The midnight Prerelease was a smashing success.

I told my LGS owner that I'd say the name of his store in an article if he didn't kick me out of the store in the middle of a huge trade I was embroiled in. He complied, allowing me to finish a big trade despite wanting to go home and nap because the next prerelease event was to kick off in less than 8 hours. The "he" is a young store owner whose actual name on his birth certificate is "John Blaze". How cool is it to have the same name as Ghost Rider?

Not as cool as the fact that the "where" in this story, Odyssey Games in Kalamazoo, Michigan turned people away. Budgeting sealed product for a Saturday and Sunday afternoon event, this was the largest prerelease event yet. I played in my first FNM in months, mostly to shake off the cobwebs and kill some time. FNM ended and a few of us continued our ritual of hitting up the bar next door to grab some beers while we waited for midnight to come around. When we go to the store, it was actually packed. We were really excited until we realized one of us forgot to pre-register before we hit the bar and he experienced the blow-outs when they capped attendance and he was left out. The rest of the store was excited, though. People I have never seen before outnumbered familiar faces 2 to 1 and the female to male ratio was much higher than one might expect, which is a trend I'm noticing more and more at prereleases. Magic prereleases, as opposed to events like FNM, seem to be an acceptable "couples'" activity according to the women I talked to. The gender gap is much smaller among casual players and it's a heartening trend. LGS regulars can keep the trend going by washing their buttcracks and talking to female prerelease participants like they are not the first female they've encountered.

Seriously. Wash that ass.

I elected the Black seeded pack, and naturally fortune pooped on me. I was treated to Siege Dragon and Resolute Archangel in the other packs, because why not get totally worthless rares that everyone else has in foil? I didn't open a single black card I wanted to play, so despite identifying that black was where I wanted to be, I sleeved up a different 41.

7 Forest
6 Mountain
1 Plains
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Selfless Cathar
1 Crowd's Favor
1 Constricting Sliver
1 Beligerent Sliver
1 Kird Chieftain
1 Ancient Silverback
2 Living Totem
1 Pillar of Light
1 Nissa's Expedition
2 Lightning Strike
1 Undergrowth Scavenger
1 Borderland Marauder
1 Shaman of Spring
1 Siege Dragon
1 Siege Wurm
2 Wall of Mulch
2 Charging Rhino
2 Elvish Mystic
1 Goblin Roughrider
1 Runeclaw Bear
2 Thundering Giant
1 Haunted Plate Mail

That's the best of my recollection. I tore the pool apart and gave most of it away after we finished and I imagine a few of these numbers are wrong.

Beligerent Sliver overperformed. I had figured it would do well but it exceeded expectations. Its effect is a bit better in this format than in others in the past.

Undergrowth Scavenger is super bad. I spent all night wishing I'd had a Bronze Sable to go in that spot. Occasionally you can slow-roll it and get a 5/5 or 6/6 for 3G but I like to play stuff on curve and this did not allow for that.

That was my experience. The Reddit spikes community also weighed in with their experiences. If you're planning to play your first event of the weekend this afternoon, check it out.

The community has picked up on my 24/7 social media presence and determing that I never sleep, but sometimes I lie motionless in a bed for an hour or two, so I'm going to go do that now. I plan to cruise by the shop just to hang out later this afternoon and get some trades done.

How was your Prerelease? Did you play at midnight? Do you plan to jam one this afternoon? Leave it below.