What is the best Secret Lair to come out of the August 2022 Superdrop? Let's look at all the new Secret Lairs to determine the best one to buy!
All of the Secret Lairs will be judged on three categories:
Usability
This is how usable the cards within the Secret Lair are to modern-day Magic the Gathering players. This is not just a measure of if the cards are usable since most (if not all) of these cards are usable in Commander, but how usable the cards are to various players and formats. This was determined by using the MTG Goldfish Deck Search to see if the cards have been used in decks within the last three months and if those decks were user decks or tournament decks. A portion of this score is determined by how much of a reprint the cards need. The scores are decided by the standards below:
1/5: Only one of the cards is usable in a format other than Commander or is a needed reprint.
2/5: Two cards are usable in a format other than Commander or are needed reprints.
3/5: At least half of the cards are usable in a format other than Commander, and the cards are needed reprints in 2-3 formats.
4/5: Most cards are usable in multiple formats and need reprints.
5/5: All of the cards are highly used in many formats and are all needed reprints.
Cost
This is how much value you are getting for the price you are paying. This looks at how much it would cost you to buy the cards if you weren't to buy the Secret Lair and if it's a worthwhile investment. The cost of foil and non-foil cards will be determined separately, and they will be given separate grades; however, those grades will be averaged for a final score.
1/5: You could buy all the cards within the Secret Lair for under half the selling price.
2/5: The cards' value is less than the selling price of the Secret Lair.
3/5: The cards' value is equal to the selling price of the Secret Lair.
4/5: The cards' value is higher than the selling price of the Secret Lair.
5/5: The cards' value is more than double that of the selling price of the Secret Lair.
Artwork
This is how 'good' the artwork on the cards is. This category is the most ambiguous among the three since it is difficult to remove bias entirely, and some artwork will appeal more to some than others. To keep this as fair of a score as possible, this will focus on how iconic the artwork is and how it compares to its original artwork.
1/5: The artwork is bland or doesn't fit with what the card entails.
2/5: The artwork does not do the card justice, but the artwork is not bad.
3/5: The artwork is good, but does not stand out or compare to its original artwork.
4/5: The artwork is excellent and properly fits what you expect to see on the card.
5/5: The artwork is beautiful and iconic, and it perfectly fits with what the card is.
#7: Imaginary Friends by Jeannie Lynn Paske
Usability: 1/5
This Secret Lair was clearly aimed at Commander Players with the inclusion of Pir and Toothy, and The Gitrog Monster is also seen in no formats other than Commander. Matter Reshaper is the only card seen in any format other than Commander. However, it is only ever played in Eldrazi Tron and did not require a reprint.
Cost: 3.5/5
While Matter Reshaper isn't worth much, the other three cards in this Secret Lair pick up the slack. For the non-foil cards, you will break even; however, the real value of this Secret Lair is with the foil version. The value of the foil cards in this Secret Lair is almost double the cost of the product itself.
Matter Reshaper:
Nonfoil: $2
Foil: $6
Toothy, Imaginary Friend:
Nonfoil: $12
Foil: $17
Pir, Imaginative Rascal:
Nonfoil: $11
Foil: $25
The Gitrog Monster:
Nonfoil: $6
Foil: $23
Total Nonfoil: $31
Total Foil: $71
Cost of Nonfoil Secret Lair: $30
Cost of Foil Secret Lair: $40
Nonfoil Grade: 3/5
Foil Grade: 4/5
Average Grade: 3.5/5
Artwork: 2/5
While I'm sure this art style is loved by some and makes sense for Pir and Toothy, the artwork just doesn't scream "Magic the Gathering." It does not do the Gitrog Monster or Matter Reshaper justice, and their original artwork fits the cards much better. While the artwork is not "bad," I cannot see it going down as iconic artwork or something that is sought after.
Overall Grade: 2.17/5
There is a tiny portion of Magic fans that this Secret Lair is for. I cannot see this as being one of the best-selling, and I would be surprised if I ever run into any of these cards in a game of Magic.
