Welcome to an article all about Preview Weekend.
Welcome to an article all about Preview Weekend.
. . . Wait, are you seeing double? Yep, because it's time for Double Masters 2022!
This set is chock-full of reprints for your favorite decks, with all kinds of awesome new treatments. Between new art and cool frames, these staples are looking better than ever.
And, of course, there's also a Limited environment—and this one has an interesting twist, too! And the first place you can try it out is during the WPN Premium Preview Weekends starting July 1, followed by everywhere else on July 8.
But what is that event exactly? Is it like a Prerelease? What can you expect?
If you'd prefer to watch some of this information in video format, you can check out my episode of Good Morning Magic here:
Otherwise, if you want to read all about it, let's continue onward!
Preview Preview Weekend Weekend
Okay so: what is this thing anyway?
There's nothing quite like getting your hands on the brand-new cards. I always love the opportunity to play with everything right as it's coming out. Prereleases are some of my favorite Magic weekends of the year for that reason!
Now, this isn't exactly a Prerelease, but the vibe of what to expect is pretty close. One cool piece of this event is that your store can run either Draft or Sealed events, so be sure to talk to your local game store about what their plans are and whether you can play your preference!
Another fun piece is the promos! Since there aren't Prerelease Packs, you'll be handed promos for showing up—and not just one promo, but two!
You'll get a Bring to Light and Weathered Wayfarer for each Preview Event, while supplies last. It is Double Masters, after all! Be sure to talk with your store and preregister if they offer it.
Speaking of talking with a store, you're going to need to find one so you can play in the event! If you don't already have a local shop you frequent, be sure to check out the store locator to find one near you.
Okay now, let's see. You have a store selected, and you've taken a look at all the awesome cards in the Double Masters 2022 Card Image Gallery.
What else can you expect?
Finding your Archetype
So, what should you play in Limited? Double Masters 2022 has a curious batch of Limited archetypes and should tickle fans new and old alike.
The first thing you should know: this is largely a three–plus color format. The mana fixing is excellent, so it's pretty easy to play three, or even more, colors.
As a result, the draft archetypes are pretty interconnected. There are lots of ways you can combine these together, especially when you go to four colors. So, this is more of a rough direction than a complete guide. But keep your eyes out for these!
WUB – Flicker Value: Flicker your creatures for fun and profit! Keep a steady flow of enters-the-battlefield effects by exiling and returning your own creatures or returning them to your hand to recast.
UBR – Graveyard Midrange: Harness the power of your graveyard to disrupt your opponent, recur high-value threats, and gradually overwhelm the helpless opposition.
BRG – Classic Jund: Utilize high-strength creature removal and individually powerful, self-sufficient threats with some light sacrifice synergy.
RGW – Heroic Aggro: Target your creatures with Auras and combat tricks to generate powerful effects that secure your victory in combat.
GWU – Big Ramp: Go big, or go . . . well, bigger. Play big ramp spells, big card draw, and big creatures to dominate your opponent.
RWB – Sacrifice: A well-placed pawn can be more powerful than a king. Marshal your disposable minions and sacrifice them for the greater good.
GUR – Midrange Ramp: With copious mana and ample ways to keep the party going, you can flicker your own creatures, out-draw your opponent, or simply overwhelm them with giant monsters.
WBG – +1/+1 Counters: Build a massive board presence by enhancing your creatures over and over again. Why choose between building wide or building tall? Do both!
URW – Prowess: Master both the art of combat and the ways of magic with an array of inexpensive spells to empower your prowess creatures.
BGU – Graveyard Growth: Your graveyard is your most precious resource! As your graveyard grows, so too do your minions.
Cryptic Mana
Speaking of all these three-color archetypes, let's talk about a way to improve all your mana bases. There is one new card which appears in Double Masters 2022 that is a bit of a wild card—both literally and figuratively!
To help mana bases but not include a ton of different common tap lands, we have Cryptic Spires:
The way this works is that you pick while deck building which two colors it taps for. It's like a Guildgate or similar land, except it gives you the flexibility to figure out your colors later on! You literally circle the colors you're going to use, and voila! Mana fixing.
Now what if you circle the wrong ones and want to change it?
In events using Continuous Construction rules—like a Preview Event—that choice may be changed between matches. How that choice is conveyed is up to the player, as long as the following two requirements are met:
- The choice is clear and unambiguous. The easiest way to do this is to mark the card directly, but if the choice has changed, those markings need to make the current selection obvious.
- The deck remains visibly unmarked. If you're playing with sleeves, a small slip of paper is an acceptable option provided it does not noticeably impact thickness within the sleeve.
This is a new and different thing for this set, and we're so curious what you think about this very unique card.
Masterful Treatments
This set is full of hot cards you can open.
And not just the normal versions . . . but also special versions, too!
And with two rares and two foils in every pack . . . yeah, there's a lot of excitement in every booster.
Let me walk through some of the treatments you can expect.
First of all, the two planeswalkers in the set get borderless versions:
But it's way more than just them. We have given tons of cards in the set borderless versions, ranging from iconic commons to other mythic rares. Whether you want
Even the Eldrazi are here:
Be sure to check out the Double Masters 2022 Variant Card Image Gallery to see them all!
You'll find a ton of foil-etched cards, too:
Your decks are going to look so pretty after opening these packs!
Becoming the Master
I hope you open the cards you want—this set has so much exciting stuff! Go head over to your local store and get ready to play.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to hit me up on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or even by sending an email to BeyondBasicsMagic@gmail.com. I'd be happy to hear from you!
Have a blast playing, and I look forward to talking with you again soon. May you have double the fun as usual!
Gavin
Email: BeyondBasicsMagic@gmail.com
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