Often referred to as the godfather of Commander, Sheldon Menery essentially made the format what it is today. While they didn’t outright create it, Menery nonetheless pushed Commander to new bounds. By tweaking the format’s rules and showing it to the right people, Menery made Commander what it is today.
Sadly, last year, Sheldon Menery lost their battle with cancer. Following this sad news breaking, MTG players, creators, and Wizards alike all shared their support, remembering Menery’s actions and influence. Going one step beyond this, Wizards of the Coast is now releasing a special Secret Lair drop in their honor; Sheldon’s Spellbook.
A Fitting Tribute
While it may sound rather macabre, the new Secret Lair drop is a fantastic tribute to Menery’s legacy. Hand-picked by Menery prior to their passing and made in collaboration with Wizards, this drop is unmistakably them. With gorgeous new art on iconic and beloved cards, it’s just a shame Menery isn’t around to enjoy these cards too.
Beyond just being a collection of their favorite cards, each one bears a greater and more touching significance. For many players, this touching connection will be most clearly seen in the new art for Inkshield. Famously having been designed by Menery, this card now bears his likeness in the Secret Lair drop.
Alongside this iconic card, the Sheldon’s Spellbook drop features multiple cards from their iconic Commander deck. Named “You Did This to Yourself, even this deck has been further immortalized through flavor text in this drop. As if that wasn’t enough of a tribute, the deck’s Commander, Ruhan of the Fomori has a new variant Sheldon Menery, the Commander.
As well as putting them on an MTG card officially, the Sheldon’s Spellbook drop also celebrates Menery’s Italian heritage. Within the drop, Greater Good will always be the Italian version of the card Bene Suprimo. Reportedly, when playing any version of this card, Menery had a habit of saying its, admittedly fantastic, Italian name.
All in all, this Secret Lair drop has been incredibly well received by the MTG community. Celebrated for its touching sentiment and gorgeous art, this drop is an incredibly touching celebration of their life.
A Fantastic Secret Lair
Beyond just being a fitting tribute to Sheldon Menery’s legacy, this Secret Lair drop is still an MTG product. Priced at $39.99 for the non-foil variant and $49.99 for the foil version, it’s not exactly cheap either. As a result, some MTG players will still be looking to get their money’s worth.
Thankfully for these fiscally concerned players, Sheldon’s Spellbook has more than enough value contained within. In total, the non-foil value of this Secret Lair drop is around $73. This impressive price tag is largely thanks to the reprint of Teferi’s Protection. On top of this, Inkshield is also worth $20 and is an all-around great reprint.
In terms of foil value, this Secret Lair drop is similarly impressive, albeit more mysterious. Within the drop, three of the seven cards have never had a foil variant before. Even without these cards factoring into the value, the drop is still worth around $50. Once again, this is thanks to Teferi’s Protection, which is a true Commander staple.
While the financial prospects from Sheldon’s Spellbook are interesting, ultimately, this Secret Lair isn’t about the money. Instead, the real value here is in the art that pays homage to a true MTG legend. If you want to commemorate Sheldon Menery, this Secret Lair drop is a fantastic way to do it.
For a Good Cause
Thankfully, the Sheldon’s Spellbook Secret Lair drop isn’t Wizards just profiting off Menery’s legacy. Instead, this commemorative Secret Lair is also a charity drive. For each copy of Sheldon’s Spellbook that is purchased, 50% of each sale will go to the American Cancer Society. Regardless of how many copies are sold, a minimum of $250,000 will be donated to this charity as well.
Thankfully, alongside profit going to a good cause, this Secret Lair shouldn’t be plagued by scalpers and FOMO. In a welcome change, this Secret Lair drop is not a limited-run sale. Instead, as was the way before, players will have a month to purchase this product, starting on February 26th. Thanks to this change, everyone who wants to get a copy of Sheldon’s Spellbook should be able to purchase one.
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