The Magic Prerelease Primer: Everything You Need to Know

Last updated on October 29, 2025

Release the Gremlins | Illustration by Izzy

Every few months, Wizards of the Coast blesses us with a brand-new set to shake up the game (and ruin our wallets). Along with that we’re also graced with the only Sealed event I will ever play: prerelease events!

But what are these events? How do they work? How do you find and attend one? Fear not! I’ll answer all of these questions (and more). Follow me on this journey through the wonderful world of prereleases. Let’s go!

What’s a Prerelease? How Does it Work?

Blade Instructor | Illustration by Zoltan Boros

Prerelease events are casual Sealed events that provide you with the first chance to play a new set by building a minimum 40-card deck out of a “prerelease kit.” These products contain six booster packs, or Play boosters in current sets, a prerelease promo foil of any rare or mythic rare in the set, and a special spindown life counter. After you've built your deck, the rest of your cards count as your sideboard as you play your matches.

These events are usually very casual since most players are just there to fawn over the new set and play with the new cards. You might meet a Spike (competitive player) here or there based on your local area but most players are there to have fun.

So, have fun with it! Build something crazy and make sure you explore everything the new set offers.

Should I Go to a Prerelease? Is it Worth It?

I almost always recommend going to a prerelease if you're interested in Standard or Limited formats. These give you a hands-on way to learn the new cards and their synergies and you’ll also get to add some cards to your collection. On the flip side, I’d skip these events if you prefer older formats unless you really like the set.

Prereleases are almost always worth it, whether you measure it in cost or in fun. Dropping $40-$50 on a single event is already close to the MSRP of those packs and a foil promo. Your LGS will probably also offer some kind of prize as well, which means you can walk away with more if you end up doing well in your matches!

Are MTG Prerelease Events Beginner Friendly?

Yes, prerelease events are as beginner-friendly as you get for an organized, tournament with prizes on the line. It's not the best environment for a full introduction to the game, but players with a basic understanding of Magic rules can enjoy prereleases.

How to Find Prerelease Locations

Finding a prerelease is simple with Wizards of the Coast's store and event locator. This tool is fantastic not only for finding local events near you like prereleases, drafts, or Friday Night Magic, but it can also show you all of the stores in your area where you might be able to find Magic products.

Here’s how to use the locator to find a local prerelease:

1. Make sure the “Events Near Me” tab is selected, input your address, city, postal code, or region in the search bar, and then hit the search button.

2. You’ll be brought to a map with a list of stores and their events – adjust the “Distance” selection based on how far you’re willing to travel for the event.

3. Go to “Filters” near the search bar to open its dropdown menu and then select the “Magic Prerelease” box – the results list will now show all upcoming prerelease events with their location and the date!

But How Do You Register?

There are a few ways to register for prereleases. Some stores offer digital registration on their websites while others require you to call the store and sign up or even just head inside and pay ahead of time.

Regardless of how you pay for an event and how you register, you'll need access to Wizards of the Coast's Companion App on a mobile device. This uses your Wizards Account information to enter a sanctioned tournament, which is necessary for an LGS to run their events.

How Much Does a Prerelease Cost?

Prereleases cost anywhere from $35-50 on average with the high end due to Universes Beyond. If your local store charges more than that then you might want to consider looking elsewhere. Some stores may charge more but include additional stuff beyond just the regular prerelease kit. One of the stores near me used to provide a themed playmat and metal token for prereleases and I ended up paying around $15 extra for my prereleases there.

Note that some “premium sets” with a higher price point per booster pack will also mean a more expensive prerelease. For example, the some Modern Horizons 3 prerelease event cost between $10-20 more.

How Long Does an MTG Prerelease Last?

Plan for about 4 to 5 hours in most cases. According to the Magic Tournament Rules, you're given at least 45 minutes to build your deck from your prerelease pack. 75 minutes for Two-Headed Giant events.

If you play four 50-minute rounds (with some extra time built in), you can imagine the event will take about five hours. This allows an hour for deck building plus an hour for each round.

How Many Rounds Are in a Prerelease?

Most events are typically between three to five 50-minute rounds. Some may go longer if there are more players but I've never gone past five rounds for an event. If you're concerned about time, be sure to contact the store for more details before the day of the event.

Is Prerelease 40 or 60-Card?

A prerelease event calls for 40-card decks at minimum, and is my recommendation to stick to that minimum. Ideally, I prep 20 of each basic land, just in case I spring for mono-color and need to adjust up from 17 lands. There's a lot more detail that goes into how many lands to use in your Limited decks.

What Should I Bring to a Prerelease?

Take Inventory | Illustration by Greg Staples

You don't need to bring all the bells and whistles to a prerelease, but there are a few essentials that I recommend to anyone who’s going beyond the kitchen table to play some Magic:

• A way to track life totals. Something like dice or a pencil and paper. Your prerelease kit usually comes with a spindown 20-sided die, but this isn’t always the case. Forgotten Realms prerelease kits came with regular d20s, for example.
• Sleeves to protect your cards and keep your Sealed deck separate from the rest of your pool.
• Deck box to transport your new cards around. The prerelease kit's box also doubles as a deck box but it's not super sturdy and everyone at the event is going to have the same one, so you might get confused and mix up boxes.
• Playmat to play on. I personally never travel without one. They're just better surfaces to play on and give you a little bit of creative expression.

But don't let a lack of these dissuade you from coming! You're always welcome to just show up and play regardless.

What Comes in a Magic Prerelease Kit?

A typical prerelease kit comes with:

• 6 Play boosters
• 1 spindown 20-sided die
• 1 foil rare/mythic card with a foil year stamp
• 1 promo code for MTG Arena
• Some sets include an additional legendary creature that cannot be used during the Sealed event.

