Cyberpunk TCG Beta Events are scheduled to run between September 10 and September 20, and you can sign up for events near you now. Then, on the weekend of October 30, you’ll also be able to participate in our Retail Pre-release events.
These events are your first opportunity to play Cyberpunk TCG in hobby stores. For many of you, they may even be the first events you ever attend in a hobby store — and taking that first step can be daunting.
If you’re excited to jump into Night City and start playing with some new chooms at your Local Game Store but don’t know where to start, we’ve put together this handy Beta Event and Pre-release primer to help!
What are Cyberpunk TCG Beta Events and Retail Pre-releases — and what’s the difference between them?
Beta Events and Pre-releases are very similar tournaments. Both are played in Local Game Stores, and both are played in the same “sealed deck” format.
The biggest difference between the two is that Beta Events are run using Welcome to Night City Beta booster packs, and Pre-releases are run using Welcome to Night City Retail Booster packs. You’ll also find different promo cards included in Beta Event and Pre-release kits.
Beta Events are run on a more limited scale and were offered to stores that signed up to the Cyberpunk TCG Organized Play program before May 1. From a player perspective, you can think of Beta Events as an early preview of our pre-release experience, and a unique opportunity to acquire some limited Beta cards in your Local Game Store.
What is the “sealed deck” format?
In sealed deck tournaments like Beta Events and Pre-releases, players receive a kit containing a promo card, six Cyberpunk TCG booster packs, and a pack containing three random additional Legend cards.
At the start of the event, the first thing you’ll do is construct a deck to play with, using the contents of your sealed packs — that’s where the name comes from! You can’t add any other cards you own to this deck until after the tournament is complete. Everything you play with comes from your sealed event kit.
Because Beta Events and Pre-releases will be the first time that many players take a detailed look at Cyberpunk TCG cards, you’ll be given a generous amount of time to open your packs, give everything a read through, and construct your deck before the actual tournament rounds begin.
How do I build a sealed deck?
First things first, before you get into building your first sealed deck, it’s worth making sure you're familiar with the basic rules and goals of the game.
Both Beta Events and Pre-releases are great opportunities to learn the game, and nobody expects you to turn up with full working knowledge of the rules on day one. But reading over our gameplay guide before you attend will be extremely useful in helping you understand what the cards you open can do, and the role they might be able to play in your deck.
Sealed decks in Cyberpunk TCG must contain:
- Three Legend cards of your choice (these can be the three Legends from your additional Legend pack, Legend cards opened in your Booster Packs, or any combination of the two)
- A main deck with a minimum of 30 cards, not including your three Legends
Unlike in the Constructed Cyberpunk TCG format, the three Legends you choose for your sealed deck do not determine which colors of cards you can include in your Main Deck. When playing the sealed deck format, you don’t need to worry about the RAM numbers on any of your cards at all. You can use cards of up to three different colors in your deck, regardless of which Legends you select to form your Crew!
Final note, you’ll also find a Nova Rare promo card in your Beta Event or Pre-release kit. In answer to your next question, yes, you absolutely can include that card in your main deck!
So, you can break the sealed deckbuilding process down into four key steps:
- Open up all of your packs and review the cards you have available
- Select your three Legends
- Choose which three colors of cards you’d like to include in your deck
- Pick at least 30 cards from your packs that you want to play with in your deck, ensuring that they’re only of your three chosen colors
What makes a winning sealed deck?
There are countless ways to build a sealed deck. That’s a big part of what makes the format so fun, and such a great starting point for new players. But if you want to take down your local Beta or pre-release event, it’s worth following these tips:
Tip 1: Prioritize stats over synergy
With so few cards available to you, it can be tough to create synergistic strategies when playing sealed events. For example, if you’re trying to fill out your deck primarily with Arasaka Units, that’s probably not going to be possible — simply because it would be highly unlikely that you open enough of those cards in your six packs.
Instead, look at each card in isolation and assess its power on its own. Prioritize playing cards that boast strong stats, and don’t rely too heavily on specific other cards to perform well in your games.
Tip 2: Make sure you play enough sellables
To make sure you can play all of the strongest cards in your deck, you generally want to sell a card every turn. To do that consistently, you’ll need the right number of sellable cards in your deck. In general, a 50/50 split between sellable and unsellable cards is a great place to start. The most successful players tend to settle somewhere close to a 55/45 split, in favor of unsellable cards.
So, in your sealed deck, that translates as 14 Units and 16 Sellable Program and Gear cards.
Tip 3: Let your pulls guide which colors you play
In constructed formats, decks are typically built around Legends. You start with a strategy aligned with your chosen three Legends, and you build the deck out from there.
In Sealed, however, all you need to do is choose which three colors you want to play. Spend some time reviewing your pulls, consider which color looks the weakest overall, and then play all of the others. After that, you can review all of your Legends to see which ones will be best at making your strongest Units, Gear, and Programs shine!
What do I do once my deck is built?
Once you’ve built your sealed deck, you’re ready to start playing your first Cyberpunk TCG games! Your tournament organizer will let you know when deck construction time is complete, and they’ll then begin pairing you against random opponents.
You’ll be given a table number to head to, and an opponent to play against in a Best of Three match. After you’re done playing your games, you can record your game score through Melee, and once everyone is done (or the round timer ends), the next round will start, and you’ll get a new opponent to play against.
This process repeats until all rounds are completed, the tournament concludes, and a winner is crowned!
What do I need to bring with me on the day?
Sealed deck events are designed to be extremely accessible. In terms of gameplay materials, the kit you receive at the start of the tournament will contain everything you need to play, including a set of six polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20).
However, there are some other items that you may want to bring with you to improve your gameplay experience, like a playmat (art-based or zoned) and sleeves for your deck, to protect your cards and make shuffling easier.
Playmats, sleeves, replacement dice, and any other supporting materials are available for this purpose at most Local Game Stores and play spaces, so you can always pick those up on the day of the event too.
We also strongly recommend bringing a mobile device to access your round pairings and record your game results in Melee.
Where can I find my nearest Beta Event or Pre-release?
Beta Event scheduling is now live in Melee, and stores have started listing their events. Use the Event Search page in Melee to find an event near you. More Beta Events are being scheduled every day, so keep an eye on Melee to find out where you’ll be able to play in a Beta Event this September!
We can’t wait to see you there, chooms!