I am a father, teacher, cuber and EDH fanatic. My joy is in Casual and Limited formats, though I dip a toe into Constructed when I find something fun to play. I play less than I want to and more than my schedule should really allow. I can easily be reached on Twitter @WordOfCommander.
Try out my Busted Uncommons cube at http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/76330
This week, we were given a leak of the five face commanders for the Secrets of Strixhaven decks, and it’s the five characters we know, in the color pairs that are both doing it different yet can still feel the same. We don’t know the stated theme of the decks, and we don’t know what’s in the decks, but the reveal has already caused some spikes and now I want to look at some potential includes.
Generally speaking, I’d want to wait for the decks to come out before buying, but you may proceed with caution. Reprints aren’t impossible, and even if you have a fancy version, the players might not come out to get your shiny copy. (case in point: foil Flourishing Defenses)
Let’s talk about some Commanders!
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Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.
Yup, this feels about right. Fallout Secret Lair v2 was on January 26. Then there was a surprise drop on February 2, the Prints Charming drop with the variety of pricing models. And for the third Monday in a row, there will be a new Secret Lair drop coming. This is a superdrop, with seven different drops making it up and sadly there’s a basic lands drop, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
We’ve got seven sets of cards to review, and let’s discuss their popularity, price, and what we can compare them to.
For each Lair, I’ll list the cards, the EDHREC numbers, and the prices of special versions. EDHREC isn’t perfect data, as there’s a big weight towards cards in precons, but it’s the main source we have to work with.
We also need to stipulate that the nonfoils are $30 and the foils are $40, plus tax depending on your area, and free shipping at $99+. There is a bundle discount I’ll talk about at the end.
Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Strahd’s Descent
Strefan, Maurer Progenitor (6200 EDHREC decks as commander, 9k more as card, EA $3)
Bloodletter of Aclazotz (138k decks, Borderless foil $35)
End the Festivities (64k decks, Double Feature foil $7)
This is one of Wizards’ favorite Secret Lair setups: One very good card and three pretty mid cards. In this case, it’s the Bloodletter and that’s a card that was more expensive but trended downwards over time. This was a very popular card when Demons were the thing to do in Standard, and I imagine that’s the main reason prices have slipped over time. If this Lair doesn’t sell out fast, there will be a chance at very good deals for Bloodletter when Dump Week hits, but I think this is a pretty safe pickup. The other three cards might spike eventually but they are just fun accessories.
Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Whispers in Candlekeep
Counterspell (1.6 million decks, too many specials to list)
Dragonborn Champion (36k decks, EA $10)
Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient (2k as Commander, 55k as card, EA $30)
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm (25k as Commander, #18 over last 2 years, plus 65k as card, Showcase foil $7)
Now this is a Secret Lair. Mirrym is one of blessed few Dragons who can make a case for being the Commander over The Ur-Dragon (though according to EDHREC, it’s not really close, around 2x as many decks as Miirym) and Klauth is one of the biggest swings you can do. There are many games where I’ve laid Klauth down, attacked for 10+ damage, and played out some big Dragons. The Champion is pretty impressive, but really defines ‘win more’, since if you’re smashing for 5, do you really need more cards? And then randomly we have a Counterspell, which is in all the decks with all the versions. Great Lair, I’ll be maxing this out.
Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Shadows Over Baldur’s Gate
Grim Hireling (137k decks, EA $20)
Wild-Magic Sorcerer (81k decks, EA $13)
Xorn (135k decks, Ampersand foil $30, SLD $14)
Prosper, Tome-Bound (12k as Commander, 41k as card, EA $18)
Another favorite theme for SLs is ‘popular Commander plus some strong helpers’ and this is perfectly Prosper. The Tiefling has been one of the biggest movers of prices when he first came out, and this is three decent cards to add. Exile is getting to be more and more popular as a resource zone, and the two Treasure-themed cards are always solid picks.
This is the first foil printing for the Hireling and the Sorcerer, so that makes the shiny Lairs that much more desirable. Excellent value all around, and I want as many of these as I can get.
Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Black Lights & Dark Dungeons
Seasoned Dungeoneer (29k decks, EA $8)
Displacer Kitten (199k decks, FEA $33)
Tortured Existence (79k decks, Stronghold $4)
Sefris of the Hidden Ways (10k as Commander, EA $5)
See above, as this is all about the Kitten, one of the most absurd value engines ever printed. The combos for the kitty are all over the place, the sort of thing you can stumble into accidentally, especially when stuff like Mox Opal/Amber is involved. Much like the Bloodlord above, I’m interested in the single card and the rest are hopefully going to have their time in the sun. Taking the Initiative is popular sometimes in Legacy, but it is not really a Commander thing that gets done. I will buy some of these, but I’ll really be looking for the Kittens on Dump Week.
Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Gale’s Ambition
Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy (5k as Commander, 41k as card, foils are bulk)
Personal Tutor (60k decks, Etched foil $14, Borderless foil $4)
I must admit, this feels like a trap. None of these have a combination or popularity and scarce premium version. Brainstorm and Arcane Denial have more than one special version already, so it’s unlikely that price will go wild. The other three cards just don’t have a case for their usefulness. This doesn’t feel like Astarion or Karlach, both in value or in how horny the art is.
I’m planning on a bundle or two, but that’s as far as I’m going to go here.
Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Shadowheart’s Devotion
Shadowheart, Dark Justicar (3k as Commander, 21k as card, foils are bulk)
Beseech the Queen (36k decks, FTV foil $4)
Black Market (166k decks, SLD foil $16)
Victimize (491k decks, SPG foil $45)
Ancient Bronze Dragon (49k decks, Borderless foil $35)
Victimize is the big value card here, I was surprised that this Dragon was so cheap, both in its regular form and its Borderless foil. Then again, I have an Ur-Dragon deck and this particular scaly overlord doesn’t make the cut. Beseech is an interesting card if you believe that eventually hybrid mana changes its Commander rules, and that would make this tutor something that could go in every deck. Would 6 generic mana to tutor be worth it? I imagine most decks would decline that option.
Still, the sweet versions of Victimize and the Dragon should carry this drop, but I’m not planning to buy more than the bundle copies I get.
Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons®: Lands of the Forgotten Realms
I gotta admit, these lands are as good as it gets. I love the clear frame, the name on the bottom, the gold embossing. The art is phenomenal, I don’t know if it’s from a game or what, but this is the first time in a while that we’ve gotten fantasy theme full art lands. These aren’t Spongebob, or medieval cities, or raised foils with Venom, but just big-time fantasy art done in the perfect style. I’m happy with my bundle copies, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m supposed to be stocking up on these. If it’s $40 for 10 foils, then anytime the lands are over $4 you’re ahead, depending on taxes, fees, and shipping.
There’s no new promo, but apparently the Silver Shroud Costume is still in stock. So every $149 you spend gets you another copy of that. Currently there’s only a handful of presale copies at $30 on TCGPlayer, so those prices ought to fall.
The Bundle pricing has been revealed, and it’s stingy as can be. All the foils as a bundle gets you $10 off, and the same for all the non-foils. If you get one of everything, it adds up to $25 off. That’s almost the value of a nonfoil set, and while it’s not nothing, it’s also not very much.
I’m not deep on the lore around Gale or Shadowheart, but I’m assured by multiple people I trust that these are big-deal characters, on a level with Astarion and Karlach. Those Lairs really make me hesitate on passing over the Gale and Shadowheart Lairs, which is why I’m fine with some bundles and then just a couple extras. If the FOMO feels real, it might be super real and will itself into an early sellout.
I plan to get a couple max bundles and then add on some more of the foils of the first four on this list. If I had to focus on just one or two, it would be the Dragons and then the Shadows over Baldur’s Gate. The Lairs with a single focus card are worth it at retail, but there should be some decent deals available at Dump Week.
Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.
We got a lot of previews for Marvel Super Heroes this week, and of note is that we’re getting four Commander decks, each one coming in regular and Collector flavors.
The decks have themes as printed on the box, and while we don’t know any of the contained cards, we made good money off of Elementals and -1/-1 counters as themes, so let’s see what we can figure out ahead of time. That way when the decklists are revealed, we are ready to dive in.
Fantastic Four: Noncreature Spells and Protection Fields
This is going to be hard to figure out in terms of specs, because there’s so many good noncreature spells to cast. The four of them are good, and any can be the focus. I think Mister Fantastic is the strongest, because we love drawing cards and there are a LOT of triggered abilities worth copying twice. He can even target his own ability, if you’d like to draw three cards.
I’m interested in the Human Torch, too, but you’ve got to cast a noncreature spell and then cast him, which is a lot of your mana used up and blessed little for protection.
It might be that the best route is mana rocks, but we’ll see what this set of commanders leads to.
