Lorcana booster box or singles: which is cheaper for your deck?

If you want specific cards for a deck, buying the singles is almost always cheaper than opening packs for them. Boxes make sense for a different reason: you enjoy opening them, you are playing a sealed event, or the box is selling at or under the value of what's inside. Here is how to tell which case you are in.

Step 1: what does the box cost today?

Open the set's booster box on our booster box price list. Each box page compares TCGplayer, eBay and every store we track, cheapest in stock first. Use the cheapest price you could actually buy at, shipping included.

Step 2: what are the cards worth?

Every set price guide lists each card's TCGplayer market price, most valuable first. A box's value is concentrated in a handful of chase cards — Enchanted and the top Legendaries — that you are not guaranteed to pull. The commons and uncommons from a box rarely sell for more than a few cents each.

Step 3: compare like for like

• Buying for a deck: add up the singles you need on the card pages (or paste the list into the best basket tool). That total is what the deck really costs.
• Opening for value: a box is only "worth it" if the cards you would realistically sell cover the price after fees. Our selling fee calculator shows what you keep from a TCGplayer or eBay sale.

When a box is the better buy

• Right after release, when stores discount boxes to move stock and singles are still expensive.
• For sealed play or drafting with friends, where the packs are the point.
• When you want a full playset of a set's commons and uncommons, which are tedious to buy one by one.

When singles win

• You need two or three specific Legendaries or a chase card.
• The set is a few months old and box prices have risen above the value of the pulls.
• You are building a competitive deck to a list.