MtG Old School Storage Boxes

Next to our beloved cards there are many nostalgic MtG related items out there. One of them are Old School storage boxes. I think most of us have seen 1 or more variants of these storage boxes and I thought it was a fun idea to list them all and explain what types are out there. I know that these storage boxes are made after 1994 and also contain art from up to 1998. Still I consider these storage boxes “Old School” as most of the art is from the early sets. There are also plenty of storage boxes made after these 2 series but I’ve left those out of the article since these definitely don’t fit the “Old School” label for me.

Legends Storage Boxes

These boxes were released by Wizard of the Coast in 1996. There is 1 for each color and they contain artwork from Alpha till Ice Age. They can hold 1200 unsleeved and roughly 550 double sleeved cards. Card are stored in the box sideways which I highly prefer above cards that stand-up which is the case in the other box series. The downside is that you can’t read the name of the card easily but I know all Old School cards by image. Storing your cards by color, set & alphabetical order is a good idea anyway, or use any ordering you personally prefer. The black version seems to appear the most while I haven’t seen many green or red boxes. There is no information on the print run of these but they are available both on Magic Card Market as well as Ebay.

The following illustrations are displayed on these boxes:

BlackBlueGreen
Dance of the Dead by Randy GallegosForce Void by Mark TedinCraw Giant by Christopher Rush
Guardian Beast by Ken Meyer, JrJuxtapose by Justin HamptonElvish Archer by Anson Maddocks
Juzam Djinn by Mark TedinMahamoti Djinn by Dan FrazierErhnam Djinn by Ken Meyer, Jr.
Lich by Daniel GelonMana Drain by Mark TedinForce of Nature by Douglas Shuler
Minion of Tevesh Szat by Julie BarohPolar Kraken by Mark TedinSylvan Library by Harold McNeill
Nether Shadow by Christopher RushTime Elemental by Amy WeberVerduran Enchantress by Kev Brockschmidt
The Wretched by Christopher RushZephyr Falcon by Heather HudsonWinter Blast Kaja Foglio
RedWhite
Anarchy by Phil FoglioBalance by Mark Poole
Goblin Grenade by Ron SpencerBlinking Spirit by L.A. Williams
Inferno by Randy Asplund-FaithMesa Pegasus by Melissa Benson
Lava Burst by Tom WänerstrandSavannah Lions by Daniel Gelon
Mana Clash by Mark TedinSpirit Link by Kaja Foglio
Mana Flare by Christopher RushThunder Spirit by Randy Asplund-Faith
Spinal Villain by Anson MaddocksWrath of God by Quinton Hoover

France Exclusive Storage Boxes

The second series are the France Exclusive Storage Boxes. These were released by Wizard of the Coast in 1998. These boxes can also hold 1200 unsleeved and roughly 550 double sleeved cards. Cards are stored vertically which makes it easier to read the cardnames but harder to flip through. Images shown are from Alpha all the way up till Tempest block (Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus). While some might view these boxes as “to new”, the addition of the Artifact “color” makes up for most of that. This box is likely the prettiest of them all, containing artwork of all the Moxen, the iconic Black Lotus, Jester’s Cap & Chaos Orb and Grinning Totem, Skyshaper & Scroll Rack. The boxes are called France exclusive for a reason as the bottom of the box learns us that they were printed in France and the distribution was for France only. Luckily boarders don’t mean a lot anymore nowadays as you can get these boxes everywhere. You can find them again on Magic Card Market and Ebay.