Wakanda Forever: Power Up With Artifacts, Reign as the Monarch
T’Challa is clearly telling you to play artifacts and keep playing them, and let’s go over a few things that look possible:
Peregrin Took wants to add some food to your Vibranium. Queen Allenal of Ruadach means that your Vibranium can get you token Soldiers too. Stridehangar Automaton on the field delivers bonus Thopters if that’s more your speed.
The packaging also mentions being the monarch, which is a space that’s been lightly explored, so if it’s only half the theme, we’ll see what kinds of reprints we’ll get for white and green cards. Courts of Garenbring and Ardenvale seem likely to get reprinted, but there’s pretty limited space so they won’t all get a new hit.
I admit that when I saw the packaging (and before we knew that there would be Collector decks) I ran out and bought stacks of FEA Archon of Coronation and the Scrolls foil Champions of Minas Tirith. Looking back, I wish I’d waited just a little bit longer, because if they are reprinted, these purchases won’t go up much. I feel more confident about the Champions, because LOTR reprints are few and far between, but these might languish forever, depending on the quality of the Monarch-themed commander that comes in the deck.
Avengers Assemble: Grow your ranks, Equipment and Counters
First of all, you’ve got to look at the heroes in these three colors. Hero is a creature type that hasn’t been used, not since Benalish Hero was errata’d into being a Human Soldier instead of its printed type of Hero. The only other Hero that predates the Spider-Man set is the Unhinged Legend himself, Fraction Jackson. I’m all for memes, and cheap memes at that, but I have trouble imagining that it would be worth the effort of buying these up.
Changelings would be fun here, and everything that adds bonus counters is on the table. I expect that this is a glorious place to reprint basic copies of Panharmonicon or Roaming Throne for extra triggers, and I’ve lost count of the sweet Equipment bonuses present in RW. My favorites for the Equipment-heavy decks would easily be the ‘affinity for Equipment’ cards Goldwardens’ Gambit and Nahiri, Forged in Fire, but we’ll have to see what Equipment enablers are about to get released.
Doom Prevails: Connive for power, drain life
I want to thank the ProTrader Discord for confirming some of my ideas and giving me others. If you’re not a ProTrader, you’re missing out on some glorious card combos.
Doctor Doom rewards you for discarding lands, either for conniving or for any reason, so my favorite pick here is easily Tectonic Reformation. If you can start chaining the lands into more lands, this combo is immediately reduced to ‘R: Each opponent loses 2 life’ and that is some big game.Trade Routes can do something similar. Decaying Time Loop is also glorious, because you can get a trigger from the retrace and a trigger from the lands you chuck. Land’s Edge is pretty hilarious, giving everyone the ability to Shock players, but only yours comes with bonus life loss for them. Molten Vortex and Seismic Assault do the same thing. Battle of Kaldheim too, but that needs you to attack the Battle for four damage, and I’m not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze there.
Glint-Horn Buccaneer should see a bump, as we love playing effects that are redundant with Commanders. This also includes Hazoret the Fervent
I have to point out that this is a deck where Mind Over Matter plus some form of “tap: draw a card” means you’ll win, and if you want a backup, Trickster Mage does nearly the same thing.Trade Routes can do something similar. I also like Surly Badgersaur as an engine piece, giving you a Treasure every time you chuck a land. Waste Not and Bone Miser are likely includes in the deck, but if they somehow leave those out, buy them immediately.
All of the Grixis lands with cycling are likely good here too, but there are some awesome cards that ask you to discard cards as part of the cost. Favorites include Dreamscape Artist, Diplomatic Escort, Jaya Ballard, Psychic Frog, Skirge Familiar to add mana, Stronghold Biologist and Machinist to counter creature/noncreature spells, but my two all-stars would be Chamber of Manipulation and Overtaker, turning your land cards into creature-stealing effects for fun and profit.
Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.
It’s been forever since the last time we got a Secret Lair! We were supposed to get Monster Hunter on December 1st, but Wizards pulled that after the litany of errors and the cacophony of unhappy hunters. That means it’s been more than two months! We’re definitely never getting a gap like that again in 2026. Heck, we’re getting a real set every two months!
This is the second Fallout Secret Lair drop and it’s timed to come out a little after Fallout’s second season has aired, so we’re getting some new cards, some awesome reprints, and a little something for everyone.
