What is Core Set 2020 Promos (PM20)?

PM20 is the promotional set tied to Core Set 2020, released in July 2019. It contains 144 cards distributed through various channels including Bundles, Prerelease events, Buy-a-Box promotions, and Planeswalker decks — rather than through standard booster packs.

What was the Bundle promo for Core Set 2020?

The Bundle promo for Core Set 2020 was Chandra's Regulator, a foil alternate-art Legendary Artifact. It was the very first Bundle promo card ever included in a Magic: The Gathering Bundle product, starting a tradition that continues to this day.

Was Core Set 2020 the first set to have a Bundle promo?

Yes. Core Set 2020 (July 2019) was the first Magic set to include a foil alternate-art promo card inside the Bundle product. Every set since has continued this tradition with its own exclusive Bundle promo.

How many cards are in Core Set 2020 Promos?

Core Set 2020 Promos (PM20) contains 144 cards in total, spanning all the promotional printings associated with the Core Set 2020 release across different retail and event channels.

Are Core Set 2020 Promos cards legal in Standard or Modern?

Promo cards from PM20 have the same legality as their non-promo counterparts from Core Set 2020. They are not a separate card — a promo printing of a Core Set 2020 card is legal in any format where the original card is legal. Core Set 2020 itself has since rotated out of Standard.

Where can I find Core Set 2020 Prerelease promos?

Core Set 2020 Prerelease promos were distributed at Prerelease events held at local game stores in July 2019. They are stamped foil versions of rares and mythics from the set. Today they can be found on the secondary market through card retailers and trading platforms.

Core Set 2020 Promos (PM20): Complete Guide

Core Set 2020 Promos (PM20) is the promotional card set accompanying Core Set 2020, released in July 2019. Spanning 144 cards, PM20 collects the various foil and alternate-art promos distributed through different retail and event channels tied to that release - and it holds a small but genuinely interesting place in Magic history.

What is Core Set 2020 Promos?

Promo sets aren't released in booster packs you crack at your local game store. Instead, they're collections of special printings - alternate art, foil treatments, or stamped versions of cards - handed out through specific channels: Bundle purchases, Planeswalker decks, Prerelease events, Buy-a-Box promotions, and so on. PM20 gathers all of those Core Set 2020 promos under one set code.

Core Set 2020 itself released in July 2019, bridging the gap between Ravnica Allegiance and Throne of Eldraine in the Standard rotation. The promo set reflects that release window.

A landmark moment for Bundle promos

Here's the detail that makes PM20 genuinely notable: Core Set 2020 was the first set ever to include a foil alternate-art promo card inside the Bundle product.

Before M20, Bundles (previously called Fat Packs) were solid value propositions - a stack of boosters, basic lands, a life counter, and a card box - but they didn't come with an exclusive promo card. Core Set 2020 changed that, and the card that kicked off this tradition was Chandra's Regulator.

That's a bigger deal than it might sound. The Bundle promo has since become a reliable fixture of every set release, a small bonus that gives players an extra reason to pick up the box product rather than loose packs. Every Bundle promo since - from Piper of the Swarm in Throne of Eldraine all the way through to Phyrexian Arena in Magic: The Gathering Foundations - traces its lineage back to this M20 decision.

Chandra's Regulator was a fitting card to inaugurate the tradition. It's a Legendary Artifact with a strong thematic tie to Chandra Nalaar, who was the face of Core Set 2020's story, and it came in a foil alternate-art treatment exclusive to the Bundle.

Bundle promo lineage

For context on how the Bundle promo tradition started and continued, here's the full history from M20 onward:

| Set | Release | Bundle Promo | |---|---|---| | Core Set 2020 | July 2019 | Chandra's Regulator | | Throne of Eldraine | October 2019 | Piper of the Swarm | | Theros Beyond Death | January 2020 | Arasta of the Endless Web | | Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths | April 2020 | Colossification | | Core Set 2021 | July 2020 | Pack Leader | | Zendikar Rising | September 2020 | Charix, the Raging Isle | | Kaldheim | February 2021 | Reflections of Littjara | | Strixhaven: School of Mages | April 2021 | Archmage Emeritus | | Modern Horizons 2 | June 2021 | Yusri, Fortune's Flame | | Adventures in the Forgotten Realms | July 2021 | Treasure Chest | | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt | September 2021 | Triskaidekaphile | | Innistrad: Crimson Vow | November 2021 | Sigarda's Summons | | Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty | February 2022 | Invoke Despair | | Streets of New Capenna | April 2022 | Mysterious Limousine | | Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | June 2022 | Wand of Wonder | | Dominaria United | September 2022 | Herd Migration | | The Brothers' War | November 2022 | Queen Kayla bin-Kroog | | Phyrexia: All Will Be One | February 2023 | Karumonix, the Rat King | | March of the Machine | April 2023 | Ghalta and Mavren | | March of the Machine: The Aftermath | May 2023 | Spark Rupture | | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | June 2023 | Frodo, Samwise, Gollum & The One Ring (scene cards) | | Wilds of Eldraine | September 2023 | Lich-Knights' Conquest | | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | November 2023 | Hit the Mother Lode | | Murders at Karlov Manor | February 2024 | Axebane Ferox | | Outlaws of Thunder Junction | April 2024 | The Key to the Vault | | Modern Horizons 3 | June 2024 | Powerbalance | | Assassin's Creed | July 2024 | Royal Assassin | | Bloomburrow | August 2024 | Thundertrap Trainer | | Duskmourn: House of Horror | September 2024 | Grievous Wound | | Magic: The Gathering Foundations | November 2024 | Phyrexian Arena |

Other promo types in PM20

Beyond the Bundle, Core Set 2020 Promos includes cards distributed through the other standard promo channels active in 2019:

Prerelease promos - stamped foil rares and mythics handed out at Prerelease events
Planeswalker deck exclusives - the unique cards found only in Core Set 2020's Planeswalker decks
Buy-a-Box promos - a foil promo given to players who pre-ordered a booster box from their local game store
Welcome deck and Spellslinger Starter Kit cards - introductory product promos aimed at new players
Deck Builder's Toolkit inclusions - promos tied to that product

The 144-card count across PM20 reflects the full breadth of those distribution methods combined.

Set legacy

PM20 isn't a set you draft or build a Standard deck around - it's a collector's catalogue of a specific moment in Magic's promotional history. But Chandra's Regulator as the inaugural Bundle promo is a genuinely meaningful milestone.

The Bundle promo has become one of the more player-friendly promo traditions Wizards has maintained. It rewards players who buy the product that offers the best per-pack value at retail with an exclusive alternate-art card, and it gives collectors a clean, predictable target for each set. That all started here, in July 2019, with a red artifact and a Planeswalker who controls fire.

I think that's a quietly elegant piece of Magic history - the kind of small structural decision that shapes how millions of players interact with the game for years afterward, without anyone making a big announcement about it at the time. ✨