The contents of the kit can change from set to set. Avatar: The Last Airbender kits are themed for each element and contain five draft booster packs as well as one “seeded booster” that has a rare slot guaranteed to match the legendary on the cover. Wizards has done this a few times, mainly when there's a big focus on multicolored cards in the set or specific color considerations.

There’s a pretty wide variety of events and gimmicks for prerelease events, so always be sure to listen to the Head Judge of the event to see what else may be different during your prerelease!

Are the Prerelease Foil Promos Legal?

Yup! The prerelease foil promos are totally legal in all formats. They just have a special foil stamp on them to show that they came from a prerelease kit.

Are Prerelease Foils Worth More?

Bound in Gold | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

Unfortunately the prerelease cards aren’t usually worth any more than the regular versions. Prerelease promos can sometimes go for the same price as a regular pack foil but most of these are around the same price as the regular non-foil variant thanks to the wide array of different borders and art styles.

What's This Code that Comes in My Prerelease Pack?

For the last few years each prerelease kit has also come with an additional promo code card. You can redeem these codes in MTG Arena to get a free entry into a Sealed event for that set.

Each code is single use only. You can redeem them on the Store page in Arena. Keep in mind that some sets only let you redeem one code per account, while others let you redeem up to five or six.

Is Buying Prerelease Packs or Kits Worth It?

If you are going to participate in an event, or already would have bought six boosters, the prerelease kits are worth it. Prerelease packs might be tempting to get some good value from the packs inside but they’re just… average. The MSRP for a prerelease kit is usually six times the cost of the average Play booster pack, because it contains six packs so you pretty much break even and net the promo card. On top of that, the promo code for MTGA is sometimes only usable once per account so they aren't worth anything to most people.

As far as card value goes, that’s always dependent on the set. Forgotten Realms had a particularly slim chance of opening a valuable promo, for example. For a little more money you can get a bundle that comes with more packs, a special 20-sided die, basic lands, and a nice storage box.

What Can I Do to Prepare?

Travel Preparations | Illustration by Vincent Proce

Naturally you want to prepare yourself and be ready to play with all these new cards. But how? Well, the internet offers a ton of resources for you to get up to speed with the latest cards and strategies.

It used to be that Wizards released sets on Magic Arena before the prerelease weekends, but this has been reversed with more recent sets. In other words, you can't use Arena to get hands-on experience before the events. That said, you could tune into Magic's Early Streamer events, which feature a number of popular content creators duking it out with the new cards in their own special events.

Draftsim

Draftsim's own set overview pieces cover everything you need to know about each set from cards, products, lore, mechanics, and any other fun details. And after the set is fully spoiled, we also publish our own set reviews! Draftsim also offers a pick order you can use to judge cards based on how impactful they may be.

Most importantly, there is a Draft and Sealed simulator on the homepage of the site that you can use to practice building sealed decks for free. This will allow you to learn the cards in the set and essentially do a “trial run” of your prerelease absolutely free before showing up.

Finally, Draftsim offers a fantastic guide on Sealed deck construction and rules. It gives you all the tips and tricks you need to construct your Sealed deck and play through the event.

MTGNerdGirl

MTGNerdGirl regularly does Limited set reviews for each set as they come out and they're great for evaluating cards to see why they are or aren't useful in your Sealed deck.

Spikes

Reddit's r/Spikes frequently has posters that offer Draft and Limited set reviews around the time the full set is spoiled which may help you decide on your Sealed deck a little better.

LoadingReadyRun

LoadingReadyRun has a special “pre-prerelease” that’s sponsored by WotC which they do two weeks before each set releases. Not only are the folks at LRR charming and entertaining, but you also get to see real people playing with these cards hands-on, hearing their thought processes and decisions as they play through the event.

Basic Tips for Success

Here's an insert from the Innistrad: Crimson Vow prerelease kit:

Source: Wizards of the Coast

The advice is basic, but pretty solid:

• Play 40 cards (you'll draw your better cards and bombs more often).
• Play 17 lands (this ensures you'll have enough mana to play your spells).
• Make sure to have enough creatures (games of Limited typically revolve around attacking and blocking).
• Play cheaper (lower mana value) cards so that you have a better mana curve (if you draw too many expensive cards, you'll die before you have a chance to play them).
• Play plenty of removal (things that directly kill creatures) to prevent losing to your opponents' bombs.

Is There a Prerelease Simulator?

Draftsim's own Draft simulator has a Sealed option to let you crack open a Sealed pool and get a glimpse of what cards you can expect during your prerelease. You'll be able to construct a Sealed deck and see what potential cards you might end up with. There's even a handy auto-build function that suggests a deck based on your pool.

When's the Next Prerelease?

Check out our Standard rotation article or the release schedule to see when the next set will be released. Prereleases are generally one week before the set is released, so you should aim for that timeframe.

You should also contact your local game store to find out what specific times they’re planning their events. Some stores may do multiple events over multiple days, or even multiple events on the same day.

Learn More

If you'd like to get really prepared and learn from one of the best players in the world, Ben Stark has a course about all things Limited that includes many lessons on Sealed. I recommend checking it out here.

The Last Pack

Ajani's Last Stand | Illustration by Slawomir Maniak

Prereleases are some of the most enjoyable, most exciting events you can attend. They offer the fun experience of cracking open booster packs, seeing shiny new cards for the first time, and put everyone on an equal playing field. I wholeheartedly recommend attending a prerelease event if you're interested in the newest set, and just go out there and have fun!

What was the last prerelease you attended? Or are you newer to the paper scene and excitedly waiting for the next one to come around? Let us know in the comments or head over to our Discord if that’s more your thing. And don’t forget to grab Arena Tutor to make sure you’re prepped for the next digital prerelease!