What is the PRM set in Magic: The Gathering?

PRM is the set code for Magic Online Promos, a collector designation covering over 3,100 promotional cards distributed outside standard booster packs. These include store event promos, video game redemptions, comic book inserts, and retailer-exclusive cards, often featuring alternate art or special frame treatments.

Are Magic Online Promo cards legal in competitive formats?

Yes — PRM cards are legal in the same formats as their regular-set counterparts. A promo printing of a card doesn't affect its format legality. Always check the card's original set to determine where it's legal.

How do I get WPN promo pack cards?

WPN promo packs are distributed by local game stores that are part of Wizards' Wizards Play Network. From Core Set 2020 onward, stores receive these packs to give to players as participation prizes at events like Friday Night Magic. Check with your local game store to find out how they distribute theirs.

What are the Duels of the Planeswalkers promo cards?

Between 2009 and 2015, purchasing a Duels of the Planeswalkers video game on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, iPad, or Android came with a voucher for a physical foil promo card. Different platforms received different cards each year — for example, DotP 2012 gave Frost Titan on PC, Grave Titan on Xbox 360, and Inferno Titan on PlayStation 3.

What are the Japan-exclusive Riceball (Onigiri) promos?

Three alternate-art versions of Orb of Dragonkind were released as Buy-a-Box promos exclusively in Japan for the Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms release. Illustrated by Kawasumi, they feature Onigiri (rice ball) characters and are catalogued as J1, J2, and J3. They're among the more collectible PRM cards outside Japan.

What are the IDW Comics Magic promo cards?

In 2012, IDW Publishing released a Magic: The Gathering comic book series. The first wave of each issue included a playable alternate-art promo card: Treasure Hunt (Issue #1), Faithless Looting (#2), Feast of Blood (#3), and Electrolyze (#4). These alternate-art versions are exclusive to those comic printings.

Magic Online Promos (PRM): The Complete Guide

The Magic Online Promos set (set code: PRM) is less a "set" in the traditional sense and more a living archive - a collection of over 3,100 cards that have been distributed outside normal booster packs across Magic's history. If you've ever picked up a foil alternate-art card from your local game store, redeemed a code from a video game, or pulled something special from a blister pack at a big-box retailer, there's a good chance it lives in PRM.

Think of it as the catch-all drawer of Magic collecting: everything too special or specific to belong to a single set, gathered together in one place.

What are Magic Online Promos?

Magic Online Promos is the collector designation for promotional cards distributed through channels other than standard booster products. With 3,103 cards (and counting), it's one of the largest "sets" in Magic's history by card count - though it spans decades rather than a single release window.

These cards are functionally identical to their regular printings. What sets them apart is their treatment: alternate art, foil finishes, special frames, unique stamps, or entirely new card aesthetics that don't appear anywhere else. For players, they're an upgrade. For collectors, they're often the most sought-after versions of a given card.

Format check: PRM cards are legal in whatever formats their regular-set counterparts are legal in. The promo printing doesn't change a card's legality.

Store and purchase promos

Buy-a-Box cards

To encourage booster box sales at local game stores, Wizards of the Coast offered Buy-a-Box promos to the first 20 customers who purchased a booster box of a new set. These foil alternate-art cards are visually distinctive: all five mana symbols arranged in a circle appear in the card's text box background.

If you've ever wondered why some stores have those behind-the-counter foils with the unusual textbox treatment, this is where they come from.

Bring-a-Friend promos

Starting in 2020, Wizards introduced a program rewarding players who brought new faces into their local game store. The returning player received a promo; the newcomer got a Welcome Booster. The promos rotated annually:

| Year | Card | |------|------| | 2020 | Reliquary Tower | | 2021 | Mind Stone | | 2022/2023 | Thought Vessel | | 2023 | Cultivate |

The 2020 Reliquary Tower promo had a second life - it was repurposed as a "Love Your LGS" gift when stores reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic closures, given away with any Magic product purchase.

Love Your LGS promos

The Love Your LGS program rewards players for supporting their local stores with purchases or event participation. Notable highlights include:

2021 - A retro frame Fabled Passage for spending $50 USD or more on sealed Magic product. Five additional retro frame promos were available through event entry, each bundled with an MTG Arena code for a Japanese Alt-Art Planeswalker sleeve.
2022 - A retro frame Sol Ring for the same $50 sealed product threshold.
2024 - A textless Sakura-Tribe Elder for purchasing three Modern Horizons 3 Play Boosters or entering a Draft Event.

The retro frame treatments on these cards are particularly striking - they use the pre-Eighth Edition card frame, which many longtime players find deeply nostalgic.

Riceball (Onigiri) promos

For the Japanese release of Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, three alternate-art versions of Orb of Dragonkind were produced as Buy-a-Box promos exclusive to Japan. Illustrated by Kawasumi, they feature adorable "Onigiri"-style characters - rice ball-shaped creatures that quickly became a fan favourite among collectors worldwide. The three versions are catalogued as J1, J2, and J3.

Resale promos

Special blister packs sold at big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, and Meijer contain three random booster packs alongside a foil promo card. These are one of the more accessible ways to pick up a PRM card, since you don't need to visit a game store or participate in an event.

