At this point, delays are nothing new in the world of Magic: The Gathering. If anything, it feels rare that a set doesn’t get hit with at least some kind of delay to one product or another. While we have come to expect delay announcements, MTG Reality Fracture is having a particularly tough time.
Not only was the set hit with a major wave of delays early on, but now the set’s special bundle has been caught up in it, too. With these delays coming just three days before the product was meant to be released, it’s safe to say MTG players aren’t happy.
MTG Reality Fracture Secret Lair Bundle Delayed
According to Wizards of the Coast, the Reality Fracture Secret Lair Bundle has been delayed by “production and shipping issues.” While this is always disappointing news, it stings that a delay has hit such an interesting product. Not only is Reality Fracture a fantastic all-around set, but the Secret Lair-styled main-set reprints in this bundle look absolutely stunning.
With Wizards being somewhat vague in their statement, it’s unclear what under the production and shipping umbrella has caused this issue. This ambiguity, however, hasn’t stopped MTG players from concocting some theories on social media, however. As u/MeatAbstract put on Reddit, for instance, it’s totally Wizards’ fault that we’ve seen a devastating El Niño and that there’s an ongoing war.
Realistically, as it was when the world was ravaged by a global pandemic, this delay is likely out of Wizards’ hands. That being said, it’s certainly frustrating that we’re only hearing about it now, right before the product is being released. As others noted on Reddit, it’s hard to believe that Wizards didn’t know these delays would happen until right now.
Thanks to how late this delay is, it’s easy to be cynical, thinking Wizards wanted to keep pre-orders for as long as possible. In reality, it’s very unlikely this is the reason, especially when other retailers have delayed independently of Wizards. Still, this definitely isn’t a good look, not least because of the amount of product Wizards is pumping out.
Even if the two aren’t correlated, it definitely feels like we’re seeing more delays as more products are produced. We’ve even seen the MTG Star Trek Beginner Box being cancelled outright recently, which was especially worrying. While this is a troublesome trend, this delay might not be entirely terrible.
Only a Slight Delay?
If there is any silver lining to this situation, it’s that this delay appears to be a rather short one. In Wizards’ statement, it’s said that the Secret Lair Bundle “may arrive shortly after the October 23 release date.” Sadly, this is unhelpfully vague, as timing will depend on region and local area, but it doesn’t sound too bad.
Ultimately, as is often the case with delays, we can only really sit tight and wait for the cards to be delivered. Hopefully, these delays will get sorted out sooner rather than later, but whether or not that happens remains to be seen.
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