Wanted Poster Secret Lair Drop Leaves Players Wanting!

It seems like only yesterday we were collectively gawking at the contents of the Equinox Superdrop, and already new Secret Lair products are being teased. Specifically, the Showcase: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Secret Lair drop. Ahead of the full Spring Superdrop announcement next Monday, the contents of this drop have been revealed on Twitter.

We’ve seen Showcase drops before, and this one follows in their footsteps. It takes four legendary (literally and figuratively) outlaws from Magic’s past, and gives them the Wanted Poster treatment from Thunder Junction. If you’re in the mood for some devious schemes, then stay tuned. This may just be the Secret Lair drop for you.

Greasefang, Okiba Boss

First up in the Showcase: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Secret Lair rogue’s gallery is Greasefang, Okiba Boss. This is a relatively new card, debuting in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty back in 2022. It’s still in Standard to this day, but it’s set to rotate in a few months. Thankfully, Standard isn’t where this card has seen success.

Greasefang is a bit of an all-star in Pioneer, forming part of a combo with Parhelion II that can essentially end the game on turn three. It’s such a key card in the strategy, in fact, that the deck is named Esper Greasefang in its honor.

That said, the deck isn’t a big player in the current meta, which explains the low market price of Greasefang at present. Regular copies of the card can be had for around $0.10, which isn’t hugely exciting. It’s good to see a playable card in a Secret Lair drop, though, even if it’s not a financially heavy hitter.

Magda, Brazen Outlaw

Next, let’s look at Magda, Brazen Outlaw. Of all the cards in the Showcase: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Secret Lair drop, this is the most interesting inclusion. It’s not a particularly valuable card, sitting at around $0.50 currently. It’s also not very widely played, really only seeing use in Commander and Brawl decks.

The reason for Magda’s inclusion here may well be the fact that she saw a new version in Thunder Junction. Magda, the Hoardmaster is a similar card, but one that cares about Crimes rather than Dwarves.

This new Wanted Poster printing is likely to reinforce her status as a ‘villain’ in the story. Though, hilariously, neither version of Magda, even the one with ‘Outlaw’ in the title, actually counts as an Outlaw. Lore quibbles aside, this is a solid reprint for Commander players, and not really anyone else.

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Now we’re getting into the good stuff. Anyone who was playing while Oath of the Gatewatch was in Standard will remember Kalitas well. The card was an absolute house in the format, serving as graveyard hate and token production all in one package. Nowadays, it reprises that role in Pioneer, where it shows up in the likes of Rakdos Vampires and Mono-Black Midrange.

Kalitas’ continued success has kept the card’s price up post-rotation, and copies still go for around $8 on average. This value isn’t surprising when you consider how good the card is in both competitive formats and Commander. Got a Vampire or Zombie deck? It’d probably benefit from adding a Kalitas. With only one other reprint on The List, this is a top pick for this Secret Lair.

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet also has some great villainous flavor about them too. That being said, this card doesn’t actually commit any Crimes, so they’re arguably not too deserving of this wanted posted card frame. Still, it’s a nice look that’ll help expand options in Commander.

Dack Fayden

We’ve saved the best for last, folks. That’s right: Dack Fayden, the Greatest Thief in the Multiverse, is part of this Secret Lair drop. Originally printed in the Commander-focused Conspiracy, this three-mana Planeswalker has since carved out a niche for himself in Vintage. This is largely down to his outrageous -2 ability, which can straight-up steal an Artifact while still keeping Fayden around for later.

This sounds enticing, but Dack Fayden actually only sees sparing play in the format these days. For that reason, you can pick him up for around $10, less if you’re willing to put up with the bizarre Retro Frame Planeswalker formatting. It’s still a nice value booster for the drop, though, and a well-known card that can do work in Commander if you don’t play Vintage.

Does Crime Pay?

So we’ve gone over all of the individual cards, and now comes the big question: Is it worth it to buy this Secret Lair Drop? Sadly, from a pure finance perspective, the Showcase: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Secret Lair drop appears to disappoint. The cards included add up to just under $19, which is notably less than the $30 expected cost of Secret Lair drops.

That said, the Wanted Poster frame could make a difference here. This frame was divisive upon release, owing largely to the extra text it adds at the top of each card. Now that the cards are out in the wild, however, some Wanted Poster cards are actually selling for more than their regular counterparts. Tinybones, the Pickpocket, in particular, goes for around 30% more in the Wanted Poster frame.

These new printings, then, could well be worth a lot more than the originals, lifting the value of the drop up over that crucial $30 mark. Though of course nothing is guaranteed, and so far the community has been lukewarm on the drop as a value proposition. On r/MagicTCG, ElonTheMollusk commented, “At this point, I think WotC is trying to make sure to put in as low a value as possible to test where the sales stop.”

Community Concerns

The monetary value of the drop isn’t the only complaint the community has, however. There are also concerns about both the visual style and flavor it brings to the table. We talked about the divisive nature of the Wanted Poster frame above, and community sentiment hasn’t simmered much on it since. As LaboratoryManiac puts it, “Well the cards may be worthless, but at least the frames are ugly.”

Flavor-wise, many players are disappointed with how the chosen legends match up with the Thunder Junction theming. The set notably introduced the Crime and Outlaw mechanics, and, outside of Dack Fayden, none of the chosen cards represent those mechanics at all. We’ve covered Magda already, but the other two creatures also don’t count as Outlaws. It’s no wonder Blokron comments, “0/10 none of them are Outlaws.”

Given how many legendary Outlaw cards there are in Magic’s vaults, this almost seems like a deliberate decision. Olipod2002 agrees: “Tbh I think that’s the idea: these cards are depicting outlaws without any of them having an outlaw creature type because they predate the batching.” This may well be true, but in the context of being a Thunder Junction-themed Secret Lair, it feels like a missed opportunity. Legends that commit Crimes would also have been good, though maybe there’s a desire to differentiate the drop from the Breaking News Bonus sheet, which also committed Crimes.

All of that said, this is still a drop, with some playable, if not valuable, cards in it. As a taster for the upcoming Spring Superdrop it feels perfectly fine, if unexciting. Grab it if you want to run these cards in your decks, but don’t expect to see it on anyone’s ‘Most Wanted’ list any time soon.