What's Good in the Spring Secret Lair Drop?

03 Jun
by Matt Grzechnik

A Whole Lot of Something

The Spring Superdrop 2024 has recently been announced and previewed, sparking a wave of mixed opinions. Overall, there appears to be a significant mismatching of themes and cards featured across the individual releases. From what seems like a complete departure in art direction to elements that resemble a poorly executed April Fools' joke, prospective buyers may sense a lack of cohesive direction.

Out of the six individual drops, three adopt similar art styles found in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, while the remainder take an entirely different approach. While the diversity of themes and styles was usually present in these larger drops, it still remained easier to establish a clear connection between them. Now more than ever, the amount of clear outliers seems to limit the number of customers who may wish to purchase the bundle entirely.

Furthermore, there appears to be no standout winner among the featured products in terms of value or reprint equity. From my perspective, each of the Secret Lairs in this drop falls short of its potential.

A Glass Half Full

While not particularly well-versed in Vocaloids, I have of course come across the name Hatsune Miku. The Sakura Superstar Secret Lair offers a compact assortment of cards containing reskins and reprints of playable yet not entirely desirable cards. While some players may appreciate this crossover, they may encounter difficulty integrating all the cards into a cohesive deck. The color distribution of the cards in the drop primarily features white/red, followed by green. The cards lean more towards a Commander shell of Miku, the Renowned as Feather, the Redeemed, combining protection tricks, a finisher, and an on-color land.

Although the aforementioned Commander package of cards provides a nice foundation, the real prize here is Miku, Lost but Singing as Azusa, Lost but Seeking. Azusa is a largely playable card in EDH, with a demand to match it. The Secret Lair treatment arrives at a time when the price range for a previous Secret Lair version, both in foil and non-foil, has steadily risen to around $50. With the introduction of this reprint, the price on previous iterations doesn't seem to be slowing down; rather, there's a gradual increase driven by renewed interest. Azusa performs a specific function beneficial to most green decks without a significant investment, rendering it a prime target for future reprints in Commander decks or eternal sets.

Miku, the Renowned
Miku, Lost but Singing
Harmonize

Wanted Dead

Akin to the Showcase: March of the Machine from last year, where multiple cards received the Halo foil treatment, the Outlaw Anthology Vol. 1: Rebellious Renegades introduces some intriguing cards into the mix. First up for discussion is Tezzeret the Seeker (1619), which is seeing some fringe play in Vintage, though its main home is in EDH. Tezzeret is a powerhouse, fulfilling all the requisites that artifact decks care about: untapping, searching, and animating. To grasp Tezzeret's prowess, envision the artifact you're searching for, untapping, or animating as being The One Ring. While Tezzeret already boasts a previous Secret Lair version which recently increased to the $41-$44 range, the new iteration will probably land around a similar price point post-release.

Another card that piques my interest in this drop is Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker. Once again, this card squarely fits into EDH play and has fallen out of favor over the years due to being too sluggish and bulky to keep up with newer alternatives. What gives me optimism is the number of seasoned players who may seek to replace their old Conflux foil (currently priced at $21) with a fresh alt artwork. Alternatively, the Secret Lair version's price point may also be propelled by newer players encountering the card for the first time. Regardless, the current 5x multiplier on the original foils offers this potential for a tidy profit in the long run.

Tezzeret the Seeker (1619)
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Grenzo, Havoc Raiser

Wanted Alive

In the next Thunder Junction art treatment, we're presented with Outlaw Anthology Vol. 2: Sinister Scoundrels. While this second volume reintroduces more familiar faces through its "what if?" art renditions, it falls short in terms of monetary value. On average, original prints from this volume are priced at approximately $32, compared to about $39 for the previous volume. While some of the included cards certainly merit reprints due to their significance, they lack a compelling monetary incentive for collectors. 

