Lotus ScanHow to Scan and Value Your Prerelease Pulls
A step-by-step guide to help you scan and value your prerelease pulls quickly and accurately.
Prerelease weekend is one of the most exciting times in Magic, and it is also when card prices are at their most volatile and uncertain. You are opening packs of a brand-new set that has never been on the market before, and the cards you pull could be worth anywhere from bulk pricing to fifty dollars or more depending on community demand. Scanning your prerelease pulls with Lotus Scan gives you real-time pricing as the market forms, letting you make informed decisions about trades and sales while the cards are at peak hype value.
Step-by-Step Guide
Update Lotus Scan before the event
Make sure Lotus Scan is updated to the latest version before you head to the prerelease. New set data, including card images and initial pricing, is typically available in scanning apps by the time prerelease events begin. Open the app and verify that it recognizes cards from the new set by testing with a preview image if available. Being prepared before the event means you can start scanning as soon as you open your packs rather than waiting for app updates on potentially slow store Wi-Fi. Charge your phone fully and consider bringing a portable battery pack since prerelease events can last four to six hours.
Tip: Follow Lotus Scan on social media or check the app store for update notifications in the days leading up to prerelease weekend.
Open your prerelease kit and sort by rarity
When you open your prerelease kit, resist the urge to start scanning immediately. First, lay out all your cards and sort them into rares and mythics, uncommons, and commons. Your prerelease kit contains six packs plus a stamped promo rare, giving you around 7 to 8 rares and mythics to evaluate. Identify your promo rare since it has a date stamp but is otherwise a normal card. Sort your foils into a separate pile regardless of rarity because foils from new sets can carry substantial premiums during the first week of release. This quick sort takes two minutes and lets you prioritize scanning the cards most likely to have significant value.
Scan rares and chase cards for current prices
Scan each rare, mythic, and foil with Lotus Scan. Prerelease weekend prices are based on presale data and early market activity, so they tend to be higher than where they will settle in a few weeks. This is actually useful information because it means you can trade or sell hyped cards at inflated prices if you act quickly. Pay particular attention to cards that are generating buzz in the community as Commander staples, format all-stars, or speculation targets. The app's pricing will reflect the current market demand even on release weekend, giving you a significant information advantage over players who are guessing at values.
Tip: Cards that were hyped during spoiler season but underperform in actual play often crash in price the week after prerelease. Sell into the hype if you do not plan to keep them.
Make informed trades during the event
Prerelease events are prime trading time because everyone has fresh cards and high enthusiasm. Use Lotus Scan to check prices in real time before agreeing to any trade. When someone offers you a card, scan it right there and compare values. Be aware that prerelease prices are inflated relative to where they will be in two weeks, so both sides of a trade are working with inflated numbers. The key is making sure the trade is fair at current prices, even if both cards will eventually drop. If someone offers you a card you need for a Commander deck, locking in the trade at prerelease can actually save you money compared to buying it later if the card proves to be a genuine staple.
Log your pulls for long-term tracking
Save all your prerelease pulls to a dated collection group in Lotus Scan, like 'Prerelease - Set Name 2026.' This creates a snapshot of exactly what you opened, at what initial prices, and serves as the beginning of a price tracking history for these cards. Over the following weeks and months, you can check back on this group to see how the values have shifted. Many players find it fun and instructive to compare their prerelease pull values to the settled prices a month later. This data also helps you calculate whether prerelease events are a good value proposition compared to buying singles after the market stabilizes.
Tip: Compare your prerelease pull values across multiple events to track whether you are consistently beating or trailing the entry fee in card value.
Make It Easier with Lotus Scan
Lotus Scan for iPhone simplifies this entire process with AI-powered card recognition, real-time price tracking, and intuitive collection management. Just point your camera and scan.
Pro Tips
- Prerelease card prices typically drop 30 to 50 percent in the first two weeks after release as supply increases. If you pull a hyped card you do not need, trading or selling it at the event gets you the best return.
- The stamped prerelease promo has no additional value over a non-stamped version of the same card. Do not overpay for promos thinking the stamp adds a premium.
- Take a photo of your entire prerelease pool laid out before building your deck. This serves as a visual record even before you have scanned everything.
- If the store has poor cell service, download your Lotus Scan data before the event so the app can still function with cached card information.
- Talk to other players about their pulls and what they are looking for. The best prerelease trades happen when two people each pulled what the other person needs.