The First Leg (Right)

Preparation for the pre-release involves a few tasks, the first couple of which I've outlined below:

Learn the Rules:
If you're going to play a game at a competitive level you need to do this. I don't mean the basics, I mean all the corner cases. You should never leave rules adjudication to a judge, the judge is just the guy your opponent will listen to. Usually the judge will back you up, although sometimes you'll have to point him to section Q.N(x) in the comprehensive rules because he doesn't know the rules as well as you do. The best way to keep on top of the rules (apart from reading them) is to maintain a presence in the official rules forum and judges forum(s). Answering questions is a good way to practice explaining to practice partners and judges what the rules of the game are.
Rules for the game have been trickling from the official website for the last 7 or 8 weeks. It appears to have culminated in the release of the rulebook that will accompany the starter set. The basic rulebook is a pretty scant affair, it'll serve as the primary reference until the comprehensive rules are released. When the game develops more momentum I'll be able to do more than trawl the general discussion forums for rules queries.

Learn the Pieces:
The pre-release will be a sealed pack format. You'll be given some boxes to open and will play using the pieces (figures and cards) you receive. Ideally, you won't have to read a single card, because you've been playing with the pieces online and reading about them in the forums for the past several weeks. Reading and evaluating the pieces at the pre-release is wasting time that should be spent trying to maximise what you've been given. Although I like the excitement of experiencing everything at pre-releases for the first time, I like doing well more.
WoWminis tosses an unusual ball when it comes to learning the pieces. Although each class (paladin, mage, etc) of figure can use any two of that class's action bar cards, figures are packaged such that they always come with the same two cards. That means if your opponent is playing a Bog Elemental figure, you know that they also received the Entangling Roots and Lifebloom action bar cards*. As each player's cards start unrevealed to their opponent, knowing what cards come with what figures tells you what abilities you have to play around. So far, only the 4 starter figures and their 8 action bar cards have been spoiled. This leaves a further 66 figures and their associated cards to learn. I suspect a significant number of these will be revealed in reports of the convention events. For now, there isn't a whole lot I can do.

*I'm making these up, for the sake of an example.

Next: The other First Leg