Lets talk about Prereleases.
Recently, it has been reported that Pokemon would be selling Prerelease Kits in the form of “Build and Battle” Kits. Build and Battle Kits can be found at stores such as GameStop for $19.99. They will come with the 23 card evolution pack, one of four Prerelease promos, and four Forbidden Light packs. These kits can be purchase on May 4th. This is the same day that Forbidden Light can be purchase in stores.
When this news was announced, players were up in arms saying that this was the end of Prereleases. That player would now simply buy the Battle and Build Kits to get their prerelease cards and just host their own Prereleases. After all, prereleases have been drawing fewer players compare to those from over ten years ago.
Those points are fair but I am here to argue that Prereleases are not dead. That people will not be rushing to buy these Build and Battle Kits that will kill Prereleases. There are a few reasons why people go to Prereleases and why they will buy these Build and Battle Kits.
I have been going to Prereleases since 2012 with the Next Destinies Prerelease. During that event I was able to pull a Full Art Mewtwo EX. Ever since that moment I have been hooked to Prereleases. It wasn’t because I was able to get a FA Mewtwo EX. The reason why I fell in love with Prereleases was because I met so many players at the Prerelease. I was able to play against more experience players on an even playing field. That last part was amazing because back then I was a new player who was slowly getting better at the game. All of this and at the same time I was getting to play with new cards.
The reason why I am telling this story is because these are the reasons why players are going to Prereleases. They go for the chance to play with new and powerful cards before anybody else. Even if they do not pull any of the highly wanted cards. The players are able to play with the new cards and learn about them before anybody else. That is the amazing part about prereleases.
New and experienced players can come together on an even playing field and just have fun. They are both playing the best deck that they can build with the limited resources that were given to them. The decks they had built may not be the best but they are decks that were built based on what they think is good. A new player can beat an older player. An older player can lose all their matches. There could be a player that could beat somebody with a big EX Prerelease deck using only normal Pokemon. These things can happen during a Prerelease. It is the nature of the beast!
It is these feelings and more that help inspired me to become a Tournament Organizer. I wanted to give newer players the chance to learn and play the Pokemon TCG game. Meanwhile give more experience players the chance to just have fun with new cards. It is amazing to watch players be given brand new cards and see what insane things they can do. These reasons are why I go to a Prerelease. I want to play with these new cards and just have fun. It is amazing to just to a Pokemon event and enjoy playing the game with unique and new card. Best of all? No pressure.
Now lets talk about why players will buy the Build and Battle Kits. Some people will say that these kits are being release so players can host their own Prerelease with their friends at a cheaper price. All you need is to get some friends to buy a few of these kits. After that you can just have a fun time. That does sound like fun and perfect to get a friend to try out the Pokemon TCG. Though that is not the main reason why players will buy these kits.
The reason why players will buy these kits is because they will want to get more copies of certain Prerelease Promos. Certain Prerelease promos are highly wanted by players. That is because these cards happen to be good and one of the rarest versions of the cards. Prerelease promos have unique art on the card that can only be found at Prereleases. Collectors will go out of their way to get a complete set of all four Prerelease promos. Competitive players will whatever they can to get Prerelease promos of good Pokemon to put in their decks.
I have seen players asking shop keepers to sell them extra kits after a Prerelease. These players want an extra chance to get a certain Prerelease promo. There have been trades for certain promos that are not worth it but are offered. Just so they can have the rarest version of a card for their deck.
Now these players will have a way to collect certain Prerelease promos without resorting to unreasonable trades or begging. These people can now go to GameStop and buy a Prerelease kit for their extra chance. This is why players will buy the Build and Battle Kits.
An addition benefit to the Build and Battle Kits is that players who live far away from Prerelease can now take part in them. They can simply buy a Build and Battle Kit and just finally say they have done a Prerelease.
Also, the reason why Prereleases will not die is the release date for the Build and Battle Kits. This product comes out the same day as Forbidden Light. That means players will have to choose between buying Forbidden Light in bulk. Maybe it be through buying multiple packs or booster boxes or Build and Battle Kits. You do get the Prerelease promo with the Build and Battle Kits but you get more bang for the your buck if you simply buy packs or booster boxes.
What makes going to Prereleases exciting is that you are playing with the new cards before everybody else. The kit is because because you get to open the new packs before they are in sale in stores. Prereleases are the only way to get these cards. If you can buy a booster box then you will because you are getting more cards. The only advantage that a Build and Battle Kit gives you is the promo. Depending on the evoultion pack you could get some basic staples from the evolution pack. Though if you want to open packs then the booster box will be the way to go.
Now, we may see a drop at Prereleases in the future. There will be some players who will decide to just wait until release date to buy a Build and Battle Kit to run the gamble of getting a wanted promo. Though we will not see a rush to buy these kits. After all, players will always want to get the new stuff as soon as possible.
And if we do see a major drop at Prereleases then Pokemon may step in. This could be by giving more support to Prereleases to make them more appealing. They recently redid Prerelease where now there are more of them and included a basic evolution pack. The evolution pack was added to help give a much more even playing field for players. This was in case they had pulled nothing from their packs. Surely Pokemon doesn’t want to see an end to Prereleases and they will step in if needed. Worst comes to worst, Pokemon will stop releasing Build and Battle Kits and find a new way to distribute Prerelease promos outside of Prereleases.
Prereleases for Forbidden Light will start this weekend and continue next weekend. There are plenty of new cards that will be release such as Ultra Necrozma GX. One of the Prerelease Promos will be Malamar who has an amazing amazing. You can expect me to hit up a Prerelease for the chance to get a Prerelease Malamar. I will also buy a few Build and Battle Kits so I can have four Prerelease Malamar in my deck!
Best of luck to everybody who plans to attend a Forbidden Light Prerelease. You can find one in your area by clicking here.
