Sadly, it seems that not every MTG Secret Lair can be a hit. It seems the new Aether Drifters Secret Lair was determined to prove this point. From a value perspective, this drop looks incredibly disappointing, although the aesthetics are fantastic. With a reprint value barely scraping $10, it may be difficult to justify buying this drop from a purely financial perspective.
Unfortunately, as if the Aether Drifters Secret Lair wasn’t troubled enough, even foil value doesn’t save this drop. Previously, we’ve seen foil value massively uplift the value of otherwise disappointing drops, but there’s no such luck here. Instead, it seems that Aether Drifters might just be a bit of a dud, outside of its aesthetics at least.
Aether Drifters
Offering five Vehicle-related cards that sport the appearance of individually packed toy cars, this Secret Lair drop is all about the artwork. Beyond just being a nod to the packaging of classic Hot Wheels toys, this Secret Lair is somewhat grounded in Aetherdrift’s aesthetic. Rather than going full Universes Beyond, Wizards has emulated the merchandising aesthetic of the Ghirapur Grand Prix. As cool as a dedicated Hot Wheels Secret Lair drop might have been, this is definitely a nice nod to Aetherdrift’s lore.
While the Aesthetics are fantastic, as mentioned, this Secret Lair drop is financially a dud. Shockingly, the most expensive card in Aether Drifters is a token. Mechtitan Core is a particularly fun Commander Vehicle that appears in this Secret Lair. Assembling Mechtitan is rather difficult, with five mana and four additional artifact creatures or vehicles needed. You’re awarded with a 10/10 Flying, Trample, Vigilance, Lifelink, and Haste token which, while powerful, won’t be winning Commander games on its own. When players can simply reanimate cards like Atraxa, Grand Unifier with much less effort, the award just isn’t worth the challenge.
Regardless, trying to assemble Mechtitan is a fun minigame in many casual Commander decks that can attempt it. As a result, the Mechtitan token itself is worth about $7 on the secondary market, making it the most expensive reprint to appear in the Aether Drifters Secret Lair. This may seem strange to some, but specific tokens that appear on individual cards have recently become surprisingly difficult to come by, causing them to have a substantial secondary market value.
The Mechtitan Core itself isn’t even worth a dollar on the secondary market.
Smuggler’s Copter
For a card that has such a deep competitive history, you may be surprised to hear that Smuggler’s Copter is only worth about $1 on the secondary market. Foil versions of the card improve a bit, demanding about $6.
Despite being recently unbanned in Pioneer, and being banned in past Standard formats, Smuggler’s Copter isn’t seeing a relevant amount of play there. While the 3/3 Flying Vehicle’s looting effect was an incredibly impressive package in the past for two mana, the card has been power crept out of relevance. The type of value Smuggler’s Copter creates isn’t even good in the Commander format. While Smuggler’s Copter is iconic, it isn’t very popular at the moment.
Parhelion II
I would have been shocked if Parhelion II didn’t see a reprint in a vehicle-focused set release. The card is largely regarded as the most powerful Vehicle in all of Magic and currently is the payoff to Greasefang, Okiba Boss Combo decks that appear in various formats. Sadly, while Parhelion does enable an entire archetype, Greasefang isn’t performing overly well in any format right now.
Outside of Greasefang specifically, Parhelion II is rather difficult to use and is generally not worth the eight mana investment. The card doesn’t even amount to a dollar on the secondary market in its non-foil iteration. The foil version of this card is worth about $3 because a majority of Parhelion II’s printings don’t offer a foil variant, but this difference won’t make a huge difference in this Secret Lair’s reprint value. While Parhelion is an expected reprint, it’s not a very good one.
Reckoner Bankbuster
Another Vehicle that was banned from Standard, Reckoner Bankbuster, once upon a time, was a major Standard and Pioneer player. Being able to use the Bankbuster as a massive body while drawing cards gave the card a ton of utility.
Sadly, Reckoner Bankbuster has rotated out of Standard and has been power crept out of Pioneer. Duskmourn is to blame, as the card mostly saw play in Rakdos Midrange decks. A Demon package utilizing the enchantment Unholy Annex is now the main engine that Rakdos Midrange strategies equip themselves with. The superior card draw engine has replaced Reckoner Bankbuster in Pioneer.
As a result, the card’s secondary market value is only about a dollar. The foil value of the card is similar due to Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty sporting a Collector Booster line. The card also isn’t very popular in Commander.
Peacewalker Colossus
This is perhaps the most bizarre choice of the entire Secret Lair. Peacewalker Colossus was originally printed back in Aether Revolt and has never seen an impressive amount of play. While the card is a passable enabler in Vehicle-focused strategies, it isn’t capable of much else. Peacewalker Colossus doesn’t offer an impressive reward for its expensive Crew 4 cost either, making it a rather uninteresting card.
As you may expect, Peacewalker Colossus’s secondary market value doesn’t surpass a dollar, and its foil value barely reaches it.
The Art is Everything
The reprints offered in this Secret Lair are not going to be exciting for very many MTG players. That means that almost all of the demand for this Secret Lair is likely going to be due to the concept of the artwork. Dressing up iconic MTG Vehicles as Hot Wheels Matchbox toy cars is a rather novel idea, but the community is split on their reception of it.
For some, this Secret Lair’s designs are incredible. For others, this isn’t even Magic anymore. Artistic taste aside, some players don’t enjoy that the card’s information is on the back of it. This has been seen in some Secret Lair designs and generally does not receive raving reviews from the community. This can make playing with the cards in Commander difficult, especially if an opponent wants to double-check what the Hot Wheels toy is actually capable of.
While the idea behind this Secret Lair is incredibly fun, it certainly isn’t for everyone. If you aren’t interested in the artwork for these cards, we would give this Secret Lair a pass.
