The best Magic: The Gathering gifts for Christmas 2022
Topdeck the halls.
Magic: The Gathering has had a truly banner year, at least in terms of quantity, which means you could suddenly find yourself with a new MTG fan to buy for when it comes to the holidays. That can be a daunting task for anyone - even long-time MTG players themselves - so we’ve decided to hunt around for the best Magic: The Gathering gift ideas.
Best Magic: The Gathering gifts 2022
- Jumpstart 2022
- Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks
- Pinfinity augmented reality pins
- Ultra Pro MTG card binder
- Dragon Shield matte card sleeves
- Custom playmat
- LCD writing pad
- TCG store gift cards
You can definitely just go and order whatever set you think is most affordable, but MTG players can be awkward to buy gifts for because they tend to want things immediately - which means you can’t rely on them waiting for whatever you want to get them. As such, you’re often better off buying them things that have a longer-lasting value, or just some good accessories.
It’d be easy to just recommend some booster packs from the most recent sets but, realistically, a lot of Magic: The Gathering fans will already have the cards they want from those. Instead, we’ve tried to think a little outside the box here to make sure these MTG gifts should hit home no matter what level of fan you’re buying for.
1. Jumpstart 2022
Jumpstart 2022 is the latest Magic: The Gathering set and an update to the original Jumpstart released in 2020. However, it essentially has nothing to do with the new Jumpstart boosters you might find in MTG’s other recent expansion, The Brothers’ War. It’s confusing, because MTG publisher Wizards of the Coast can’t seem to help itself at the moment, but in essence, these sets have a load of cool cards to play with, both new and old.
Jumpstart offers a unique gameplay experience by allowing you to open up two booster packs and then mix them together for a deck to use. They’re not only good for older players, but also a great way to get into the game as a whole, which means you can use them to learn how to play MTG yourself - and there’s really no greater gift than showing an interest in someone’s hobbies.
Buy Jumpstart 2022 on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
2. Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks
While many MTG sets might lose their value or not be what people want, the new Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks are, undoubtedly, incredible. Each one has 100 cards for players to use in a multiplayer battle, can be customised as people want and are chock-full of cool Warhammer 40,0000 references.
Not only that, but a lot of the unique cards in these preconstructed decks are worth a pretty penny, and the set itself is quite pricey, which comfortably puts it into the range of “I want it but can’t justify it” - making them excellent gifts for MTG fans.
Buy Magic: The Gathering's Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
3. Pinfinity augmented reality pins
Here’s something we’d be willing to bet the vast majority of Magic: The Gathering fans don’t have, but would love. Pinfinity is a company that creates awesome augmented reality pins for a range of different popular things, including the likes of Dungeons & Dragons and Street Fighter, but also Magic: The Gathering.
There are loads of cool pins to choose from, and each one comes with fun features like special animations and music to experience when you use Pinfinity’s AR app. They’re little novelties that help show someone’s love of MTG, without it being the kind of thing many people are likely to get themselves.
Buy Magic: The Gathering Pinfinity pin badges from Pinfinity.
4. Ultra Pro MTG card binder
Given that most Magic players already have a wealth of cards to deal with, buying them something that can help keep things tidy is always a great idea. There are lots of ways to do that, but for most people, what they want is a nice card binder.
The Ultra Pro Eclipse binder is an excellent nine-pocket binder that’s designed to look fairly sleek, can hold up to 360 sleeved cards as standard and will help people show off their collections as they please. It’s a great gift for any Magic: The Gathering fan, especially for those who love to collect cards and traders.
Buy Ultra Pro Eclipse card binder on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
5. Dragon Shield matte card sleeves
The other thing that every MTG player needs more of - and it is a constant and sometimes aggravating need - is sleeves. Keeping cards in good condition isn’t just important for those who like to play around with the secondary market, but also people who just want their cardboard to last.
Dragon Shield's sleeves are some of the best on the market in terms of quality, quantity and feel, and the matte finish is far less slippery than other options. It means they’ll feel good coming out of the pack, and they should last more than long enough for most players.
Buy Dragon Shield matte card sleeves on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
6. Custom playmat
A good Magic: The Gathering playmat is the kind of thing that players will take with them everywhere. It helps show off a love for a specific card or character, and great custom ones can go even further than that. You can find playmats in a lot of places, but a good first stop for more niche options is Etsy.
We recommend finding out about their favourite characters beforehand, but you can find plenty of options here that aren’t MTG-specific and will still perform the role admirably. It’s always nice to show off your love of cats, for example, or you could even get a special one created from a family photo or something.
Buy custom Magic: The Gathering playmats on Etsy.
7. LCD writing pad
This one may seem like a bit of an outlier, but bear with us. Magic: The Gathering is a game with a lot of numbers involved. You have to track your own life total, your opponent’s life total and any extra tokens you’ve both made, along with any cards they may have revealed.
While paper can help you do this, an LCD writing pad is actually a lot more efficient, and means using less paper too. There are plenty of options out there, but the ones we’ve chosen are fairly cheap, not too big and should be easy to get before the Christmas rush hits.
Buy a LCD writing tablet on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
8. TCG store gift cards
Finally, how about gift cards? If the person you’re trying to buy for always buys their own cards, and they’ve already got everything on this list, then getting them a gift card for an online TCG store such as Magic Madhouse in the UK or TCGplayer over in the US - or, ideally, their friendly local game store, is an excellent way to make sure they’ll be happy, but still shows you’ve put some thought into things.
It just means they can pay for event entry, or specific singles as they want them, rather than anybody trying to figure out the perfect gift ahead of time. This is definitely one of the safer options on the list, but it’s still a good one.
