If you were starting to get antsy after a whole week with no new Secret Lair content, then today is a good day for you. In what seems to be the grand finale of the Our Boss is on Vacation Superdrop, a full-on Secret Lair Commander deck, titled Everyone’s Invited, has just been revealed. Well, partially at least. Today we got to see seven new spoilers for the deck, including some very nice reprints indeed.
While we only have a fraction of the deck to work with at present, it’s clear it has a strong typal theme running through it. It also seems to be party-themed, based both on the title and the unusual reveal method, in which different MTG streamers revealed different individual cards. The value here isn’t spectacular so far, but it’s important to bear in mind how much the Secret Lair markup can affect things.
Morophon, The Boundless (Taaliavess)
- Mana Value: 7
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Type: Legendary Creature – Shapeshifter
- Stats: 6/6
- Card Text: Changeling (This card is every creature type.)
As Morophon enters, choose a creature type.
Spells of the chosen type you cast cost WUBRG less to cast. This effect reduces only the amount of colored mana you pay.
Other creatures you control of the chosen type get +1/+1.
It hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but so far it appears that Morophon, the Boundless is the intended Commander for the Everyone’s Invited deck. This card was revealed on stream today by prolific MTG content creator Taaliavess. It’s the only legendary creature from this first batch of reveals, so it’s likely this is the deck’s Commander. It also seems to tie in nicely with what the other cards revealed today are doing.
For those somehow unaware, Morophon is one of the best Commanders out there for a five-color typal deck. The symbols in its text box give it a five-color identity, which is a great start. It can also give you a heavy discount on all your typal creatures, and a nice stat boost to boot. Seven mana is a lot, but for underrepresented types with no dedicated Commanders of their own it’s a great choice. It’s also nice if you want to run a color-locked type while bringing in support from elsewhere in the color pie.
Currently, Morophon goes for a modest $5 on the low end, so this isn’t a high-value reprint. Some premium versions, however, like the Commander Masters Etched and Textured Foil variants, do go for upwards of $25. A Secret Lair printing like this, with its stellar new art, could easily end up in that range itself.
Raise The Palisade (CovertGoBlue)
- Mana Value: 4U
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Sorcery
- Card Text: Choose a creature type. Return all creatures that aren’t of the chosen type to their owners’ hands.
The next reveal of the Everyone’s Invited Commander deck is pretty special. Unveiled by CovertGoBlue on Twitch, Raise the Palisades is a Universes Beyond card seeing its first Universes Within printing in this product. The card made its debut in the Lord of the Rings Commander decks, and this is its first reprint since. Given how rarely we see Universes Within versions of cards printed, this is pretty noteworthy.
In terms of the card itself, it’s another strong argument that Everyone’s Invited is a typal deck. It lets you choose one creature type, then bounces all creatures that don’t match that type. In dedicated typal lists, it’s essentially a cheaper Cyclonic Rift. It lacks instant speed and the ability to hit noncreature cards, but it also only costs five to cast. If you’re in blue and you’re playing typal, it’s a bit of a no-brainer inclusion.
Financially this should be an interesting one to see develop. Regular copies of the card go for about $8 at the time of writing, so it’s no slouch even on the low end. Plenty of players want to keep Universes Beyond cards out of their decks, however, which means a Universes Within printing like this could go for a serious premium. Factor in the usual Secret Lair scarcity, and I could see this surpassing even the $16.50 price tag of the Showcase Scrolls variant quite easily.
Taurean Mauler (Amy The Amazonian)
- Mana Value: 2R
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Shapeshifter
- Stats: 2/2
- Card Text: Changeling (This card is every creature type.)
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you may put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Amy the Amazonian drew the short straw when it comes to the Everyone’s Invited Commander deck reveals, but they still got a decent card all the same. Taurean Mauler was their spoiler, and it’s definitely a bit of a classic for typal decks. Thanks to Changeling, it can slot in no matter what type you’re running, and its counter-gaining ability scales very nicely in multiplayer. It even has a nice, easy mana cost, so it won’t stretch your resources to include it.
All of that said, it’s also a card with a lot of printings. Almost all of them hover around the $1-2 range, which isn’t particularly exciting for a Secret Lair card. Even with the inevitable markup, I don’t see this version being worth a ton of money in the end. Outside of specific decks, there are typically better options at the three-mana slot, typal or not. That, combined with the abundance of past printings, should keep the price on this fairly reasonable.
Bitterblossom (Manacurves)
- Mana Value: 1B
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Type: Kindred Enchantment – Faerie
- Card Text: At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life and create a 1/1 black Faerie Rogue creature token with Flying.
