Last year, during the deluge of Secret Lair drops that were revealed in late September, Wizards announced something totally unexpected. Alongside more traditional Secret Lair offerings, an official drop dedicated to a grassroots community format, Dandan, was revealed. With around 30 years of history behind it, this is a format beloved by many MTG players. The announcement, consequently, was met with a hugely positive reaction.
Unfortunately, the Dandan drop has had a bit of a rocky ride since it was first announced. Concerns about Wizards not acknowledging the format’s original creator quickly arose after the announcement. While these were rectified fairly quickly, the drop now has a fresh controversy on its hands. According to Tuesday’s WeeklyMTG stream, the Dandan drop will now be released under the MTG Chaos Vault system.
The Dandan Secret Lair Moves To MTG Chaos Vault
“Everybody’s been really excited about the Dandan deck, that’s going to be coming to the Chaos Vault next month.”
Lindsey Bartell, via WeeklyMTG
This drop being sold via Chaos Vault may not sound like a big deal on the surface, but it’s actually pretty significant in terms of the drop’s accessibility. Chaos Vault drops, unlike normal Secret Lair drops, aren’t scheduled in advance. This means players can’t plan around their release and are more likely to miss out on a desired drop.
While email notifications should prevent this problem in theory, this doesn’t always pan out in practice. The fact that the Chaos Vault has its own, lesser-known, reminder system certainly doesn’t help. Even when players are signed up, these emails are often sent too late or not at all. This makes it very difficult to predict when a new Chaos Vault drop will be released.
Considering how much excitement has been building for this drop since last year, players are understandably disappointed by this revelation. The Dandan drop should be a celebration for the community, after all, and not another desperate Secret Lair scramble. It’s doubly confusing in this case since Wizards has already announced the theme of the drop in advance. Without the element of surprise, a Chaos Vault release feels fairly pointless.
All of that said, there is every possibility that the Dandan drop actually works out fine for players. With Wizards improving their Secret Lair forecasting all the time, they could print enough stock to satisfy demand on this one. In any case, with a release date set for sometime in March, we shouldn’t have to wait long to see which way things fall here.
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