Throughout recent years, the collectibility of Magic: the Gathering cards and sets has been steadily increasing. This, in part, is thanks to new bonus sheets and promotions such as the upcoming Multiverse Legends. Launching as part of March of the Machine, this bonus sheet features highly collective serialized MTG cards. Last seen in The Brothers’ War, these collectible cards can sell for upwards of $2000! With prices like these, it’s no surprise that collectors want to get their hands on them. Alongside these serialized promotions, the direct-to-consumer Secret Lair sub-brand has allowed Wizards to capitalize on the collectible art market.
Only available for a limited time, Secret Lair drops have been beloved by collectors, investors, as well as players looking to bling out their Commander decks. Recently, however, these already exclusive products have seemingly been getting harder to get ahold of. Being sequestered behind events and steep paywalls, the collectibility and exclusivity of Secret Lairs are being driven to the extreme. As bad as it sounds, however, this might not be the end of the world.
The Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind) Secret Lair Drop
In case you’ve somehow missed Wizards of the Coast’s jubilant celebrations, 2023 is Magic: the Gathering’s 30th Anniversary. Technically, the exact anniversary date is August 5th, 2023, but that detail isn’t getting in the way of Wizards celebrating. Subsequently, throughout 2023, Wizards is hosting a number of MagicCon events across the world, with MagicCon: Minneapolis being the next. Scheduled to take place from May 5th to 7th, this latest event is anticipated to be the best yet. With an expanded Command Zone, Pro Tour March of the Machine, and plenty of main-stage events, MTG players should have plenty to enjoy. Alongside all this, MagicCon: Minneapolis is getting its very own Secret Lair drop, Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind).
Similar to the Secret Lair drop available for MagicCon: Philadelphia, this Secret Lair is only available at the event and via the Festival in a Box. Just like the exclusive Look at the Kitties Secret Lair, this is a crying shame for many players. After all, the Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind) has a gorgeous, if somewhat unreadable, Aesthetic. For better or worse, while the art style is gorgeous to some, the value of this Secret Lair leaves much to be desired. Including reprints of Phage the Untouchable, Sen Triplets, Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, and Alela, Artful Provocateur, this Secret Lair is far from recouping the $39.99 asking price. That is, at least, so long as you’re only after the cheapest version of the card.
If you’re just after reprints, the Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind) Secret Lair Drop offers truly dismal value. Out of the four cards, Phage the Untouchable is the most expensive at roughly $7 for its cheapest variant. The entire drop isn’t much better, being only worth $11.46.
Look at the Kitties. Look at the Value
While the Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind) Secret Lair is terrible for raw reprint acquisition, foil prices are a completely different story. Foil copies of Phage the Untouchable, for instance, sell for around $32.96, recouping much of the drop’s value. As if that wasn’t enticing, enough foil copies of Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, sell for around $18.23! Judging by these prices, cards at MagicCon: Minneapolis are in for an instant profit, especially since foil prices total $57.36.
Ultimately, however, as enticing as these prices seem to be, there’s no telling how much this Secret Lair will actually be worth once it releases. Should supply outstrip demand, however, it’s possible these cards could be worth far less than expected. Judging by the MagicCon: Philadelphia exclusive Look at the Kitties drop, however, it appears that shouldn’t be too much of a concern. Containing reprints of Descendants’ Path, Felidar Sovereign, Lord Windgrace, and Violent Outburst, this Secret Lair drop was initially valued at $24.28. Since then, prices have climbed significantly, with Lord Windgrace leading the charge.
Initially priced at just $8.97, the Look at the Kitties version of the card sells for a staggering $32.17. Violent Outburst has seen a similar boom in price, soaring to $23.26 on average, up from $5.05. Notably, this card sees a lot of competitive play in Modern Cascade-oriented decks.
With Descendants’ Path and Felidar Sovereign also fetching $11.20 and $12.09 respectively, this Secret Lair has proven to be an incredibly good deal for the $39.99 asking price. Should this trend continue, the Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind) Secret Lair will be quite the exclusive treat for MagicCon: Minneapolis attendees.
Regional Resentment
As we’ve noted throughout this article, the Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind) Secret Lair is only available at MagicCon: Minneapolis. To us, since the Secret Lair is only comprised of reprints, and the secondary market exists, this isn’t the end of the world. In fact, personally, it feels like the opposite. Offering a unique reprint collection at events is a nice and seemingly harmless way to reward attendees. My opinion, however, may well be in the minority, as across social media, many MTG players lamented these regional exclusives. Reddit user u/Violet-Lazuli, for instance, laid down quite the critique of why this Secret Lair is inherently problematic.
“I wish they would stop doing this, it sucks so much. Regional exclusives in general are awful. Just make it available only during the weekend of the event or something, but exclusive is really garbage. Feels horrible being expected to buy 3 booster boxes just to be able to buy this from them just because I live far away. The time boxed to demand is the best thing about secret lair, it’s always so disappointing when they go against that.”
u/Violet-Lazuli
Ultimately, it’s currently unclear just how hard the Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind) Secret Lair is going to be to get ahold of. For event attendees, the Secret Lair is only priced at $39.99. However, other interested players will be forced to purchase the MagicCon: Minneapolis Festival in a Box. At the time moment, the price of this product has not yet been announced. That being said, however, it’s expected to be more costly than usual. This is thanks to the product featuring Draft Booster boxes for Phyrexia: All Will Be One and The Brothers’ War, alongside the usual Mystery Booster: Convention Edition. With so much on offer through this product, some players like u/b7XPbZCdMrqR are expecting prices around the $500 mark! Obviously, this immense price point would be far from ideal for players just after a fancy Phage.
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