It’s time for the BT13 Pre Release! When the Digimon TCG has a new Booster Box, local game stores (LGS) will hold small form factor tournaments with an alternate ruleset up to a week before the official street date. These events serve as means of obtaining cards early AND stamped versions of cards in the set.

In addition to your entry packs, used to build the deck each player is given a “Pre Release Pack”. These packs contain Pre Release stamped versions of 2 cards of the Uncommon or higher rarity. For those that like shiny cardboard, Digimon TCG Pre Release Stamps are the only way to achieve foiled versions of some cards without alt arts, as Uncommons and Commons are non-foil.

Source: AllEvents

Digimon TCG Pre Release Ruleset

Assuming you know how to play the Digimon TCG, there are very few new things to learn. The standout change is that color requirements for digivolution are scrapped. The costs paid are still the same, however, any card can go over any color. The only time colors are important is for card effects that specify. Alternate digivolution requirements (such as DNA Digivolution) also must be correct. The last cards to observe color requirements are option cards, which require all colors on the option to be in your battle area prior to usage. Deck sizes are also cut down from 50 to 40, with up to 5 digi-eggs.

What if you don’t pull any digi-eggs?

To keep all players on an even field, players are not required to pull digi-eggs in their packs. If a player does not have a Digi-egg card, the Digimon TCG Pre Release ruleset gives players a colorless Digi-egg. This egg has no inherited effects. As such, we recommend including any eggs you pull in pre release, as there’s a chance you may get some effects rather than none.

What to bring to Pre Release Events

We recommend bringing card sleeves (with alternate ones for eggs) to Digimon TCG Pre Release to help with shuffling. As Pre Release is a “sealed format”, you are not allowed to bring any of your own cards to play, this makes it a good opportunity for new players to learn the game and experience their LGS community. Some LGS owners allow players to buy additional packs during the pre release event, such as a full booster box on the day as part of the event. These cards, however, are separate from your 6 entry packs and cannot be included in deck building.

The last thing to note is that EX sets, such as EX04 don’t have pre release events. Instead, they have a boosted alt art pull rate.