We’ve established that Magic: the Gathering (MTG) can be an expensive pursuit, but are all things equal across the world? After all, different countries have different costs of living – that would include cost of MTG as well.

So what is the cost of MTG in different countries? Prices do vary across countries and continents, but not as much as one might think. Booster boxes range from US$90 – US$121, but these prices exclude shipping and taxes where applicable. Hence a country with high tax and shipping cost (such as the US) can have a lower sticker price for a Booster box but is actually closer in cost to other countries after these extra factors.

We’ll be using the US market as a base, and we’ll analyse mostly on regular booster packs, and a booster box (36 packs) of a Standard format set. If there is information available on other sealed products, we’ll add it to the summary table below. (Note: currency conversion rates are based on the time of this article)

Cost of MTG in the United States

In the US, a booster pack (of 15 random cards) costs about US$4, while a booster box (36 packs) bought online – for example from StarCityGames.com – costs $90 before taxes and shipping. If you are in the US and buying from a US website, you’d be subjected to tax depending on your State of residence. This means your total cost can be around US$100 (assuming a modest $5 tax and $5 shipping fee).

The cost of MTG in the US is a good starting point because, firstly, MTG originated from the US, and secondly is also the largest market and player base for the game. The US also has a high GDP per capita (about US$65,000 in 2019), and will be used as a reference to other countries.

Cost of MTG in Singapore/Southeast Asia

In Singapore, where this MTG community website is based, a booster pack costs roughly US$2.95 (S$4) and a box of 36 is priced at US$92 (S$125). These prices are already inclusive of tax, and since Singapore is a small space, most items are picked up in person rather than being shipped. Hence, cost of MTG in Singapore is slightly less than in the US. Although Singapore is an advanced economy with a GDP per capita of about US$64,800 in 2019, cost of living is high as well as income inequality. Unfortunately this means many people are priced out of playing the game through booster packs. There are still cheap ways to play MTG, so don’t let the price of booster packs stop you.

Neighbouring countries such as Malaysia have strangely higher store pricing for booster boxes. The cost for an upcoming new set is US$102 (MYR $428), thus about 10% more than buying in Singapore which could be just a short car ride away. When buying a high quantity of booster boxes, the savings could be substantial.

In Thailand, a booster box is priced at around US$112 (3500 Thai Baht), another good 10-20% higher than both Malaysia and Singapore. This can be surprising to some as while cost of living is lower in Thailand compared to Singapore, GDP per capita is also significant lower. With the high store pricing in Thailand for a booster box, I imagine this will hold back the MTG community from growing.

However shipping internationally would not be so attractive in terms of cost. A big purchase of booster boxes means significant weight and that would mean astronomical shipping costs (plus waiting time). Thus it’s just not recommended to buy sealed booster boxes overseas and have them shipped to the US or your home country.

Cost of MTG in Europe / EU

You might think the cost of MTG is highest in Europe, with high standards of living matched with equally high GDP Per Capita (EU average US$36,620 in 2019). This isn’t always true, as a booster pack in the Standard format is priced at about US$2.38 (2 Euros) each, while a booster box of a new Standard set sells at US$102 (86 Euros) on CardMarket. Bear in mind again this doesn’t take into account taxes and shipping fees, which is almost a certainty in a continent like Europe.

Curiously, buying 36 individual booster packs is cheaper than a booster box (of 36 packs). This could be because the booster box usually comes with a buy-a-box promotional card that cannot be found in regular packs. That said, all booster boxes in all regions come with a promotional card included, so this one reason alone can’t be why booster packs are priced extraordinarily low.

Single cards bought in Europe are also oddly lower than the market prices in the US. Many highly-respected pricing websites such as MTGGoldish, Star City Games and TCG Player are based in the US market but are relied on internationally as a reference. Based on other players’ experience, buying single cards in Europe are around 20-40% cheaper than buying in the US.

Cost of MTG in Japan

With arguably the second biggest market in the world, many will be curious about the prices in Japan, especially when many covet Japanese-language cards. Generally, Japanese-language sealed products cost more than their English counterparts. And for the convenience of this article and not to sow confusion, we will use English-language sealed products (but sold in Japan) for comparison.

An English booster box for a new Standard set is sold for about US$113.74 (12,000 Yen) on Hareruya (Japan’s largest online MTG shop). We also looked at the single card prices for Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath. Purchasing one from Star City Games in the US costs US$60, while a similar English-language copy on Hareruya would set you back US$80.

However, looking at a more common Rare card such as Heroic Intervention from Core 2021, the price in Japan costs almost 10% less than the US market. Because the MTG marketplace and card pool is so big, it’s best to always compare individual card prices before buying.

Cost of MTG in Australia

From the online games store The Games Cube, a booster box for an upcoming Standard set (Zendikar Rising) is priced at US$110 (AUD$150), while booster packs are listed at about US$4.80 (AUD$6.50). These prices are significantly higher than in the US, perhaps because of the increased distance for shipping product to Australia.

Now let’s look at prices of single cards in Australia. We’ll use the widely used Land Fabled Passage as a case study. You could buy it online in Australia for US$6.60 (AUD$9), while in the US the current price on Star City Games is US$7. Ultimately the single card pricing is very close to the US.

Summary Table: Cost of MTG Across Different Countries

End Step

No doubt MTG is an expensive game, with an ever-growing line of products that requires more spending to stay competitive. From the data, we can see that different countries do price MTG differently, but not enough to warrant shipping small quantities from one country to another.

We would still like to collate more pricing info from other countries/continents that are not mentioned above. Hence if you are from that area and would like to share, please leave a comment below or send us a private email to tapandsac@gmail.com