Konami Improves the Sneak Peek, Some

We had pre-releases for Magic Journey into Nyx and Yu Gi Oh! Primal Order about 2 weeks apart and once again found WOTC’s handling of their pre-releases far superior to Konami’s, though, to their credit, Konami did issue some operating changes that made things a bit easier, but still, WOTC trusts stores to run pre-releases with a lot less oversight and restrictions than Konami does.

Case in point, instructions from Konami not to open the Sneak Peeks kits until May 10^th. Given that the Sneak Peek takes place on May 10th and 11^th, not opening the kits makes it rather hard to check and make certain that nothing is missing from them. Granted, we have never had any problems with items missing from the kits before this but there is always a first time. Opening the kits ahead of time allows us to check and contact Konami if needed. An email to Konami pointing this out did get a response saying it was OK to open the kits the Thursday before the Sneak Peek.  I understand Konami’s desire to stop Sneak Peek organizers from selling cards from the set early but WOTC faces the same problem and does not restrict stores from opening pre-release materials early.

Bowing to player and store requests, Konami did allow stores to run Sneak Peek tournaments using Primal Order this time, though such tournaments were unsanctioned and did not add to a player’s ranking. Here’s hoping next time Konami allows the sanctioning of Sneak Peek tournaments.

One final note. I did like the change in the reporting method Konami implemented for the Sneak Peek, using Survey Monkey to gather the information rather than asking us to fill out a form and email it back, though Konami does ask for a lot more information about players, as well as pictures, than WOTC does. However, sending a link out to the reporting form at 9 p.m. the night before the Sneak Peek, not a good idea.  Way too last minute. If there was a problem receiving the email, much like with the instructions on the Sneak Peek kits, it would have been the proverbial mad scramble to get everything straightened out. No store owner needs or wants to face something like that the day of a major event like a Sneak Peek.