Jay's CD & Hobby · Prerelease · Magic: The Gathering
Play Star Trek a week before the rest of the world.
3 sessions2 storesNov 6–8$30 now · $35 at the door
Crack packs, build a deck on the spot and play the new set before it hits shelves. Southside + Ankeny. Everyone's welcome, first-timers especially.
Prerelease weekend starts in
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First session: Fri, Nov 6 · 6:30 PM · Southside
Pick your session
One seat, one kit, one afternoon of new cards.
Reserve online and your seat is held. Seats are capped at every session and prerelease weekends fill up.
Where you're going
Pick the closer store.
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3315 SE 14th Street
Southside
Des Moines, IA 50320 -
613 S Ankeny Blvd
Ankeny
Ankeny, IA 50023
Arrive 15 minutes early to check in and get your kit.
How prerelease works
Four steps. Zero experience required.
Prerelease is the most relaxed event on the calendar. Nobody has seen the cards, nobody has a deck, and everybody is figuring Star Trek out at the same table.
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Check in, get your kit
Give us the name on your reservation. You get a sealed kit of Star Trek that nobody outside a prerelease has opened yet.
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Build a 40-card deck
Open everything, pick your best two colors, add basic lands from the counter. Staff help anyone who wants it.
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Play a few rounds
Short, casual matches against the rest of the room. Everybody is learning the set in real time.
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Keep it all
Every card you open is yours, promo included. Prizes for wins on top.
What's in your kit
- 6 Play Boosters of the new set
- 1 traditional foil promo card
- Deck box and spindown die
- Basic lands, provided at the counter
Everything you open is yours to keep.
New to the game?
This is the best day of the year to start.
Nobody knows Star Trek yet, so a first-timer and a ten-year veteran open the same packs and start from the same place. Our staff will sit with you and build your first deck before round one.
- We walk you through building your deck before you play
- Casual rules. Take your time, ask anything
- Bring nothing but yourself. The kit is everything you need
- Win or lose, every card you open goes home with you
The set
Star Trek
- Magic: The Gathering
- TRK
- Releases Nov 13
- Sealed deck
Sixty years of Star Trek. One table. A week before everyone else.
Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek pulls every era of the franchise into one Standard-legal set: Kirk and Spock, Picard and Data, Sisko, Janeway, the Borg, the Klingons, right up to Strange New Worlds and the Kelvin films. Prerelease weekend runs November 6–8 at Southside and Ankeny, a full week before the November 13 street date. Crack packs, build a deck on site, and play with cards nobody outside a prerelease has touched.
Why this one matters
The Borg are the villains and Assimilate is their mechanic: take an opponent's creature, put a +1/+1 counter on it, and it fights for the Collective. Federation pays off decks with lots of different creature types, which a Starfleet crew has by nature. Strange new worlds counts the differently named lands you control. Starships are back as Spacecraft: tap your crew to Station them with charge counters and the ship comes to life. Beam me up bounces a creature to your hand to recast a spell from your graveyard, and modal spells pay you for facing a dilemma.
The collector side is the biggest story Magic has told in years: seven signed Headliner cards, each hand-signed by the actor who played the character (Shatner, Stewart, Mulgrew, Spiner, Burton, Jeri Ryan and Ethan Peck), fewer than 250 copies apiece, hidden in Collector Boosters. Around them: LCARS-frame cards and shock lands, Classic Enterprise poster art, Klingon-script cards, four-card Scene panoramas and 30 Stardates reprints of Magic classics recast in the Trek universe.
Worth knowing: signed Headliners live in Collector Boosters only, so they won't turn up in a prerelease kit. Commander decks and Scene Boxes are separate products too. Ask us about preorders.
What to expect at prerelease
Every player gets a Prerelease Pack: six Star Trek Play Boosters, a traditional foil rare or mythic rare, a deck box and a spindown die. You build a 40-card sealed deck out of what you open, add basic lands from the counter, and play a few short rounds against the rest of the room. Everything you open is yours to keep.
Never played Magic? Come anyway. Prerelease is the friendliest event on the calendar. Half the room is figuring the set out in real time, and our staff will walk you through deckbuilding before round one.
Set details from the publisher's official announcements and TCGplayer's coverage, current as of the date on the guide.
- Signed by the actorsSeven Headliner cards hand-signed by Shatner, Stewart, Mulgrew, Spiner, Burton, Jeri Ryan and Ethan Peck. Fewer than 250 of each, Collector Boosters only. A first for Magic.
- AssimilateThe Borg mechanic. Take an opponent's creature, give it a +1/+1 counter, and it fights for the Collective.
- Spacecraft and Station returnStarships start as artifacts. Tap your crew to station them with charge counters and the ship comes to life.
- Federation and Beam me upStarfleet crews pay off creature-type variety. Beam me up bounces a creature to recast a spell from your graveyard.
- 296 cards, releases November 13Prerelease weekend runs a full week before the street date. Arena gets it November 10.
- The chaseLCARS frames and shock lands, Classic Enterprise poster art, Klingon-script cards, Scene panoramas and 30 Stardates reprints.
Prerelease questions, answered
Do I need to know how to play?
No. Prerelease is built for exactly this. Nobody has seen the set, so everyone is learning it together, and our staff will build your first deck with you before round one. If you've played once at a kitchen table, you're ready.
What do I get for my entry?
A sealed prerelease kit of the new set: the packs, the promo card and the bits you need to play. You build a 40-card deck from what you open, play a few short rounds, and take every card home. Prizes go to the winners on top of that.
How long does a session take?
Plan on roughly three to four hours: a deck-building window, then a few short rounds. Arrive 15 minutes early to check in. If you need to leave early, your cards leave with you.
What should I bring?
Just yourself and the name on your reservation. The kit is the whole game. If you own sleeves or a playmat, bring them; if you don't, don't worry about it.
Do I need a game account?
For Magic prereleases, yes: install the free Magic: The Gathering Companion app and create a Wizards account before you arrive. Pairings run through it. Add your account name at checkout if you already have one and we'll have you seated fast. For Pokémon, a Play! Pokémon ID is nice to have but not required.
Why is it cheaper to reserve online?
Reserving locks the lower price shown above and guarantees your seat. Walk-ups pay the door price, and only if there are seats left. Prerelease weekends fill up, so reserving is the safe play.
Can I switch sessions or get a refund?
Switch, yes: call or email before your session starts and we'll move you to any session with open seats. Seats aren't refundable, because the kit for your seat is allocated to us in advance.
Can I bring my kid, or come as a group?
Yes and yes. Set the number of seats when you reserve and everyone in your group gets a kit. Parents are welcome to sit in. Under-13s play best with an adult nearby for the first deck build.