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Serra Angel is John Avon's wife, and he thought it would be his last piece of art ever(he thought he was going to die due to his illness). Brainstorm has his son in it. So it have some cool pieces that connect to John, ever though those cards value is nonexistent. What about the nerf gun SL with 2 full art Lightning bolts full from Chris Rush?
when Tolarian Professor enters the battlefield recite the quote "many magic the gathering players ask the question" then berate WOTC for not reprinting fetch lands.
@@Lowelo860 Yeah. It's actually laughable that if you want to fill out your monocolored deck with these basics that you would either need to buy 30+ of the secret lair or buy the 30+ of them on the secondary market, which would likely be at a similar price
Commander Masters somehow completely killed the game for me. I was so hype for a lot of the past sets but it just being pointlessly unaffordable is so disappointing. And honestly I used to like Secret Lairs too but now they're just face-slappingly bad. Fuck WotC and Hasbro honestly.
Hey there Prof, The John Avon series is a homage to his family, with Serra Angel being drawn with his wife's likeness and Brainstorm is his son as a thank you to them for always being there for him, supporting him and nurturing his artwork. I also believe he did these drawings because he's unsure of how much longer he will be able to produce art for MTG (I think due to health issue or failing health?)s and this was somehow of a thank you and farewell. Side note, I believe progenitus is his favorite card or something along those lines. The Magic Historian did a whole vid on it. It's very touching and sentimental. I understand there isn't a ton of monetary value in most of the cards in that set, but it's more of a heartstrings thing.
I mean that is nice, but still, why Serra Angle? Why Brainstorm for his son? Also why only 4 cards. Why charge $40 for it then Wizards? The fact that is a dedication to his family is super sweet, but the cards are still what they are. Also Wasn't Akroma made in the image of her creators wife?
I quite like the art for princess bride. I do wish with these cards they found a way to pick cards that held a theme and color-set so they were likely to be played together.
Need to have a version of Tom Bombadil as The Grandfather to use as your Commander, then it's like he's reading the story and you'll be able to have every card in the deck.
I feel ya on that, definitely could be better and it’s odd seeing that effect of Evil Dead 1 Ash. If they wanted to keep an equipment or artifacts focused Ash ED2 or Army Ash would have worked better.
Even some of the re-themed names seemed weird to me. Sure, "Knowby's Incantation" would be a direct reference, but Zombie Apocalypse is nearly as good. Sure, all the titular Evil Dead are actually demons, but they're typically possessing corpses. Zombie is close enough. Similarly, Field of the Dead should have kept its name. Fans know what's up. That cabin is a killing field. Vanquish the Horde should have just kept its name too. It's not a stellar card, but maybe we could have got Animate Dead instead of a zombie token? Or another card with a similar effect?
Eh, Puresteel works for Ash. Maybe not the OG movie specifically, but it works for Ash in general, especially AoD Ash or the series Ash. But the not being Legendary thing is weird. It might have almost been better to just make a slightly more powerful Puresteel to make it Legendary, then have it be Ash and whatever the new card would be called like they did with the original Godzilla card.
The scary part is... I AM old enough, I own the vhs of Evil Dead 2. The VHS! Also the John Avon was an instant buy, being my favorite magic artist of all time. Also the story behind the cards. Edit: Stop blinking! You fool the angels...!
I mean, people were predicting that Emrakul's exclusion from CM would be tied to a future reprint in SL since the beginning of spoiler season. That's exactly how things turned out. I don't see why they would deserve credit for going through with exactly the scummy tactics everybody speculated they would have performed.
It could be interesting to see a retrospective on previous Secret Lairs. Did the ones that were released in 2020 turn out to be worth their investment?
Probably most do because nobody parts with the better cards for a loss. Just going to Scryfall, searching set = SLD, and ordered by price descending there's a ton of commons or at least cards with easy to find versions with hefty asking prices. In some ways it makes sense, the worse the card the fewer people buy it so there's basically always exactly as many prints as people who were willing to pay $X, and once no longer offered, many fall out of recirculation, and more people start playing... The demand will always be slightly higher than the supply.
With this in mind I’m curious about the evil dead set. It’s rightfully eviscerated in the professors video, and I KNOW he never mentions it, but what if the extra card (SPECULATION NFA) is a legendary Ash card? I imagine that would add an insane value to that drop. Either way, I’m very tempted to buy it just for the cabin and Varina, and pocket the others for a future resell.
