We just got a Superdrop this week and we’re a week and a half away from the next one, seven Secret Lairs focused on Sony Playstation universes. I like adding in new IP, even if I haven’t played these games, and Secret Lair is the perfect place to do this. 

So today, I’ll go over the drops, including the unique cards, and evaluate what I want to buy and what I want to be patient on. 

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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.

I’m trying to get people used to the idea of ‘Dump Week’ as the first week that a Secret Lair Drop becomes available widely on TCGPlayer. I wasn’t prepared for this phenomenon when it first happened, but I cannot deny that it is real and it is powerful. 

In case you doubt me, let’s go over some recent Lairs and see how real this is. 

A gentle reminder that Dump Week is not set in stone. It’s whenever the majority of Lairs arrive in individuals’ hands, and these are people who don’t want to hold the Lair for later reselling. They want to get as much as they can for it, but right now and are willing to undercut everyone to make what money they can. I can’t speak to why they are in such a hurry to be the first one to sell, but they are, and this is the result. 

Most of the time, I’m expecting a card to presell at a very high price, as the first copies sold tend to be very overpriced, and then there’s an immediate drop in price, followed by a bounce upwards as people think a card’s gotten too cheap, and then usually a slow downward trend in price as the floor is sought again. 

I’m going to go backwards in time, from right now, and count off some of the pricier cards from each drop to see how cheap they were at some point in their history.

Festival in a Box: Atlanta 2025

Sliver Legion: Every other nonfoil is $55+, and foils start around $65. Except for the Extra Life one, which art is all white paper and a bit of crayon. I appreciate the spirit in which these are sold, but they can do better for a charity. The FIAB version, which you could only get by buying the whole bundle, went down to $26 and is now $29. It’ll creep upwards slowly from here on out, but three bucks is three bucks.

The Ur-Dragon: I picked this on the most recent MTG Fast Finance, and honestly, I’m about two weeks late to the party. The best commander of all time (long may he reign) who cheats at Magic by making the most powerful creature type a whole mana cheaper no matter what, the only special versions were from Commander Masters and really don’t highlight his glory. The first sold copies here went for $18, and now you need to spend just under $30. It’s worth it, too, to pick up some copies for later reselling. 

Featuring: Deathburger

Foundry Inspector (Galaxy Foil) – Really, I need to let the graph do the talking here.

Made it all the way down to $7, and rebounded back up. You didn’t have long at $7, as Dump Week is a fleeting thing, but it was there if you were ready. 

Goblin Engineer (Galaxy Foil) – Same thing, went down to a low of $9, now back up to $15. 

Alien Auroras

Crucible of Worlds (Galaxy Foil) – An interesting case here, as Dump Week happened, prices fell then rebounded, but then people really needed to sell their galaxy foils and so the card has re-fallen to an even lower price. 

I cannot predict why this happened here, but even the cheapest early print nonfoils are $32, so having these available right now at $28, with 171,000 registered decks on EDHREC, is pretty wild. 

Sylvan Safekeeper has a similar trend, though not as pronounced on the re-gain and just plateaued a little before dropping again.

Here’s Zuran Orb, which seems more on pattern:

My guess here is that for the more expensive Lairs, being galaxy foil, there were a lot of people holding and they tried to cash in but just undercut each other to pieces. If you know a clearer explanation, please stop by the Discord and fill me in!

Sonic the Hedgehog X Magic: the Gathering (I’m combining all the lairs here)

Hammer of Nazahn (Piko Piko Hammer) (Rainbow Foil) – In line with expectations: Started at $8, dropped to $5, bounced to $10, drifted back down to $8. 

The Reaver Cleaver (Knuckles’s Gloves) (Rainbow Foil) – Similar story: dropped like a rock to $6.50 to begin with and has slowly crept up since.

Sol Ring (Rainbow Foil) – This was a little different, as it didn’t hit the low in the first week. Instead, it took about 3-4 weeks to reach bottom, at which point it hopped back up to $25, been on a very slow decline since.

The rest of the drop has followed the expected pattern: Early drop the first week, small bounce, then trend down.

So with this pattern in mind, here’s my main targets for the drop landing Monday, the Secret Scare Superdrop:

Animate Dead – Coming from Iron Maiden: Album Art, I’m ambivalent on this Lair but this card should be a sweet pickup in the $10-$15 range.

