In-person play is returning to Phoenix, and what better way to kick it off than with the sequel to 2019's groundbreaking straight-to-modern set, Modern Horizons 2. So read on to find out more about our prerelease event offerings and how to score some extra preorder goodies!

Modern Horizons 2 Prerelease Basics

Let's start with dates and times. The prerelease weekend for Modern Horizons 2 runs June 11 - 13. We've chosen to run six events during that time period - 2 events per day, split between webcam and in-person prereleases. Here's a quick rundown of the times for each event:

In-Person Events

• Friday, June 11 - 6:00 PM
• Saturday, June 12 - 1:00 PM
• Sunday, June 13 - 1:00 PM

Webcam Events

• Friday, June 11 - 6:30 PM
• Saturday, June 12 - 1:30 PM
• Sunday, June 13 - 1:30 PM

As you can see, the events are happening at nearly the same time. We've nudged the webcam events forward about 30 minutes so that our judge and tournament organizers can efficiently run both events. 

Preparing for the Prerelease (in-person)

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 safety requirements for in-person play here (these are a requirement for the use of our play space, so please make sure you can abide by them).
• Download the Magic Companion app to your phone or tablet.
• 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).

Preparing for the Prerelease (via webcam)

Before the tournament gets started, you'll want to make sure you've got the following things taken care of:

• Access to a webcam-based setup that you can use over discord (you are 100% allowed to use our discord server to test these things and play casual games with friends).
• Download the Magic Companion app to your phone or tablet.
• 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).

That's it! Ideally you do probably want to play a few games over webcam to get the feel for how it works. If you're up for it and have a deck, why not try our Tuesday Night Modern or Saturday Afternoon Standard events? If not - just ask around on the discord and we're pretty sure you could put a game together.

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 minutes prior to the event to make sure you can get checked in, pick up your kit, and find a seat.

For those of you playing in one of our webcam events, we've got a few more instructions for you. Once prerelease weekend rolls around you'll want to pick up your prerelease kit as early as you can to give you maximum time to build. For Modern Horizons 2, we're allowed to give these out anytime after the store opens on Friday, June 11. 

Just stop by the shop, pick up your kit and bring it home. If you need any basics, don't hesitate to ask - we'll have packets of land available upon request. You have from the time you pick it up until your event starts to build your deck. If you've never participated in a prerelease before, here are all the requirements for your deck:

• Minimum Deck Size is 40 cards
• You may use whatever is in one single prerelease kit (plus the promo) to build your deck.
• 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. 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

Each event will have a maximum of 4 rounds. The winner of each round will receive a Modern Horizons 2 Set booster next time they stop by the shop. Please allow approximately 1 hour after the event ends for prizes to be available for pickup.

Please Note: If you are registered for multiple webcam events, please wait to pickup your prizes until all of the events you are signed up for are finished. 

Modern Horizons 2 Buy-A-Box Promo Information

Want one of the retro-frame Sanctum Prelate promo cards? We've got a bunch! Here's what you'll need to purchase in order to receive one:

• Set Booster Display
• Draft Booster Display
• Collector's Booster Display
• 6 Modern Horizons 2 Prerelease Kits

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

Support Your Local Game Store Promotion

In addition to the usual buy-a-box promo card there's another way to get cool cards just for picking up some magic product (and supporting your friendly local game stores like us). Beginning June 18, if you purchase $50 worth of magic product, we'll give you a promotional old-border Fabled Passage.

We've gotten a few questions about how preorders work with these, so we want to make sure folks know what to expect. 

• Promos are limited to 1 per person (not per purchase).
• Any in-store purchase of $50 or more will receive one while supplies last.
• Any purchase of preorder items that release on June 18 or later will count towards that $50 purchase (again, while supplies last). Examples of qualifying items from this set include Modern Horizons 2 Draft Booster Displays and Bundles.

At the time of this writing, we do not have an exact number for our allocation. Depending on the size of the allocation we receive, we may flex these policies to include other preorder items. But if you absolutely have to have one, put in a preorder today for one of the items that qualify under those guidelines.