About Prerelease

Prerelease is your community’s first opportunity to get their hands on the newest Magic: The Gathering release and explore what the set has to offer.

Players crack open a Prerelease Pack, build a Sealed deck, and try out the set for the first time in a casual tournament. Prerelease events are available all week, February 2 – 8, starting at 12 P.M. local time Friday, February 2.

In addition to Traditional Sealed Prerelease events that use Prerelease Packs, you are welcome to run Booster Draft events that use Play Boosters from the new set, plus your free of charge Prerelease Prizing Play Boosters. Unlike Sealed Prerelease events, these events will not have special scheduling templates, nor will they count towards future Prerelease Pack and prize support allocations. You can simply use the "Create Custom" tool to schedule these in EventLink.

Scheduling: Between February 2 – 8; use the Prerelease scheduling template

Format: Sealed Deck

Rules Enforcement Level: Casual Recommended

Pairing Method: Swiss or Player-List Only

Promo Support:

• 30th Anniversary Promos:
• Dovin's Veto
• Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
• Deadly Dispute
• Urza, Prince of Kroog (low print quantity)
• Bring-a-Friend promo (both new players and their experienced friends receive the promo)
• Repeat Play Collectible Lapel Pin – for players who play in 2 or more Prerelease events using a Wizards Account to sign up
• Use the provided downloadable tracking sheet on the Marketing Materials page to help track this promotion
• Promos will be included with your Murders at Karlov Manor seasonal promo kit
• 30th Anniversary promos will come in varying quantities; read our article for additional ideas for 30th anniversary promo distribution.

Additional Details

• Tournament Prerelease events (with rounds) and Player List Only events (without rounds) are both available to be scheduled from the Prerelease event template on Wizards EventLink; use Prerelease Packs for the event.
• Select 'Swiss' as the pairing method when scheduling a structured tournament Prerelease or 'Player List Only' to schedule a casual Prerelease where players find their own matches.
• At-Home Prerelease is available all week beginning Friday, February 2.
• Provision of At-Home Prerelease Packs and Prerelease Early Sales products can begin as soon as your store is open for the day, but structured events must wait until 12 P.M. local time.

Metrics & Allocation Information

On March 1, 2024, the snapshot metrics will no longer be in effect; only your live metrics will be used to determine promo and product allocations. That means that we will no longer be using Theros: Beyond Death Prerelease numbers when determining your store's Prerelease allocation.

Prerelease allocations are currently determined by checking past reported Prerelease events, typically the two or three that precede the most recent. Until March of 2024, Theros: Beyond Death will also be included in the checked sets for stores that hosted that event. Your baseline Prerelease allocation is based on the highest total attendance among checked sets.

For example, your Murders at Karlov Manor Prerelease allocation is based on whatever was the highest attended among Theros Beyond: Death, March of the Machine, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™, and Wilds of Eldraine. Depending on product availability, your allocation may not precisely match your highest total attendance.

All WPN members must meet a baseline metric requirement to remain part of the network—currently, the minimum requirements are 250 Tickets and 5 Engaged Players annually. WPN Premium retailers must achieve 1,500 Tickets, 30 Engaged Players, and 10 Activated Players annually.

All Magic: The Gathering events reported through Wizards EventLink, including At-Home Prerelease events, will count towards play metrics: Tickets, Engaged Players, and Activated Players.