For each card, I’ll give you the number of special printings, and the current retail for each. In addition, I’ll give you the EDHREC number, because that’s a great indication of the popularity of the card, even if EDHREC is skewed towards precons and the most invested players, it’s still data worth knowing. Also, all the Lairs are $30 for the nonfoils and $40 for the foils, unless otherwise noted.
Lucy, The Ghoul, and Maximus are new to Magic and have no stats to speak of.
Pre-War Formalwear (FEA $8, 18k decks)
Spirit Mantle (M12 foil $15, 68k decks)
T-45 Power Armor (FEA $2, 13k decks)
First off, this Lair is $40 for nonfoils and $50 for the foils. That’s important context when the cards themselves are kind of mid. Mantle is a popular choice in decks where a Commander needs to get through and deal damage to a player, but it’s not expensive. The three new cards are interesting, and I think The Ghoul is the most powerful, by far, but I also think there are going to be some crazy Energy combos with Maximus and Lucy is just a value engine, since tokens are made all the damn time in Commander.
Considering that this is the headliner, I’m expecting supply to be high on this one but as we’ll get to, I think FOMO will make this sell out eventually and it’ll turn a profit. I don’t think the cards are good enough on their own, just so I’m clear, but I’m preparing for the psychological aspect and the bot networks to make it sell out.
Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful (EA $12, Magicfest $30, SLD 2021 $80, 15k as partner and 30k as card)
Arcane Signet (tons, all the decks)
Sol Ring (tons, all the decks)
Lightning Greaves (50 printings, most borderless are $5-$10, 2 million decks)
Patchwork Banner (pack foil $8, 307k decks)
No, seriously, Signet has 80 printings and Sol Ring has 122.
Yoshi is popular in Jodah as a legend that’s only one mana, Signet and Sol Ring can’t really go wrong, Greaves is everywhere, and this is the first special printing for the Banner. Most importantly, though, this is a Lair focusing on adorable dogs, and we’ve proven, over and over again, that it’s a recipe for success.
I’m going to buy every copy I can of this, and I encourage you to do the same. I fully expect this to be the first Lair to sell out, just because plenty of folks will buy the bundle and then add a couple of these to the cart. This is pure profit, easy money, Eddie/Kieran Yanner level of demand, thanks to the combo of staples and good boys.
Ripples of Potential (EA $7, 105k decks)
Mutational Advantage (FEA $10, 60k decks)
The Wise Mothman (Surge Showcase $200, Foil Showcase $20, 28k decks as commander, #11 in last two years)
Wizards likes to do this sort of thing, where there’s one commander, and several of the accessories. This time, they picked one of the most popular commanders of the last couple years, and added several favorite cards. Does it matter that Mindcrank just got a badass version in Iron Maiden? Not at all! This is a fantastic Lair and I plan to max out here as well. Rad counters are just too good a theme and too fun an experience for me to pass up these cards.
Tinybones, Trinket Thief (SLD foil $35, 4k as commander, 19k as card)
Isshin, Two Heavens as One (FCA foil $55, 25k decks as commander, 69k as card)
The Deck of Many Things (Ampersand foil $25, 28k decks)
Caged Sun (Surge foil $8, Retro foil $5, 137k decks)
The big draws here are Tinybones and the Nuka-Cola Machine. The Machine is a terrifying card in any Food-based deck, and thank goodness the Treasure comes in tapped. We’re a few months away from The Hobbit, and where there’s Hobbits, there’s Food synergies. I fully expect this to get to a floor in Dump Week and take off from there. Isshin just got a sweet Lightning version in the Final Fantasy bonus sheet, so that should recover nicely unless they go for a third printing in the next few months.
I’m in for this Lair, but mainly for the big two.
We don’t know what the bundle prices will be (my expectations are that it’ll be a very meager savings) but I don’t mind spending the money, because we’ll get a Silver Shroud Costume promo for every $149 we spend. This is $45 for the surge foil, but a regular frame, and even $12 for the regular nonfoil, and it’s in 67k decks. You’ll get at least $20 for selling that, and every bit helps bring down the price.
My personal plan is to max out on bundles, and add extras of everything but Vault 33. I don’t know what the max amounts will be, but I’m expecting it’ll be limited to two of each item/bundle again. I’m going after foils and nonfoils equally here.
Finally, please notice that Wizards is telling you to get in the queue and be ready Monday morning. You can load a cart starting an hour early, and when 9 am (12 noon EST) hits, you’ll be randomized for your place in line. So get logged in, get your carts ready, and keep your fingers crossed!
Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at an event and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.
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