Secret Lair promo cards are often a strange bunch. When they’re low value, they can feel like a bit of an insult sometimes, barely offering incentive for a major purchase. On the other end of the spectrum, when flavorful reprints like The Labyrinth get locked behind a $200 paywall, it can be equally frustrating. Thanks to this balance, a good promo tends to be an otherwise cheap Commander staple, as those are playable and potentially valuable.
With this in mind, the recent Marvel-themed Command Tower Secret Lair promo actually looked rather good. At the very least, this was a playable promo, and it had a strong chance of a fair Secret Lair Tax being applied. Sadly, it now seems not all eligible orders will be getting this promo, as The Zeta Set has caused yet more problems.
A Sudden Swap
According to a new email from Wizards, shared on Reddit, some MTG players are having the Command Tower promos swapped out due to low supply. This promo was originally released alongside the A Perfectly Normal Superdrop, which explains its Marvel theming. Since this promo was still in stock when The Zeta Set was being sold, however, they were also available with this sale.
While MTG Secret Lair promos selling out are nothing new, The Zeta Set did complicate things. Thanks to the sale being a total shambles, it appears that some orders slipped through the cracks. Subsequently, it’s believed that Wizards ran out of Command Tower promos before they could stop including them in orders.
Due to this, Wizards is now replacing Command Tower promos with past Sol Ring and Cryptic Command promos. For anyone who liked the look of the Command Tower, this is definitely disappointing news; however, it’s not all bad. In terms of value, these two replacements are actually pretty good, and either one is better than the originally planned card.
Selling for $6.70 and $7.70, respectively, these promos are a decent $14 bump in value, which puts the Command Tower to shame. Currently, this promo is selling for slightly under $5, and there’s evidently supply on the way. With this in mind, it seems like this swap is more of an upgrade for affected players, rather than a setback.
Don’t Fret About the Future
For better or worse, it’s currently unclear just how widespread this promo problem is going to be. Considering how much of a mess The Zeta Set was, it wouldn’t be surprising if this was rather widespread. That said, since it’s known how many promos were available at the time, this could be a very minor issue.
Notably, this promo switch-up shouldn’t affect the second sale of The Zeta Set, when it returns on December 9th. When this print-to-demand sale goes live, it’s unclear if there will even be a promo available at that time. Ultimately, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
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