Earlier this year, we saw a wild new take on a Secret Lair bonus card in the form of a metal printing plate in the Return to the Mystical Archive drop. Thanks to being opened by a content creator, it was unclear if this was just a special promo or if this would be a broader series. This week, we finally have our answer, as another MTG Secret Lair printing plate, this time for Growth Spiral, has been found.
The MTG Growth Spiral Printing Plate
Lucky MTG player Motor_Umpire_4635 cracked a Growth Spiral printing plate earlier this week, which all but confirms this is a recurring bonus for the drop. The back of this plate notes that it’s a “Yellow Plate,” which denotes the color of ink the plate transferred. For reference, the Good Time Society pulled the “Black Plate” for Chance for Glory.
Since these match up to two of the typical CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black/Key) printing plate colors, we can expect at least four variants of each plate. When we’ll see them is unclear at this point, however, as these plates appear to be incredibly rare. Other than the Good Time Society one, this is the only printing plate we’ve seen anywhere online.
Granted, the Return to the Mystical Archive drop was massively delayed, so many players are still waiting on theirs to arrive. This makes it hard to gauge the relative rarity of these at this stage. While they could be ultra-rare and thus command hefty price tags, it’s really too early to tell.
Spicy New Retro Frame Humans
On top of the new Growth Spiral printing plate, this week also saw the reveal of a few new retro frame Humans. The clear highlight among these is Serra Ascendant, a $28 Commander powerhouse.
Thanks to Commander’s starting life total of 40, this is a one-mana 6/6 with Flying and Lifelink in most games, earning it a spot in a ton of lists. Over 139,000 decks run the card, in fact, according to EDHREC. It sees serious tournament play, too, in cEDH lists like Winota, Joiner of Forces and Tymna/Malcolm.
The other two new retro Humans spoiled this week, Darien, King of Kjeldor and General’s Enforcer, are sadly much less exciting. Darien sees a fair bit of play in both the command zone and 99, but it’s still only a $1.20 card due to reprints. General’s Enforcer is a bit more widely-played in Human Typal and Token decks, but it’s still an underwhelming $0.30 card.
Overall, these newcomers don’t do much to shift the balance of the retro Humans bonus card lineup. Serra Ascendant is a great hit, the best we’ve seen so far, in fact, but the slot remains largely occupied by filler cards for now.
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