Furby Sol Ring (Confetti Foil) – The Confetti drops are $60, and are another attempt to goose the profit margins for Magic cards. If confettis sell out fast, I’d target these at $25 for a resale in the $40-$50 range, but if the confettis are slow to sell out, we might get a chance at these for even cheaper. 

Tamiyo’s Safekeeping (Confetti Foil) – I mentioned this last week, but as a $3 uncommon, I’m hoping to get these close to $3 but I still think $5 would be a good entry price. 

Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose – I fully expect to see these foils in the $5 range, and that’s an easy pickup.

Guardian Project – If we’re lucky, we’ll get this below $20 but I suspect we’ll have to settle for $25. 

Dwight-O-Lantern (Reaper King) – The five-color Commander deck in Lorwyn 2 is Elementals, so our only other potential pothole is a bonus sheet in the set where the King is reprinted. Otherwise, I’ll enjoy buying this for $2-$4.

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’ve got a big drop happening a week from Monday, on the 13th, and there’s a lot to unpack. Ten drops, a range of prices, and an interesting choice of promos to reward us for every $200 spent. 

This is on top of the seven-drop bonanza coming to us two weeks later, and if you are trying to decide which drops here and new to get, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. So let’s review the cards, the usage patterns, and decide what to buy.

For each card, I’ve listed the EDHREC inclusion rate (a reminder, EDHREC is not perfect data, but it’s all we’ve got) and the relevant special versions of the cards. I’m focusing on borderless things, because new art in the same frame doesn’t always move the needle, but a lot of these are getting their second Secret Lair treatment. 

Unless otherwise noted, these drops are all $30 for the nonfoil and $40 for the rainbow foil. 

Artist Series: Kieran Yanner 

Armageddon: (29k decks, Invocation $70)

Northern Paladin (837 decks!, no special version)

Lord of the Pit (5100 decks, no special version)

Demonic Tutor (708k decks, Game Changer, CMM borderless foil $120, STX JPN Alt Foil $300, Box Topper $90)

Frankly, this is one of the best values I’ve ever seen in a Secret Lair. The cheapest nonfoils are $45+, and you can get one here for $30. The art is stunning, worthy of being hung on the wall, and let me send a big thank you to everyone at WotC who decided to give artists a borderless frame and more to work with in the Artist Series lairs. The other three cards are gorgeous, but clearly the focus here is the Tutor. Buying this is a given and should be plenty profitable. I am also quite likely to get in on a few extra copies in Dump Week.

Secret Lair x Jaws: Terror of Amity Island

Jaws, Relentless Predator (n/a)

Descent into Avernus (115k, FEA $10) 

Reckless Endeavor (32k decks, no special version)

Sneak Attack (78k decks, 2XM Borderless foil $11, WOE Confetti foil $60)

Abrade (394k decks, INR Borderless Foil $2, FDN Borderless Foil $1.50, SLD Borderless foil $19)

Blood Token

This drop has the bonus pricing of $40 nonfoil/$50 rainbow foil, and that makes it a big iffy for me. I like the cards, I think Jaws is a neat commander to build around, especially because any player can trigger the ability, but none of these stand out as mega-value cards. I’d rather pick up the singles when people are dumping these early on. 

Secret Lair x The Office: Dwight’s Destiny 

Heliod, Sun-Crowned (102k decks plus 4200 as Commander, Constellation Foil $24, SLD Borderless Foil $21)

Steelshaper’s Gift (92k decks, CMM Borderless foil $10, SLD foil $12)

Swords to Plowshares (2 million decks, a million special arts)

Baral, Chief of Compliance (86k decks, plus 4100 as Commander, serialized $300, SLD foil $6, SLD foil $14)

Garruk Relentless (4500 decks, no special arts)

Reaper King (4000 decks plus 6500 as Commander, no special arts)

The cards here add up decently, but this is an odd choice, given that The Office ended twelve years ago and its peak was several years earlier. Should be an okay drop, but I don’t think the meme-ness of this will increase value like Princess Bride or Monty Python have done. Worth noting that if they preview some more Scarecrows in Lorwyn Eclipsed, I’ll likely buy a lot of very cheap Reaper Kings.

