Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Marvel

On Friday, September 19th, Wizards of the Coast kicked off Prerelease events for Marvel's Spider-Man! These events are mostly conducted in a Sealed-style format. However, some stores may include Pick-2 Draft as an alternative option. What can you hope to expect from your local game store's Prerelease event? Read on and find out more!

Marvel's Spider-Man Sealed Prerelease

According to the Wizards Play Network webpage (ha! Web-page!), Prerelease events for Marvel's Spider-Man have players open Prerelease Kits. These kits include the following items:

• Six packs of Marvel's Spider-Man with which to construct your 40+ card deck
• One promotional rare from the set, also usable for the event
• One spindown die
• An abridged guide to prerelease deckbuilding
• A card divider

If you wish to elevate your experience or at least protect your new cards, you should consider bringing or purchasing the following items from your local game store:

• At least 40 matching card sleeves (a dual-matte style is preferable as there are double-sided cards in the set)
• A deck box (although the Prerelease Kit's container can double as such)
• A playmat

Building for Prerelease

Generally, the rules for Prerelease are fairly standardized, and Marvel's Spider-Man is no exception. The way most Prerelease Sealed decks go is as follows:

• 40 card minimum deck size (though some opt to add more, this is not encouraged because it adds unwanted variance)
• 17-18 land cards are preferable, with basic lands provided by your Tournament Organizer or local game store
• A creature count of approximately 15-16
• A noncreature count of 6-8

On Mana Curve and Color Curve

In terms of a mana curve, these decks are better off peaking on the lower end (around a mana value of 3) but tapering off at six mana, perhaps with one 7-drop at most. For Marvel's Spider-Man specifically, it's important to remember that the web-slinging and mayhem mechanics often lower the cost to cast spells. Therefore, if you are confident that you'll be casting them for those alternative costs, consider those as well when figuring out your mana curve.

Finally, a color curve is vital to ensuring your ratios are correct, so that you don't draw the wrong lands for the spells you need to cast. To calculate this:

1. Count the number of lands you need to add to the deck (representing X in Step 3). This includes your nonbasic lands from the pool.
2. Count up all of the colored pips on spells you are casting using those pips, and document them by color (each color is a Z value in Step 3, and the total is your Y value).
3. Use this equation for each color in your pips to calculate your land ratio most effectively: X/Y*Z (if there's a decimal point, use your discretion. Some people like to look at the high decimals to determine which final lands to add; I prefer to balance these out as much as I can).
4. Add your nonbasic lands, then compensate for the rest with basic lands.

From there, sleeve up as needed, and shuffle to play!

Prerelease Gameplay

Some stores will host three-round Prerelease events and dole out prize support accordingly. Various stores have a sliding scale for prize payout, but many will award a pack per win. Feel free to discern what's best for you!

In any event, Marvel's Spider-Man events start this Friday, September 19th, as mentioned above. Are you planning to attend a Prerelease for the set? Sound off in the comments below!