WPN (Wizards Play Network) promos

The WPN is Wizards' official network of local game stores, and it's one of the primary distribution channels for Magic Online Promos.

WPN promo packs

From Core Set 2020 onward, WPN stores receive promo packs to distribute to players. Each pack contains:

A promo-stamped rare or mythic rare from the most recent set
A promo-stamped rare or mythic rare from a curated list
Originally, a promo-stamped alternate-art basic land (later replaced with an MTG Arena code card)
A special season-specific card - often an alternate frame or dark frame treatment

One in every four packs a store receives contains all-foil contents, making those runs noticeably more exciting to open.

Starting with Throne of Eldraine, the basic land slot was replaced by an Arena code card, and the alternate-art slot began featuring one of five "dark frame" cards - a treatment with a darker border aesthetic that distinguishes them at a glance.

WPN Premium promos

From 2021 onwards, stores with WPN Premium status - a higher tier of the retail programme - gained access to exclusive promos used as participation prizes or sales incentives:

Ampersand cards (Adventures in the Forgotten Realms): Every rare and mythic rare in the set received an alternate treatment featuring a glossy, transparent D&D ampersand overlay on the card face. This treatment doesn't exist anywhere else.
Moonlit Lands: Distributed at Innistrad: Double Feature events.
Yellow Neon Ink Hidetsugu, Devouring Chaos: Given out at Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty events. The neon yellow ink treatment is one of the most visually distinctive in the PRM set.
Yellow Neon Ink Cavern of Souls: Distributed at The Lost Caverns of Ixalan events.

Quarterly rotating character promos

As announced at the 2023 GAMA EXPO, WPN Premium stores that submit Point of Sale data each quarter receive 20 exclusive promos. Each quarter features a different character in a game store setting - a charming meta-concept that places iconic Magic characters in the hobby shops where the game is actually played.

| Quarter | Card | |---------|------| | 2023, Q4 | Serra Angel | | 2024, Q1 | Lord of Atlantis | | 2024, Q2 | Zombie Master | | 2024, Q3 | Goblin King | | 2024, Q4 | Gaea's Liege |

Annually rotating Showcase promos

Also starting in 2023, stores that submit their POS data accurately and on time receive a Showcase treatment promo - 7 copies per quarter. This card's design rotates annually. The inaugural year (2023) featured Ice Out and Pyroblast in an anime borderless treatment illustrated by Takuma Ebisu.

Duels of the Planeswalkers video game promos

For several years, purchasing a Duels of the Planeswalkers video game came with a voucher redeemable at a local game store for a physical promo card. The promos varied by platform - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, iPad, and Android all received different cards in different years.

Here's the full breakdown:

DotP 2009

| Platform | Card | |----------|------| | Xbox 360 | Garruk Wildspeaker (foil alternate art) | | PC | Nissa Revane (foil) | | PlayStation 3 | Liliana Vess (foil alternate art) |

DotP 2012

| Platform | Card | |----------|------| | PC | Frost Titan (foil alternate art) | | Xbox 360 | Grave Titan (foil alternate art) | | PlayStation 3 | Inferno Titan (foil alternate art) |

DotP 2013

| Platform | Card | |----------|------| | PC, iPad | Serra Avatar | | PlayStation 3 | Vampire Nocturnus | | Xbox 360 | Primordial Hydra |

DotP 2014

| Platform | Card | |----------|------| | PC, iPad, Android | Scavenging Ooze (foil) | | PlayStation 3 | Ogre Battledriver (foil) | | Xbox 360 | Bonescythe Sliver (foil) |

DotP 2015

| Platform | Card | |----------|------| | Xbox 360, Xbox One | Soul of Ravnica (foil) | | PC, iPad, Android | Soul of Zendikar (foil) |

These are some of the harder-to-find PRM cards today, since acquiring them required both purchasing the video game and then physically redeeming the voucher at a store - a two-step process that not every player completed.

IDW Comics promos

In 2012, IDW Publishing released a Magic: The Gathering comic book series, and the first wave of each issue included a playable alternate-art promo card:

| Issue | Date | Card | |-------|------|------| | #1 | January 2, 2012 | Treasure Hunt | | #2 | February 28, 2012 | Faithless Looting | | #3 | March 28, 2012 | Feast of Blood | | #4 | May 23, 2012 | Electrolyze |

I have a soft spot for these - there's something genuinely fun about a collectible card game tying its promotional cards to a physical comic book run. The alternate art treatments were produced specifically for these issues and don't appear anywhere else in the PRM catalogue.

Why Magic Online Promos matter

The PRM set is a record of how Magic has intersected with the wider world - video games, comic books, retail programs, pandemic recovery efforts, and the brick-and-mortar stores that keep the game alive at the local level.

For collectors, it's a sprawling, endlessly interesting puzzle: some of these cards are easy to find in the aftermarket, while others (especially the platform-specific video game promos or Japan-exclusive Onigiri variants) are genuinely rare. For players, it's simply the source of some of the most beautiful versions of beloved staples.

In my opinion, the Love Your LGS and WPN Premium programs in particular represent Wizards at its best - using premium card treatments to reward the stores and players who keep the community healthy, rather than just reserving them for expensive collector products.