What Should I Expect When Going to a Pre-release Event?

DevinTheWelf

DevinTheWelf

A Mach Punch User
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Just recently I've been trying to get into the Pokemon TCG, and when I heard about the pre-release events that are held when a new expansion is soon to come out, I thought it would be a nice idea to go to one just to get a feel for what it's like to play against people irl, and not through a computer screen. I was pretty much ready to try going to one back when the X/Y was having its pre-releases, but then I started to realize that I had no idea what I was going to expect. Can someone try explaining to me how these events go? All I could really learn is that you pay a fee (I assume something around 20-30 dollars) and you get 6 packs of the new expansion, then make a deck from those cards with energy cards provided. I'm a pretty anxious person in public places, so I'm just overall worried that I could be unprepared when going to one, and end up making a fool of myself. Any info at all about these events would be greatly appreciated, and even just stories of your own experiences would help me feel a bit at easy before I go to the pre-release for the Wild Fire expansion (I know that won't be for awhile, but I want to be prepared).
 
You pretty much just need basic knowledge of how to play the game. Always bring sleeves in case you get something rare, and to protect your deck. Prereleases are usually $25 or $30. They aren't super competitive events, so even newer players should have a good time.
 
You can expect awesomeness at a pre-release!

If you've been playing the tcgo, then you're definitely ready for the real world. The only thing that you might find yourself having trouble with would maybe be doing the things the computer doesn't show you like shuffling the deck or playing neatly. But that comes along with practice. Well, the neatness might not. :p

You've got the basic outline down right. There's really nothing to be afraid of. I was afraid of going to my first ever pre-release back when Next Destinies came out. I finally decided to go when the next set came out, and oh man I regretted missing out on the previous pre-release. It's a chilled out environment. You can meet a bunch of people and make friends. The more and more you attend these events you get to know people more and it's just a great community you become apart of. There's also always new players at pre-releases so you don't need to worry about being slow. Just let your opponent know and they'll walk you through it or they'll be like "Im new too!".

Btw, when building a deck, I like to organize my cards in piles based on types. That way I can see what I have a majority of and I get a better idea of what type of deck to build. But of course there are those who just go 1 ex 39 energys cause that also works. :p

But yeah , sleeves are a must! You gotta bring those. Last thing you wanna do is play with sleeveless cards while having pulled gems like ex's and what not.
 
I am a very shy individual (I have bad social anxiety in addition to general anxiety \o/), so I can imagine that we probably feel the same when thinking about going to these kinds of events. The only "official" Pokémon event I've ever been to was a prerelease for Next Destinies and I plan on going to another one for Flashfire this summer.

A few tips:

1) Everyone here already has something in common with you, an enjoyment of the Pokémon TCG. This makes conversations nice and easy, as Pokémon in a simple topic that both people can relate to.
2) People really are generally pretty laid back at prereleases. It's not super competitive, just for fun, so it's easy to get into. This makes it a bit easier to engage with others. You might even get to know some people in your area, which would make a prerelease a nice way to ease into joining a local league or getting involved with more Pokémon events.
3) In addition to sleeves, dice (six-sided) may be good to bring, if you have any, to use for coin flips and damage counters. Lots of people had them at my prerelase and I ended up buying a box of dice to use myself. Another potential to bring along is cards to trade; I didn't do this myself, but I saw a lot of people trading cards, both cards they received through the prerelease and also older cards, too.

I ended up having a blast at my prerelease, even though I ended up having a panic attack and leaving early. My boyfriend at the time (now we're married) came with me, even though he didn't play, just to offer support. I was able to get a Pokémon Play! ID from the TO and had some small, nice conversations with other players, even though I felt extra self-conscious being the only girl who was playing. People were generally friendly. Next time I'll be going with another PokéBeach moderator, Drohn, so that should be a lot of fun as well. :)
 
Thanks for the help guys, I'll make sure to bring plenty of sleeves and damage counter dice ^.^ Hopefully my first experience at a pre-release will be as fun as you guys make them seem!
 
Just another tip, Devin(a bit late, but the Prereleases aren't being held yet :p). Try to take a look at the current Wild Blaze scans for possible combinations that could work that you might get(considering that you get 6 Rares, 18 Uncommons and 30 Commons). For example, playing Blacksmith with Flame Torch in a Fire Pokémon deck could be good, or that Toxicroak and Dragalge are a perfect combo because there are no switching cards in the set.
 
Well... to avoid the mistakes I've made...

Don't be late. I mean it goes without saying but sometimes when you're lax about it, you end up being a bit more tardy than you'd expect. Once the event starts and all the packs are given out, unless they REALLY need another player, they probably won't let you participate. They won't even let you buy the packs.

Bring cash, some places don't take credit cards. I've been to one where I had to withdraw money from an ATM once...

Keep your Play! IDs which they give you one if it's your first time. You'll need it for future pre-releases. Otherwise you get a nasty glare from the person if they recognize you. I didn't think they'd remember me but they did...

As far as playing goes, I just do whatever. I never use my rare cards cause I want to keep them mint, so I just sleeve and put them away. The rest of the cards I play unsleeved. Personally, sleeving and unsleeving 40 cards will be too time consuming and I am not in it to win it. Based on whatever I want to play with will determine what energy cards I'll pick...

I never really care about winning so sometimes I'll let my opponent win so I can go check with my friends to see what they pulled and how they're doing.

Play about 3-4 rounds and you get your last 2 packs.

Then there's maybe a drafting event when I dunno how it works...

Oh and if you get an idea on what cards are hyped up, you can get a good idea on what's a fair trade.

I ended trading a Deoxys EX for a shiny Garchomp cause I thought the Garchomp was worth more... but Deoxys was way more valuable...
 
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