It’s no secret that many MTG players aren’t happy with Secret Lair drops. Not only has the lack of value been a source of complaints recently, but having them sell out is equally frustrating. Thankfully, Wizards of the Coast has just announced a major change to how Secret Lairs are sold. Sadly, it’s not a change that many players were asking for…
Everything Must Go
Starting with the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop, Secret Lair drops will no longer be limited-time sales. From now on, Wizards is deliberately removing the timer that has long been associated with Secret Lair drops. This means drops will be available until they’re sold out, or eventually rotate out.
This major change was quietly confirmed in the recent Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop article. Here, Wizards explained that products will only be removed when they “have been around for some time.” This is presumably to save players from constantly having to ignore the drops that aren’t selling.
“We will be eliminating hard ending dates for Secret Lair sales events. This means that, for the most part, there’s no more “timer” on sales. However, we do plan to clean up the storefront from time to time and remove products that have been around for some time.”
Wizards of the Coast
Alongside this change, Wizards also explained they will “keep the reduced cart this year.” Ideally, this could continue to curb the dodgy dealing of scalpers, although that hasn’t been entirely effective so far. Thankfully, Wizards states they will “continue to evaluate and monitor the process so we can provide the best possible experience for our Secret Lair fans.”
Overall, this won’t be the most devastating change to Secret Lair drops, but it is a positive. For any drop that didn’t sell out, there was little reason for it to go away. Now, they won’t, so players are free to pick them up pretty much whenever they suddenly want to.
Notably, this may have quite an interesting effect on secondary market prices for Secret Lair drops that don’t sell out. Depending on the drop, they could be a good way to pick up interesting reprints on the cheap. Exactly how much this change will alter prices, ultimately remains to be seen.
Limited-Run but Not Limited-Time
Sadly, this change to Secret Lair sales isn’t the one that many MTG players were hoping for. Since it was introduced, players have long considered the limited-run printing method a problem. This printing method is staying put, so players can expect problematically fast Secret Lair sales to continue.
This obviously isn’t good news for a lot of players, especially looking at the Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop. Thanks to boasting both fantastic art and compelling reprints, drops like Karlach’s Rage are expected to sell out insanely quickly. Given they’re technically crossovers, each of the upcoming Secret Lair drops has the potential to sell out fast.
When it comes to selling out, the only surprise is that the Festival in a Box is still available. Ahead of its release, it was expected this product would barely last a few hours. Despite this expectation, the $250 drop containing a Mystery Booster 2 box is still available. It seems the supply of this product was a lot greater than many players feared.
While we’d like to be hopeful, it’s unlikely Wizards has massively upped print numbers for everything. That said, Wizards does leave money on the table when a drop sells out, so there’s a non-zero chance they’ve tweaked numbers. Whether or not they have, however, remains to be seen. Once the Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop actually launches we should have a clearer picture.
For now, this is a positive change, even if it’s not revelatory or the one players were hoping for. Products being available for a longer time is all upside, so there’s no reason not to be happy. We just hope that Wizards will properly address the issue of drops selling out soon enough.
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