@@Khyfinity When has the "bonus" card been worth a lot more than the cards advertised? Not trying to be condescending, but I don't know of any and it seems counterintuitive since showing those cards would increase sales for Hasbro and WotC.
Prof. Not sure if you were aware but the Serra Angel in John Avon's set is actually a rendition of his wife. This is why he chose to add this card. I know there is more to the story of why he did his wife's likeness but because I do not want to say the wrong thing I will leave it at it is a touching story.
That's fair but I'm not sure why it's Serra Angel over another angel. Maybe Serra Angel specifically has sentimental value for his wife but if not couldn't we have gotten Avacyn or even Akroma instead? Heck, Akroma would even be thematically appropriate for that because in lore she was created in the image of her creator's wife.
I highly doubt anyone would make a card based off a family member and then pick cards that are unplayable but if you want to believe that then go ahead.
I mean that is nice, but still, why Serra Angle? Why Brainstorm for his son? Also why only 4 cards. Why charge $40 for it then Wizards? The fact that is a dedication to his family is super sweet, but the cards are still what they are. Also Wasn't Akroma made in the image of her creators wife?
Pre-modern Peasant actually sounds fun. :) Also if they're gonna keep reprinting Serra Angel, can we please get the 7th edition art again? It was gorgeous.
The Creepshow Superdrop is actually more rad than I think folks realize. It's not referencing the original Creepshow film, but actually episodes from the current Creepshow TV series. Some of my favorite episodes are represented. Zombie Master especially is from the episode which is basically "Evil Dead" but at a PBS station and Bob Ross is Ash Williams. The Character depicted on the card actually is a Deadite version of Sam Raimi who appears in the episode!
You sir, are a genius. Great coverage of SL. P.S. The best list for Wilds of Eldraine, is from you! You nailed the top 5. Solid creators, like StrictlyMTG, didnt even put Agatha's Soul Cauldron in the top 25!
I'm going to agree with you on the princess bride. It was a great memory from my childhood and these are awesome looking cards. Worth it? No. Will I get them? Most likely yes.
I have already purchased the princess bride secret lair. I love all of the arts and the adaptations, save for buttercup (Sisay feels a bit odd for her character). Miracle max I originally didn’t see as black, because he’s too kindly, but then I realized that he subverts death, which is pretty black. And his dethrone is very funny
As another child of the 80s seeing Andre the giant and how well they did his art it makes me want to buy this set. I am also a huge fan of the movie so this is so cool to me. 🎉
I feel that John Avon Emrakul should have been atleast a semi full art where the text box is semi transparent and you can still see a bit of the art. It's been the case for I think all the Eldrazi titans, why stop now? edit: checking a better picture, it does show, but it's hard to notice
The value of the Princess Bride is a little disappointing, but, like you said, The Princess Bride holds a special place in my heart and i am in love with that Art :) but as an added benefit for myself, i do need a bunch of those cards :)
I know the basic lands are a bad deal. I know I'm getting ripped. I know I'm telling WotC to rip me off and step on my wallet and buy buy buy like a good boy. But I have to have these basic lands. And I need some of the fast lands, so I'm buying the land bundle. I'm so sorry. God please forgive me I'm so sk3y jms so sorry
Ooooooo I am so scared 😱of these 🎃Secret Lairs. I took my kids to see the Princess Bride when it first came out and we all loved the movie so I broke down and bought the foil version. Thank you for the video Professor. I wish I could meet you at the Anime Imports. Though I live in Cupertino, I will not be able to make it.
I have grabbed two secret lairs so fair in the last year: the Frank Frazetta one and the Princess Bride set. I very much wanted the Evil Dead or Creepshow stuff from here, but some good advice I got was 'there are cooler and better ways to show your fanaticism for that IP" I bought the Frazetta art because I adore the Conan art covers. They cards could have been basic lands and I still would have bought them. the Princess Bride set I am buying for a friend who loves the IP and is getting into magic. I like the idea of secret lairs, there are just too many to keep up with mostly. Also not having 5-10 cards per pack just feels lazy after you see them do it a few times throughout the year. Give us more sets like Princess Bride and less lair drops overall to make them feel a little cooler and this can be a great way to get people to look into Magic really.
The Princess Bride is very special to me too and I would like to get these cards, but I can not afford to get them and hence it hurts extra that they are only available for such a limited time.
the ash one is wild to me because they clearly have like two different teams, the ones who work on the actual universe beyond products with the actual wizards designers like chris and gavin and rachel, etc. and then the ones that peak wildly out of place options for secret lairs
The Princess Bride secret lair is the first I've purchased in a year and a half. I thought they looked amazing, but mostly because when I showed them to my partner, she wanted to frame them and hang it on the wall!