Dreaming Darkly 

Glen Elendra Archmage (75k decks, SLD foil $65)

Guardian Project (263k decks, RVR Borderless foil $54)

Roon of the Hidden Realm (2400 as card, plus 3100 as Commander, no special arts)

Soulherder (70k decks, no special arts)

Real hard to argue with a premium version of Guardian Project, plus the Archmage and the Herder. Roon is pretty weak as blinkers go, needing an extra turn, more mana, etc, but the Project is carrying the load here and should appreciate nicely. 

Secret Lair x Iron Maiden: Album Art 

Lethal Scheme (65k decks, PIP FEA $4)

Grave Titan (81k decks, PIP foil $11, SLD foil $15)

Animate Dead (322k, no special frames)

Temporal Trespass (39k decks, ACR FEA $4)

Unearth (112k, 2X2 Borderless Foil $1.50)

Lignify (54k, no special arts)

Once again, I must climb upon my soapbox and cry out for all the Zombie enthusiasts: Why isn’t Grave Titan a Zombie Giant?? There’s a decent amount of value here, and I appreciate that this is at the $30/$40 price point. This looks to be a slow gainer, although the Animate Dead is badass and popular. 

Secret Lair x Iron Maiden: Eddie Unchained 

Bruvac the Grandiloquent (45k decks, plus 6300 as Commander, RVR Borderless foil $47)

Windfall (421k decks, SLD foil $13)

Captain N’gathrod (12k decks, plus 14k as Commander, CLB FEA $70)

Nekusar, the Mindrazer (7600 decks, plus 14k as Commander, SLD $50)

Iron Maiden (9000 decks, no special version) – $9

Mindcrank (110k decks, no special version) – $11

I had no idea that the Captain was so popular, but this is a cool theme to build around. We’re getting sweet versions of cards that are already expensive, and that makes this a very good lair to buy. Mindcrank might end up as the best value here, and it’s also possible that the Iron Maiden’s special art carries it a lot further than we might expect. 

Trick or Treat 

Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose (185k decks, FEA $22)

Satoru Umezawa (20k as card, plus 12k as Commander, Borderless foil $3)

Voja, Jaws of the Conclave (3,000 decks, plus 18,000 as Commander, no special version)

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver (30k decks, plus 20k as Commander, SLD Retro $95)

Liberator, Urza’s Battlethopter (89k, plus 2k as Commander, FEA $5)

Wilhelt and Vito are known and very good, plus we get a premium Voja, who wasn’t in the main set. Satoru already has a pretty amazing borderless to use, and Liberator is useful, but those first three legends should start at good prices and start trending upwards.

Secret Lair x Furby: Doo-ay Noo-lah

Distant Melody (153k, SLD $10)

Explore (300k, LTC foil $3)

Inspiring Call (263k decks, surge foil PIP $18)

Chromatic Lantern (611k, FIC foil $25, RVR Borderless $19)

Sol Ring (all of them, too many)

Secret Lair x Furby: The Gathering 

Sphere of Safety (143k, SLD foil $18)

Miscast (55k decks, no special versions)

Phyrexian Arena (553k decks, FDN Mana Foil $38, ONE FEA $3)

Tormenting Voice (75k decks, no special arts)

Tamiyo’s Safekeeping (193k, no special arts) 

Secret Lair x Furby: The OddBodies 

Hullbreaker Horror (263k, PIP Surge $44, DBL foil $60, INR Borderless $9)

Maddening Cacophony (70k decks, FEA $8)

Serum Visions (131k, SLD foils $2.50 each)

Umbris, Fear Manifest (5k as card, 7k as Commander, no special art)

Spellskite (115k, no special frame)

For these three lairs, we’re looking at $30/$40 like usual but there’s also some $60 confetti foils, which are probably the same treatment that the Enchanted Tales subset had back in Wilds of Eldraine. It’s a fun treatment, especially on cards like these, but there are still lots of confetti foils that are inexpensive. That subset also had anime art, which Magic players tend to love. I’m not sold on confetti alone being a reason to buy in.

The Sol Ring is the first one that jumps out at me, as there’s no shortage of this card at $30+, which is where I’d expect the super-cute, confetti-foiled version to land. We don’t tend to see the Rings grow in price over time, but the big unknown is the supply level. How many confetti foil versions did they make for this, is it half the number of rainbow foils? Or are they near to the same number, as what seemed to happen with the raised foils they sold for $99 not too long ago?