#6: Artist Series: Victor Adame Minguez
Usability: 1/5
The usability for this Secret Lair is just about as low as you can get. All of these cards are Commander cards, and the only card that sees play outside of Commander is Knight of the White Orchid in Pioneer. At this point, it would be tough to argue that Knight of the White Orchid was a needed reprint.
Cost: 3.5/5
The only reason this is a medium grade is that the price of foil Compost and Lord of the Undead is stupid. The non-foil version of this Secret Liar is not even equal to the value of the cards, but the foil cards in this Secret Lair are worth well over double the selling price of the product. The non-foil version of this Secret Lair would probably get the lowest grade, but the foil version saves it on this one.
Knight Exemplar:
Nonfoil: $10
Foil: $15
Knight of the White Orchid:
Nonfoil: $0.70
Foil: $5
Lord of the Undead:
Nonfoil: $16
Foil: $33
Compost:
Nonfoil: $2
Foil: $45
Total Nonfoil: $28.7
Total Foil: $98
Cost of Nonfoil Secret Lair: $30
Cost of Foil Secret Lair: $40
Nonfoil Grade: 2/5
Foil Grade: 5/5
Average Grade: 3.5/5
Artwork: 3/5
Victor Adame Minguez is an incredible artist, giving us fantastic artwork such as Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Morophon, the Boundless, and recently and most notably Ajani, Sleeper Agent. And his artwork on this Secret Lair is good; I think the artwork for Knight Exemplar and Compost are perfect upgrades to the original artworks of these cards. My main issue with the artwork for this Secret Lair is with Knight of the White Orchid and Lord of the Undead. My first issue is that if you had just shown me the artwork of these two cards and told me to guess what cards they were for, I would never have guessed correctly. I'm not saying the art is bad, but what about that artwork tells me it's a Knight of the White Orchid? How does a person on a motorcycle equate to the Lord of the Undead?
This brings me to my second reason why I dislike this, and this will be controversial. Motorcycles are not Magic the Gathering. I know this has been well discussed, and trust me, I love early Magic and the inclusion of Machinery and Artifice in the story. I even loved the recent Kamigawa set, even though it was futuristic. But for some reason, motorcycles are just over the line. And for the Knight of the White Orchid artwork, it's clear that this is a callout to the next un-set, Unfinity, but a person riding a red pod-racer just doesn't translate to Magic for me. The artwork is good, but these two do not do the original cards justice.
Overall Grade: 2.5/5
Other than a subset of Commander Players and players who love Victor Adame Minguez, I'm not sure who will buy this Secret Lair. Lord of the Undead is an awesome card, but I would much rather use the original one with the iconic Planeshift Artwork. The other cards did not need reprints, and I haven't run into anybody who was pushing for more of these cards in the global card pool.
#5: In Memoriam: Jaya Ballard
Usability: 2/5
While Jaya Ballard, Pyromancer's Goggles, and Jaya's Immolating Inferno are all Commander-only cards (and didn't need a reprint), this got a 2/5 because of the usability of Pyretic Ritual and Repercussion for different reasons. Pyretic Ritual is used in Modern in Belcher and Storm, and while those decks have seen better days, there are still players who will pilot those decks religiously. Repercussion also helped this grade because it hasn't been reprinted since it was first printed in Urza's Destiny, and I'm sure there are a good amount of players who are relieved that there are more of this card in circulation now.
Cost: 3.5/5
This Secret Lair has the same outcome as the previous one; the only reason this has a decent grade is that foil Repercussion is $110 by itself. The non-foil cards aren't even equal to the cost of the product, but the foil cards are worth three times as much as the price. If you were trying to decide between the two, as long as the cards aren't as curled as a potato chip, the foil version is the way to go.
