ARB 'Power' Packs

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Intro Packs are the perfect way to introduce new players to Magic: the Gathering. Each Alara Reborn Intro Pack contains a ready-to-play 41 card deck, 1 Alara Reborn Booster Pack, an Alara Reborn strategy guide, and a Magic: the Gathering rules insert for new players.

I have a love / hate relationship with Booster Packs - Although I love tearing into the packs to see what rare or uncommons I got, I am often disappointed when I get a handfull of jank that I can't even trade if I wanted to. To this end, I often look at Intro Packs . . . this avenue has little surprise and I am guaranteed to obtain exactly what I expected in these pre-constructed decks (with the exception of the one booster pack).

Many folks on the forums had been asking which is the 'best' Intro Pack to get . . . one way to determine this is thet value of the cards inside the pack - bear with me. As with many things in the world of the fickle consumer, I will determine the 'Return On Investment' or R.O.I. With this information, I am best able to determine which is the best product to purchase.

Up here in desolate and barren reaches of Central Ontario, Intro Packs are going for just under $15 (US). If you are state-side, expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $13, depending upon where you are. I looked at the card value in each Intro pack and determined the value of the product if you were able to sell each card as a single.

Eternal Siege (GW) - Worth $18
Rare : Dauntless Escort ($7), Knight of New Alara ($4)
Uncommon : Path to Exile ($5), Drumhunter, Enlisted Wurm, Sunseed Nurturer, Vagrant Plowbeasts, Mighty Emergence, Reborn Hope


Eternal Siege Alara Reborn Intro Pack - 41 cards

18 lands : 8 Forest, 8 Plains, 2 Terramorphic Expanse

15 creatures : 1 Beacon Behemoth, 1 Dauntless Escort, 1 Drumhunter, 1 Enlisted Wurm, 1 Godtoucher, 2 Grizzled Leotau, 1 Knight of New Alara, 1 Mosstodon, 2 Pale Recluse, 1 Qasali Pridemage, 1 Sigiled Behemoth, 1 Sunseed Nurturer, 1 Vagrant Plowbeasts

8 other spells : 1 Captured Sunlight, 2 Excommunicate, 1 Mighty Emergence, 1 Path to Exile, 1 Reborn Hope, 1 Sigil Blessing, 1 Sigil of the Nayan Gods


Legion Aloft (WU) - Worth $13
Rare : Aven Mimeomancer ($2), Filigree Angel ($2)
Uncommon : Path to Exile ($5), Wall of Denial, Bottle Gnomes, Metallurgeon, Kiss of the Amesha, Protomatter Powder, Whispersilk Cloak

Legion Aloft Alara Reborn Intro Pack - 41 cards

18 lands : 8 Island, 8 Plains, 2 Terramorphic Expanse

15 creatures : 2 Arsenal Thresher, 1 Aven Mimeomancer, 1 Bottle Gnomes, 1 Esper Cormorants, 2 Ethercaste Knight, 1 Etherium Sculptor, 1 Filigree Angel, 2 Glassdust Hulk, 1 Metallurgeon, 2 Sanctum Plowbeast, 1 Wall of Denial

8 other spells : 1 Kiss of the Amesha, 1 Offering to Asha, 2 Pacifism, 1 Path to Exile, 1 Protomatter Powder, 1 Stormcaller's Boon, 1 Whispersilk Cloak


Unnatural Schemes (UB) - Worth $10
Rare : Lich Lord of Unx ($3), Nemesis of Reason ($3)
Uncommon : Fatestitcher, 2 x Grixis Slavedriver, 2 x Nantuko Husk, Phantom Warrior, Countersquall

Unnatural Schemes Alara Reborn Intro Pack - 41 cards

18 lands : 8 Island, 8 Swamp, 2 Terramorphic Expanse

15 creatures : 2 Architects of Will, 1 Fatestitcher, 2 Grixis Slavedriver, 2 Jhessian Zombies, 1 Lich Lord of Unx, 2 Nantuko Husk, 1 Nemesis of Reason, 1 Phantom Warrior, 2 Tidehollow Strix, 1 Vedalken Ghoul

8 other spells : 2 Agony Warp, 1 Brainbite, 1 Countersquall, 1 Deny Reality, 2 Essence Drain, 1 Soul Manipulation


Dead Ahead (BR) - Worth $11
Rare : Deathbringer Thoctar ($3), Lightning Reaver ($3)
Uncommon : Blood Cultist, Bog Wraith, Sanity Gnawers, Bituminous Blast, Cruel Edict, Leonin Scimitar

Dead Ahead Alara Reborn Intro Pack - 41 cards

18 lands : 8 Mountain, 8 Swamp, 2 Terramorphic Expanse

16 creatures : 1 Blister Beetle, 1 Blood Cultist, 1 Bog Wraith, 1 Deathbringer Thoctar, 1 Dreg Reaver, 2 Dregscape Zombie, 2 Igneous Pouncer, 1 Lightning Reaver, 1 Monstrous Carabid, 2 Sanity Gnawers, 1 Singe-Mind Ogre, 1 Viashino Skeleton, 1 Viscera Dragger

7 other spells : 1 Bituminous Blast, 1 Blightning, 1 Breath of Malfegor, 1 Cruel Edict, 1 Leonin Scimitar, 2 Terminate


Rumbler (RG) - Worth $13
Rare : Blitz Hellion ($3), Spellbreaker Behemoth ($4)
Uncommon : Algae Gharial, Bloodbraid Elf, Gluttonous Slime, Rockslide Elemental, Thunder-Thrash Elder, Sangrite Surge, Vengeful Rebirth

Rumbler Alara Reborn Intro Pack - 41 cards

18 lands : 8 Forest, 8 Mountain, 2 Terramorphic Expanse

16 creatures : 1 Algae Gharial, 1 Blitz Hellion, 1 Bloodbraid Elf, 2 Dragon Fodder, 1 Elvish Visionary, 1 Gluttonous Slime, 1 Godtracker of Jund, 1 Gorger Wurm, 1 Rhox Brute, 1 Rockslide Elemental, 1 Spellbreaker Behemoth, 1 Thunder-Thrash Elder, 1 Tukatongue Thallid, 2 Valley Rannet

7 other spells : 1 Colossal Might, 2 Incinerate, 1 Sangrite Surge, 2 Shock, 1 Vengeful Rebirth

Given this, I have a rough idea which not only be the better deck but also the best price based on the contents.