The rest of these cards, the art/cuteness/anti-cuteness is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting if the price is to grow. The demand level isn’t there to make these skyrocket. One card that I’ll be eager to get cheap copies of is the Safekeeping, a card which is $3 as a nonfoil uncommon but one of the most popular ways to keep your stuff safe. That 193,000 number isn’t even inflated by being in a precon or some such; it’s just pure efficiency. 

Finally, there’s a Cryptic Command as a promo, you get one for every $200 you spend. I don’t have high expectations for this card, considering what the other promos have done and the competition from other special versions, including a gorgeous textless MPR from way back in the day. 

Given that Secret Lairs are now highly targeted by the bot networks and others trying to make the same sort of returns which Final Fantasy gave us, I expect this lair to sell out quickly, as the Spider-Man drops did. I’m not convinced of the long-term value, though, given that these are mostly mediocre cards. The Sonic Lairs are excellent examples, as aside from the drop with the Sol Ring, none of those have shot up in value. There’s a lot of buyers who are able to get at MSRP and want to resell immediately, as they can’t afford to hold products in stock. That’s how you get Lairs reselling at $35+$15 shipping, a model which gives very low profit but the turnover is constant. 

For this drop, I’m targeting two sealed drops: the Artist Series: Kieran Yanner and Iron Maiden: Eddie Unchained. Those are clearly the best value on the board, and given the velocity of releases, if you wanted to skip this drop and wait for Dump Week, it’s a defensible position. There’s only a couple of drops here screaming with value, and the rest is dependent on nostalgia, art, and those who need to collect everything. 

I can’t overlook the world in which confetti sells out fast, then FOMO kicks in, and everything else sells out relatively quickly too. The prices on the cards will then zoom way out of the realm of how good the cards are, which may end up happening for the Spider-Man drop. Those prices are high, but within expectations for the time right before Dump Week.

For this superdrop, I’m planning on looking for these cards to hit lows, in foil and nonfoil: Guardian Project, Tamiyo’s Safekeeping, Wilhelt, and of course the Tutor and most of Eddie Unchained. Not sure how low they’ll go, but those are the ones I’ll want.

If you want to discuss the things I’m buying and not buying, please feel free to stop by the ProTrader Discord and let’s discuss!

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.

There’s a Secret Lair drop arriving on the 22nd of September, and it features our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

As a Marvel character, and one of the biggest, there’s a range of stuff happening with this drop. Let’s go over the cards, the usage, and where the value is currency sitting for this drop.

For each card, I’m listing the EDHREC usage and the value of any premium versions of the card. That’s the most useful comparison, even if the old premium isn’t exactly as cool. Just a reminder about EDHREC: Their data is super helpful but it is by no means the one and only truth. Tons and tons of casual players don’t use the site, and there’s a bias towards preconstructed decks as people do variations on ‘precon with upgrades’ so some of the staples have staggering inclusion rates. 

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man: Daily Bugle Breaking News

1x Fact or Fiction ($5 SLD foil, 171k decks)

1x Frantic Search ($21 SLD foil, $1 CMM Borderless Foil, 453k decks)

1x Scheming Symmetry ($16 SLD foil, 61k decks)

1x Blasphemous Act ($31 SLD foil, $5 SLD foil, 1.12 million decks) – 37 printings!

1x Impact Tremors ($16 SLD, $2 WOT foil, 339k decks)

First of all, I both love and loathe this frame. I love big bold card names, and this is so thematic it hurts, but it also looks like it’s got the same issue as the Creepshow SLD: If you make a frame with wrinkles and frayed edges (comic book, newspaper, etc.) then the cards always look like they are LP or worse. Aside from that, this is everything you want in a Lair: high inclusion rates, this looks different than the other premium versions, and the floor of $5 for some of these cards makes the others look pretty good.  

One thing you’re going to notice as a theme: All of these have more than one SLD printing already, and this is the third time around for Blasphemous Act. I picked the Deadpool version on MTG Fast Finance not too long ago, so my stack of those will take a bit longer to mature. That’s the usual pattern for repeat SLDs, and something to keep in mind with all of the new SLD versions. Older ones won’t lose value, but there will be slower growth in the future.

