Yesterday, a ton of Secret Lair spoilers were revealed. As part of the Secretversary 2023 Secret Lair drop, there are a plethora of unique products for players to purchase. Available are a total of nine different individual Secret Lair products this time around, each having foil and non-foil options. For the non-foil versions, eight of the Secret Lairs are available to purchase for $29.99, while the Tomb Raider Secret Lair costs a bit more at $39.99.
In foil, seven of the Secret Lairs are available for $39.99, while the Through the Wormhole Galaxy and Tomb Raider Secret Lairs are available for $49.99. For players interested in purchasing every Secret Lair in either foil or non-foil, there are bundles available that allow players to get a discount on the total spent. The foil bundle itself costs $299.99, which is a $79.92 discount compared to purchasing each foil Secret Lair individually.
Similarly, players can purchase non-foil bundles for $219.99, ultimately saving $59.92 compared to buying each non-foil Secret Lair by themselves. Add on the fact that there is a 10% Black Friday discount through November 27, and you can end up with non-foil bundles on a decent price. However, as some players have pointed out, purchasing the non-foil bundle specifically alongside the discount isn’t quite as good of a deal as you might think it is.
The Locust God Bonus
As an additional bonus for players looking to spend a decent chunk of money on Secret Lair products, Wizards of the Coast is offering a unique version of The Locust God for each $200 or 230 Euros that players spend on Secret Lairs. While this promotion sounds like a sweet deal in theory, the choice of $200 or 230 Euros could not be more awkward for players looking to buy the non-foil bundle.
As mentioned, the non-foil bundle specifically costs $219.99. Obviously, if you spend this amount of money, the Locust God card will be yours. The thing is, players are also incentivized to take advantage of the Black Friday discount. With the 10% discount applied, the non-foil bundle comes to a total of $197.99, just barely under the requisite amount of money needed to be spent to obtain a copy of the Locust God. As the Reddit post above suggests, the same thing is true when purchasing in Euros. Players can receive the Locust God when they spend 230 Euros, and the non-foil bundle with the discount applied comes to 229.49 Euros.
“The Non-Foil Bundle is $279.91 discounted to $219.99. A 21.4% discount may seem like a weird number to land on (particularly because it’s a larger discount than we have historically seen for bundles)”
u/RaffineSchemingSeer
Unfortunately, because of where these discounts fall, simply purchasing the non-foil Secret Lair bundle, while trying to save money from the Black Friday sale, means you won’t be able to obtain your Locust God. Many players suspect that this is an incentive to buy additional product with your order to obtain a Locust God promotional card.
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Incentives
The reality is, though, The Locust God is unlikely to be worth a big chunk of money itself, which means that the added value of the card may not be worth striving to meet the requirements of purchase. Of course, if what you want to grab surpasses the value anyway, you may as well enjoy your Locust God. The point being made is that making large leaps to purchase this bonus may be unwise, as you’ll likely save more money just buying The Locust God on the secondary market.
The Locust God is not the first Secret Lair drop promo to be given out based on the amount of people spend on Secret Lairs. The Scarab God received similar treatment and is currently going for roughly $15 according to TCGplayer market price. Given that traditional copies of The Scarab God go for roughly $9 in their cheapest forms while traditional copies of The Locust God don’t even reach $2 in their cheapest forms, it’s unlikely that the Secret Lair version of The Locust God will be worth any more than The Scarab God. Additionally, $15 is less than the money you would save via the Black Friday discount when purchasing a non-foil Secret Lair bundle.
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Player Reaction
“If I’m buying a $195 bundle, I know that it doesn’t qualify for the $200 threshold. While that’s annoying, that’s standard anti-consumer pricing practices. However, consumers will see the $220 price tag and assume that this qualifies them for the bonus card without putting two-and-two together that the Black Friday deal actually ends up costing them part of what they think they’re paying for.”
The-Kingsman
Unsurprisingly, players generally were not too happy to hear about this. Some players identify the Black Friday sales as being somewhat misleading. Many players are bound to see the price of $219.99 price tag for the non-foil bundle and instantly assume that the copy of The Locust God has to be included. Wizards of the Coast did state in a section of the Secret Lair website that promotions, such as the inclusion of a copy of The Locust God along with your Secret Lair products, were determined before taxes and after discounts. Still, it is unlikely that many players will check the terms and conditions associated with The Locust God promotion.
“The 10% discount dropped my potential order below the free shipping threshold so it’s actually more expensive than without the discount lol.”
swatb0t
Beyond just the discounts affecting The Locust God promotion, discounts can also affect players’ ability to receive free shipping on a purchase that would normally be over $75. For instance, let’s say you bought two individual foil Secret Lairs for $39.99 each. This comes to a total of $79.98. After the Black Friday discount, however, the total comes to roughly $71.98, which is just under the amount needed for free shipping. Depending on the cost of shipping to your area, this could actually make the Black Friday deal a downside. If you plan on purchasing some Secret Lair product, do consider all of the information here and make the best decision for yourself.
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