The following illustrations are displayed on these boxes:

ArtifactBlackBlue
Black Lotus by Christoper RushAll Hallow's Eve by Christoper RushAncestral Knowledge by Colin MacNeil
Chaos Orb by Mark TedinCatacomb Dragon by David O'ConnerErtai, Wizard Adept by Terese Nielsen
Grinning Totem by Donato GiancolaCommander Greven il-Vec by Kev WalkerMana Drain by Mark Tedin
Jester's Cap by Dan FrazierGuardian Beast by Ken Meyer, JrSilver Wyvern by Colin MacNeil
Mox Diamon by Dan FrazierJuzám Djinn by Mark TedinTimetwister by Mark Tedin
Mox Emerald by Dan FrazierMorinfen by Carl CritchlowVesuvan Doppelganger by Quinton Hoover
Mox Jet by Dan FrazierVamperic Tutor by Gary Leach
Mox Pearl by Dan Frazier
Mox Ruby by Dan Frazier
Mox Sapphire by Dan Frazier
Scroll Rack by Heather Hudson
Skyshaper by Donato Giancola
GreenRedWhite
Carnassid by BromBalduvian Horde by Brian SnõddyAlabaster Dragon by Bob Eggleton
Lhurgoyf by Pete VentersOgre Shaman by Paolo ParenteArchangel by Christoper Rush
Maro by Stuart GriffinRathi Dragon by Christopher RushArmageddon by John Avon
Mirri, Cat Warrior by Daren BaderRelentless Assault by Geofrey Darrow & I. RabarotCataclysm by Jim Nelson
Natural Selection by Mark PooleShard Phoenix by Paolo ParenteMoat by Jeff A. Menges
Oath of Druids by Daren BaderShivan Dragon by Melissa A. BensonSerra Angel by Douglas Shuler
Spike Weaver by Mike RaabeThundermare by Bob EggletonWarrior Angel by Brom
Verdant Force by DiTerlizzi

Other Boxes

Before Wizard of the Coast released the Legends and France Exclusive Box series AEG (Alderac Entertainment Group) created 5 colored boxes and released them in 1995. These are “unofficial” products and pretty hard to find. Boxes were also available for other card trading games like Jyhad. These boxes were not designed to store sleeved cards and due to the scarcity are more likely to be collectors items only. Artists which are credited to have created art for these boxes are Susan Van Camp, William O’ Connor and Stephen Venters. These boxes are sometimes listed as Magic: The Gathering “Card Crypt” storage boxes on Ebay and not available on Magic Card Market. Below all the pictures I could find:

Credits

While I own some of these boxes I have used images from https://www.cardmarket.com/, https://www.ebay.com/ and https://mtg.gamepedia.com/. Some of the information is copied from https://mtg.gamepedia.com/.

Author: TaGMoM

Started playing in 1995 when Ice Age was launched and quit playing in 1999 since I didn't like the fast rotation of cards. When I heard about Old School Magic in 2017 I returned to the scene and now I'm spending way to much time on Magic, loving it all the way!

8 thoughts on “MtG Old School Storage Boxes

  1. I remember the big brother of my best friend use to have the blue one with mana drain on it. It was so cool. Even 18 years ago it looked old school to me and pretty rare.

  2. There are 2 versions of the Legends boxes. The first(oldest) version has small “ears” on the lid portion which made it difficult to close when full of cards. WotC corrected this with the second run of the boxes.

  3. Of the Other or Magic: The Gathering “Card Crypt” boxes, whichever name you prefer, I have the top middle dragon one in my collection.
    This is the only source I have been able to retrieve with little information on it. Would anyone know more about the story and possible value of it?

  4. Came across your website trying to find the name of these gorgeous boxes, so thank you so much for these! I have most of the French ones, two green and minus red + rest. It is really fun going back through all my old cards and memorabilia like this – cheers 🙂

  5. I have the wizard and dragon box from AEG!!!
    Been looking everywhere for where it came from because it doesn’t have any info on it! Thanks for this

  6. I have the Diablo and the dragon wizard box. Do you have any additional info on these. My timeliness when starting and stopping magic and then getting back into oldschool is the same. Was with the desert twisters until I moved to Sedona area. Thanks and look forward to hearing back from you.

    1. Unfortunately I don’t. I collected this information a couple of years ago, but don’t own these boxes myself.

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