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man: Heroic Deeds

1x Ephemerate ($30 JPN STA foil, 181k decks)

1x Three Visits ($42 SLD foil, 770k decks)

1x Lightning Greaves (INV foil $215, SLD foil $37, 2XM foil $19, SLD foil $16, LCC foil $22, SLD foil $6, 1.7 million decks)

1x Sol Ring (too damn many, all of them)

1x Command Tower (too damn many, all of them)

The Ephemerate and the Three Visits are doing a lot of work here. Three Visits especially is an outlier, as it’s the iconic, often-imitated Knights Who Say “Ni!” from the Monty Python SLD. If it wasn’t a collectible from that particular IP, I think it’d be cheaper, but that is the only special version until now.

Greaves, Sol Ring, and Tower have lots and lots of versions. Sol Ring has 111 printings, according to Scryfall, with 30 of those being $10 or more. Command Tower has 97 separate printings listed, but only 15 are $10+. Still, the Ephemerate and Three Visits are going to do the best here, and I’ll definitely be targeting those cards at Dump Week. 

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man: Mana Symbiote

2x Plains, 2x Island, 2x Swamp, 2x Mountain, 2x Forest

These lands are reminiscent of the oil-slick lands from All Will Be One, and those range from $5 to $12 for the Swamp. Here, you’re paying $60 and getting ten lands, for a solid entry of $6 each. Supply on this will be constrained, and I expect the red and black ones to be the most popular. These look amazing, and I am hoping to pick up a nice stack during Dump Week but gives the higher price of this drop it’s possible that no one ever prices these cheaply. 

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man: Venom Unleashed (Colors)

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man: Venom Unleashed (Inks)

1x Damnation (MP2 foil $120, Textless foil $40, SPG foil $40, 240k decks)

1x Dark Ritual (SLD foil $140, MP2 foil $110, STA JPN foil $50, FCA foil $45, 808k decks)

1x Peer into the Abyss (FEA $16, 90k decks)

1x Surgical Extraction (2X2 borderless foil $8, OTP foil $2, 3700 decks)

1x Tendrils of Agony (STA JPN foil $4, 18k decks)

The ink version of a comic page is a true tradition in the collecting of comics, and this is an awesome set of art to showcase the difference. If you’re the type who likes to frame and display cards in a set, then putting these cards next to each other will look phenomenal. Damnation clearly is the big one here, but Dark Ritual is another one I’ll be on the lookout for cheap copies. 

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man: Villainous Plots

1x Deadly Dispute (FCA foil $2, SLD foil $4, SLD foil $6, 409k decks)

1x Go for the Throat (PCBB foil $5, 233k decks)

1x Lightning Greaves (INV foil $215, SLD foil $37, 2XM foil $19, SLD foil $16, LCC foil $22, SLD foil $6, 1.7 million decks)

1x Sol Ring (too damn many, all of them)

1x Command Tower (too damn many, all of them)

I’m lower on this drop than I am with the Heroic Deeds version, as Dispute and Throat aren’t very pricey and as I said, these staples will hold a few bucks but are unlikely to become very expensive. Nothing wrong with $5 foils, but I’d be a lot happier if those three $5 foils came with a $15 and a $20 in my $40 set of cards. 

Overall, even with sweet art, this is a drop I’d be likely to avoid on the day of if this were six months ago. There’s nothing mechanically unique, there’s only one card in all of this that hasn’t had a premium printing before. Good, but not great. Thankfully these are all at the $30/$40 price instead of the $40/$50, with the exception of the $60 for 10 lands.

However, we’re in a different era and a very different IP. Spider-Man is one of the most recognized figures on the planet, and the comic collecting crowd is going to be wild for this. The hype is high, and I fully expect the Secret Lair site to be extremely busy, if not outright crashed, as happened with the Marvel release last November.

As such, I think these are all pretty safe buys if you can get in at MSRP. I have a strong preference for the Heroic Deeds set, as I said, but these should all do well. If the site crashes or you can’t stare at the little walking figure all morning, don’t fret. I suspect a lot of these will have very good prices when Dump Week arrives and people flood the market as is the usual pattern.

We haven’t been told about the bonus cards, or special add-ons like a Seedborn Muse or an Arcane Signet, and if there’s extra collectibles around, that just means more value. 

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.