MTG Prerelease Guide: 6 Tips for The Hobbit Set

Prerelease events are widely considered the most fun MTG events. Opening packs and playing with new cards in a fun, casual setting is the perfect combo.

So, if you’re on the fence about whether to play in a prerelease, give it a chance. It’s an amazing experience, and this Prerelease Guide can help you get ready. It was recently updated for the upcoming The Hobbit prerelease events.

Below you’ll find everything you need to enjoy your prerelease events stress-free. So, let’s jump right in with 6 easily applicable tips.

#1 Preregister

Most recent prerelease events have been selling out. Therefore, you should contact your local game store (LGS) as soon as possible to secure your spot. You don’t want to arrive there only to find out that all the seats are taken.

If you’ve never been to an LGS, you can use Wizards’ Store and Event Locator to find one nearby. There’s a filter that for prerelease events, so you can see exactly which stores host them and when.

When you arrive at the prerelease you’ll receive a prerelease pack. Sometimes, you get to choose among different options, but that’s not the case this time around. Instead everyone gets a same pack, containing six The Hobbit Play boosters, a promo card and a die.

#2 Know the Cards

Reading the cards for the first time during the prerelease can be overwhelming. There’s a limited amount of time for deckbuilding, so you want to know what the cards do.

Thus, you’ll want to read all cards before you attend the prerelease. You don’t need to go too deep, but having a general idea of what the cards do will help you greatly.

You can find all currently revealed ones in our The Hobbit spoilers article. Furthermore, our upcoming The Hobbit Draft Tier List contains grades for each card. This will help you know which cards are the ones to look for.

Furthermore, you can check our The Hobbit Draft Guide, which covers all the big picture strategy stuff. By reading these two articles, you’ll give yourself a relevant advantage and be more prepared for the prerelease.

#3 Bring a Couple of Things

What should you bring to the prerelease? The bare minimum is obviously money to cover the entry fee.

The second item would be sleeves. They protect your cards and make the deck easier to shuffle. Everyone uses them nowadays.

You can find recommendations for the best MTG sleeves here. The Dragon Shield sleeves are a great option, but you could also just get whichever your store stocks.

Here are a few other items that you might want to bring:

• Pen and paper (for tracking life total)
• Dice (to represent counters and tokens)
• Deck box (the one that you get within the prerelease kit isn’t the most sturdy)
• Playmat

While these aren’t absolutely necessary, they do make the whole experience smoother. Also, your prerelease kit contains a D20 and some paper cutouts that you can use as counters in a pinch.

#4 Build Your Deck

You sit down at the prerelease, get your boosters — it’s deckbuilding time! There are multiple ways to approach it, so here’s just one option on how to go about it.

1. Sort your cards by color.
2. Now sort within each color based on power level. The first pile consists of bombs, and powerful cards. On the second pile are solid, reliable cards. The rest go on the third pile.
3. Take the two colors with the most cards on the first and second pile. Try putting them together into a deck.
4. Also try combinations with the third deepest color.
5. Use whatever looks best among these options.

This is a bit simplistic, but it should give you a general direction for what to do.

Also keep in mind the mana curve. You don’t want too many expensive cards in your deck, as the deck will be clunky. Instead, you’d prefer to play multiple two drops, so you can affect the board early. The late game cards should only be the best bombs you open.

If you’re unsure about your deck, feel free to ask other players for help. Most of the time, they’ll be happy to give you some tips. (Just don’t bother them while they’re also busy with building their decks.)

Aim For These Numbers

If you’re brand-new you might have a hard time figuring the right mix of spells. Here’s a bit simplistic, but a useful outline to follow:

• 17 creatures
• 17 lands
• 6 noncreatures (ideally removal spells)

Five Supported Archetypes

There are five supported archetypes in The Hobbit set, so your best bet is to build a deck in one of these five 2-color pairs:

• White-blue: Humans recruit
• Red-white: Dwarves storied
• Black-red: Goblins amass
• Black-green: Wolves ferocious
• Green-blue: Elves landfall

As mentioned, you can find more about them in our The Hobbit Draft Guide.

#5 Play the Games

Now it’s time to play the games! If you don’t want to lose, you shouldn’t play too fast. Take your time, reread both your and your opponent’s cards. It’s easy to miss an interaction when rushing ahead.

That’s probably the most applicable tip for winning more games at the prerelease. If you want additional suggestions, read about how to improve at MTG.

Also, don’t hesitate to call a judge if you need help with anything. They’re there to help.

#6 Have Fun

Last but certainly not least, remember to enjoy the game! Don’t take the tournament too seriously. There’s a lot of variance involved and even the more experienced players are going to lose some games.

If you’re anxious about being new, just remember: every single player at the event was once at their first prerelease, so we know the feeling.

Also, feel free to test out fun cards and weird synergies you enjoy, even though they might not be the strongest plays on their own.

Finally, talk to your opponent, see what they think about their deck, and format in general. Prereleases are great opportunities to find new players to enjoy the game with or even make some friends.

MTG Prerelease FAQ

Before we wrap up, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about the prerelease events.

And Back Again!

That’s it for today. If you still didn’t find what you were looking for, leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to you.

If you’re looking for more details about The Hobbit, here are some articles that might interest you:

• The Hobbit Box Toppers (iconic reprints included with every box)
• Scene Boxes from The Hobbit (12 exclusive cards)
• The Hobbit Bundle: Gift VS Regular (which one is better)
• The Hobbit Spoilers (all currently revealed cards and more details)

Have fun and enjoy your prerelease event!