Prerelease help?
Limited forum
Posted on March 7, 2016, 8:43 p.m. by PistonGolem
Hello, and just like the community here, I am getting hyped for Shadows over Innistrad. So I would like some advice on the prerelease event.
Do I need drafting experience? How much? How much money does it cost? Is the price worth it? Thank you!
Pre-release is a sealed type event. While still a limited format (meaning a minimum 40 card deck, with the rest of your pool as a sideboard), it is not draft. You will receive 6 packs and build a deck out of that card pool. Most stores hold them for 25-30$ as far as I know. As for whether it's worth it, are you looking for card value or play value? Buying packs is never worthwhile if looking for card value, however pre-release events are some of the funnest events to go to and I cannot recommend them enough.
March 7, 2016 9:02 p.m.
As someone who does not like to draft I would only go to pre release for the EXPERIENCE. It is great to open packs early and get cards early and play with your friends and be in a low stress not really competitive enviornment sure but you are not there to get huge card value in pre release foils and you are not guaranteed dank foils from your packs or to win a ton of extra packs from the tournament so to me the price you are paying of yes 25-30 dollars you will not get back in cards (normally) but you are paying for a good night and a fun time. If you find value in that then hell yes go and have fun.
March 7, 2016 9:17 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #5
Again, it is sealed not draft. You can talk with your friends that play magic to practice evaluating cards or there are practice sealed pool generators online if it would make you feel less apprehensive about the event.
I would be passingly familiar with sealed before going though just so you know what you will be doing instead of trying to hear the judge explain the format. The general idea is that you will open 6 packs and build a 40 card deck out of them and as many basic lands as you would like to add. There will be a promo in the prerelease kit and you are allowed to play it in your deck.
Prereleases are usually about $25 and well worth it as long as you are having fun.
Let me know if you want to talk more about general deck building advice for sealed.
March 7, 2016 9:45 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #6
This thread was moved to a more appropriate forum(auto-generated comment)
March 7, 2016 9:59 p.m.
I went to my first prerelease at Oath of the Gatewatch...I lost pretty badly but had a ton of fun.
Expect to be there at least a 4-5 hours. Bring water, some snacks, at least 40 card sleeves (sealed events run a 40 card deck, not 60), a pen, some paper, and some counters. Keep everything in a backpack, carry your backpack with you at all times; if you aren't wearing it, keep it directly in front of you at your feet where you can see it. The LGS will provide you the cards you need and also usually let you borrow the land you need. There are some great articles you can google on the best ways to construct and analyze your deck, I'd read up just a little - you only have about an hour to open your packs and create a deck.
March 7, 2016 10:49 p.m.
silverwolf5o says... #9
prerelease is the best format ever! most people who go to prerelease go more to have fun than to try to win anything. besides that, all the pay to win advantages of constructed formats are gone and there is not even the stress of making draft choices. the typical $25 price is well worth it and the cards you pull will well over cover in value the price you pay if you trade before the prices drop.
March 7, 2016 11:03 p.m.
It is a lot of fun if you like social settings.
Do not expect value out of your prerelease pack. My Oath pack was worth very little. Somebody at the same event pulled a Polluted Delta Expedition though. So he cracked over $250 in his pack. There is the chance for good stuff, just don't count on it. My pack I could have sold for $10, maybe up to $15 if I really stuck it to someone. Needless to say, it was so full of garbage that I came in LAST that event. It still gives me nightmares lol, the worst pack I've ever seen.
All in all, it's usually a lot of fun. Don't expect value. You get a nice 20 sided with the set symbol on it, and now all Pre-Release packs come with ANY Rare or Mythic in the set as your Promo. Stores will usually have rewards for the top placing players as well. Packs from the new unreleased set is standard, at least around my area.
March 8, 2016 2 a.m.
Prerealeses are worth it, value wise - 6 packs at 4 bucks each is 24 dollars. A prerelease is 25. So, for a dollar more you get at least a cool box, a spindown life counter (it is not a 20-sided die) and a foil date-stamped rare or mythic.
Trading - a lot of people attend prereleases, so a lot of trading opportunities arise. Also, every card you pull at the prerelease is mmost likely the most expensive it will ever be at that event, since there are very few of those cards in the market. A Wingmate Roc at prerelease was 20 bucks. A few months down the line, it was 75% off that.
How to save time at the prerelease - if you can, bring 10 basic lands of each color sleeved and 30 empty sleeves. This will save you 5-10 minutes in deck building which is very good at your first Sealed event.
GearNoir mentioned a few other tips that will be really good to follow.
Not mandatory, but study - read up on which cards are supposed to be good and which ones not, in order to speed up deck building.
March 8, 2016 2:58 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #13
Sweet jesus "only an hour" to build? The shops in my area give a half hour and I find that more than sufficient. Ripping the packs and sorting by color should only take 5 minutes. suppose it takes you another 5 to evaluate the strongest colors in the pool. This leaves 15 to get all your ratios right (creature:others, land:spell, mana production) And you have 5 minutes to sleeve and shuffle.
wasianpower says... #2
No; it's sealed not draft; in my experience it's $25 but it may vary depending on your LGS; definetly, it's tons of fun.
March 7, 2016 9:01 p.m.