands - 10 of which are full-art mech basic lands. Three of the aforementioned rares and three of those mythic rares are double-faced meld cards such as Titania, Voice of Gaea which melds with Argoth, Sanctum of Nature to create the enormous double-sized card Titania, Gaea Incarnate.

The Brother’s War Retro Artifacts

Each pack in The Brothers' War contains a little piece of Magic's history: 63 artifacts from across Magic's past printed in the retro frame. Of these 63 there are 18 uncommons, 30 rares, and 15 mythic rares. WOTC have stated that at least one Retro Artifact will appear in every booster pack.

With high value cards such as Mox Amber and Ramos, Dragon Engine being reprinted in the Brother’s War Retro Artifacts set (BRR) there’s plenty of reason to get excited when you see that retro frame in your pack.

What’s more, all of the retro artifacts are also printed with an alternate art version known as the schematic form. These schematics appear to have been drawn by the artificer who created the artifact - giving an impression of their early designs. These will also be available in Set, Draft, and Collector Boosters, Regardless of the rarity of your artifact, it will be a schematic one-sixth of the time.

As if that wasn’t enough, WOTC has also created a collection of serialized schematic cards. Extremely collectable, each of these will become a unique part of Magic's history. There are 500 serialized versions of every schematic card, each with its own identifier from 1 to 500 appearing on a double rainbow version of the traditional foil. Can you imagine being the first person to collect a full set of these?

Transformers

Depending how keen you are on MTG’s cross-over product Universes Beyond, the inclusion of Transformers cards may have your heart pulsing with either excitement or rage. Yes it’s a controversial topic and although many players are staunchly against diluting MTG’s history it’s hard to deny that these cards look seriously cool!

There are 15 Transformers which can be opened in Set and Collector Boosters and have their own set symbol and set code (BOT). These are available in foil and non-foil as well as in the Shattered Glass style (also available in foil and non-foil). Naturally these cards are double sided which fits perfectly with the Transformers theme.

Mech Basic Lands

The story of The Brothers' War revolves around the two artificer brothers Urza and Mishra who both build enormous war machines to help in their struggles. These constructs can be seen in all their glory on the mech basic lands. There are ten mech lands, two for each basic land type.

Borderless Cards

Borderless cards have been a feature of most magic sets for sometime now and The Brothers' War is no exception. There are six borderless rares and two borderless mythic rares in The Brothers' War. Usually it's the planeswalkers in a set which get a borderless version, but this time around WOTC have mixed it up and have also given that honor to the legendary creature versions of Urza and Mishra.

Extended Art Cards

Extended art cards are another additional style that both collectors and commander players love to get their hands on. These can only be opened in specific products. For those interested in the main set (rather than commander or jumpstart products) this means opening The Brothers' War Collector Boosters, where you may find 53 rares and 19 mythic rares with extended art.

Set Boosters

Set Boosters are some of the most fun to open in my opinion. Introduced alongside Zendikar Rising they offer way more value per pack from both a monetary and collection aspect. The reason for that is simple; with Set Boosters it’s possible to open multiple rares or mythics. These booster packs can contain up to 5 rares or mythics, yes 5! Although you will only hit this jackpot around 1 in every 100 packs, just knowing it’s a possibility makes these truly exciting to open.

The infographic below shows exactly what you can expect from each Set Booster in your box:

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Draft Boosters

Draft Booster packs are regular boosters, these are the normal ones that we’ve been buying for decades. They have 15 cards with only 1 rare or mythic although there is a slim chance of a second one in the foil slot.

Looking to draft with your friends? Then Draft Boosters are the obvious choice. Also great for playing sealed deck of course, as well as any other limited variant you might feel inspired to try.

The infographic below shows exactly what you can expect from each Draft Booster in your box:

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Collector Boosters

Not for the faint of heart or light of wallet, Collector Boosters are a serious investment. Each pack contains a wealth of foil, showcase or borderless cards with multiple rares or mythic. As a premium product the price of these is high, however for those truly obsessed with obtaining the most unique and visually exciting cards they are well worth every dollar spent.

The infographic below shows exactly what you can expect from each Collector Booster in your box:

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Commander Decks

There are two Commander decks in The Brothers' War - one for each brother, Urza and Mishra. Each of which is entirely printed in the retro frame. Yes, every single card in both decks will come in the retro frame.

In addition to that, each The Brothers' War Commander deck comes with a Collector Booster Sample Pack, which contains two cards. The first of these will be a rare or mythic rare that will either be a traditional foil, borderless, or extended-art card. The second will be an uncommon which will be a traditional foil retro artifact or a retro schematic.

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Jumpstart

The release of The Brothers' War main set also coincides with the release of a new Jumpstart set. The Brother’s War Jumpstart Boosters come in ten different themes. By opening and shuffling two packs together you can have a unique limited experience without the hassle of deck building.

The Brothers' War Jumpstart Boosters each contain a theme card that describes the theme of the Jumpstart Booster alongside 20 Total playable cards. Each booster will also contain one rare or mythic rare from the main set as well as one rare that is unique to Jumpstart.

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Author Bio

Dave ‘Angri’ Warner started playing Magic The Gathering during the Ice Age expansion. Proud to have collected a full set of 4th Edition, he was horrified to discover that, whilst he was away at college, his mom had donated his cards to a thrift store! With two mathematics degrees safely under his belt, Angri turned his attention to the world of online poker. Following a 10 year stint as a professional poker player, he finally returned to the glorious game of his youth. When not found playing or writing about MTG, he enjoys hanging out with his small family or riding an electric bike around the polluted English city he calls home.

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This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that, If you choose to purchase a product after following this link, I will receive a small commission. Many thanks to anyone choosing to do this - it will allow me to keep publishing great content, Dave.