Next up we have a bona fide Magic: The Gathering classic, and not just in Commander circles. Manacurves, also known as Chase, got to reveal a new printing of Bitterblossom for the Everyone’s Here Commander deck. Even now, 17 years after its original Morningtide printing, this remains one of the best token generators in all of MTG.
Getting a 1/1 flier every upkeep is a great way to keep the pressure on your opponents and hold off opposing swings. It also serves as reliable fodder for sacrifice engines in Aristocrats decks. The card was good enough to see Modern play for a long time back in the day. In Commander, it’s arguably even better. One life a turn is nothing when you start with 40, and there are many more ways to make use of the tokens it gives you. In terms of fitting with the theme of Everyone’s Invited, the main link here is the fact that Bitterblossom is a Kindred Enchantment. The token aspect is relevant too, however, as we’ll see shortly.
Price-wise, Bitterblossom goes for a very respectable $15 on the low end at present. Some special printings, like the Wilds of Eldraine Confetti Foil, are worth over $50. I expect this version to land somewhere in between. There’s pretty much always demand for this card in Commander, and this is a rare new printing with excellent art.
Avenger Of Zendikar (Voxy)
- Mana Value: 5GG
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Type: Creature – Elemental
- Stats: 5/5
- Card Text: When this creature enters, create a 0/1 green Plant creature token for each land you control.
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, you may put a +1/+1 counter on each Plant creature you control.
From one token maker to another, the next card from today’s reveals is Avenger of Zendikar. Voxy had the pleasure of revealing this Worldwake classic, but most of you will probably recognize it from a Commander pod or two. Whether you need a good reanimator target, a finisher for a Landfall deck, or a combo piece, Avenger has got your back.
Even played slightly ahead of time with ramp, this still puts a ton of tokens at your disposal very quickly. All it takes is a Craterhoof Behemoth or some such on the follow-up, and you have yourself a game-ender. Seeing it in a Commander precon is no surprise for that reason. It’s not 100% clear how this ties into the theme of Everyone’s Invited, outside of the fact that it ‘brings guests’ with its ability. Perhaps the rest of the reveals will justify its inclusion.
Price-wise, Avenger isn’t hugely exciting. It’s had a ton of reprints over the years, and now goes for around $1.50 in most cases despite its continued popularity. The Dominik Mayer version from a previous Secret Lair does go for over $30, mind you, so there’s certainly potential on this one.
Tendershoot Dryad (Anna Margaret)
- Mana Value: 4G
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Dryad
- Stats: 2/2
- Card Text: Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city’s blessing for the rest of the game.)
At the beginning of each upkeep, create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token.
Saprolings you control get +2/+2 as long as you have the city’s blessing.
Continuing the token theme, Tendershoot Dryad was Anna Margaret’s reveal for the Everyone’s Invited Commander deck. This is a classic case of a Standard card that scales way better in Commander. Since Dryad’s Saproling-making ability triggers on each upkeep, you get four 1/1s per turn cycle. Once you get the City’s Blessing, which is easy when you’re making bodies at that rate, they all become 3/3s instead. It’s a much cheaper, much better Verdant Force, and as a result, it sees play in a ton of different green Commander decks.
This was a $10 card for the longest time, until a recent reprint in the Bloomburrow Commander decks brought it down a few pegs. Now copies can be had for as little as $2.66, which is honestly a steal for a card this good. This may seem to bode ill for this version’s price, but it’s worth noting that both the Promo Pack and Prerelease versions of the card still go for $11 and $18, respectively. Given that those are typically less desirable treatments and this is a flashy Borderless edition, I’d say the price potential here is quite high.
Sol Ring (Zbexx)
- Mana Value: 1
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Artifact
- Card Text: Tap: Add 2.
Last but not least, Zbexx got to reveal the expected, but not unwelcome, new Sol Ring variant for Everyone’s Invited today. This is a card that really needs no introduction. It’s undeniably one of the most powerful pieces of acceleration in the Commander format, and yet it’s so ubiquitous that it’s actually exempt from the new Bracket rules. Basically, barring extreme decks with no generic mana costs at all, if you’re playing Commander you’re playing Sol Ring.
As you’d expect from a card with over 100 printings, Sol Ring can easily be had on the cheap. Most versions sit somewhere in the $1-2 range, making it easily accessible to all. This version will clearly be worth a lot more than that, mind you. Past Secret Lair Sol Rings have achieved eye-watering price tags over time.
The Dani Pendergast version from Through the Wormhole currently sits at $113, for example. If you want a more direct comparison, the Aya Kakeda version from the 20 Ways to Win Commander deck is about $30 at time of writing. That deck is actually still in stock, too, so it could well go higher in future.
Sol Ring is always in demand, and there will always be players who want a blinged-out version. The art on this one is a bit unusual, but I expect it’ll be popular enough to command a sizable price in the near future.
