Since the inception of the sub-brand back in 2019, Secret Lair drops have always been held in high regard. Not only can these reprint-focused micro releases offer fantastic value, but they also look incredible. Featuring striking art from MTG’s myriad artists, Secret Lair drops allow you to add some unique flare to your decks.
While Secret Lair drops can offer positive value, they’re still not cheap. Typically costing $30 a pop, if not more, these usually five-card products are inherently premium. Thanks to this unofficial label, MTG players tend to expect higher quality from Secret Lair drop. Thanks to this, there surely wouldn’t be any production mistakes that make it through the pipeline… right?
Unfortunately, much like the rest of MTG, Secret Lair drops are not immune from having a misprint. As Wizards gears up to release the Spring 2024 Superdrop, the latest of these misprints have been spotted by fans. Even more unusually, this error wasn’t spotted right away thanks to the visually painful aesthetic of the Torment of Haildire drop.
Tormented by Comic Sans
In case you didn’t spot it immediately, like many MTG players, the new Doom Blade is misprinted. Specifically, this card has a spelling mistake, which is surprising as the card only has four words of rules text. Bafflingly, Wizards of the Coast has managed to misspell “Target” by adding in an extra e, resulting in “Targeet.”
Thankfully, this spelling mistake is hardly the most major MTG misprint in the world. Even if you’re taking the card literally, this error hardly makes Doom Blade unplayable or anything like that. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for the past reprint of Circular Logic which was seemingly literally unplayable.
Luckily, no matter how bad a misprint may look, you don’t have to rely on exactly what the card says. Despite the old adage of ‘reading the card explains the card’ all MTG cards use their Oracle text. Visible on Wizards’ Gatherer website, the Oracle text ensures each card works correctly, and any errata are applied properly.
For both Doom Blade and Circular Logic, the Oracle text ensures both these cards function as normal. Should you take either of these cards to a tournament, the only thing you’ll have to worry about is any foil Secret Lair cards pringling. Thanks to this, the spelling mistake here is just an interesting tidbit to add to the card’s already striking text.
Unfortunately for MTG players hoping this misprint may just be a marketing error, it appears to be the real thing. While we have not yet had an official statement from Wizards, a video on Twitter showcasing the cards has the error. From this video, it appears that at least the foil version of the Torment of Hailfire Secret Lair drop has this misprint.
Money in Misprints?
Usually, when talking about misprints in MTG, there’s a lot of interest thanks to how much they may be worth. While they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, some players absolutely love collecting and playing with misprints. Thanks to this, to the right audience, misprints, especially on powerful cards, can be worth serious money.
For better or worse, Secret Lair misprints don’t appear to have the same demand. Looking back at the unplayable Circular Logic, you may think this card should be worth a small fortune. In reality, on TCGplayer, this card routinely sells for as little as $3. Technically, this is over 4000% more than the cheapest $0.07 variant, but that’s still not a lot of money.
Considering the cheapest version of Doom Blade currently sells for $0.14, it’s possible this new printing will be similarly inexpensive. In theory, past precedent suggests the new misprinted Doom Blade should sell for $6 when all is said and done. Unfortunately for finance fans, the pricing of Secret Lair drops doesn’t exactly work that way, especially nowadays.
Unlike past Secret Lair drops, Wizards is now using a limited-run model, rather than printing to demand. This new model first came into effect for the Winter 2024 Superdrop, which included the Deceptive Divination drop. In theory, this should make things straightforward, however, since then it appears Wizards may have been messing with print numbers.
At the end of the day, we’re just going to have to wait and see to find out where Doom Blade’s price falls. For now, past precedent indicates this misprint may not be as desirable as you might think. After all, rather than being a true misprint, this error will have, presumably, thousands of identical copies.
How Didn’t We See This?!
As much as the price point may be interesting, especially if we get a discount, there’s still a major oddity. We’re mostly just baffled this mistake wasn’t spotted sooner! To cut ourselves, and everyone else, some slack, reading the cards in the Torment of Hailfire is downright painful.
Thanks to the use of Comic Sans and cursed capitalization, I don’t want to look at these cards for any longer than necessary. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that the reprinted Doom Blade managed to escape scrutiny for a whole day. Even knowing the spelling mistake is there, it’s somehow still not that obvious thanks to the unique look of these cards.
Ultimately, this Secret Lair drop really isn’t for everyone and that’s okay. For some players, the text is a selling point, while others will only be here for the art. Equally, there will be MTG players who are after this Secret Lair for the misprint and nothing else. Considering how divisive this drop appears to be, it’ll be very interesting to see if it sells out or not.
Read More: MTG X Hatsune Miku Secret Lair Crossover Announced!
