Starting with Lorwyn Eclipsed, Wizards of the Coast will no longer provide a stamped promo during their Prerelease events. While Prerelease promos still exist, going forward, they no longer have the stamp. This has caused a bit of confusion in the player base. Thus, on Monday, January 19th, Magic: The Gathering Head Designer Gavin Verhey put together a video explaining the change.
Gavin Verhey's Video on Good Morning Magic
You can watch the video on YouTube below. In essence, Gavin Verhey goes into detail talking about the origins of the Prerelease promo and its stamps across the years.
Of note, 1997 was when Prerelease events began to provide promos, and these had stamps with the exact dates of the events. These were unavailable for use in the events. Even so, players would accidentally slot them into their decks, prompting a change. In 2012, with Return to Ravnica, the promos were made legal to run in the Prereleases' Sealed decks.
Years later, Gavin explains, the dates on stamps started to slightly destabilize, not always lining up with the dates of the Prerelease. So, Wizards of the Coast did away with exact dates on Prerelease stamps, opting to instead put the year of the event on the promo cards. Sadly, this still didn't quite work for Wizards. So, paired with game stores' needs for better inventory management, Wizards finally decided to oust the Prerelease stamp entirely.
Player Reactions
Many players are concerned about the ongoing "shrinkflation" associated with this decision, as well as a few other decisions on Wizards of the Coast's part. Some players also speculate that the recent mix-up with Prerelease promos from a future set during the Lorwyn Eclipsed Prerelease may have had to do with this. However, Gavin Verhey reiterated that he had no part in the decision to remove Prerelease promo stamps, even if he could speak somewhat about the decision.
Even so, we'd like to open the floor to you, dear readers. How do you feel about Gavin Verhey's explanation? Is the removal of the Prerelease promo stamp something you care about? Would you have done the same amid local game stores' complaints? Sound off in the comments below!
Josh Nelson
Josh Nelson wears many hats. They are a music journalist when not writing gaming news. Beyond this, they're a scholar of the Sweeney Todd urban legend, a fan of monster-taming RPGs, and a filthy Aristocrats player. Josh has been playing Magic since 2001 and attributes their tenure to nostalgia, effort, and "aesthetic".
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