I would totally go for the basic land drops... if they would give us enough to actually.. play them? I feel stupid putting one of those into my 100 card deck. (man I love those pixel lands TT)
I didn't think it was possible for the editor to get any better and more cursed with the "NEW SECRET LAIR ALERT" but they impress every single time. Bravo, and much love to them
Actually professor it would seem that the creepshow secret lair is actually referencing the modern series that airs on Shudder! I actually can recognize some of them from episodes I recently watched
I’m kinda mixed on secret lairs. I might pick up Emrakul by John Avon because it’s one of my favorite cards of all time. I always feel weird spending $30 for one card though.
That intro was incredible. princess bride is the first secret lair I'm buying. I've purchased singles from others, but I can't resist the full set here.
I also bought into the non-foil Princess Bride SL (didn't want to risk pringling on foils). I do wish they added more valuable cards but there is value in the unique art, even if they don't resell for a good price.
I'm definitely picking up both Princess Bride and Evil Dead Secret Lair's, as both Movies are special to me as well. I'm also upset that they didn't use a legendary like OG Odric for Ash(it would've fit the Motif nearly spot on) but, between this and The Walking Dead Secret Lair I'll be fine building my Undead Brawl Deck....
I definitely planned to pick up the Princess Bride and John Avon lairs. If I played Modern I'd probably be picking up the Dalek lands too, but not too crazy about them for Commander. Thanks is always for your review professor
I did pick up the Cards in Costume Bundle. It brought the cost of the Meditation lands down to about $10, which I feel is much more of a fair price for basic lands. (plus it helped me get to free shipping.)
Question: Does Magic make original stuff anymore or is this Universe Beyond stuff just gonna be around for a year? Now I ask this as a YuGiOh player where the next big set is mostly support of older archetypes or a new one that's based on a retrain of an ancient Ritual Monster. But I'm bored with all this MTG crossover stuff AND I DON'T PLAY. I can't imagine what a real player feels like. Although, the Doctor Who and Princess Bride sets look cool as a fan of both (and Evil Dead looks groovy). It just seems odd to me. Like the identity of MTG is just becoming a big crossover and nothing else.
I just bought several of these before watching this video. The Meditations basics are some of the prettiest Magic cards ever printed, but I would like a few more of 'em for that money.
Like you, I got the Princess Bride one, though as a gift for my brother. I have in total bought 3 Secret Lairs: Phyrexian Praetors w/ Phyrexian text, Slivers, and this. I am incredibly picky about these as they are never a good use of my entertainment budget for what I get for my buck. I am however a sucker for some specific flavor wins especially for my favorite tribes. I expect the next they could get would be the OG weatherlight crew in a unified art style maybe to sucker me back in again.
I couldn’t even tell you what secret lairs are anymore and I think that’s a good thing at this point. I’m completely mind’s eye blind to SLD and just treat them as one of the forty other variants of each card that gets produced. (Which is a shame for the amazing artists). 😊
My problem (and its a me problem, I accept that) is that I can't just insert UB cards into Magic decks, I have to make full in theme decks. So the Princess Bride cards... I'm already thinking "I could make proxies of other 80s fantasy movies, like Hawk the Slayer, Krull and Neverending Story and make a deck!" Same for the 80s horror cards... "I'm sure there's a demon that would make a good Pinhead". But why WHY was Ash done as Puresteel Paladin. Awful decision.
Great themes squandered by mediocre card selection is a real trend with SLs. The Evil Dead one is particularly upsetting as the selection is mostly bad, and there are SO many missed opportunities to for more cards. Ash not being a legend (or at least not having a legendary Ash in the set) is one thing, but it's disappointing that it didn't span into ED2 - could have had more cards, and importantly the opportunity to give us CHAINSAW EQUIPMENT! Army of Darkness included could have given us a Boomstick and a myriad of other characters. Just really half-measured.
Princess Bride has probably been my favorite “Universe Beyond” since Street Fighter. LOTR, Warhammer, and DnD are all super nerdy and awesome, but they were all a bit too big and expensive. 21:00 Let’s see, I got Kaleidoscope Killers when Secret Lairs first came out even though I’ve never cast any of them. The Happy Little Gathering Bob Ross lands, which I’ve collected quite a few of and probably unintentionally manipulated the price of one of the islands… sorry. The Fiona Staples one with Dryad of the Elysian Grove. The last one I got was the Street Fighter one after the fact, I probably could’ve just bought them as singles but I wanted the little box and Hadoken card. Oh yeah, how I could I forget the Mark Poole one! That one was foil, I love that original Birds of Paradise, Counterspell, in foil with the new border, apparently that one is the cheapest out of all of them.
