With the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, players opening set boosters and collector boosters were given the opportunity to find MTG Jurassic World cards in their packs. As booster inserts, this collection of 20 rares and 6 Lands gave players additional opportunity to open something juicy. The 20 rares were all mechanically unique cards available for play in Legacy, Vintage, and, of course, Commander. However, these weren’t the only cards set to be featured in the MTG Jurassic World crossover.
We knew going in there were going to be MTG Jurassic World Secret Lair products available at some point. The question was, when would these Secret Lairs be revealed? What cards would be featured? In a surprise announcement, it appears as though we now have our answer. There are, in fact, two MTG Jurassic World Secret Lair products available for purchase.
Each MTG Jurassic World Secret Lair is $29.99 regularly, with foil editions available for $39.99. In addition, for those interested in purchasing each individual MTG Jurassic World Secret Lair, there’s a Welcome to Jurassic World bundle option available currently for $109.99. Given that purchasing regular and foil versions of both Jurassic World Secret Lairs would normally cost $139.96 in total, this is a good deal. Let’s take a look at the cards available in both Secret Lairs to see how good of a deal this truly is.
Dr. Ian Malcolm Secret Lair
First up, we have the Dr. Ian Malcolm Secret Lair. Each card is a reprint with unique artwork designed to portray Dr. Ian Malcolm in different ways. While the card above has the title “Ian, Convalescent Charmer,” it is mechanically identical to Tasigur, the Golden Fang. As such, the new title essentially functions just like flavor text, and the card’s functionality and format legality are the same as Tasigur. Tasigur has seen some play over the years as a powerful Delve threat that dodges popular removal spells, like Fatal Push and Lightning Bolt. Still, the card is roughly only 25 cents in its cheapest traditional form, according to TCGplayer market price.
Tasha’s Hideous Laughter is a staple for Modern mill decks. Against decks with lots of efficient spells, this card can remove a big portion of the opponent’s library by itself. It also specifically exiles those cards and doesn’t actually target the opponent, making it easier to beat certain hate cards like Leyline of Sanctity and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Tasha’s Hideous Laughter is worth roughly $4 in both its cheapest normal and foil forms.
Laboratory Maniac is an awesome win condition that used to be utilized in various combo decks, such as Modern Ad Nauseum combo. The goal is simple: remove your entire library from the game, then attempt to draw a card with Laboratory Maniac in play.
This card used to be worth more than it is now for multiple reasons. First of all, Thassa’s Oracle is a more reliable win condition at this point for similar style decks. Additionally, it was reprinted as an uncommon in Ultimate Masters. Laboratory Maniac still has roughly a $3 price tag, but that isn’t super exciting.
So far, none of the cards in this Secret Lair are worth a particularly large amount of money, and unfortunately these last couple cards aren’t changing that.
Atla Palani is a cool Commander card, capable of creating small Egg tokens that can potentially be converted into much larger threats when they die. Add cards like Maskwood Nexus into the mix that make all of your Creatures into Eggs and things can get out of hand rather quickly. The reality is, though, while this card is definitely on theme for the MTG Jurassic World Secret Lair, it doesn’t even crack $1 pricewise.
Not to mention, the fifth and final card in the Dr. Ian Malcolm Secret Lair is just the Egg token to go alongside Atla Palani. This Secret Lair is a great idea, in theory, but the card choices are definitely a bit strange.
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Jurassic World “Life Breaks Free”
While the Dr. Ian Malcolm Secret Lair does not have any big-ticket inclusions, the Life Breaks Free Secret Lair certainly does. At the top of that list by far is Polyraptor.
Polyraptor is primarily a Commander card that combos with a ton of other cards. For instance, if you combine Polyraptor with Warstorm Surge and Zulaport Cutthroat, you can drain each opponent of infinite life. Simply have Surge deal damage to Polyraptor when Polyraptor enters the battlefield. This will cause the original Polyraptor to die, but not without creating a token copy of itself. This process can continue infinitely, causing infinite death triggers.
That said, Polyraptor being the chase card of choice is a bit odd considering he is also getting a reprint in the main Lost Caverns of Ixalan set.
Despite being featured as a Special Guest in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Polyraptor still commands a hefty price tag. Special Guest versions are currently the cheapest, going for roughly $26 in non-foil form.
None of the other cards, however, have significantly high reprint value. Wayward Swordtooth is next, and while it does provide a solid Exploration effect, it seeing a reprint in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Dinosaur Commander deck certainly hurt its price. While the Commander Masters version is still $3, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander version is under $1.
Etali, Primal Storm is in a similar boat, seeing even more reprints over the years. While Etali, Primal Conqueror would have been a welcome addition, Etali, Primal Storm is worth less than 50 cents in its cheapest traditional form. Not to mention, the card has already appeared in a previous Secret Lair drop.
Regisaur Alpha is yet another card worth under $1 in its cheapest traditional form. Like Wayward Swordtooth, this card is quite solid for a Dinosaur-themed Commander deck. After all, giving all of your other Dinos Haste is a big deal, especially with the likes of Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant potentially creating a massive board out of nowhere. Once again, though, this card was featured in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Dinosaur Commander deck and has fallen in price as a result.
Last but not Least, we have Rampaging Ferocidon. After Polyraptor, Rampaging Ferocidon is the priciest card in either MTG Jurassic World Secret Lair, at least as far as reprint value is concerned. Ferocidon continues to see small amounts of Pioneer play in mono-red aggro decks. Preventing life gain is nice, and and punishing opposing go-wide Creature decks is powerful. Throw Torbran, Thane of Red Fell into the mix, and your opponent has to be careful about how much they can develop their board.
Rampaging Ferocidon’s lack of reprints has helped the card maintain a decently large price tag, even if it doesn’t see extensive play. The card goes for roughly $6 in its cheapest traditional form.
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Final Financial Analysis
The reality is, neither Secret Lair is outrageously valuable based on reprint value. While Secret Lair versions of cards certainly tend to be worth more than their traditional counterparts, the only card that truly stands out is Polyraptor.
In the Dr. Ian Malcolm Secret Lair, a $4 card and a $3 card were featured, with every other card being worth minimal amounts of money. Considering the non-foil Secret Lair is $29.99 and the contents barely crack $8 combined, the Dr. Ian Malcolm Secret Lair leaves much to be desired.
The contents of the Life Breaks Free Secret Lair are at least worth over $29.99 combined, making it well worth the purchase. Remember, these Secret Lair cards could still go for a decent chunk of money individually given the gorgeous artwork and treatment they receive. That being said, there is a pretty big disparity between the two MTG Jurassic Secret Lairs, thanks almost entirely to Polyraptor’s inclusion in the Life Breaks Free product.
Outside of Polyraptor, the individual card choices aren’t necessarily ideal, either. If you enjoy Jurassic World and are looking to add extra pizazz to your Commander decks, the bundle is still worth considering, but neither Secret Lair is a slam dunk.
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