Since the creation of the sub-brand, there has been no shortage of unique Secret Lair themes. Between Universes Beyond drops featuring Hatsune Miku to Goblins with their shirts off, Wizards hasn’t been holding back recently. In comparison, a Wolf-themed Secret Lair drop is miraculously tame, even if the conceit itself is silly.
Initially revealed early last week, the Not a Wolf Secret Lair was envisioned by Twitter comedian Dan Sheehan. Better known as their alias “NOT A WOLF” Sheehan’s whole thing is pretending to be a wolf pretending to be a man. To continue this illusion, the Not a Wolf Secret Lair is unsurprisingly themed entirely around Wolves that are mostly all definitely wolves.
While it’s safe to say the theme fits Secret Lair’s recent wacky streak, value is another question entirely. With Wolves hardly being the most lucrative archetype, it remains to be seen whether this drop will be worth it. So, let’s see shall we?
Continuing The Trend
Looking at a lot of recent Secret Lair drops, there has been one, rather disappointing, trend uniting them. As much as the themes are nice and the art is spectacular, the value of the reprints has been rather dire. Sadly, the Not a Wolf Secret Lair continues this theme by not breaking even with raw reprint value.
At the top of the pile, Second Harvest is the most exciting reprint on offer. Since this card is only worth around $5, however, the financial optics already aren’t great. Sure, this card might work wonders in go-wide token decks, but that’s not the most played archetype in Commander.
Taking a slight step down, Avabruck Caretaker is the next most valuable card at $4.20. Much like Second Harvest, this card excels in go-wide decks, providing effective buffs and protection. Often played outside of Wolf Typal decks, Avabruck Caretaker is a great card that’s bolstered by this new Secret Lair art.
Sadly for finance fans, Beastmaster Ascension is the last card in this Secret Lair drop with any value. Selling for around $3.76, this board-wide buff can work wonders in a pinch, but it’s sadly no staple. While it’s not the most valuable card, at least it now has Wolf-themed art, so it’s not tigers or nothing.
At the end of the value order, both Howl of the Night Pack and Tovolar, Dire Overlord are only worth around $0.30. Thankfully, while these cards are unabashed value flops, they are at least great additions to Wolf Typal decks. Ultimately, this may be the saving grace of this otherwise financially disappointing Secret Lair.
Actually Interesting Picks?
While the value of the Not a Wolf Secret Lair may be disappointing, these picks aren’t truly terrible. As far as a Wolf-themed Secret Lair goes, these cards are pretty decent actually. Sure, some of them could easily be replaced by better options, but the vast majority of these cards are playable at least.
If you’re building a Wolf Typal deck, every card in this drop should be on your radar somewhat. Tovolar, Dire Overlord for example, is a great Commander option, or alternatively an auto include within the 99. If you want a somewhat reliable card draw engine and a mana sink buff, Tovolar simply gets the job done.
Beyond this, as we mentioned, the new art for Beastmaster Ascension is great for Wolf Typal fans. The same is true of Second Harvest which previously only had humans on the art. If you’re a die-hard Wolf Typal fan, this Secret Lair is basically all the best bits of a Secret Lair Commander deck!
To continue the theme of new art trumping value, this Secret Lair drop also includes a brand-new Token. Featuring quite jaunty art of Not a Wolf being a “Regular Human Guy,” this novel Token is undoubtedly unique. Admittedly, this token may not have the charm of some past Secret Lair tokens, but some players may love it.
All in all, this Secret Lair drop is oozing with flavor and is a lot more than its jokey premise. While it may not offer positive reprint value, there’s still the unique Bonus Card that remains a mystery at the moment. Ideally, for maximum flavor and value, this would be a reprint of Parallel Lives. Sadly, the Bouns Card has been hinted to be a creature, so hope won’t be coming true.
Will It Sell?
While we can look at the reprint prices and assess the picked cards’ playability, the true value of these cards is unknown. If players absolutely love them, these cards could sell out incredibly quickly, leading to higher-than-expected prices. Alternatively, should this drop barely sell, these cards may become surprisingly rare, especially the new token.
Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens when this Secret Lair drop actually launches. Should Not a Wolf’s followers swarm this drop en masse, we may see a surprisingly quick sale taking place. Whether or not that will actually happen, however, remains to be seen.
Thankfully, with the Summer Superdrop 2024 launching on June 24th, it won’t be long before we know for sure.
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