The Secret Lair series continue to be a collector’s dream, here’s why.
The collectibility of Magic: The Gathering is becoming more prominent than ever before, which is something you wouldn’t imagine at the turn of the decade. With the introduction of Collector Boosters with an extensive range of frames and foil treatments, Wizards of the Coast is tapping into the collector market since it’s such a lucrative space, as seen with Pokémon over the years. One of Wizards’ approaches to accommodating the collector space is the Secret Lair Drop Series — a curated set of cards featuring unconventional art and design that you don’t see in a typical Magic set release.
Since its debut in 2019, the Secret Lair Drop Series has gone from strength to strength, with Wizards adding exclusive Commander Precon Decks such as Raining Cats and Dogs to notable success. While snapping up a Secret Lair or two seems reasonable, there’s always a bonus card in these drop that could be worth a sizeable amount. Wizards often keep the contents of these bonus cards under wraps to offer a better experience when players and collectors open these Secret Lair products, but this can vary depending on whether it’s with a Universes Beyond collaboration. That said, understanding the worth of a Secret Lair Drop Series bonus card can present challenges since the price can vary depending on several factors, such as pull rates and overall demand.
What are Secret Lair Bonus Cards in Magic: The Gathering?
Market Price: $92.95
Market Price: $78.99
Market Price: $107.96
As mentioned above, each Secret Lair Drop comes with a bonus card and sometimes, it can be the same card across the same batch of Secret Lairs, or could be from a selection of a few cards each with different pull rates. For example, if you bought the Sonic the Hedgehog: Chasing Adventure Secret Lair, you’re more than likely to open Master Emerald Shrine (Command Tower). While this printing of Command Tower isn’t hugely valuable, it’s a nice gesture from Wizards to incorporate something as a little extra when buying these premium products. However, you do run the rare chance to open one of the colorful Chaos Emeralds (reprinted as Lotus Petal) from the Sonic the Hedgehog Secret Lairs instead, which can command serious value on the secondary market.
The Most Valuable Secret Lair Bonus Magic: The Gathering Cards
Market Price: $247.24
Market Price: $231.78
Market Price: $250.00
- Read More: The Most Valuable Secret Lair Cards in Magic: The Gathering
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- Read More: The Most Valuable Special Guests Cards in Magic: The Gathering
Given the sheer number of Secret Lair releases since the sub-brand’s inception in 2019, finding out which bonus cards are worth something can be overwhelming. With that, let’s look at some of the most valuable bonus non-serialized bonus cards from the Secret Lair Drop Series right now.
#10 Echo of Eons (Rainbow Foil)
Echo of Eons
Secret Lair Drop Series, Rare
Appearing as a bonus card in the Secret Lair Brain Dead: Staples release is Echo of Eons, which comes with some pretty unconventional art for a Magic card. First printed in Modern Horizons, Echo of Eons is a powerful option for any strategy looking to “reset” the game by shuffling their hand and graveyard into their library to draw a fresh seven cards. While giving your opponent the option to draw seven cards may seem suspect, you often pair this with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Narset, Parter of Veils, or Hullbreacher to cripple the opponent’s resources while you increase your own.
Market Price: $96.23
Market Price: $3.06
Typically, you see Echo of Eons in flavors of Storm and Goblin Charbelcher in Legacy and sometimes appearing in lists led by Nekusar, the Mindrazer in Commander. The sorcery is also a popular card in Vintage Cube, as you can commonly pair it with the already-mentioned cards to generate more resources than your opponent. As for the unique printing, this is the rare bonus card from the more recent Brain Dead collaboration, and it remains a high-value hit from the Secret Lair Drop Series.
#9 Persistent Petitioners (#595 and #600)
Persistent Petitioners
Secret Lair Drop Series, Rare
Similar to Seven Dwarves in terms of deckbuilding clause, Persistent Petitioners also sees a flurry of unique Secret Lair printings as the bonus card from a wide range of drops. At the time of publication, there are eight unique variants of Persistent Petitioners to collect, with #595 being the most valuable printing. After that, #600 and #598 follow shortly behind in terms of value.
Market Price: $144.03
Market Price: $43.11
Market Price: $136.33
Most of these variants of Persistent Petitioners are extremely uncommon, given the nature of only opening them as bonus cards in these Secret Lairs. While Wizards won’t disclose the pull rates of these bonus cards, you can be sure this common (first printed in Ravnica Allegiance) will garner attention from certain Commander players. In particular, those wanting to give their Bruvac the Grandiloquent Mill Commander a unique aesthetic identity. And for sure, there are likely more of these Persistent Petitioners either coming soon or perhaps lurking in unopened Secret Lair products.
#8 Shadowborn Apostle (#685, #684, and #683)
Shadowborn Apostle
Secret Lair Drop Series, Rare
As mentioned earlier with Persistent Petitioners, cards that can break traditional deckbuilding norms in Commander are often popular options for casual play. One of these is Shadowborn Apostle, a card that became a massive hit thanks to Josh Lee Kwai’s Athreos, God of Passage Commander build on Game Knights years ago. Since that Game Knights episode, Shadowborn Apostle has seen reasonable demand as you can run so many copies of Shadowborn Apostle in any deck, where Wizards chose the Apostle as one of the many variants you can open in a variety of Secret Lairs as the rare bonus card.
