Background

Let me preface this top 15 list with the fact that I have been collecting Magic the Gathering (MTG) cards since the 1995 release of the Ice Age set. That’s almost a quarter century of playing this collectible card game! In my time playing MTG I’ve picked up a few things, most notably the accessories that make for ideal MTG gifts! I’ve compiled this list of the must have MTG accessories for any player (a.k.a. mages or planeswalkers).

Most of the photos in this list are from my own personal collection, so believe me, I know that I’m recommending quality accessories. Remember, each player is different. Several of these MTG gifts come with various artwork. I recommend doing a little research on their likes and dislikes to help match their style.

I’ve broken this top 15 MTG gifts list into two sections. First I’ll tackle gift ideas for the new player. Gifts from this section require far less of a financial investment, but definitely add to the game play experience. However, experienced players will likely enjoy MTG gifts from the latter section.

Alright without further ado, onto the lists!

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MTG Gifts for Beginner Players and Collectors

1. Pirate Labs Small Carrying Case

Pirate Labs makes a top quality product, and the small carrying case is no exception. Because beginning players typically have a smaller MTG collection, there really isn’t a need for the large carrying case. Ideally, I recommend the cards that are kept in this case should be sleeved. You can see a sample of card sleeves on Amazon, but they are not required.

You can read my full review of the Large carrying case here if you’re interested in the construction and performance.

View Pirate Lab Small Carrying Case on Amazon

2. Pre-Constructed Deck or Standard Booster Box

Most experienced players will opt for purchasing single cards. If you’ve got an aspiring planeswalker who is just getting into the game, I recommend a pre-constructed deck.

Purchasing a “pre-con” as it is known in the MTG world, allows players to experience the games mechanics and focus much more on strategy and how cards interact. Often times, pre-con decks won’t have a high density of premium cards and is a good way to introduce them to card care.

Players with a little more experience, but not quite avid collector status would likely enjoy a Standard booster box.

Booster Box Break Down

Booster boxes contain 36 packs, and each pack contains 15 cards and a marketing card that can double as a token. The packs playable cards are 10 commons, 3 uncommons, 1 land, and 1 rare or mythic rare. Occasionally, one of the commons will be replaced by a foil. Foils can be any of the above mentioned rarities, but take the slot of a common.

I recommend this because it’s like getting 36 mini MTG gifts in one giant package! Also, a standard booster box is less expensive because it is in print. Standard refers to the 3 most recent sets — at the time of this post — released by Wizards of the Coast (WoTC).

Standard cards are a finite universe of cards, which means you won’t overwhelm your new planeswalker. They’ll adjust and learn other more complex formats at their own speed.

Getting a booster box is kind of like playing the lottery, but there are also game formats (limited formats) that use booster packs as an integral part of the game play. But, I won’t get into drafting on this post. Just know if they have a group of friends who they play with regularly, this is a great idea.

View MTG Standard Pre-Con on Amazon View MTG Standard Booster Box on Amazon

3. MTG Themed Playmat

The calling card of an experienced player is a sleeved up deck, and an MTG playmat. Here is where you have some creative liberties. You know your planeswalkers likes and dislikes. It doesn’t have to be MTG themed to be a hit. If you know they are into [insert mythical creature here] then you can peruse Amazon for an abundance of different artwork.

The purpose of the playmat, similar to sleeves, is to help protect cards. Instead of scraping the corner with their fingernails to try and pick up a card, there’s a little cushion to help them get their finger underneath it. Also, the surface works great for sliding cards toward your opponent so they can read the text on the card.

See Zacama Art for MTG Playmat on Amazon

4. Ultra Pro 4 Pocket Binder

Alright, so the reason I have suggested this style of storage binder is for several reasons. Again, as a beginning collector, your inventory isn’t going to be gigantic. Most players keep their money cards in binders.

Most of the money cards are rare or mythic rare (and every once in a while an uncommon). Because of this there’s no need to have an excessively large binder. It’s disheartening to see a bunch of empty slots in your prized possession tome.

The second reason I suggest this type is because most collectors keep only a “playset” of any given card. A playset consists of 4 of the same card. Aptly named a playset, because in most formats, 4 is the maximum number you can play in your deck. I only buy binders that adhere to the “rule of 4” as I call it. This includes any binder that has pages or spreads that come in multiples of 4. This binder has 4 slots on each page for your MTG cards, thus it is a wise choice.