I've bought fewer than 10 Secret Lairs throughout the lifetime of the product. I'm not opposed to WotC directly reprinting cards. Factors that get me over the line on a SL are if I were planning on buying the singles anyway for a deck I'm building and value. Flavor and art styles are contributing factors. Some examples: I really enjoy Transformers and I bought one of those SLs. But I was planning on making an Ultra Magnus deck and could use the Blightsteel and Darksteel Colossi, which are also relatively pricey cards. I bought the praetors SL because the value was absurd, but I also knew all of those cards are playable (hence the value). Some of them have found homes in decks, but not all. Based on that, I'll consider the Emrakul one but I don't have a deck I'd use her in.
To be honest, the only scary aspect about this are the prices. I don't care at all about anything that was released here flavor-wise but even if I did - no chance I'm paying that amount of money for it. To be honest once again - I LOVE Angels in MtG. I would've really loved to get my hands on the SL Angel deck but man...that's 150+€. I've only recently returned to MtG after a 15 years or so break from paper-MtG and since Arena is an utter shitshow on my Galaxy S10+, a break for idk how long since the last console release of a MtG game. This means there are countless other decks and cards I dont have and I can get pretty much 5 full Commander decks for the price of that one Angel deck. It's just not worth it.
As far as Evil Dead is concerned, I don't like that flavorfully Wizards and a lot of people consider it to be ZOMBIES. It is NOT a zombie movie! The movie is about the Kandarian DEMON being unleashed via the necronomicon and the demon is POSESSING the bodies of people, with no regard for whether or not they are alive or dead. The dead are not coming back to life in the sense that they are zombies, they are puppets. It's just such a surface level interpretation of the franchise.
Definitely picking up the Evil Dead Secret Lair. While I'm not a fan of their choice for Ash, it IS worth noting that he WAS just a regular guy before all hell broke loose, literally. Also snagging the John Avon in foil, and Creepshow. Buying a friend the Princess Bride SL for Christmas, as she's a diehard fan of the movie and a collector as well. I'm really just stuck debating if I want the Evil Dead in foil or nonfoil. (I don't want it to pringle.)
I absolutely love The Princess Bride. It is a top 5 movie for me. When I saw this secret lair announced, I was ecstatic. But I've never bought a secret lair before, and 48 dollars after shipping and taxes for non-foil is atrocious. Professor, do you think in 6 months or a year that I'll be able to buy these singles online cheaper? 😂 It sounds like a dumb question, I guess; but the thought of these cards being sold at much lower prices later on really throws a damper in my ability to make a nonsensical purchase now. If anyone has any input on this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all of your videos, Prof. Much love.
I honestly couldn't believe they printed such bad drops, but at least we get Andre the Giant on a card? I guess he had a special way to throw his opponents if they annoyed him enough, so Brion is a fitting option. This is a drop where I'm mostly sitting it out, but at least they throw in packs of Brothers' War I guess? These drops features some sub-bundles, so as long as you happened to want those exact drops (at that ratio) then you pay a smidge less fwiw. It's rough that the meditation lands are so incredible. On the plus side, if you use them it'll raise your attack power (assuming I remember my Pokemon Red) a notch? That's something? Maybe you'll get all 5 out and be 250% attack? totally worth spending the turns on...
Hi there! I was wondering if the prices in the USA are indeed $29.99 / $39.99 for this product. In Europe, especially in France, the prices are listed as €34.99 / €44.99, not including the €5.99 shipping fee. Can you confirm this ? Are we getting an even "better" deal in Europe?
I really wanted the water color lands - I really did - until I have found out that there is only one of each and that makes a BASIC LAND be 7$ ... then I said no. What am I supposed to do with only one? I usually run like 3 of each relevant basic land in my deck. If there were like 5 of each basic land I would have bought it, it would have been 1.4$ per land which is agreeable since I spent 1.1$ per kamigawa full art land. But no, basic land secret lairs are highway robbery. I will repeat myself, 7$ per basic land.
