March of the Machine Prerelease Overview

We have six prerelease events ready for you to play in to help defend the multiverse from phyrexian invasion. How will the inhabitants of each plane fight back? Which planes will survive? There’s only one way to truly find out!

Sealed Prerelease Events

• Flight 1 - April 14, 3 PM
• Flight 2 - April 14, 7:30 PM
• Flight 3 - April 15, 11 AM
• Flight 4 - April 15, 5 PM
• Flight 5 - April 16, 11 AM (2 Headed Giant)
• Flight 6 - April 16, 5 PM

Each event will consist of a sealed event of some variety (regular or 2 Headed Giant), and last 3-4 rounds of play. More on that just a bit further down. If you’d rather draft a prerelease, we have you covered the Tuesday after prerelease weekend!

Bonus Draft Prerelease Event!

• Flight 7 - April 18, 6 PM! (This will go live on Monday, April 17 at 11 AM)

As with the Brothers’ War, we’ll have a full suite of product available to sate your cravings for perfection…I meant booster drafts! And that’s not all - we’ll also be able to sell individual packs, including draft, set and collector boosters, alongside bundles, commander decks…basically anything you could ask for to help get you set up to rage against the machine that is Elesh Norn.

March of the Machine Preorders and Buy-A-Box Promo Information

Preorders for March of the Machine are already up on our web store when you’re ready for them. As with most recent sets, preorders for whole boxes (see below) will also receive the following buy a box promo (while supplies last).

You'll receive one buy-a-box promo for every purchase of the following items:

• Draft Booster Boxes
• Set Booster Boxes
• Collector Booster Boxes
• 6 Prerelease Kits

You'll get 1 promo per qualifying item(s) purchased. So if you preorder 6 prerelease kits and a set booster display, you'll get 2 of these lovely promo cards.

More Bonus Cards!

Included in every prerelease kit will be one of 3 March of the Machines Commander team-up cards. These tri-color cards highlight the sometimes unorthodox or unlikely alliances that happen during the phyrexian invasion. Plus - they're all really cool and fit into the tiny leader format.

These promos are also available in showcase frames, and can only be found in prerelease kits. So even if you can't make the event, definitely be sure you pick up a kit to snag one of these neat promos!

Multiverse Legends

Hidden amongst the rares in some of your draft booster might just be a legend from the phyrexian saga's past. In addition to all the brand new cards of March of the Machine, you can also open cards from across the multiverse. Sixteen planes are featured in this subset, and we expect it to work similarly to the Brothers' War's retro-artifacts.

30th Anniversary Bonus Promos!

Continuing what we started with Dominaria United, we'll be offering up to four promo cards tied to Magic's 30th anniversary. These promos will be stamped with the year each card came out, and there will be 30 promos in total, one per year. Wanna get one? We’re making it easier than ever! 

Everyone who plays in a prerelease event will recieve a promo while supplies last! 

Additional promos can also be awarded by event staff for excellent behavior such as assisting other players with deck building, helping event staff, and good sporting behavior and more. If you’re looking for one particular promo, please understand that we did not receive equal amounts of all the promos for this set. Some cards will be harder to find than others!

Preparing for a Prerelease at Phoenix

Once you've preregistered for your event(s) of choice, there's a small checklist of things to do before prerelease weekend rolls along. If you're planning to play at one of the in-person events, here's what you'll need to be aware of:

• Review our current guidelines regarding in-store play.
• Wear a comfortable and well-fitted mask to the event, and be prepared to keep it on while at the tables. (Please note: non-alcoholic drinks are permitted inside, but food is not, so please be prepared to eat outside if you need a snack)
• Optional, but highly recommended: Download the Magic Companion app to your phone or tablet.
• Optional, but highly recommended: Make sure you have a login setup with the MTG Companion App (if you play Arena, these login credentials are the same for both game and app).

A note on our mask policy: After careful consideration and consultation with our team, we have decided to still require in-store masking. Our in-store play guidelines have been updated accordingly.

What to do during Prerelease Weekend

If you're playing in one of our in-person events, just make sure you arrive at the store before the event's start time. We recommend aiming for about 30-45 minutes prior to the event to make sure you can get checked in, find a seat, and get comfortable in the space. You can do some trading, or pick up some sleeves or what have you, and it's way easier if you do that ahead of start time rather than during deck construction.