Market Price: $86.97
Market Price: $158.90
Market Price: $104.91
However, five particular Shadowborn Apostle printings are incredibly valuable. Be sure to keep an eye out for Shadowborn Apostle #685, #681, #683, or #688 as your Secret Lair bonus card because these are the most valuable variants. There’s also demand for these variants because players want to upgrade their Shadowborn Apostle Commander build with these stunning Secret Lair printings. At the time of publication, there are ten unique Shadowborn Apostle printings to collect, with more variants likely coming soon.
#7 The MTG—FINAL FANTASY Summons:Yojimbo, Shiva, Anima, Ifrit, Magus Sisters (Rainbow Foil)
Market Price: $448.97
Market Price: $394.25
Market Price: $326.30
Market Price: $439.75
Market Price: $299.51
Next up is the incredible series of chase cards supporting the Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY release, which saw three Secret Lair Drops full of reprints coupled with stunning reskins. While there were several more common bonus cards in these releases, it’s the Rainbow Foil Summon cards that are the big ticket items when it came to opening these Final Fantasy-themed Secret Lairs:
- Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Game Over
- Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Weapons
- Secret Lair x Final Fantasy: Grimoire
Market Price: $14.51
That said, opening up a Primogenesis (Feed the Swarm), Armiger Unleashed (Forge Anew), or Porom’s Silence Magic (Silence) is still a decent hit given how incredibly popular MTG—FINAL FANTASY is and continues to be in the coming months. That said, opening any of the Rainbow Foil Summon cards is going to bring you insane value, and there will be collectors eager to own every single card from the release — meaning the demand for these highly collectible cards will remain strong.
As for the cards themselves, the Elemental Incarnations (first printed in Modern Horizons 2) are some of the more polarizing cards seen in competitive play, with Grief and Fury being the ones most-discussed and have since been banned in Modern. However, a few of these cards do see Commander play, with Solitude and Subtlety being more prevalent. And that’s dictated in the current Market Price as Yojimbo (Solitude) and Shiva (Subtlety) are the most valuable out of the crop at the time of publication.
#6 Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes (Dungeons & Dragons – Rainbow Foil)
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
Secret Lair Drop Series, Mythic
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes are iconic characters within the Dungeons & Dragons universe, where they have both made appearances in Baldur’s Gate II and 3. And since the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, there’s been growing demand for Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate cards due to the critical acclaim of the video game, so it isn’t much of a surprise to see more Dungeons & Dragons releases from under the Magic: The Gathering banner. What makes this crop of Secret Lair Drops so special is that last year was the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, which meant Wizards went all out with unique treatments and rare cards. With that, here’s the crop of Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons releases that could feature the ultra-rare Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes bonus card.
- Secret Lair x Dungeon & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder I
- Secret Lair x Dungeon & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder II
- Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Astarion’s Thirst
- Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Karlach’s Rage
- Secret Lair x Dungeon & Dragons: An Exhibition of Adventure
Market Price: $14.86
Market Price: $71.35
While it seems Druid of Purification, Prosperous Innkeeper, Archivist of Oghma, and Xorn are the more common bonus cards you can open in these Secret Lair Drops, Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is the much rarer version that commands incredible value. Furthermore, Battle Angels of Tyr is another bonus card from this crop of Secret Lairs, and it is rarer than Druid of Purification but more common than Minsc & Boo. Either way, these Dungeon & Dragons cards are already a hit with players given the overlap in audiences, meaning these are becoming high-value collector items.
#5 Smothering Tithe (SpongeBob SquarePants – Rainbow Foil)
Smothering Tithe
Secret Lair Drop Series, Rare
Everyone’s favorite Commander card in Smothering Tithe is one of the highly sought-after cards from the Secret Lair x SpongeBob SquarePants release from earlier this year, and continues to climb in value. The same is true for the interestingly-spelled cOuNTeRspELl, which is another rare bonus card from the below releases:
- Secret Lair x SpongeBob SquarePants: Legends of Bikini Bottom
- Secret Lair x SpongeBob SquarePants: Internet Sensation
- Secret Lair x SpongeBob SquarePants: Lands Under the Sea
Market Price: $206.79
Market Price: $19.10
As for the card, Smothering Tithe is about as polarizing as it gets. A Game Changer in Commander, Smothering Tithe grants you a steady stream of Treasure tokens whenever an opponent draws a card and doesn’t pay the two generic mana when Smothering Tithe is in play. Rather fittingly, this Secret Lair Drop printing features Mr. Krabs happily lying on a pile of money, which is a common feeling when you’re the one with a Smothering Tithe in play. One thing we don’t often think about when it comes to Secret Lair cards is the cultural trends that can tie into the card’s value, and anything that’s meme-worthy (such as this printing of Smothering Tithe) can command serious value while also remaining resilient long-term.