To prove the point at the end of his video about personal value (I'm not watching the video Prof, I just know how you are), I love the movie Princess Bride. Absolute favorite movie of all time. Why am I buying the secret lair? Because I run a Samut EDH deck, and she just doesn't do it for me man. I've never cared for, or liked Samut that much. She's the gas that keeps my deck moving. Having a printing of Samut I can care about? That's worth some value to me.
I have never been a fan of the skin cards solely because WOTC is unable to just...make sure legendary characters are on legendary creatures. This isn't new. Dracula cards had numerous non-legendary named characters (I can never have a Van Helsing commander deck) and Godzilla also had that. Mothra is not a legendary. Until they can commit to not doing that, I just prefer unique cards. It's annoying Ash is in magic and cannot be a commander. I'd rather just not have him at all. Skins create a feels bad moment when wotc just slaps a named character on some random mythic or uncommon
I LOVE the Princess Bride, and the cards are so flavorful! But I couldn’t bring myself to spend my limited funds on something that’s not worth it, especially since I wouldn’t play the cards. If I could put all 9 of them into a Princess Buttercup Commander deck, I would, but they don’t work well together at all. Especially with Battle of Wits.
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Serra Angel is John Avon's wife, and he thought it would be his last piece of art ever(he thought he was going to die due to his illness). Brainstorm has his son in it. So it have some cool pieces that connect to John, ever though those cards value is nonexistent. What about the nerf gun SL with 2 full art Lightning bolts full from Chris Rush?
when Tolarian Professor enters the battlefield recite the quote "many magic the gathering players ask the question" then berate WOTC for not reprinting fetch lands.
@TolarianCommunityCollege I get it’s a joke, but just how young do you think your audience is?
I am not sure, is Lara Croft Modern format playable?
Watching the intro feels like I’m about to get activated as a sleeper cell
this whole video does actually.
I kinda vibe with it, lmao
Well you know what they say...
"Drop like a bulletshell, dress like a sleeper cell!"
crimson tortuga
New secret lair alert!
I am activated, what is my mission. Do I tilt cardboard
It truly is insane the secret lair lands aren't multiples of each.
if it was like 10 of each Id consider buying them
should definitely come with a set of 4 with an option for extra. but wotc
@@k_zed wotc has sold out
It be 5x the price at least then
@@Lowelo860 Yeah. It's actually laughable that if you want to fill out your monocolored deck with these basics that you would either need to buy 30+ of the secret lair or buy the 30+ of them on the secondary market, which would likely be at a similar price
Listen here, doc. I don't come here to hear truths about how old I am. I come here to hear options from someone is slightly older than me!
Why...I feel so much product fatigue......BUT watching the professor does secret lair alerts is very enjoyable.
Agreed
Commander Masters somehow completely killed the game for me. I was so hype for a lot of the past sets but it just being pointlessly unaffordable is so disappointing. And honestly I used to like Secret Lairs too but now they're just face-slappingly bad. Fuck WotC and Hasbro honestly.
Credit to the Editing Team!
The visual effects are quite good!
The NEW SECRET LAIR ALERT that got smashed by the professor's notepad sent me. Hilarious!
lol at the "scary" things..
"Love"
"Commitment"
"The Passing of Time"
Truly terrifying.
Hey there Prof, The John Avon series is a homage to his family, with Serra Angel being drawn with his wife's likeness and Brainstorm is his son as a thank you to them for always being there for him, supporting him and nurturing his artwork. I also believe he did these drawings because he's unsure of how much longer he will be able to produce art for MTG (I think due to health issue or failing health?)s and this was somehow of a thank you and farewell. Side note, I believe progenitus is his favorite card or something along those lines. The Magic Historian did a whole vid on it. It's very touching and sentimental. I understand there isn't a ton of monetary value in most of the cards in that set, but it's more of a heartstrings thing.
so I gotta wonder if wizards is giving him more of a cut to help pay for medical bills.
I mean that is nice, but still, why Serra Angle? Why Brainstorm for his son? Also why only 4 cards. Why charge $40 for it then Wizards? The fact that is a dedication to his family is super sweet, but the cards are still what they are. Also Wasn't Akroma made in the image of her creators wife?
I wonder who he's related to that looks like emrakul
@@eewweeppkkthat's the mother in law haw haw haw
@@eewweeppkk Mother - In -Law?
As someone who has played with inigo Montoya sleeves for years, i cant explain how happy it makes me to have him as a playable commander now.
You killed my father...
I have to refind and dust my sleeves off.
