The best way to enjoy your Wilds Unknown Pre-release events
The moment all the Illumineers have been waiting for is almost here: Disney Lorcana, Wilds Unknown is about to release! The 12th set of this amazing TCG will make the Inklands overgrow with new adventures together with new challenges as the Vine is making its way across the Realm.
With all cards of the set now revealed, the focus of all Players and Collectors in now on the 15th of May, when the set formally releases in all the stores. However, there is no better way to get your hands on the set than joining a pre-release event at your local stores. This time, the excitement is even higher as Ravensburger is releasing a dedicated Pre-release Kit filled with treasures and items that will make getting into this set even more exciting. I know this first hand as I have been blessed with the opportunity to open a Pre-release Kit earlier.
I honestly cannot hide how great this new product is and I am super excited to be able to share my first impressions on this amazing kit. There is no time for toying around, so make sure you packed your lantern, you charged your batteries and you are ready to wander into the Inklands as never before: The Wilds Unknown are calling and it is time to open some packs!
Your gate to the adventure: Pre-release Kit contents
The Pre-release kit is a product specifically designed to be used at pre-release events. As such, it features almost everything you need to play starting from six Booster Packs from the new set, Wilds Unknown. The quantity of these packs is perfectly suitable to play any of the most common Disney Lorcana formats being this a Sealed or a Draft tournament. Moreover, the six packs can be used to play three rounds of Pack Rush (assuming you change deck at every round). If you haven't played Pack Rush before, don't worry as the kit also includes a small pamphlet with a guide on how to play this format.
In addition to the packs, the new kit includes a number of collectible items and gaming accessories. The first category includes an amazing Promo card and a Postcard. The Promo card you will find in the Pre-release Kit features one of six Traveler Glimmers and it is stamped with the name of the set. While stamping pre-release promo cards is not uncommon in TCGs, this is the first time Ravensburger creates something exclusive for their Pre-release events. In addition all these promo cards are not only stamped, but they also feature the new golden frames and a rainbow foil treatment making them not only quite gorgeous to see but also very collectible.
The Kit also comes with one postcard randomly selected among three different ones. Being thematically linked to the Wilds Unknown, these postcards show the three main Domains introduced in the set. In my case, I was quite happy to find the “Torchlight Peaks” as its Ink combination fits nicely my play style. I also laughed when I saw the small sentences on the front (“I'd say it's peak adventure”) and the one on the back (“Sending love. Could you send back supplies?”).
I am an avid collector of Disney Lorcana and therefore I would really like to collect all three Postcards. However, this poses a problem: how will I store these very nice items in my binders? One option is obviously to have a binder with removable pages and to use one with postcard-size pockets. However, I noticed that the height of these post cards is very close to the one of a standard Lorcana card and I can easily slot half of it into a pocket to keep it in place. While this solution seems to work nicely, I came up with the idea to use a large sleeve (90 x 112 mm) to protect the postcard and then slot it into a pocket by sticking a standard Lorcana card in the back. This way, the postcard is fully protected by the sleeve and kept in place by the card. I will see how lucky I am on release day but I am definitely planning to make a page for this set with the three postcards and a few promo cards and I cannot wait to show you all how it comes out.
Last but not least, the Pre-release Kit comes with four damage counter dice similar to the ones you have in the Illumineer's trove and a paper Deck box. This last one, however, is larger than boxes you may have found in the 2-Players Starter Deck (or in previous Lorcana products), and this is due to the content of the kit that also includes the large Postcard. I don't mind honestly the box being larger as it provides a different storage solution for Lorcana and it can be a nice to have to bring around all accessories you need to play the events.
Making the best out of the Pre-release Kit
One of the most important aspects to remind about the Pre-release kits is that these are specifically designed to be used during the set pre-release events. As such they are not commercially available in general as the stores should just provide them as part of the event itself. It is obviously possible you may be able to purchase some extra kits if a store find themselves with a small excess of these but this will likely be quite a limited event. Basing on this consideration, I would recommend to evaluate attending a few different Release events if you are interested in collecting all the Promo cards and the Postcards from the Wilds Unknown.
In addition, I think buying the pre-release kit even if you are not interested in collecting the special items can still a sensible choice considering the value of the kit itself. In general most of the local shops charged £30-35 for the past sealed events and this is almost the price of the six Booster Packs themselves. The new Pre-release kit has a RPP of £34.99 that is pretty close to the price of just the packs themselves. I noticed also that most of the shops kept the price they used to have for the Pre-release event even if they are going to use the Wilds Unknown new kit. If this is the case at your local shop too, you should not only be able to snag some collectibles and accessories pretty much at no extra cost but using the kit will definitely provide a much better experience.
I already booked myself into a few events at my locals and you should remind that Zatu is also hosting is own Pre-release event at the Gaming Centre. For all other Pre-release events make sure you check Ravensburger Playhub (https://tcg.ravensburgerplay.com/). Looking forward to see you around and to catch you thoughts on how great is the new set!
