No more prerelease events online

Wizards has announced that they will not host online prerelease or release online events anymore. Read on to find out how they argued theirs decision

Perelease events on Magic Online have been a cornerstone of our releases for a long time. When most events were scheduled or queues, Prereleases made a lot of sense as standalone events that spotlight the new set and offer an experience similar to what you might find in your local game store. In a post-Leagues world, however, Prerelease events makes less sense as we place emphasis on players being able to play on their own schedule.

In addition, some players also expressed confusion about the events and their structures and how a Prerelease League differed from a friendly or competitive League that starts a few days later. Other players were frustrated because of their preference for competitive or friendly events, which were not always available with limited Prerelease offerings. Finally, we want to maximize the opportunities for players to play, and short Leagues like the Prerelease Leagues don't provide enough time for some players to reliably join and finish their courses. This means they are excluded from the experience or have matches left to play when the League ends, which are feel-bads we want to avoid where possible.

Now with the change for Aether Revolt release, you don't need to focus on the event calendar to try to decide when the events you like start. Instead, come January 25, you can just jump in and start playing in your preferred event! Our normal suite of Sealed and Draft Leagues for Aether Revolt will be available right after the downtime, and these Leagues will continue through Amonkhet.