View Ultra Pro 4 Pocket Binder on Amazon

5. Ultra Pro Deck Box Set

Early on in their MTG collecting days, most players will love to experiment with creating new decks. They may have 3 or more decks for a given format. Having multiple decks allows them to build and test out decks with their friends while teaching them valuable lessons about organization and card care.

Deck boxes can get rather extravagant, holding multiple decks, MTG accessories, and more. You’re planeswalker won’t need this, and best to keep it simple. Don’t worry, before you know it they’ll be asking for very specific models. Then you won’t need me anymore. :'(

View Ultra Pro Deck Box on Amazon

6. Rock Lobster, Paper Tiger, Scissor Lizard Cards

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot! So even though magic is a complex game, you still have to decide who gets to play first. Players can do high roll of dice, odds or evens, or a far better option is playing “rock, paper, scissors.” These cards are an MTG take on the classic.

Simply place the cards face down, then each player selects a card and shows the opponent. The outcomes are the same as if you used your hands, only no ties!

Originally printed in the Unglued set, this trio of cards was instantly regarded as an MTG novelty. Well it stuck, and to members of the MTG community, it’s a great way to kick of a friendly Friday Night Magic (FNM) match.

I consider this one of the best MTG gifts on the beginner list. Experienced players will think your mage has been collecting for years. When they discover your planeswalker is new to the game, they’ll instantly respect their appreciation for this community secret.

View MTG Rock Lobster Card on Amazon View MTG Paper Tiger Card on Amazon View MTG Scissor Lizard Card on Amazon

7. MTG Anthology Life Counter

Anthology was a specialty item set. Like the Native Americans take on the buffalo, no part went to waste. The life counters simple construction is elegant, but highly functional.

In MTG each player starts at 20 life, and the goal is to reduce your opponent to zero by casting spells, attacking with creatures, and more. One way to thwart your opponent is to gain life. When most of the dice go up to only 20, how do you denote track your life if it goes above that?

Some players add additional dice, some keep notes on pads, but just having something that counts higher than 20 seems like the best option in my opinion.

One thing to note is that these were not originally made for individual sale. Make sure you are buying your from a trusted source.

View MTG Anthology Life Counter on Amazon

MTG Gifts for Experienced Players and Collectors

1. Pirate Labs Large Carrying Case

If your collector has been playing for years chances are they’ve been inundated with MTG gifts, and not all of them up to snuff. You shouldn’t worry about that with the Pirate Labs Carrying Case. I’ve got a detailed review of this product here. I recommend you check it out if you have any concerns.

Beyond quality construction, it has more than enough space to hold multiple decks, extra land cards, and their cube (minimum 360 cards) including sleeves. Extra space for their playmat and small binder are on the back, and all pockets are zippered. A great gift for the traveling mage who frequents GP’s, Pro Tours, FNM’s or generally plays on the road.

View Pirate Labs Large Carrying Case on Amazon

 

2. Booster Box of Recent MTG Masters Set

I briefly discuss the limited format above. Getting them a booster box of a more elite set, like the Master’s sets is great for drafting!

I recommend this higher ticket item for those with an established play group for maximum enjoyment. However, some players just like to crack packs, enjoy that new card smell, and hope they flip through and find money at the back of the booster pack. It’s up to them how they want to enjoy, but this should be a hit!

View Recommended Masters Booster Box on Amazon

3. Dice with +1/+1 Type Counters

Without getting into too much detail, I will try to explain why these are a necessary MTG accessory.

Often times when players are deep into a long grindy game, effects will stack. One card will say put a counter on this creature, while another says put a different type of counter on the same creature. The same is true for players. Other cards say to “remove” or “cannot have counters”. Hopefully you are starting to see the necessity for these dice.

You can of course used different colored dice to try and track these counters. Eventually players start to wonder, “Was blue for +1/+1 counters or fate counters?” These dice help immensely with this problem, which is why I’ve listed them under the top mtg gifts for experienced players.