Jaya Ballard:
Nonfoil: $0.80
Foil: $3
Pyromancer's Goggles:
Nonfoil: $2
Foil: $15
Jaya's Immolating Inferno:
Nonfoil: $0.40
Foil: $2.39
Pyretic Ritual:
Nonfoil: $3
Foil: $14
Repercussion:
Nonfoil: $21
Foil: $110
Total Nonfoil: $27.2
Total Foil: $145
Cost of Nonfoil Secret Lair: $30
Cost of Foil Secret Lair: $40
Nonfoil Grade: 2/5
Foil Grade: 5/5
Average Grade: 3.5/5
Artwork: 3/5
Some of the artwork for this product is pretty good. I love that we get a Jaya Ballard planeswalker with her younger task mage appearance, and I love the broken glass along the border of Jaya's Immolating Inferno that makes the artwork pop out. Repercussion also has pretty good artwork; however, it looks like every other Jaya Ballard card printed recently. If you compare it with the Jaya Ballard planeswalker card from Dominaria, it's the exact same! Pyromancer's Goggles has a pretty forgettable artwork, and there are so many reds and oranges in Pyretic Ritual that it's hard to tell what is happening in the artwork. Overall the artwork is good, but not great.
Overall Grade: 2.83/5
Don't get me wrong; I've loved Jaya Ballard's character since I first saw her card in Time Spiral and read about her in The Eternal Ice by Jeff Grubb. I am also heartbroken that (spoilers!) she was killed off in the latest Magic story, and I wish we got to see more of her story play out during the Ice Age era. But for this Secret Lair, the only people buying this are players who love Jaya Ballard and red Commander players. The only real reason I can see buying this product is if you really want a foil Repercussion and don't want to spend over a hundred dollars.
#4: Dan Frazier is Back Again: the Enemy Talismans
Usability: 3/5
While it may at first seem like these are all just Commander staples, a couple of these do see Modern and . Talisman of Hierarchy and Resilience can be found in Modern Lantern Control and Oops! All Spells decks. Talisman of Creativity and Curiosity have recently seen play in some Modern Mono-Blue Tron decks. While the amount of decks that these slot into is low, the fact that four of them can be run in a couple of pretty cool Modern decks makes these usable outside of Commander, where they are also beneficial. The only thing that keeps the score at a lower grade is that while these are usable, they did not need a reprint since we just saw them all printed at uncommon in Modern Horizons, so there are plenty around.
Cost: 1/5
Sadly, this Secret Lair received the lowest grade overall for cost, and the reason for that is the most expensive non-foil card in the bunch is only $3.50, and the most costly foil is only $5. All the cards were printed in Modern Horizons at uncommon, so the amount compared to the need for them puts them at a pretty low price point. If you were to buy this Secret Lair, based on how much the Modern Horizons printing is worth, you would be losing the most value out of the Secret Lairs.
Talisman of Hierarchy:
Nonfoil: $1
Foil: $5
Talisman of Creativity:
Nonfoil: $1.5
Foil: $5
Talisman of Resilience:
Nonfoil: $0.50
Foil: $2
Talisman of Conviction:
Nonfoil: $3.50
Foil: $5
Talisman of Curiosity:
Nonfoil: $0.80
Foil: $1
Total Nonfoil: $7.3
Total Foil: $18
Cost of Nonfoil Secret Lair: $30
Cost of Foil Secret Lair: $40
Nonfoil Grade: 1/5
Foil Grade: 1/5
Average Grade: 1/5
Artwork: 5/5
Although the grade for the cost was pitifully low, the artwork for this Secret Lair makes up for it. If they were going to choose anybody to do this Secret Lair, Dan Frazier was the correct choice. Dan Frazier is legendary because he has more artwork in the original Power Nine than any other artist. He was the original artist for all of the Moxes, which is why he was first hired to do the Ravnica Signets in a previous Secret Lair and has now done the artwork for the Mirrodin and Modern Horizons Talismans. The Talismans, like the Signets, have that original 'Mox' vibe, and not only are the artworks iconic, but they are also beautiful. You can also tell which Talisman it is, based on the artwork itself, which means that the artwork does the original card justice.
Overall Grade: 3/5
I am honestly sad that this didn't get a higher grade, as I love Dan Frazier (if you can't tell), but the cost of the product is what kills the score for this Secret Lair. The cards are beautiful, and they can be used in more formats than just Commander, but the fact that you could buy all of these Talismans for only $7 instead of $30 makes buying this a little feel-bad. But at the same time, this artwork is iconic, so I'm optimistic that it wouldn't be a bad investment, and who can't use a couple more mana rocks?
