All Magic: The Gathering players will get a first look and play experience through The Brothers’ War prerelease and Jumpstart events before the set releases digitally.
Wizards of the Coast has changed the release schedule with The Brothers’ War (BRO) set, with prerelease events to take place prior to digital and global releases. Taking place at local game stores, prerelease events start on Nov. 11 and can run up to the global launch on Nov. 18. Most local game stores will still run Jumpstart and Sealed after the BRO set releases, but with more of a focus on Draft, Commander, and Standard events.
All MTG prerelease events are played in the Limited Sealed format. Players get six BRO booster packs to create a 40-card deck. Your local game store typically provides basic lands. Some stores will also run Jumpstart events during the prerelease week, offering players two BRO Jumpstart booster packs that they simply crack open, shuffle, and sit down to play.
What’s in The Brothers’ War prerelease kit?
Players can choose from two BRO prerelease boxes, an Urza and a Mishra one. The contents are all the same and don’t predict what type of cards players will find in the prerelease kit. All prerelease kits contain cards to play in the Sealed format, along with extra goodies.
- Six BRO Draft booster packs
- One foil prerelease stamped Rare or Mythic Rare from the set
- One MTG Arena code for six BRO digital booster packs
- One deck box to hold your cards after playing
- One large d20 spindown die with the BRO logo
Each BRO Draft booster pack contains one of 63 possible Retro Artifact cards. These cards work in the same way the Mystical Archive cards did during the Strixhaven set as they are legal to play in the Limited and Eternal formats. Rarities of the Retro Artifact cards are Uncommon, Rare, and Mythic Rare.
Related: All MTG Retro Artifacts | Best in BRO Limited formats
Some of the Retro Artifacts are quite powerful, like Wurmcoil Engine. Players shouldn’t build an entire deck around Retro Artifacts but should be open to slotting them in a build appropriately.
What do I get with BRO Jumpstart?
Prerelease Jumpstart events are cheaper than regular prerelease events and contain less too. The design behind Jumpstart is that players don’t have to craft a deck like they do in a Sealed format. All BRO Jumpstart booster packs are designed to get played upon cracking them out of the pack.
Related: All The Brothers’ War Jumpstart decklists, themes, and pack breakdown
Players are given two BRO Jumpstart booster packs randomly, with each containing 20 cards. These are then opened and shuffled together, already containing basic lands, to create a 40-card deck.
How to craft a BRO prerelease Sealed deck?
Players at most prerelease events will have around an hour to crack open the six BRO Draft booster packs and create a deck to play with. Unlike Limited Draft formats that lean into two-color archetypes and synergies, Sealed is a slower format that tends to focus on the cards that win games.
Related: All MTG Limited Draft archetypes in The Brothers’ War
Both Draft and Sealed Limited formats have a standard curve that players can use to build their decks.
- One-drops: Zero to two
- Two drops: Four to six
- Three-drops: Three to five
- Four-drops: Two to four
- Five-drops: One to three
- Six-drops: Zero to two
The BRO set is packed with giant Mech Artifact creatures and cards that produce Powerstones to cast those big creatures. Many of the big Artifacts also have a Prototype cost in one of the five MTG colors. These creatures can get played earlier during a game at a cheaper mana cost and reduced stats or later in during a match at full power.
Related: All MTG Brothers’ War mechanics, new and returning
Players will want to separate out all their cards from the six BRO Draft booster packs according to color, pulling powerful Rare and Mythic Rare cards aside in their own pile. Upon separating everything, look to see what bomb Mythic Rare or Rare cards have support in their colors. Then put together a deck with a minimum of two colors as Mono-color decks are very hard to build in the Sealed format.
Players who have a decent amount of mana fixing can attempt to craft decks with more than two colors. All decks should have around 17 lands, give or take one depending on mana fixing, and the cost of your creatures. In the BRO Sealed format, no less than 17 lands are recommended.
What are the best The Brothers’ War cards for prerelease?
Bombs within a Limited format often have a rarity of Rare or Mythic Rare. Some bombs can have an Uncommon rarity. But don’t sleep on Common and Uncommon rarity MTG cards as they are the bulk of your crafted deck.
- Best multicolor Rare and Mythic Rares in BRO
- Best Prototype and colorless Artifact Rare and Mythic Rares in BRO
- Best mono-color Rare and Mythic Rare in BRO
- Best Common and Uncommon BRO cards in Blue
- Best Common and Uncommon BRO cards in Black
- Best Common and Uncommon BRO cards in White
- Best Common and Uncommon BRO cards in Green
- Best Common and Uncommon BRO cards in Red
