It would be great to have the clues early, I'm assuming they will need to be decyphered again, so it would be fun to work them out now before recieving the puzzle.
I also think that recieving the puzzle and cryptic clues simulaneously could make the puzzle harder to open, it would be almost impossible not to play with the puzzle straight out of the box, but through playing with it, you may unknowingly move it from the initial reset state, so when you later follow the clues in order, the puzzle may not open as you are not starting from the correct configuration. I'm going to find it soooooo hard not to touch the puzzle before decyphering the clues
Karen
Opened: ISIS 1, ISIS 1A, Eagle ISIS, NK, NK Tut, Kuku
Key out: Ramisi5
Unopened: ISIS 1B, ISIS 1C, Ramisis