The spoiler season for the upcoming Winter Superdrop 2025 finally finished yesterday. Two brand-new Secret Lair drops were revealed to the world, each offering compelling art and reprints. Sadly, this doesn’t mean MTG players can finally stop and smell the roses, oh no. Hot off the heels of one spoiler season, it seems we’re moving into another, as bonus cards are now hitting the scene.
As always, new bonus cards being revealed is a very exciting time, especially if the product is still available for purchase. Sadly, this isn’t the case for the Festival in a Box, but these new bonus cards are nonetheless interesting. Thanks to a couple of cards being revealed already, it seems the Festival in a Box can contain a new ultra-rare chase variant. Depending on exactly how rare this card is, it could well be worth $100+.
Diregraf Captain
Before we get to the big ticket item, it’d be prudent to start with the newly revealed Diregraf Captain variant. Sadly, this new reprint really isn’t too exciting, no matter which way you look at it. As a reprint, this card is only worth $0.25 on the secondary market. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s not even any new art to sweeten the deal.
The one point of difference in this new Diregraf Captain variant is the retro-frame border and holographic Secret Lair stamp. While the retro-frame border certainly has its fans, it’s unlikely this promo will be hailed as the greatest of all time. That being said, it could still end up being somewhat expensive.
As a card, is a true staple in Commander. If you’re playing a Zombie Typal deck, you’re obviously going to want this versatile lord. Thanks to this, there may still be a fair bit of demand for this new bonus card, as it’ll surely be the rarest Diregraf Captain variant. Sadly, it’s difficult to determine exactly how rare this card will be at the moment.
From what we’ve seen so far, it’s clear that the Festival in a Box has multiple bonus cards that players can find. If Diregraf Captain is the most popular of these, then, in theory, it could be fairly affordable. That said, there’s no word on the print volume for the new Festival in a Box.
A New Theme?
Beyond just being a potentially decent reprint, it seems that Diregraf Captain might be the first sign of something bigger. According to Reddit user The_Biddler64, they received a foil Champion of the Perished as their bonus card. While they sadly didn’t remember if this foil card was also retro-frame, it nonetheless seems we have the start of a trend.
Previously, the trend amongst Secret Lair bonus cards was borderless elves. These bonus cards were essentially the bread and butter that added a little extra value to orders. Exactly how much value they added varied quite significantly, since these bonus cards ranged in playability and rarity.
At the top end, you could have been lucky and unboxed a $21 Evolution Sage when opening your Secret Lair drop. Alternatively, you could have found one of the borderless copies of Llanowar Visionary which sells for just $0.35. While these Elves did vary in price, for the most part, the vast majority were under $5.
Now, given the recent discoveries from the Festival in a Box, it seems Zombies are the new bonus card theme. At the very least, this should be a delight to players who love this typal archetype. Given MTG has plenty of expensive zombies like Bone Miser, this could be great news for finance fans too.
Sadly, while it does seem that a new bonus card theme could be starting, it’s still very early days. In theory, this theme could just be a mini one that’s only available in Mystery Booster 2. We’ll just have to wait and see what the Winter Superdrop brings to find out more.
Seven Dwarves
While Zombies are all well and good, it seems the real big-ticket item this time around is Seven Dwarves. Considering this Throne of Eldraine card typically costs just $0.24, this might come as a bit of a surprise. As we’ve alluded to, however, it seems this Dwarf is the latest ultra-rare bonus card that could be worth a pretty penny.
Found and showcased on Reddit by Sad-Tomatillo9561 this bonus card features stunning and unique Secret Lair-esque artwork. Much like many past ultra-rare bonus cards, Seven Dwarves allows players to break typical deck construction rules. As the card’s text states “A deck can have up to seven cards named Seven Dwarves.”
Similar to cards like Shadowborn Apostle and Persistent Petitioners, these rule-breaking cards are often beloved by the community. Tapping into this, Wizards has created ultra-rare bonus cards for these cards to great effect. At their peak, bonus card copies of Persistent Petitioners can be worth upwards of $300!
Given the name of Seven Dwarves, and its whole deal, there’s a chance we’ll be getting seven of these bonus cards. For now, however, that is unconfirmed, which is also true of the card’s price. While still a fan-favorite, Seven Dwarves isn’t nearly as beloved as past rule-breaking cards. As such, it may never reach the dizzying heights that Persistent Petitioners have achieved.