For instance, Karona, False God, was once a popular Commander choice for decks featuring underrepresented creature types. However, it has fallen out of favor, replaced by Morophon, the Boundless. The original Scourge print of Karona can be acquired for a modest $2.80. While this may not seem impressive, the story changes when we consider its foil counterpart, currently fetching around $63. The higher price point is largely due to their scarcity, as foils were not as prevalent in the Scourge set. Hence, Karona's first foil treatment in 21 years may prove to be an appealing investment for certain collectors.

On the flip side, we have a card that remains popular in both Commander and CEDH circles: Korvold, Fae-Cursed King. Its moderate power level, combined with a single set printing, gives it an edge. Despite being reprinted in The List and as a Year of the Dragon Promo, which helped slightly lower its price, the recent addition of a Secret Lair raises the possibility of further reprints.

Karona, False God
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger

Poker Faces

On a completely different note, there is the Poker Faces Secret Lair. This is one of the more distinct directions in art as well as approaches to cards that we’ve seen in recent years. When examining the price, it falls through the cracks as being very cheap when considering the cards chosen. So it begs the question: what is more important, the art of the card or how high the market price is?

These full-art, nearly textless cards are unique and underline a fun alternative that one could use. While not as oppressive as the Omnath, Locus of Creation Game Day Promo, this is the closest comparison point I have been drawn to along with other players. Ultimately it’s up to personal preference to use them, as long as your opponents are clear on what the card does.

Speaking of cards, for me the standout here is Coffin Queen being given its first foil treatment. We’ve seen this pattern before with Secret Lairs being the first time a card has been printed in foil and doing reasonably well in price post-release. The hindering factor here may be the lack of play in many of the formats where the card is legal. Right now, the main attraction would be for Commander decks like [card]Merieke Ri Beri[/card], which should give an indication of how unpopular an inclusion Coffin Queen may be.

Coffin Queen
Rankle, Master of Pranks
Professional Face-Breaker

sAnS mERcY

In stark contrast to how art is often implemented in a Secret Lair, we have sAnS mERcY. This joke release has elicited a collective groan from the community due to its use of a font and less-than-desirable flavor text. There's plenty not to like here, and perhaps a speck of value to be found. 

So let's quickly break it down. tOrMEnt oF hAiLFiRe has been severely underprinted and its price is steadily increasing. As a commonly used finisher that can single-handedly end games, its only limiting factor is its current price. Once again, with the Secret Lair printing, it feels like the floodgates of reprints will open up in the coming months as we've seen happen before. But until then, this may be an accessible way to obtain the card.

Another interesting inclusion is rUiNatIOn receiving its first foil treatment. For anyone concerned about the nonbasic land meta becoming problematic in EDH, here is your answer in a fresh new printing. Ruination is currently priced at $6, having stabilized after a spike to $12. The price for the Secret Lair is a bit more elusive, as I'm unsure if this style will attract enough attention to surpass its previous all-time high.

tOrMEnt oF hAiLFiRe
rUiNatIOn
MOgIs, gOD of sLaUGHter (9994)

Disappointing Finish

The Spring Superdrop 2024 is one of the weakest offerings of cards that we’ve seen in some time. It's thematically weak, with many products using the same treatment as a previous set, along with a selection of cards that potentially didn't require a reprinting. There will, of course, be players and collectors who are looking to pick these up and will enjoy them. But to the majority of people, this will be a very quick pass, with some trust in future products being lost after seeing sAnS mERcY. 

The drops have a very narrow interest base and might be undersold in bundles rather than individually. There may not be many players who are looking to collect both the Hatsune Miku and the Showcase Lairs, for example. With the supply becoming more of an issue in recent months, it may be a consideration to buy a bundle where possible and then scrap the unwanted parts on the market.

Join me again later this month as we cross the Modern Horizon for the third time.

Further Reading:

Cards to Pick Up Before Death Race in 2025

Matt Grzechnik
Matt Grzechnik

Matt Grzechnik started playing Magic with the release of Dragon's Maze. Since then he has tried and experimented with all of the formats before discovering his love for EDH and Pauper. Piloting the same Jund deck for the last 10 years, he now tries to both understand and break Sealed as a format.


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