Magic: The Gathering Prerelease Events Will Begin Earlier Than Midnight Starting With Core Set 2020

Wizards of the Coast

The first Magic: The Gathering prerelease events for each new set usually start at Friday/Saturday midnight but that's about to change starting with Core Set 2020.

According to the Wizards Play Network, the official "start time" of the Core Set 2020 prerelease is at 3 PM on Friday, July 5 (in your local time). On Friday, WPN stores can start selling advanced booster boxes equal to the number of Buy-a-Box promos the store receives.

This makes the earliest prerelease event more accessible to a lot of players. I noticed that a lot of players choose not to attend midnight prerelease because it's too late, and some just pick up their prerelease kit and leave without playing. With the 3 PM start time, more people, especially kids, will be able to play prerelease on Friday.

In addition to the new prerelease schedule, Core Set 2020 will also introduce the WPN promo pack, the contents of which are distributed at the discretion of the stores, and each pack contains:

> a promo-stamped rare or mythic rare from Core Set 2020 .

> a promo-stamped rare or mythic rare from a short, curated list. Standard-legal.

> a promo-stamped alternate artbasic land.

> One of five special, season-specific cards with alternate card frame.

> Roughly 1:4 of packs contains a Japanese anime-style alternate artWar of the Sparkplaneswalker

Core Set 2020 is set to release on July 12, 2019.

Related: MTG Japanese Alternate-Art Planeswalkers Will Get Their Own Sleeves But Won't Make It in Arena