#3: Showcase: Dominaria United Textured Foil Edition
Usability: 1/5
Oh, how I wish I could give these a higher usability grade, but it's just not there. Other than putting these up on a wall to show to your friends, these just aren't usable. The only format that these will ever be used in is Commander, and even then, they are pretty bad. If I ever see one of these cards actually used in a game of Magic the Gathering, I will be shocked.
Cost: 3/5
So the cost grade for this one was a little different, based upon the fact that there is only a foil version of this Secret Lair. So, instead of doing foil and non-foil grades, I did a grade for the Chronicles and Legends printing of the card (I ignored the Time Spiral printing of Nicol Bolas, I'm sorry to all those affected). While you could buy all these dragons for just about $5, the original printings of these cards total up to over $400. Since this is the first time these cards are seeing a foil version (again, ignore Time Spiral), I figured that this should probably receive a grade in the middle.
Nicol Bolas:
Chronicles: $2.50
Legends: $150
Arcades Sabboth:
Chronicles: $0.69
Legends: $75
Chromium:
Chronicles: $0.79
Legends: $75
Vaevictis Asmadi:
Chronicles: $0.79
Legends: $60
Palladia-Mors:
Chronicles: $0.79
Legends: $43
Total Chronicles: $5.56
Total Legends: $403
Cost of Foil Secret Lair: $50
Chronicles Grade: 1/5
Legends Grade: 5/5
Average Grade: 3/5
Artwork: 5/5
All of the artworks for this Secret Lair are absolutely breathtaking and iconic; if I could give this a higher grade than five, I would. The original Elder Dragons are iconic, and I can still remember seeing a Legends Palladia-Mors for the first time and being enthralled by the idea of an Elder Dragon. The stained-glass look, paired with the recognizable features of each Elder Dragon, makes me want to buy this Secret Lair and put it up on my wall. These cards embody what it means for a Magic card to be a work of art.
Overall Grade: 3/5
Once again, I wish I could give this a higher grade. Out of all of the Secret Lairs, this one hands-down has the best artwork and is the most appealing to long-term Magic the Gathering fans. My brother, who never buys Secret Lairs, took one look at this and said, "I'm buying it." It didn't even matter to him that he would probably never use it; he loved it that much. I wish this could be the number one Secret Lair, but sadly the fact that all of these Dragons are completely unusable and you can get them all for $5 hurts this grade. This Secret Lair will be beloved by both Magic artwork enthusiasts and long-term lovers of the game.
#2: Artist Series: Nils Hamm
Usability: 2/5
The reason why the usability grade for this Secret Lair is so low is that Tireless Tracker is the only card in it to see play outside of Commander. However, Tireless Tracker is widely played in both Modern and Pioneer, in several different decks. Tireless Tracker has been an incredibly powerful value engine for green ever since it was printed, and I'm sure as time goes on and Pioneer gets more popular, this card will be needed more often. Outside of Tireless Tracker, both Contagion Engine and Sword of Truth and Justice can be said to be needed reprints since neither has been printed in more than two sets, and their price tag is pretty high.
Cost: 4.5/5
The grade that puts this Secret Lair above most of the rest is the cost because of how much value you are getting from both the foil and non-foil versions of this Secret Lair. The non-foil cards are worth $22 more in value versus the cost of the Secret Lair, and the foil cards are over double the value. Contagion Engine and Sword of Truth and Justice are the main reasons the value is so high, but Tireless Tracker also helps due to its usability. Deepglow Skate has been printed several times, which is why its value is so low.
