Last updated on April 9, 2025
Smothering Tithe – illus. Mark Behm
Reserve List cards have been known to go for thousands of dollars regularly, as players will pay an arm and a leg for that sweet Alpha set symbol. But did you know there are actually prerelease promos that are being sold for 1k+ as well? That's right; if you were lucky enough to open a prerelease stamped Arcades the Strategist six years ago, you are sitting on a pretty awesome card!
source: TCGPlayer
Breakdown on Prerelease Promos
Prelease promos are special cards that come exclusively from preleases. There's a long history of them in Magic, with Dirtcowl Wurm being the first of its kind in 1997. The old system for prerelease cards like this was to give away specific ones, which continued for nearly two decades! Magic 2015 was the last set before we moved onto a new system for promos, which began with Khans of Tarkir. The only difference between a normal foil and a prerelease foil is the golden date inscription, which is a nice way to swag out your card a bit.
Khans of Tarkir prerelease promos drew from a pool of forty possible cards, all of which were stamped with the dates “20-21 September 2014”. The list included classics like Grim Haruspex, Temur Ascendancy, Crackling Doom, and more. Fate Reforged and Dragons of Tarkir used a similar setup, as did Magic Origins later. This practice was expanded to all Standard sets starting with Battle for Zendikar, which introduced random prerelease promos (that could be any rare or mythic) into players packs. Other than a change to how the date inscription is formatted (which started with Strixhaven in 2021), this is still the promo system that is in use today.
Are Big Price Tags Normal for Prerelease Promos?
Generally speaking yes, though there's a lot of variance based on how collectible the card is. Let's start with an example that is over 500% more expensive when prerelease stamped:
source: TCGPlayer
Loot, the Pathfinder enjoyers seem to have luxury tastes, as that cool 2025 inscription comes at the price of a Big Mac these days! Loot isn't the only card that's more expensive in prerelease foil than normal foil, as here are some other examples from Aetherdrift:
- Guardian Sunmare: $0.28 foil normally, $1.22 prerelease foil
- District Mascot: $0.43 foil normally, $3.02 prerelease foil
- Monument to Endurance: $9.38 foil normally, $12.91 prelease foil
- Ketramose, the New Dawn: $27.23 foil normally, $46.81 prerelease foil
The main cards that don't seem affected by the prerelease bump are bulk rares, though the above ones (Guardian Sunmare and District Mascot) seem to at least have niche appeal. Truly unloved rares like Quag Feast and Aatchik, Emerald Radian are below $1 for either version!
Why is Arcades so Pricey Though?
Arcades, the Strategist – Illus. Even Amundsen
It's hard to say for sure, but some likely reasons include Arcades' age, the general scarcity of prerelease promos (especially older ones), and Arcades' power and popularity in EDH. Defender decks also got some great new toys from the recent Abzan precon, so there's never been a better time to build an Arcades, the Strategist deck. The people attempting to sell their prerelease foils for over $1k are likely trying to capitalize on all of this!
Will Any of my Prerelease Promos Reach Such Heights?
Impossible to say for sure! If you have any promos, consider sleeving them up and storing them somewhere safely. Good candidates include chase mythics, planeswalkers, cards that look appealing for EDH, and cards with Eternal format potential. Here are some great specs examples from Tarkir: Dragonstorm that fit this criteria:
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