Just when you thought you were out, Secret Lair pulls you back in! Last week saw the full reveal of Magic: The Gathering’s latest Secret Lair Superdrop, titled ‘Our Boss is on Vacation.’ The Superdrop went on sale a couple of days ago, and, naturally, some drops are already fully sold out. As if offering a consolation prize to those who missed out on their favorites, a new Secret Lair drop, Oishii Tokens, has been unexpectedly revealed today.
This is the fourth Secret Lair drop released in the experimental new Chaos Vault line, and it certainly is trying something new. For $15, this drop offers four Food tokens with Japanese-inspired artwork. At first glance, this looks like the biggest financial rip-off in Secret Lair history. Looking back at the history of Secret Lair-exclusive tokens, however, reveals unexpected potential for profit here.
The Oishii Tokens Secret Lair Drop
The Oishii Tokens Secret Lair drop is one of the simplest we’ve seen yet. You get four Food tokens here, each inspired by the “unthinkably cool food packaging we saw on our last trip to Japan,” according to the Secret Lair website.
All four tokens have vibrant new artwork from MAOMOMIJI, a newcomer to the Magic: The Gathering art scene with this drop. Long-time Secret Lair fans will notice a sneaky cameo from Li’l Giri on one of the tokens here, however, calling back to the popular Li’l Giri Saves the Day drop from 2022.
This drop is part of the new Secret Lair Chaos Vault range, which is designed to showcase more experimental drop ideas. So far, we’ve seen a fairytale-inspired drop, a weirdly erotic series of Basic lands, and a competitive Cats vs. Dogs double-drop from the Chaos Vault. Oishii Tokens marks the fourth overall release in the series.
Price-wise, Oishii Tokens will set you back $14.99 for the non-foil version. If you want to glam things up, the foil version is going for $19.99 instead. That’s not including shipping, which can often add an extra $10 or more to the cost of each order.
Immediately, this looks like a terrible deal. Unlike most Secret Lair drops, there’s no real per-card value to dig into here. Food tokens are widely available and sell for around $0.10 on the low end. This means you’re spending $25 or more here and getting less than $1 of practical value in return. Even by Secret Lair standards, that’s a rough rate.
Chewing It Over
Of course, functionality is only part of the equation when it comes to evaluating the Oishii Tokens Secret Lair drop. Fancy, limited-supply Food tokens are a new phenomenon for Magic: The Gathering, after all, which means it’s hard to predict how they’ll perform out in the market.
That said, we have seen other Secret Lair tokens climb to big prices in the past. The Squirrel token from We Hope You Like Squirrels, for example, sells for around $16 right now. The Zombie from Secret Lair x The Evil Dead is similarly pricey, at around $13. IP almost certainly plays into things in the latter example but not in the former.
Those are just the top two. Moving down further, we can find many more examples from the past. The Saproling token from Welcome to the Fungal is currently worth around $12. Allison Carl’s double-sided Cat/Dog token from Raining Cats and Dogs goes for around $11. What these tokens have in common, Secret Lair exclusivity aside, is that they all commit to a strong visual style.
There’s real demand for tokens that fill a specific aesthetic niche, in other words. Food is an up-and-coming archetype in Commander, too, which means players who want to bling out their decks will likely turn to these tokens first when doing so. The only alternative right now is the Krabby Patty from Secret Lair x Spongebob Squarepants: Internet Sensation, which many will likely avoid for immersion reasons.
All of this to say, the Food from Oishii Tokens have the potential to be worth a decent amount in the future. I wouldn’t expect miracles, but the Japanese aesthetic has proven popular with MTG players in recent years, so they may just surprise you.