Deepglow Skate:
Nonfoil: $4
Foil: $7
Tireless Tracker:
Nonfoil: $8
Foil: $18
Contagion Engine:
Nonfoil: $15
Foil: $30
Sword of Truth and Justice:
Nonfoil: $25
Foil: $40
Total Nonfoil: $52
Total Foil: $95
Cost of Nonfoil Secret Lair: $30
Cost of Foil Secret Lair: $40
Nonfoil Grade: 4/5
Foil Grade: 5/5
Average Grade: 4.5/5
Artwork: 3/5
The artwork grade for this Secret Lair suffers from the same issue that the Imaginary Friends Secret Lair has. While some Magic Players adore this art style, it is not loved universally. Nils Hamm is a widely known artist, doing famous art for Magic the Gathering, such as Delver of Secrets, Baleful Strix, and Thragtusk, but his style of artwork has varied throughout the years. This specific style of artwork that Nils uses, which we first observed on the card Gilder Bairn from Eventide, stands out from the rest of his artwork. Since this fairy-tail artwork is loved by some and avoided by others, there's no way this could ever receive a 1/5 or a 5/5. If the Secret Lair had varied and we got a taste of each art style Nils uses, this may have received a higher grade. However, since the opinions on this specific art style are so divided, this simply gets a 3/5.
Overall Grade: 3.17/5
Some Magic players are going to love this Secret Lair, and those players are all going to be people that love this style of artwork from Nils Hamm or players who are hunting for as much value as they can get. If players don't like this art style, I can easily see them picking up the original versions of Tireless Tracker for their modern or Pioneer deck or Sword of Truth and Justice and Contagion for their Commander decks. The only thing that is appealing to me about this specific Secret Lair is that they knocked it out of the park with the flavor texts on the cards. However, due to the value that you will receive in this Secret Lair, it ranks much higher than the others.
#1: Dan Frazier is Back Again: the Allied Talismans
Usability: 3/5
The usability of these Talismans is similar to the enemy Talismans since all of them are seen in Commander, and two are also seen in Modern. Talisman of Progress is seen in many Modern decks, such as Affinity, Azorius Death & Taxes, Thopter Combo, and Mono-Blue Tron. Talisman of Dominance is also found in Mono-Blue Tron, but none of the other three see play in any formats other than Commander. Talisman of Progress and Impulse haven't seen a printing since the original Mirrodin, so they are also much needed. Mana rocks have always been known as very usable cards, and the variety of color combinations means that there is usually at least one that you could put in a deck you own, if not more.
Cost: 4/5
The main reason these got such a higher grade than the Enemy Talismans is that most of them haven't seen many printings, and some only have one. Because of this, the cards have a lot more value, and some foil versions of these cards are absolutely crazy. Three of the five talismans have a foil equal to or greater than $40. So not only are you getting a fantastic version of this card, but there also aren't many foil versions in the world, so your value will do very well.
Talisman of Progress:
Nonfoil: $16
Foil: $40
Talisman of Dominance:
Nonfoil: $5
Foil: $40
Talisman of Indulgence:
Nonfoil: $7
Foil: $45
Talisman of Impulse:
Nonfoil: $3.50
Foil: $12
Talisman of Unity:
Nonfoil: $1
Foil: $12
Total Nonfoil: $33
Total Foil: $179
Cost of Nonfoil Secret Lair: $30
Cost of Foil Secret Lair: $40
Nonfoil Grade: 3/5
Foil Grade: 5/5
Average Grade: 4/5
Artwork: 5/5
Everything that was said for the Enemy Talismans can also be expressed here. You have the artist that did the original versions of the Alpha Moxen doing artwork for more mana rocks. In my opinion, I like these even more than the Enemy Talismans, but obviously, that is debatable. However, you can't argue that the look is iconic, bringing back the nostalgia of the original Magic cards. Dan Frazier does it again.
Overall Grade: 4/5
I purchased the Dan Frazier Secret Lair back when he did the signets, and I probably will continue the trend by buying these as well. As someone who owns a Moxen of their own, I believe that behind Black Lotus, there is no artwork as iconic as the five Moxen. Due to that fact, I think that this is one of the best Secret Lairs that you can buy overall, not just looking at this Superdrop but throughout all of them. It's usable, beautiful, and has the value to back it up. If you are debating which Secret Lair to buy (although I still love the Elder Dragons), this is probably the one you should pick up.
Agree or disagree with my grades or reasoning? Let me know in the comments!
You can find this Secret Lair Superdrop here.
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