While it’s hard to call Lorwyn Eclipsed anything but an instant hit, its prerelease events were hardly perfect. Between obscured Limited archetypes and leaks appearing in place of promos, the prerelease weekend was a bit of a mess. Thankfully, all of that is behind us now, as the big official release date of Lorwyn Eclipsed is tomorrow!
The trouble is… this official release date doesn’t really mean much of anything. Thanks to changes over the past couple of years, a set’s official release date has meant less and less. Due to this, it’s high time that Wizards finally get rid of the needless release dates that each set has. In fact, Wizards should get rid of prereleases in MTG altogether.
Three’s a Crowd
Currently, every single Magic: The Gathering set has three different release dates. The first, and definitely most important of these, is the prerelease, which happens a week before the official release date. While these events have always been the first chance for players to get their hands on cards, since 2023, they’ve also dictated legality. At this time, Local Game Stores are also able to sell products from the latest set to players.
Following on from prereleases kicking off, there’s also the digital release date on the following Tuesday. Here, the new set will launch on MTG Arena and Magic Online, provided it’s actually available on these platforms. Much like prereleases, this release date is also a major one, since a significant amount of MTG play is digital nowadays.
After these two major release dates, the official release date rolls around to basically no fanfare. The only real change here is that big box stores and secondary market vendors can start selling products. In theory, this does make each set significantly more accessible, this entire system certainly isn’t perfect.
One Release to Rule Them All
Realistically, Magic: The Gathering sets only need two release dates, at most. Anything more than that can get rather confusing very quickly, especially for new players. After all, while Wizards advertises the release date for a set everywhere, it’s the prerelease date that really matters. Due to this, I think Wizards should ditch prereleases entirely.
For anyone who has been playing MTG for a while, that suggestion likely sounds like heresy. Prereleases are a highlight for each set’s release, as they always feel like a celebration of a new set. Older sets have leaned into this even more, with minigames and special quirks to make them more memorable.
Thankfully, while it sounds dramatic, the removal of prereleases can be in name only. Rather than getting rid of the classic prerelease associated events entirely, Wizard should just have “Release Events” on a set’s release day. These events can theoretically have all of the usual fanfare, potentially even more if Wizards wills it.
Since Wizards has voiced its commitment to paper-first prereleases, this theoretical release date could still happen before the digital launch. Even then, however, combining these dates into one mega release isn’t out of the question. While this might detract from paper event attendance slightly, it certainly clears up any potential confusion.
Right now, confusion is definitely the sticking point when it comes to MTG’s many releases. This can be especially frustrating when a set releases at the start and also the end of a month. Edge of Eternities, for instance, had prereleases in July, yet the official full release wasn’t until August. Unsurprisingly, while it doesn’t happen all the time, this release date oddity is needlessly confusing.
Breaking the Mold
Considering prereleases have been around for literal decades, any change to the established order feels monumental. As time goes on, however, the official release date means less and less. Not only have prereleases dictated legality for almost four years, but big box stores often don’t care for release dates either.
While it’s not a universal issue, it’s common to see new MTG products on shelves ahead of their official Wizards-mandated release date. Similarly, secondary market sellers all have presale options, not to mention trading via marketplaces like eBay. Due to this, it can often feel like all bets are off as soon as prereleases kick off.
Since this makes the whole release date situation even messier, reducing things down to one clean release date just seems sensible. There’s even the added benefit of technically sort of giving each set more time in the sun. With six or seven major sets being released each year, this is hardly an insignificant factor in combating Magic’s endless content cycle.
Thankfully, Wizards of the Coast is well aware of this problem and has been doing their best to fix it. Not only has the number of sets being released per year been reduced, but Wizards is also experimenting with shorter spoiler seasons. While arguably more dramatic, shortening the release window by removing prereleases achieves the same goal.
Ultimately, while I believe that dropping prereleases for “Release Events” would be beneficial, I don’t expect it to happen. For better or worse, prereleases are a cornerstone of MTG, making them nigh untouchable. Due to this, we may be stuck dealing with the occasional confusion around double and triple release dates for the foreseeable future.
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