The World of Warcraft: The War Within 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is now available for prepurchase — at a new, higher price

World of Warcraft‘s next expansion The War Within is beginning its alpha testing phase and to coincide with that Blizzard has made a new Collector’s Edition available for prepurchase for $180. As with previous Collector’s Editions you’ll receive all the digital goodies available in the Epic Edition of the expansion as well as a few related collectible items, but this time with a slight 20th Anniversary of World of Warcraft flavor.

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• The Art of The War Within — Leaf through the visual evolution of The War Within expansion with this beautifully bound lexicon filled with exclusive art.
• Collectible Pin — Featuring Thrall, Anduin, and Alleria primed for battle.
• World of Warcraft 20th Anniversary Gryphon Rider Statue — Perched and ready to defend from above.

The Epic Edition included with purchase has the following digital benefits in addition to The War Within:

• Enhanced level 70 character boost
• 1000 Trader’s Tenders for the Trading Post
• Several collectibles:
  • Algarian Stormrider mount
  • Stormrider’s Attire transmog set
  • Squally, the Storm Hatchling pet
  • Sandbox Storm Gryphon toy
  • Deepdweller’s Earth Hearthstone toy
• 30 days of game time
• Guaranteed Beta Access
• Three Days of Early Access

The one recurring issue with investing in a Collector’s Edition is that you have to wait to receive it in order to apply the code for the digital rewards. To assist players who don’t wish to wait for the benefits of preordering, Blizzard will automatically apply to your Blizzard balance any initial digital preorder costs — it’s important to note that if you pre-purchase a Base or Heroic Edition that you should not upgrade as you will not receive a refund of the upgrade cost — once you enter the digital code included in the Collector’s Edition. This allows you to take advantage of the level 70 boost or the free month subscription now (and of course show off all the cool new toys and transmog) instead of waiting for the Collector’s Edition to arrive at your door.

Of course, all of this is dependent on whether or not you have the money available to double-dip on the costs of a The War Within preorder when picking up the Collector’s Edition. In addition, having the money go to a Blizzard account instead of receiving a true refund is not ideal, so make sure you have plans to subscribe or otherwise use the funds so they don’t go to waste.

The War Within is planned to release later this year.