5 Big Questions About the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease That Are More Than a Primer

Shiko, Paragon of the Way | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

It’s taken us a decade to get here, but we’re finally back on Tarkir! I just flew in from Avishkar, and my arms are about as tired as this joke.

Yes, we’re back on the plane that gave us the names for the 3-color wedges, back to the plane that gave us cards and characters like Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and Narset, Enlightened Master, a cycle of Dragonlords, and plenty of other goodies.

Prerelease is the first chance we’ll get to check out the cards that this visit to Tarkir gives us, and I’ve got all the quick details you’ll want to know before you go.

What Is the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease?

Dracogenesis | Illustration by Kai Carpenter

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease is our first chance to play with the cards from the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Magic set, our first full return to the plane of Tarkir since its original block (Khans of Tarkir, Fate Reforged, and Dragons of Tarkir).

Unlike most prereleases, Tarkir: Dragonstorm players choose Prerelease kits that align with one of five 3-color clans: Abzan (), Jeskai , Mardu (), Sultai (), and Temur (). These kits have 5 Play boosters and 1 Seeded booster. Since Tarkir: Dragonstorm is designed to encourage you to build a 3-color Limited deck, one Play booster in each kit is replaced by a Seeded booster to help to push you in the 3-color direction of your choice.

What Format Is Prerelease?

As with all Prereleases, Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease is played in a 40-card Sealed format. You’ll build your deck from a pool of cards you open in your Prerelease kit.

What Comes in a Prerelease Kit?

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease kits contain all you need to play TDM Sealed, namely:

·   5 Tarkir: Dragonstorm Play boosters

·   1 Tarkir: Dragonstorm Seeded booster

·   1 traditional foil rare or mythic rare card

·   1 clan-aligned spin-down life counter

·   1 clan-aligned deck box

Seeded boosters contain 14 cards that align with their respective clan and 1 foil rare or mythic rare card.

When Is Prerelease Week?

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease takes place between April 4-10, which most events happening the weekend of April 4 (Friday) through April 6 (Sunday).

Where Is the Prerelease?

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prerelease events take place at Local Game Stores that are affiliated with Wizards of the Coast. To find a Prerelease event near you, you can use Wizards’ Store & Event Locator. Type your city or ZIP code into the search bar and hit enter. The search results map defaults to all events, but you can filter your results to see only Prerelease events, then decide based on times and locations that suit you.

Who Goes to Prereleases?

All kinds of Magic players attend Prereleases. You’re as likely to find players who have been attending for years as players who are attending their first Prerelease. Prerelease events attract fans of Limited and Sealed gameplay, along with anyone who wants to get their hands on the most recent Magic cards. Our last visit to Tarkir was fairly popular, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see some less consistent players show up for this Prerelease.

Is Going to Prerelease Worth It?

Absolutely! At least, depending on your player type. You get to hang out with other Magic players, and you get to play with the newest cards that Magic has to offer. You can expect to spend about four to five hours at an event, enough for a few best-of-three matches with your 40-card deck.

From a pure cash perspective, you can expect to pay $35 to attend a Prerelease event. The MSRP on a Tarkir: Dragonstorm Play booster is $5.49; I can’t really estimate the value of a Seeded booster since it has specific colors of cards, but the rarities are close enough that I’ll call it a Play booster to make the math easy. Six Play boosters total slightly less than that $35 cost of admission, but the difference amounts to less than a fistful of quarters.

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Sealed Simulator

Be sure to take advantage of Draftsim’s Tarkir: Dragonstorm Sealed Simulator ahead of Prerelease, available starting about a week before the first Prerelease events (once the full spoiler is out). The Sealed Simulator includes a full card list of what you’re going to encounter in the Tarkir: Dragonstorm Sealed environment, and it allows you to develop a strategy. It’s a great hands-on tool to use alongside our Tarkir: Dragonstorm Limited Set Review and our Tarkir: Dragonstorm Sealed Guide.

Wrap Up

Neriv, Heart of the Storm | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

Tarkir: Dragonstorm looks like it’ll be a lot of fun. We haven’t had 3-color Sealed decks since Streets of New Capenna gave us some new names for the ally color combinations, so it should be really interesting to see what kinds of decks we can build.

Which clan are you picking for Tarkir: Dragonstorm prerelease? Which cards are you looking forward to playing, or dreading to play against? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord!

Now go out there and have fun!