View Dice for Counters on Amazon

4. BCW ZFolio Card Binder

The Rule of 4, as I explained earlier relates to the number contained in a playsets of a given card. Players can have no more than 4 of a given card name in their deck, including their sideboard, unless otherwise specified on the card (like Relentless Rats). Don’t worry there aren’t too many cards like Relentless Rats!

The BCW ZFolio Card Binder has three rows of 4 side loading card slots on each page. This means you can fit 24 cards on a given spread, or six playsets. Pages have storage space on both the front and back and are made of archival safe material (I still sleeve my cards in penny sleeves).

The grand total of cards you can fit in this binder is 480 cards! Plenty of space for their Fetch lands, Shock lands, Snapcaster Mages, Cryptic Commands, and Path To Exiles!

However, dedicated MTG collectors may need more than one binder. Try getting them the set of 5 binders to ensure their prized possessions are properly safeguarded. Also, in case you were wondering the binder colors correspond to each of the primary colors of MTG cards.

View BCW ZFolio on Amazon 5 Pack of Primary MTG Colors on Amazon

5. Mana Embossed Leather Deck Box

Graduating from the standard Ultra Pro plastic deckboxes is a hallmark event for a collector. Congrats, they’ve made it! Get them this sweet leather deckbox with soft fabric interior lining. A magnet locks the lid in the closed position.

This can actually fit a fully sleeved Commander Deck, which is 100 cards, including their Commander. You could also fit a standard 60 card constructed deck, and the 15 card sideboard with room to spare. They also come with an embossed mana symbol that corresponds to the color of the case. You may have to dig around Amazon for a certain deck box color, but that’s totally up to you.

Moving up in the world doesn’t mean you have to scrap your trusty plastic deckboxes. You could get your MTG player this Ultimate Guard Arkhive from Amazon and still keep them looking like a pro!

View Mana Embossed Leather Deck Box on Amazon

 

6. Pocket Sized Hex Dice Wood Chest

Oh thank goodness. Lugging cards around in the Pirate Lab case is great, particularly for large events. I went to MagFest earlier this year. I was super glad to able to bring my cube for others to review, bring constructed decks, other MTG accessories, and a trade binder all in one. However, for the run of the mill FNM it’s a bit overkill.

There are times when all you need is a deckbox with some sleeves, and a few dice. Here’s where this pocket sized hex dice wood chest comes in real handy. Rather than lug around a backpack, stick this in your pocket and grab some sleeves and an old deck box and you’re ready to go. You could even leave these supplies in your car so you’re always ready to draft at your local gaming store (LGS).

View Pocket Sized Hex Dice Wood Chest on Amazon

7. MTG Land Caddy – Land Holder

Now we are getting into the extravagant and lavish. Admittedly, I don’t own this one. I’m super sad about that, but it is in the forecast for my game room, whenever it’s complete. Your MTG fanatic has likely seen these at their LGS on Friday nights — I believe it’s actually only intended for store owners.

Built with 5 seperate removable trays with corresponding printed mana symbols, these durable hard plastic trays hold the much needed mana for deck building. The trays come in a metal frame, which holds them. Kind of wish they had 6 holders with the advent of “colorless” mana — not generic mana! However, I digress.

There’s also a less expensive acrylic version, if the elite model is out of your price range. Get either for the MTG Player that frequently hosts events with his playgroup. Their friends won’t say it, but they will be jealous!

View MTG Land Caddy on Amazon View Acrylic Version on Amazon

8. Ultra Pro Life Counter Dial

My buddy, Justin, has a very similar version of this Ultra Pro life counter dial. His was purchased at an LGS, years ago, so I can’t verify if it’s an Ultra Pro make. It’s definitely a sweet addition because of the vintage feel. Most experienced players are likely to enjoy the nostalgia when they’re playing at the kitchen table.

While 20 sided dice (d20) accomplish a similar task, this beauty tracks the players life total up to 40 life. At that point you’re practically infinite, just kidding. However, the sturdy metal construction makes this an MTG accessory worth having!

View Life Counter Dial on Amazon

Final Thoughts

Alright Magic fans, that rounds out our list of the top 15 gifts for Magic the Gathering players. I’ve tried to give a comprehensive outlook on why I chose these MTG gifts and what makes them worthwhile. Hopefully you’ve seen something that peaks your interest, or have a better idea of what to get your Magic player.

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Thanks!

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