Stranger Things! How do we feel about this one?

[ApothecaryGeist]

So the next mechanically unique Secret Lair is upon us.  

The last one was very polarizing for the Magic community.  Since then WotC has stated that be printing in-Universe versions of these Secret Lair exclusive cards.  And that they will be distributing them via "The List".  And Secret Lairs are being made available for sale for a longer period.  This one begins on Monday October 18 and lasts 4 full weeks.

What do we think of this one?

[Morganator 2.0]

Second verse, same as the first. These secret lairs are kinda the worst.

[Bonethousand]

Making them available in the list also a cop out. That's like putting a rebate in the fine print. Do you technically have more access to the cards? Yes. Does it make them basically into promo cards? Also yes. Is it going to fundamentally change the problems with access and how these cards hit the market? Nope.

[Slyvester12]

Also, why the hell would we want Stranger Things cards? Does anyone really want a deck full of teenagers from the 80s? Sure, Eleven has psychic powers. Sure, "the demogorgon" is a monster. (Also, this is a little weird since MtG also has the Forgotten Realms crossover now. What happens if Demogorgon, Prince of the 88th layer of the Abyss meets a weird-faced humanoid everyone keeps calling "the demogorgon?") But most of the characters are just people without special powers or training. Even something basic like Llanowar Elves at 1/1 is supposed to be a representation of an elvish druid with an innate connection to the forest's mana and SOME degree of combat experience, given that they're usually depicted with weapons.

This secret lair is just stupid. At least the Warhammer and LotR crossovers will feel like their characters fit to an extent. Yeah, Adeptus Astartes marines getting slapped around by werewolves and Aragorn being relegated to "a guy with a sword" will be less than great, but they won't literally be random bystanders who've never held a weapon.

[Morganator 2.0]

Power and toughness have been arbitrary for a while now. A boar is stronger than a soldier. And Curio Vendor is jacked.

[Cosmic_Insight]

Although I do not like these mechanically unique Secret Lairs, I do appreciate that they have their own form of Partner, so you can't just slap Eleven, the Mage with Thrasios, Triton Hero.

[ApothecaryGeist]

Now that I'm home from work ...


I feel like it's a step better than Walking Dead.  But only a very, very small step.


Appearing in The List is better than no availability.  The problem is that The List is one of the worst ways to try to get a specific card that you want.  The List is currently 300 cards as of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt.  And The List cards only show up in about 1 in every 6 booster packs.  And that's only in Set Boosters.  The List doesn't show up in Draft Boosters.  Nor in Collector Boosters.  That's a 1 in 1800 chance to get that one card from The List that you're looking for from any given Set Booster pack.  There are lottery tickets that pay better.


Also, too many of the cards on The List are jank commons and uncommons, like Fireball and Goblin Lore.  So when you don't get the card you're looking for, it's most likely a dud.


I feel that if WotC is going to utilize The List as a mechanism to distribute otherwise mechanically unique cards, then the nature of The List needs to change.  The List needs to shrink to no more than 121 cards.  The List should be all cards that need to be reprinted, like True-Name Nemesis, Oubliette, those kind of things.  And then The List should show up in EVERY booster pack.


Until then, though, yeah, I'm still thinking that these mechanically unique Secret Lairs are not good for the greater Magic playing community.

[Potato Chop]

I don’t like this new secret lair by any stretch of the imagination, but there is one improvement over the Walking Dead that I do see…

When I saw the cards from the Walking Dead secret lair, I went, “wow, that’s powerful.” A card like Rick, Steadfast Leader is good enough to slot into - or helm - any Humans tribal commander deck, even if - like me - you’ve never seen tWD and don’t want to.

A distinct change that I see in this Stranger Things secret lair is that the cards are generally a lot less powerful. Sure, Eleven’s ability can be strong, but honestly I’d rather run Obeka to helm a Grixis deck. They seem more like the kind of card that a determined fan of the show could build around, rather than overtly powerful or must-have cards. So, while I hated the first of these Secret Lairs, I’m really indifferent about this one. I don’t think these cards are going to make a huge splash in the community.

[robort]

I haven't bought any of the Secret Lairs what so ever. I have never felt justified in spending my money on a collector's subset just for the sake of buying a small amount of cards. Plus with the over saturation of Magic stuff I need to spend more money on a subset. So to me it is more about the money then anything else. These cards though really haven't been running rampant in Commander though especially in my neck of the woods. They are mechanically sound and do really cool things but I just won't go out of my way once again just to buy them. Even buying them as singles I own 0 of the Secret Lair cards. It is all turning into a cash grab and I personally just can't/won't be a part of this cash grab.