Outside of the now sold-out Monty Python and the Holy Grail drop, Inside an Elevator didn’t look great. The vast majority of this latest Superdrop was sorely lacking in value. The only exceptions to this rule were the trio of Brain Dead crossover drops. Sadly, these cards didn’t look great for another reason, as the aesthetic was exceptionally divisive.
If you were on the fence about purchasing any of these contentious cards, the deal has now been sweetened. Thanks to newly revealed bonus cards, the value of each drop has been pushed up even more. While there’s no guarantee about exactly which card you’ll find, there are nonetheless some excitingly expensive cards up for grabs.
Astonishingly Early Reveals
While Wizards did change to the limited-run printing model to speed up shipping, that hasn’t caused these recent reveals. Instead, the early bonus cards that we’ve been privy to recently have been thanks to pop-up stores. Specifically, both MTG and Brain Dead have been popping up at San Diego Comic-Con, to sell Secret Lairs early.
Thanks to these early openings, it’s possible to buy Secret Lair drops with the bonus cards in mind. As we mentioned, this may be enough to entice some players who haven’t given in to FOMO yet. In theory, the value of these new bonus cards could tip the scales into another Secret Lair drop selling out.
While this is a possibility considering how dived people by the art, many players may still choose to steer clear. Adding further doubt to this theory, it’s been reported that the new Brain Dead bonus cards are not exactly guaranteed. While you should get one of the Brain Dead-designed cards, there’s no guarantee which one you’ll find.
Considering there’s a steep difference in the price of potential pulls, banking on an expensive bonus card seems like a fool’s errand.
Brain Dead Bonus Cards
As for the actual cards themselves, the latest Brain Dead bonus card to be revealed is Echo of Eons. According to Reddit user Ticklemedino who posted their discovery, this bonus card was found in the Brain Dead: Staples drop. Despite their own experience, Ticklemedino claims the Brain Dead bonus cards are somewhat randomized.
This randomization is bad news for anyone hoping to get their hands on this bonus card as it’s seriously impressive. Thanks to basically just being Timetwister when cast from the graveyard, Echo of Eons is a $25 MTG card. Now that it’s getting a fancy new variant, this already high value may be pushed up even more.
While there’s a high ceiling for this Echo of Eons bonus card, its value isn’t guaranteed. Due to the divisive aesthetics of the Brain Dead collaboration, it may be less popular than expected. That said, this specific card has drawn comparisons to “those early 90s dead card games,” which are uniquely beloved.
Alongside Echo of Eons, Ticklemedino has claimed that Hive Mind is another potential pull from the Brain Dead Secret Lair drops. Sadly Ticklemedino claims one of their friends found this card so they haven’t been able to provide an image of it. We can only hope that the art isn’t too out there to majorly impact the potential appeal of this bonus card.
In terms of value, Hive Mind is worth around $6.50 thanks to it only having one printing. Despite being somewhat valuable, as an actual card, Hive Mind is pretty unplayable, as it facilitates far too much chaos. If that’s exactly what you’re going for, this new surely unique-looking variant will be a great fit for that deck, but not much else.
A New Ultra Rare Variant?
As we mentioned, Ticklemedino claims that the Brain Dead bonus cards are random, rather than being fixed to each drop. Anecdotally, a copy of Evolving Wilds has been found as part of the Brain Dead: Creatures drop. Considering this card is worth $0.05 on a good day, this must have been rather disappointing.
On top of this account, Ticklemedino went on to comment they heard of a player opening six Brain Dead Secret Lair drops. When doing this, reportedly not a single copy of Echo of Eons was found. Due to this, it seems this card may be an ultra-rare variant that occasionally replaces the cheaper alternatives.
Should this be the case, an ultra-rare variant of Echo of Eons would likely be stupidly expensive. We’re no strangers to seeing cards like Relentless Rats sell for over $100, and this card could follow suit. Whether or not this bonus card will actually be as rare as it sounds, however, remains to be seen.
At the moment, only a relative handful of the Brain Dead Secret Lair drops have been opened. Due to this, it’s difficult to say with any certainty whether or not Echo of Eons is actually rare. Once orders through the Secret Lair website make their way to players, we should have a clearer picture of everything.
Sadly, by the time normal deliveries happen, the Inside an Elevator Superdrop will likely have ended. Sadly, this means anyone purchasing the drop now is relying on somewhat incomplete information regarding the drop’s bonus cards. While this isn’t ideal, incomplete information is still better than no information at all.
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