Buying Singles vs Opening Packs: The Smart-Money Guide
It's the eternal TCG question: do you buy the singles you need, or open packs and chase them? Here's how to decide — every time.
The case for singles
If you want specific cards — to finish a deck, complete a playset, or grab a chase card — buying singles is almost always cheaper than opening packs to find them. You pay for exactly what you want, with zero variance. Look any card up on the database and buy the cheapest copy across stores.
The case for packs
Opening packs is fun — the rip, the chase, the surprise. Packs and boxes also make sense if you want to draft, collect sealed product, or you genuinely enjoy the gamble. Just go in knowing the expected value: on average a box returns less than the sum of the singles inside, because you're paying for the experience.
The maths in one line
A booster box has a fixed expected value spread across many random cards. If you need a few particular cards, you'll usually pay less buying those singles directly than opening boxes hoping to hit them. Curious about a specific set? Our Box EV calculator works out a box's expected value from live singles prices, so you can see whether opening is +EV before you buy.
A simple rule of thumb
- Building or upgrading a deck? → Buy singles.
- Want the opening experience, to draft, or to collect sealed? → Buy a box — and compare box prices first.
- Not sure? → Run the Box EV calculator and let the numbers decide.
Either way, the smart move is the same: compare prices before you spend. That's the whole reason RiftCompare exists.