I wish it was the 3 mana Samut instead of the 5 mana one. That one is a much more interesting deck
I am sorry I think I jogged him a little too hard…
Was für ein geniales Bild 😂
Black mana prof should have to be in any spookydrop videos
I just like the nonfoil anymore, tired of the glare and having to wiggle the card around to get past the sheen. …. Old age has truly changed me
Actual why not a Shuffle up and play, spooky edition
I quite like the art for princess bride. I do wish with these cards they found a way to pick cards that held a theme and color-set so they were likely to be played together.
Need to have a version of Tom Bombadil as The Grandfather to use as your Commander, then it's like he's reading the story and you'll be able to have every card in the deck.
Well, the princess (who's name I forgot) is a 5 color commander. So there is that.
Yeah. Each card has such good flavor, they match the characters really well, but they don’t synergize in a Commander Deck
I'm going to be adding them to my jodah, the unifer deck. They work pretty good together in that
@@lucasbakeforero426buttercup
I was really sad to see my hero Ash as Puresteel Paladin. They couldn’t have done better? 😂 I really want it still, my wallet is in danger
I feel ya on that, definitely could be better and it’s odd seeing that effect of Evil Dead 1 Ash. If they wanted to keep an equipment or artifacts focused Ash ED2 or Army Ash would have worked better.
I think it’s a perfect fit, other than it not being legendary
Even some of the re-themed names seemed weird to me. Sure, "Knowby's Incantation" would be a direct reference, but Zombie Apocalypse is nearly as good. Sure, all the titular Evil Dead are actually demons, but they're typically possessing corpses. Zombie is close enough.
Similarly, Field of the Dead should have kept its name. Fans know what's up. That cabin is a killing field.
Vanquish the Horde should have just kept its name too.
It's not a stellar card, but maybe we could have got Animate Dead instead of a zombie token? Or another card with a similar effect?
Eh, Puresteel works for Ash. Maybe not the OG movie specifically, but it works for Ash in general, especially AoD Ash or the series Ash. But the not being Legendary thing is weird. It might have almost been better to just make a slightly more powerful Puresteel to make it Legendary, then have it be Ash and whatever the new card would be called like they did with the original Godzilla card.
I ended up ordering 2, and it'll make me play hammertime in modern specifically bc I want to play ash. I'll order 2 more next week. 😊
The scary part is...
I AM old enough, I own the vhs of Evil Dead 2. The VHS!
Also the John Avon was an instant buy, being my favorite magic artist of all time. Also the story behind the cards.
Edit: Stop blinking! You fool the angels...!
I mean, if you have the movie of course it would be on VHS.
Genuinely amazed that they put Emrakul in SL John Avon. Gotta at least give them credit for that, even if little else.
You don't though. They genuinely don't need credit for anything to do with secret lair.
I mean, people were predicting that Emrakul's exclusion from CM would be tied to a future reprint in SL since the beginning of spoiler season. That's exactly how things turned out. I don't see why they would deserve credit for going through with exactly the scummy tactics everybody speculated they would have performed.
It could be interesting to see a retrospective on previous Secret Lairs. Did the ones that were released in 2020 turn out to be worth their investment?
Probably most do because nobody parts with the better cards for a loss. Just going to Scryfall, searching set = SLD, and ordered by price descending there's a ton of commons or at least cards with easy to find versions with hefty asking prices.
In some ways it makes sense, the worse the card the fewer people buy it so there's basically always exactly as many prints as people who were willing to pay $X, and once no longer offered, many fall out of recirculation, and more people start playing... The demand will always be slightly higher than the supply.
With this in mind I’m curious about the evil dead set.
It’s rightfully eviscerated in the professors video, and I KNOW he never mentions it, but what if the extra card (SPECULATION NFA) is a legendary Ash card? I imagine that would add an insane value to that drop.
Either way, I’m very tempted to buy it just for the cabin and Varina, and pocket the others for a future resell.
@@Khyfinity When has the "bonus" card been worth a lot more than the cards advertised? Not trying to be condescending, but I don't know of any and it seems counterintuitive since showing those cards would increase sales for Hasbro and WotC.
Profs videos are the only reason I like secret lairs at this point.
Prof. Not sure if you were aware but the Serra Angel in John Avon's set is actually a rendition of his wife. This is why he chose to add this card. I know there is more to the story of why he did his wife's likeness but because I do not want to say the wrong thing I will leave it at it is a touching story.