The Prerelease "How to"

All of our regular March of the Machine prerelease events will be a sealed (or limited) format events. That means you'll be given 6 draft boosters of March of the Machine and a foil prerelease promo inside of your prerelease kit. We'll give you about 45 minutes to open those packs, sort them, and build deck out of the contents inside. Here are all the deck building requirements: 

• Minimum Deck Size is 40 cards
• You may use the contents of your prerelease booster packs (plus the date stamped promo) to build your deck.
• Special Note for March of the Machine: the commander 'team-up' cards included in the kit may not be used as part of your prerelease pool.
• Aside from basic land, you may only use whatever is in your prerelease kit to build with. (No trading with other players or combining multiple pools, please).
• There's no cap on the number of cards of the same name you can have in the deck (ex: if you open 5 of the same card, you can use all 5 if you want).
• You may adjust your deck between games or matches. If you're just not doing well with what you built, maybe try a different combination of colors!

Once you've got your deck built, set the rest of your card pool aside until the end of the event. Don't trade anything away yet, cause those leftover cards will be your sideboard. 

Prerelease Prize Support

All of our prerelease events are run with an eye towards having the best possible time, learning, and trying out new ideas and strategies that come from every new set. So with that in mind, we stick to a simple pack-per-win prize structure that looks a little like this:

• 4 Wins - 4 Packs
• 3 Wins - 3 Packs
• 2 Wins - 2 Packs
• 1 Win - 1 Pack

With the exception of the Friday at 3 PM event, each event will have a maximum of 4 rounds. All prizes will be awarded to players in the form of March of the Machine Set boosters once they've finished with the event. Only play 2 rounds and need to drop? No problem! Just let us know you're leaving and we'll give you whatever prizes are owed at that point.

Because the 3 PM Friday event will be constrained to 3 rounds in order to make sure that the 7:30 PM event can start on time, it will have a similar prize structure to the one listed above, but adjusted slightly. In order to accommodate the missing round, the final round of the event will count for 2 boosters (so you can still win as many as four packs if you 3-0 the Friday event).

March of the Machine Prerelease FAQ

Here's a few commonly asked questions about prerelease events and in-store play events. If your question isn't on this list, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at the store! We're happy to answer any questions you might have.

Q: How well do I have to know Magic to play at a prerelease?

A: Not that well really! We ask that you have a working knowledge of the game (i.e., you know how to play, and no one's going to need to explain turn order or any of the basics), but beyond that we'll do our best to accommodate any and all skill levels. Prerelease events are a fun and casual environment, and if you're having a tough time with something we'll have a judge or tournament organizer available to help you through it.

Q: What should I bring with me to the event?

A: Here's a short checklist of items that are either required or good to have:

• Required: A well fitted mask to wear while at the tables.
• A water bottle and energy bar or dry-snack (you'll need to step outside to eat it, but it's a good idea to have something if you're hungry and a round goes long).
• Sleeves and a deck box (you also can buy these at the shop if you forget them)

Q: Should I preregister for the event?

A:  If you're able to, yes absolutely! Preregistration locks in your spot at the event. The last thing you need or want is to show up on the day of and find out we sold out the night before (which is a thing that has happened in the past).

Q: If I preregister and can't make the event, what happens?

A: That depends on you! In the event you aren't able to make it to the event, you can either contact us to request a refund, or stop by as you're able to and pick up the prerelease kit we would have handed you if you had gone to the event. If we don't hear from you, we'll assume you want the prerelease kit and hold it til the next time we see you.

Q: I've never built a deck for limited before. Any pointers?

A: We've got a few! Here's a short list of handy tips when building a limited / sealed deck:

• Stick to 40 cards! That's roughly 23 spells and creatures + 17 land. Those numbers will shift a little bit depending on what you open, but broadly that's where you should aim to be.
• Play the colors that let you play your best cards. 
• Don't be afraid to experiment! You can switch your deck around between rounds and between games. Every card you're not actively using in your deck is part of your sideboard, so if one color combo just isn't working for you, maybe wait until the match is over and try swapping it around.
• It's okay to ask for help from other players. This is a prerelease; we're here to have fun and enjoy the new set. You'll often find that we've got several players at each prerelease that enjoy helping and mentoring newer players through the deck building process.

Q: Any other advice on getting ready for a prerelease?

A: Yup! If you can, try to familiarize yourself with the set ahead of time. Keep an eye out for spoilers! By the time you're reading this, spoiler season will already have started and you can bet that there's a few really cool looking cards and mechanics out there that need reading up on. 

Q: What if I need to swap from one event to the other, can I do that?