Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s official release is coming up on us awfully fast, and there’s a lot to look forward to. This set is jam-packed with tons of powerful cards that players can use to improve their decks in a variety of formats.
For MTG Arena users, one thing that can be a bit annoying prior to the release of a set is having to first go through the process of uploading and crafting decklists. There’s plenty of time between now and April 8 when Tarkir: Dragonstorm cards become legal on Arena to theory craft different decklists, but you can’t usually do that on the client, as the cards aren’t there. Well, luckily, this all changes now.
Tarkir: Dragonstorm Prepatch
According to the most recent MTG Arena announcement, Tarkir: Dragonstorm and all major set releases in the future will “come in two parts.” One week before each set releases, the prepatch will be made available on MTG Arena.
As you might expect, you still aren’t able to play with all the new cards yet until the set’s official release the week after. However, you can now create or import decklists to your heart’s content.
Above all, by adding this prepatch a week ahead of time, Wizards of the Coast will have extra time to fix any bugs or add any features that might improve the set’s operation on the client. The idea here is to make things run as smoothly as possible for the players once April 8 hits and everyone flocks to their computers.
Player Reaction
All in all, players seem to be viewing this change in a positive manner for multiple reasons. First, when it comes to theory crafting, players are pleased that they won’t have to use a third-party website for deck planning or use “substitute cards” on Arena to represent newer cards that aren’t available yet. Some people are surprised that something like this hadn’t been made available on Arena until now.
Second, players are hopeful that the addition of a prepatch might mean that Arena experiences less crashes on official release day. Theoretically, things should run smoother and quicker all the way around once April 8 arrives.
Some players are a bit skeptical about Wizards of the Coast’s ability to actually fix bugs in the prepatch stage. After all, if no one can play with the cards yet, there are bound to be more bugs that show up as everyone plays their matches.
Regardless, this should be a purely positive change for the most part, even if it doesn’t solve every problem. The prepatch for Tarkir: Dragonstorm should be applied at the time of writing this article, so go check things out and build decks to your heart’s content.