And Brainstorm is actually his son as well
That's fair but I'm not sure why it's Serra Angel over another angel. Maybe Serra Angel specifically has sentimental value for his wife but if not couldn't we have gotten Avacyn or even Akroma instead? Heck, Akroma would even be thematically appropriate for that because in lore she was created in the image of her creator's wife.
I highly doubt anyone would make a card based off a family member and then pick cards that are unplayable but if you want to believe that then go ahead.
I mean that is nice, but still, why Serra Angle? Why Brainstorm for his son? Also why only 4 cards. Why charge $40 for it then Wizards? The fact that is a dedication to his family is super sweet, but the cards are still what they are. Also Wasn't Akroma made in the image of her creators wife?
That doesn't explain why they chose Serra Angel. As prof pointed out there are hundreds of Angels to choose from
Pre-modern Peasant actually sounds fun. :)
Also if they're gonna keep reprinting Serra Angel, can we please get the 7th edition art again? It was gorgeous.
At this point, I'd rather them just power creep the damn thing. Rename it, and make it WWW for the same stats and keywords.
This was one of the funniest intro segments I remember; my partner and I were laughing out loud.
Well done, prof!
The Emrakul secret lair is certainly strange. I do like the idea of making it pure Eldrazi themed though. One titan and a panorama of spawn
The Creepshow Superdrop is actually more rad than I think folks realize. It's not referencing the original Creepshow film, but actually episodes from the current Creepshow TV series. Some of my favorite episodes are represented. Zombie Master especially is from the episode which is basically "Evil Dead" but at a PBS station and Bob Ross is Ash Williams. The Character depicted on the card actually is a Deadite version of Sam Raimi who appears in the episode!
You sir, are a genius. Great coverage of SL.
P.S. The best list for Wilds of Eldraine, is from you! You nailed the top 5.
Solid creators, like StrictlyMTG, didnt even put Agatha's Soul Cauldron in the top 25!
I'm going to agree with you on the princess bride. It was a great memory from my childhood and these are awesome looking cards. Worth it? No. Will I get them? Most likely yes.
what would be a good commander for Ash to proxy for?
I'm thinking Syr Gwyn.
I'm just going to ask my group to Rule 0 Ash as a commander.
I have already purchased the princess bride secret lair. I love all of the arts and the adaptations, save for buttercup (Sisay feels a bit odd for her character). Miracle max I originally didn’t see as black, because he’s too kindly, but then I realized that he subverts death, which is pretty black. And his dethrone is very funny
Absolute tragedy that Princess Bride didn't have freaking Poison the Cup. Automatic F from me!
But Battle of Wits is such a good addition.
@@belgariontheking1and a completely useless card even tho it’s a perfect name for a card
Inconcievable!
how about the fact that the wesley card ties in a duel with fezzik and loses in a duel with inigo
I might have bought the meditation lands if they had used the frame from Kamigawa Neon Dynasty AND there were 30 in the pack.
…I’ll probably end up buying the Evil Dead secret lair… it’s just so… Groovy
Lair
@@latinojackson9694 haha thanks
3:19 perfect.
Those Princess Bride cards are the best secret lair they've ever done, one of my favourite releases in memory
As another child of the 80s seeing Andre the giant and how well they did his art it makes me want to buy this set. I am also a huge fan of the movie so this is so cool to me. 🎉
I was waiting for this. These are my litmus test on whether to buy or not.
I feel that John Avon Emrakul should have been atleast a semi full art where the text box is semi transparent and you can still see a bit of the art. It's been the case for I think all the Eldrazi titans, why stop now?
edit: checking a better picture, it does show, but it's hard to notice
Congrats to everyone who made it through the first four minutes of constant screaming.
That's the only reason I watched.
The value of the Princess Bride is a little disappointing, but, like you said, The Princess Bride holds a special place in my heart and i am in love with that Art :) but as an added benefit for myself, i do need a bunch of those cards :)
That intro was done well, it was really really grinding on me by the end.
I use this as the definitive guide to whether I buy the whole SLD or if I just buy the singles.
EMRAKUL
I know the basic lands are a bad deal. I know I'm getting ripped. I know I'm telling WotC to rip me off and step on my wallet and buy buy buy like a good boy.
But I have to have these basic lands. And I need some of the fast lands, so I'm buying the land bundle. I'm so sorry. God please forgive me I'm so sk3y jms so sorry
The opening. I needed that. Thank you. 😂
Ooooooo I am so scared 😱of these 🎃Secret Lairs. I took my kids to see the Princess Bride when it first came out and we all loved the movie so I broke down and bought the foil version. Thank you for the video Professor. I wish I could meet you at the Anime Imports. Though I live in Cupertino, I will not be able to make it.
