The world of misprinted MTG cards is one that is rather difficult to understand. Some misprints can be wildly desirable, going for tens of times more than other variants. Others go for just as much as the normal variant.
Most of the time, the rarity of the misprint, alongside how interesting the misprint looks, is what decides how expensive a misprint is. Misprints that are overly common, or don’t have a particularly interesting aesthetic, do not move prices much. Ultimately, this is very much a market that follows the rule of ‘it’s worth what people pay for it.’
What happens, however, when Wizards of the Coast prints a significant misprint on a card? Is the card too common to warrant a massive price bump, or is the misprint significant enough that it doesn’t matter?
This has already happened a few times in recent history. A good example is the misprinted Corpse Knight cards back from Core Set 2020. Some versions of it were printed as a 2/3. It was meant to be a 2/2.
While this misprint is still comparably rare to the proper printing of the card, it’s not rare or interesting enough to demand a premium. That said, a recent Wizards of the Coast error appears to tell a very different story. If you decided to purchase the Deceptive Divination Secret Lair, it may be worth more than you think.
Circular Logic
In Secret Lair’s most recent Superdrop, there was one Secret Lair that was worth a bit less than the rest. This is thanks to a blatant misprinting on one of the cards within the product. Thanks to the misprinted Circular Logic pictured above, the Deceptive Divination Secret Lair was $5 less than the rest of the Superdrop. Ironically, this only makes the Secret Lair drop an even better deal than many expected.
While the reprint value of this Secret Lair was indeed nothing to rave about, this misprinted copy of Circular Logic instead ended up being quite valuable. Normally, Circular Logic is an instant speed spell, as it’s meant to counter other spells in response to them being cast. This naturally could not happen if Circular Logic was a Sorcery. Technically, Madness allows this Circular Logic to work in specific settings, but the Sorcery speed nature of this card does not need to be taken to heart, as it works as intended as far as game rules go. This is strictly a printing error.
The Spike
The Sorcery Speed Circular Logic has been surprisingly expensive. Notably, we are only a day or two after the sale for these Secret Lairs ended, so there could be a premium associated with a level of scarcity on the secondary market. Regardless, this copy of Circular Logic has a few sales trickling in on TCGplayer for about $11.75 as recently as March 3rd.
This is absurdly expensive compared to the cheapest variant of Circular Logic, which has a market value of just eight cents according to TCGplayer. Even compared to the most expensive alternate nonfoil copy of Circular Logic, which is only $1, this card has an absurd premium.
The difference between foil Circular Logics at the top-end aren’t as vast thanks to foil multipliers from old sets. A foil Circular Logic from Torment commands about a $13.30 price tag. A foil Circular Logic from Deceptive Divination appears to go for between $16 and $17 according to asking prices. That said, there aren’t exactly many sales on this variant of the card.
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Thrumming Stone
Thrumming Stone’s sudden price increase should be a surprise to few. Putting aside that this card was once worth $50 before it got a much-needed reprint, Thrumming Stone tends to spike in popularity whenever a new card without a quantity restriction hits the MTG scene.
In Murders at Karlov Manor, we got Slime Against Humanity. This Sorcery joins the ever popular collection of cards that bypass the one-card limit in Commander. This means that players can easily run 30 or more copies of this card in their decks, creating some unique strategies.
In these situations, Thrumming Stone is incredibly powerful. Ripple 4 allows you to cast cards with the same name as your spell, as long as they’re in the top four in your library. If you hit a Slime Against Humanity off your Ripple, you can keep Rippling, casting them over and over.
Thanks to Slime Against Humanity, Thrumming Stone has increased from $2 to $8 over the course of February, at least for its cheaper Double Masters 2022 reprint. Most variants are floating around $8-9 at the moment.
What About Other Secret Lair Cards?
While many Secret Lair cards from the recent Winter Superdrop are now for sale as singles, and indeed hold a premium over other variants, there aren’t a lot of sales for the cards yet, making them difficult to analyze properly. Krark, the Thumbless, for example, from the Just Add Milk: Second Helpings Secret Lair, is selling for $11 while the original variant of the card sells for fifty cents. Recent sales for the card suggest that its worth even more, but they are too inconsistent at this point.
It will take some time to see where these cards land, but Circular Logic already has a decent amount of sales behind it. That said, don’t be surprised if this drops back off in price in the coming days. For now, this misprint is surprisingly desirable.
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