#4 The Magic: The Baseballing Autographed Cards
Market Price: n/a
Market Price: $601.43
Market Price: $281.87
A hyper-rare selection of bonus cards only appearing in the Magic: The Baseballing Secret Lair release is the autographed variant of the Lorwyn Five (Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Liliana Vess, Ajani Goldmane, and Garruk Wildspeaker), which are becoming massive collector pieces amongst Magic fans.
Everyone has a favorite Planeswalker, and having these autographed versions of Baseball cards is a really novel way to celebrate the appreciation of Ajani, Liliana, Chandra, Jace, and Garruk. At the time of writing, Liliana Vess is the most valuable of these autographed cards at roughly $600 on TCGplayer’s marketplace, with Ajani Goldmane coming in at around $200 (which is currently the lowest). These bonus cards are extremely rare to open from Magic: The Baseballing, making these some of the most valuable Secret Lair cards you can own right now.
#3 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite (Rainbow Foil)
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Secret Lair Drop Series, Mythic
As part of the Poker Faces Secret Lair release is Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, who is depicted being on Thunder Junction, causing absolute mayhem with the locals. This particular printing is the incredibly rare bonus card from this specific Secret Lair Drop, with a more likely case of opening any of the Extended Art Elf cards, such as Fierce Empath or Evolution Sage, which are nowhere near as valuable compared to the white-aligned Praetor.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is a powerful card that sees play in Commander as it’s an easy way to turn the tide in your favor. It’s also a fantastic synergy card alongside Kudo, King Among Bears in the singleton format, as you can turn all creatures into 2/2s where Elesh Norn wipes all the opposing threats away effortlessly. And since the card’s reveal in this particular Secret Lair Drop, the card’s value has slowly crept up and has become one of the high-value bonus cards you can open from the subset.
#2 Mana Vault (Fallout – Rainbow Foil)
Mana Vault
Secret Lair Drop Series, Mythic
Appearing as an extremely rare bonus card in the Fallout x Secret Lair release, Mana Vault quickly became one of the most expensive Secret Lair cards due to featuring the iconic Vault Boy in the Borderless and Rainbow Foil treatment. Since its release in March 2024, Universes Beyond: Fallout became a massive hit for Wizards as it tapped into a market that brought newer audiences to the game. Combined with the critical acclaim of the television series on Amazon Prime, the Collector Boosters and Commander Precon Decks from Universes Beyond: Fallout were popular purchases amongst players and collectors. As a result, it also made the adjacent Fallout x Secret Lair release a must-have for Fallout fans.
Market Price: $11.67
While Wizards don’t usually tease what the bonus cards are for a given Secret Lair release, they did tease that Mana Vault would be the rarest and most sought-after bonus card (with Wastes and Codex Shredder being more common) from the following Fallout x Secret Lair Drops:
- Secret Lair x Fallout: Vault Boy
- Secret Lair x Fallout: Points of Interest
- Secret Lair x Fallout: S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
As for the card, Mana Vault is a Commander staple that allows you to propel on mana with little effort (it’s also a member of the Game Changers). The card often sees play in Artifact-focused Commander builds, as there are numerous ways to untap Mana Vault (Unwinding Clock and Voltaic Key being a few options) without paying the four colorless mana cost on Mana Vault. Either way, this printing of Mana Vault is a massive value hit from these Fallout x Secret Lairs and has been comfortably selling in the $1000-1200 range on TCGplayer’s marketplace since.
#1 Encore Electromancer (Hatsune Miku – Rainbow Foil)
Encore Electromancer – Snapcaster Mage (Rainbow Foil)
Secret Lair Drop Series
The Hatsune Miku printing of Encore Electromancer (Snapcaster Mage) is an interesting one, as it’s one of the ultra-rare bonus cards from the Hatsune Miku Secret Lair releases. In collaboration with Crypton Future Media, Wizards have released four Hatsune Miku Secret Lairs throughout 2024, one representing each of the seasons:
- Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Sakura Superstar
- Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation
- Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Electric Entourage
- Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Winter Diva
With all four of them now out in the wild, there was a point with the Summer and Autumn releases that saw the winter-looking Encore Electromancer (Snapcaster Mage) as one of the highly rare bonus cards from these releases. Whether this was an accident or not (Reddit seems to think it was), it took everyone by surprise and commanded an incredible amount of value due to the scarcity of the card.
Market Price: $21.20
Market Price: $25.57
Market Price: $38.30
While it’s unclear if this implementation was intentional by Wizards or not, the Hatsune Miku Snapcaster Mage is remarkably rare (even with the appropriate Winter Secret Lair Drop now out there), and it’s currently commanding a ton of value on the secondary market. Based on TCGplayer Marketplace data, a handful of Rainbow Foil copies have sold for around $1200 since. Non-foil variants of Encore Electromancer exist too, and these have sold around the $1000 mark at the time of publication. While there’s going to be some price changes between this and Fallout’s Mana Vault, the Encore Electromancer (Snapcaster Mage) in Rainbow Foil is currently the most valuable non-serialized bonus card you can open from the Secret Lair Drop Series.