Just two days ago, we got another surprise entry in Magic’s Chaos Vault Secret Lair series, in the form of the Prints Charming drop. While these Lairs are usually fun, experimental affairs, this one left a bad taste in the community’s mouth. Thanks to a strange new pricing model, this drop caused an uproar, with claims of greed echoing across social media.
This new drop caused such a stir, in fact, that Wizards took time to address the controversy around it during yesterday’s WeeklyMTG stream. On top of that, the session also offered some insight into the wider Secret Lair ecosystem and where things might be heading in the future.
The Prints Charming Chaos Vault Debacle
“Admittedly, looking at that on the website, I can see how that doesn’t look great.”
Lindsey Bartell, on the Prints Charming drop, via Weekly MTG
According to Senior Secret Lair Director Lindsey Bartell, the Prints Charming drop was released with “good intentions,” but players have not responded well. The price structuring was intended to emulate the ‘pay what you want’ or ‘early bird’ models you see elsewhere. In the context of a limited-supply Secret Lair drop, however, they just exacerbated the existing problems. Due to prices going beyond the usual $29.99, it felt like players were being punished for not being quick enough.
While this is already damning, what’s even more bizarre about the Prints Charming drop is the volume of supply present at each tier. According to Bartell, just 5% of the total stock was allocated to the higher-than-usual cost tiers. Conversely, 45% were the usual price, and 50% were lower. During the discussion on stream, Bartell admitted that this structure was a mistake.
Since such a small portion of the stock was allocated to the higher tiers, it seems Wizards shot themselves in the foot here. By including a higher-priced option, the optics around the sale were radically changed for the worse. Without these, Prints Charming may have come across as a generous offer, in the vein of last year’s $1 basic land drop. As it stands, it looks like a test run for future surge pricing models, which are frankly the last thing Secret Lair needs.
In Demand
Beyond addressing the latest Secret Lair controversy, Wizards also responded to calls to bring back the print-to-demand model for drops. For years, players have been calling for a return to this mode of distribution, as currently the limited supply makes it incredibly difficult to get certain drops.
Unfortunately, according to Bartell, a return to the old ways seems very unlikely. This is because the print-to-demand model introduced a ton of costly logistical problems for Wizards. It also caused issues for players, too, as they’d often have to wait months before their drops were delivered. Due to this, Bartell stated that the new limited-run pre-printed system is “just better for business.”
While this isn’t what a lot of MTG players will want to hear, considering the problems it has caused, Wizards, ultimately, is a business. Having Secret Lair drops be print-to-demand is a big risk for Wizards, as it can potentially result in huge volumes of stock going unsold. According to Bartell, it’s not just Wizards being stingy, since the stability provided by limited-run drops allows Chaos Vault to exist at all.
That said, we could still see some improvement on the supply front in the months to come. Bartell mentioned that stock forecasting is difficult for Secret Lair, but also that their techniques for doing so are improving all the time. This was evident during the recent Fallout Secret Lair drops, where supply lasted long enough for most players to get the product they wanted. If forecasting continues to improve, this could become the norm for every new drop.
Sticking Points
Unfortunately, the woes of Secret Lair don’t just end at pricing and supply. Due to their tendency to exacerbate the lightning-fast speed of sales, bots have also become a pervasive issue. Curiously, Bartell made this seem like it wasn’t a problem during the WeeklyMTG livestream, stating that only 0.5% of sales come from “bad actors.” While it’s impossible to verify, most players in the stream chat and online weren’t buying such a low figure. With how fast drops sell out, and then reappear on sites like eBay, it does feel fairly unlikely.
Thankfully for Secret Lair fans, it’s not all bad news, as the much-maligned queue has, supposedly, been getting better. Bartell mentioned that, since the Sonic the Hedgehog drops in June last year, they’ve managed to reduce queue waiting times by 300% overall. As with the reseller figure, however, this is one that doesn’t seem to bear out in reality, as many players still struggle to get through the queue each time.
Part of the problem here is that the Secret Lair queue is supposedly staggered, to ensure the site doesn’t get overloaded. While this is a net positive, as preventing crashes is paramount, it does make initial queue times feel especially bleak. It doesn’t help that queues can accelerate seemingly randomly, too, making it difficult to predict when it’ll be your turn.
Unfortunately, if you do miss out on a drop due to the queue system, you may be out of luck. When asked whether certain popular Secret Lair drops could be re-released by Wizards in the future, Bartell responded with a hard “no.” In Wizards’ eyes, doing so would break the promise made to players and compromise collectability. This is particularly unfortunate for pricey mechanically-unique cards.
Give And Take
Thankfully, while the WeeklyMTG livestream didn’t provide many solutions to the ongoing Secret Lair problems, it wasn’t all bad news. Bartell confirmed that the Secret Lair Countdown Kit will now be an annual event, with a new version dropping each holiday season. We first saw this concept back in 2022 for Magic’s 30th anniversary, then again late last year with An Encyclopedia of Magic. Both of these were excellent drops with a ton of value, which sadly led to them selling out instantly. Hopefully, if all of Wizards’ fixes do end up getting implemented, this year’s sale will be a smoother experience.
While the next Countdown Kit is still a ways away, thankfully, MTG players won’t have to wait long for more Secret Lair content. Not only does the new Roll for Initiative Drop launch on Monday, February 9th, but there’s plenty more in store throughout 2026. So far, only the Cats-themed Superdrop and revised Monster Hunter Superdrops are confirmed, but there’s bound to be tons more to look forward to.
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