One of the most popular groups of products that players seem to love are Secret Lairs. Over the last year, there have been tons of different Secret Lairs available for purchase. Are you a fan of intriguing alternate-art variants of Universes Beyond cards? Secret Lair drops have you covered. What about seeing some of your favorite artists make illustrations that pop off the page? You’re in luck there, too.
In general, the contents of each Secret Lair drop are public knowledge. This means that you won’t be in for any surprises regarding what cards will be included in the Secret Lair you purchase. Well, that is, except for the bonus cards that add a neat surprise element to each Secret Lair.
The concept of bonus card inserts with various Secret Lair products is actually quite cool. Not only do players receive all the cards they desired from whatever Secret Lair they purchased, but they also can obtain an extra unknown card for their troubles. This adds a bit of suspense to your order, as the bonus card could be anything! From random Elves of MTG’s past to various versions of
Relentless Rats
Relentless Rats
This creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature on the battlefield named Relentless Rats.
A deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats.
, you never know what you’re gonna get.
Just recently, players discovered the bonus card associated with the Doctor Who: Regeneration Secret Lair. This Secret Lair went on sale back in December of 2023. Now that these items are finally starting to get shipped and arrive at their destinations, we have a glimpse at what the bonus card of choice is this time around. In this case, it’s rather thematic.
Sonic Screwdriver
Instead of featuring a random Elf, the Doctor Who: Regeneration Secret Lair boasts a popular mana rock for Commander. Sonic Screwdriver is another card in a long line of three-mana Artifacts that tap to add mana of any color. From
Chromatic Lantern
Chromatic Lantern
Lands you control have "{T}: Add one mana of any color."
{T}: Add one mana of any color.
to
Commander’s Sphere
Commander’s Sphere
{T}: Add one mana of any color in your commander's color identity.
Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.
, these three-drops typically offer a bit of extra utility beyond simply tapping for mana.
In the case of Sonic Screwdriver, you get the ability to Scry as well as untap Artifacts or make Creatures unblockable, just like
Manifold Key
Manifold Key
{1}, {T}: Untap another target artifact.
{3}, {T}: Target creature can't be blocked this turn.
. Being able to untap an Artifact is nice, especially if you have access to a mana rock like
Chromatic Orrery
Chromatic Orrery
You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color.
{T}: Add {C}{C}{C}{C}{C}.
{5}, {T}: Draw a card for each color among permanents you control.
that taps for lots of mana at once.
Getting to make Creatures unblockable can also come up, especially in decks that revolve around attacking with the Commander. Take
Narset, Enlightened Master
Narset, Enlightened Master
First strike, hexproof
Whenever Narset attacks, exile the top four cards of your library. Until end of turn, you may cast noncreature spells from among those cards without paying their mana costs.
, for example. Not only does Sonic Screwdriver help ramp you towards your expensive Commander, but it also makes sure it doesn’t get blocked down in combat.
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More Than Meets the Eye
Unfortunately, from a financial perspective, Sonic Screwdriver isn’t the most appealing bonus card at first glance. After all, it’s an uncommon from the Doctor Who Commander decks worth only about 50 cents in its cheapest traditional form according to TCGPlayer market price. The good news, though, is that this bonus card version will almost certainly hold a decent price tag thanks to a few key factors.
First of all, the bonus card is foil, and the cheapest foil variant of Sonic Screwdriver is still over $5. Second, this is the first time Sonic Screwdriver will feature extended art or flavor text, which could increase its value further.
Secret Lair bonus cards in general vary pretty heavily in price. The
Timberwatch Elf
Timberwatch Elf
{T}: Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of Elves on the battlefield.
bonus card is only worth about 30 cents, while certain variants of
Persistent Petitioners
Persistent Petitioners
{1}, {T}: Target player mills a card. (They put the top card of their library into their graveyard.)
Tap four untapped Advisors you control: Target player mills twelve cards.
A deck can have any number of cards named Persistent Petitioners.
or Relentless Rats can be worth hundreds of dollars given their low supply. Chances are, Sonic Screwdriver will be on the lower end of things but has a decent shot at being worth a few bucks given the reasons described above.
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Player Reaction
Overall, most players seem fine with the reprint of choice. Sonic Screwdriver may be a Doctor Who card, but it can fit in almost any Commander deck universally. Getting a potent EDH card with new art is nice, and the fact that previous foils commanded decent price tags means this bonus card version might too.
However, there were two specific areas in which many players felt this selection fell short. The fact is, a large portion of the player base wanted a mechanically unique card to show up as the bonus card rather than a reprint. In some cases, such as with
Discord, Lord of Disharmony
Discord, Lord of Disharmony
Flying
At the beginning of your end step, choose a random nonland Magic card name. Until your next end step, you may cast a copy of a spell with that name, and mana of any type can be spent to cast it. If you cast a spell this way, copy this ability if Discord is on the battlefield.
from Ponies: the Galloping 2, the bonus card is an entirely new card, not just a reprint. This doesn’t happen super often, but with Universes Beyond Secret Lairs, it’s definitely a nice touch to showcase characters that haven’t yet been in the spotlight.
With Doctor Who specifically, many players felt this was the perfect opportunity to unveil a Ruby Sunday MTG card. See, this Secret Lair came with
The Fourteenth Doctor
The Fourteenth Doctor
When you cast this spell, reveal the top fourteen cards of your library. Put all Doctor cards revealed this way into your graveyard and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
You may have The Fourteenth Doctor enter as a copy of a Doctor card in your graveyard that was put there from your library this turn. If you do, it gains haste until end of turn.
plus their Companion in
Rose Noble
Rose Noble
Ward {2}
Whenever you cast a Doctor spell or creature spell with doctor's companion, draw a card.
Doctor's companion (You can have two commanders if the other is the Doctor.)
, as well as
The Fifteenth Doctor
The Fifteenth Doctor
Whenever The Fifteenth Doctor enters or attacks, mill three cards. You may put an artifact card with mana value 2 or 3 from among them into your hand.
The first nonartifact spell you cast each turn has improvise. (Your artifacts can help cast that spell. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for {1}.)
. However, that leaves a vacancy for The Fifteenth Doctor’s Companion: Ruby Sunday.
Some players also felt like the flavor text of choice for Sonic Screwdriver was ultimately lacking in substance. Using a quote from the show or at making a strong reference would have potentially been much stronger than the simple description utilized.
The decision to make Sonic Screwdriver the bonus card for this Secret Lair definitely begs the question: will Ruby Sunday get their time to shine in any future product? I guess we will just have to wait and see.
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