The most recent time I talked about Magic: The Gathering was when I talked about playing Magic at Gen Con. I don’t typically play Magic much anymore. Part of it has to do with not having enough time to play. The other reason I don’t play Magic much is that it has been difficult to keep up with the sets. Magic releases new sets all the time, and if I find I’m interested in a set, in a month or two, the set is old, and no one wants to play it. With all of that said, Magic’s most recent set is Wilds of Eldraine, which is a sequel to Throne of Eldraine, a set that was released in 2019. I played Throne of Eldraine a lot, and it’s a set that I really enjoy. I ended up buying two pre-release kits and playing them with my brother, and I had a blast! Wilds of Eldraine is going to be a neat set.

Pre-releases are Magic events where you can play a set early. Each pre-release kit has a promo card, a d20 die, and several booster packs. From there, the goal is to build a forty-card deck and play against your opponent. I have played in pre-releases at game stores before, and honestly, I don’t think I will play in them again. The events are timed, and I like being able to read each card and take my time putting together a deck. As a casual player, I like to ask questions and have a friend review my deck, as I’m not great at deck building. Additionally, I have had negative experiences at game stores, whether it be the people I’m playing with or feeling guilty for not winning a game or a match. I like to play the game for fun, not to win, so I’d rather play in a similar environment.

Playing with my brother was way more fun than playing in a pre-release. We would show off which cards we got and trade if needed. I had my brother review my deck, where he would offer suggestions for last-minute card switches. Finally, we would disregard the mulligan rules and let each person have the perfect opening hand. Mulligans are where you can discard your hand if you don’t like it, but if you do, you draw one less card. It feels bad when you have to mulligan a lot, and then you have fewer cards in hand.

While I did not win a single game, I liked the deck I built! I built a red/black rats deck. I pulled a few cards, including Totentanz and Swarm Piper. Totentanz‘s ability is that whenever a creature dies, you create a rat. By paying one and a black, you can create death touch for all your rats, which is awesome. I also pulled Ratcatcher Trainee, which has first strike as long as it was your turn. I had my army of rats to try to take on my brother. Each game that we played was so close! I had my brother in the single digits as far as his life total, although my brother squeaked out the win every time.

It was fun to play with a pre-release kit since it’s been a while. I think my brother had fun since he texted me asking if he should pay me back for the next kit, so maybe this will be my re-entry into Magic.