One of the better things that Wizards of the Coast has done recently is to allow smaller tournament organizers the option to run prereleases alongside their regular in-store events. This has made prereleases even more accessible to the casual gamer, not because it will make him go to tournaments any more than he is inclined to (although that could be a wondrous side effect), but because since he will be amongst friends and in actual competition, albeit at a low level, this activity could make them stick around the game more.

These havens for "Magic addict" have grown in number since it reportedly began in the Cainta area (as Morris and Vic tell me) in the last year and have now expanded to several locales, all the better to service those who just can't wait to get their hands on the cards of the new set, which will certainly be the star of the show. Just check the forums (and sign up if you still haven't done so) for the places where these are being offered this weekend – I'm sure if you're in Metromanila there should be one close by.

As of this writing, the set is not yet even fully spoiled, with about 70 or so cards missing from the spoiler lists floating about but as the prerelease draws nearer and everyone gets their products, folks will surely be opening packs (in secret, of course) and posting the missing information.

Already the excitement is building, although there is also a certain fear because among competitive players who have budget constraints it seems that Wizards is now knowledgably printing money by putting some important chase cards in the mythic slots, which means they will be rarer to hunt down still.

Warren Instigator and Lotus Cobra are two definite "build-around-me" cards in the upcoming set, both costing a mere two mana but will die to nearly every targeted bit of removal. That's “mythic?” Maybe we're losing sight of what really gives a creature this kind of stature.

Sure, I understand that about planeswalkers and even splashy creatures like Iona and Lorthos but I'm not even sure Ob-Nixillis belongs in this same category although he could certainly be a game-ender very quickly against certain decks (those with no access to PTE or Terminate). But to have even spells like Mindbreak Trap (counter "cascade ultimatum" as claimed by many online pundits) go into the Mythic category doesn't seem right. Tournament players need these cards to compete and to make them very difficult to get might move Magic in the opposite direction that we are going in now.

I might've been happier if Day of Judgment was the mythic spell since the power to destroy all creatures (but which now allows regeneration, thank you River Boa!) should not be bandied about indiscreetly but then again without our trusty Wrath of Gods or its variants, control decks would be helpless in the rapid power creep of creatures. And God forbid that the enemy fetchlands would be "Mythic." I'm glad they aren't but by the time you start looking to complete your own playsets, it might as well be.

However, with the relevant constructed format coming up soon being of the Extended variety, I feel no rush to go out and spend many thousands on a format that's undefined at the moment but which I hope to be wide-open and even accommodating of simple aggro decks.

As for a Standard format without faeries or kithkin, a different breed of elves and no more Reflecting Pool manabases, how different would it be? There seems to be a rise in people looking for the parts of the Time Sieve deck – would there be more combo in our immediate future? Black-red Blightning decks with or without the three-mana sorcery are also popping up, in preparation for what seems like the inevitable return of U/W control.

See you on Saturday (or more likely, Friday at midnight) as we all take our first plunge into the land of Zendikar. The prereleases are a Magic player's opening day and we should all be there.