I'll never complain about a _new_ art Serra Angel, I love that card. Like forever in love. My mistress behind _ANY_ Thalia.
I have grabbed two secret lairs so fair in the last year: the Frank Frazetta one and the Princess Bride set.
I very much wanted the Evil Dead or Creepshow stuff from here, but some good advice I got was 'there are cooler and better ways to show your fanaticism for that IP"
I bought the Frazetta art because I adore the Conan art covers. They cards could have been basic lands and I still would have bought them.
the Princess Bride set I am buying for a friend who loves the IP and is getting into magic.
I like the idea of secret lairs, there are just too many to keep up with mostly. Also not having 5-10 cards per pack just feels lazy after you see them do it a few times throughout the year.
Give us more sets like Princess Bride and less lair drops overall to make them feel a little cooler and this can be a great way to get people to look into Magic really.
The Princess Bride is very special to me too and I would like to get these cards, but I can not afford to get them and hence it hurts extra that they are only available for such a limited time.
I did pick upt he Evil Dead secret lair but I also agree - it's insane Ash isn't Legendary. I was looking forward to have him commander but alas...
The Emrakul + 8 tokens idea is really cool actually, and would be way better.
I'm slighly disappoionted Ponies: the Galoping 2 wasn't included in the review. Good stuff though
but professor wasn't there an eldrazi commander deck recently. wouldn't that big eldrazi have gotten a reprint in that one
I can't help it, hate how some MtG cards look like these days... such fatigue, no magic identity anymore
13:54 I was positive Prof was going to say "Without Field of the Dead, this is more like a field of the dud."
I really like the Evil Dead movies. I'm only 28. You're making me feel 48. Please stop. Lol
The fact that they couldn't come up with a legendary card for ash, is sad and insulting. I mean really
I was hoping we were going to get the Necronomicon shouting “New Secret Lair Alert!”
To be fair tho prof the Serra angel was avons tribute to his wife when he thought when he was dying.
Really the Princess bride secret lair, what’s next Hannah Montana? Ffs.
Four secret lairs in and we haven't seen a single Magic the Gathering card yet...
the ash one is wild to me because they clearly have like two different teams, the ones who work on the actual universe beyond products with the actual wizards designers like chris and gavin and rachel, etc. and then the ones that peak wildly out of place options for secret lairs
The Princess Bride secret lair is the first I've purchased in a year and a half. I thought they looked amazing, but mostly because when I showed them to my partner, she wanted to frame them and hang it on the wall!
Literally me
I would totally go for the basic land drops... if they would give us enough to actually.. play them? I feel stupid putting one of those into my 100 card deck.
(man I love those pixel lands TT)
i am going to buy the evil dead. this had me splitting up. great job!
I know it's probably not the case but i like to imagine that the flying head at 0:34 is a reference to Bride of Re-Animator.
I didn't think it was possible for the editor to get any better and more cursed with the "NEW SECRET LAIR ALERT" but they impress every single time. Bravo, and much love to them
Spoooooky Secret Laaiiir featuring Bobby Mooiiinahaaaaan! 😂
I want the princess bride secret lair as well. The nostalgia is so good and I want to build inigo !!!
Ash NOT BEING A LEGENDARY IS SO SAD BRO!!! I wanted him as a commander 😥…
Ash does get cloned in the evil dead universe. So being legendary would be a flavor fail unfortunately
Stangg creates a legendary token of himself. Problem solved
Actually professor it would seem that the creepshow secret lair is actually referencing the modern series that airs on Shudder! I actually can recognize some of them from episodes I recently watched
Beat me to it! The cards are hilariously fun and on theme
I’m kinda mixed on secret lairs. I might pick up Emrakul by John Avon because it’s one of my favorite cards of all time. I always feel weird spending $30 for one card though.
That intro was incredible. princess bride is the first secret lair I'm buying. I've purchased singles from others, but I can't resist the full set here.
I also bought into the non-foil Princess Bride SL (didn't want to risk pringling on foils). I do wish they added more valuable cards but there is value in the unique art, even if they don't resell for a good price.
I'm definitely picking up both Princess Bride and Evil Dead Secret Lair's, as both Movies are special to me as well. I'm also upset that they didn't use a legendary like OG Odric for Ash(it would've fit the Motif nearly spot on) but, between this and The Walking Dead Secret Lair I'll be fine building my Undead Brawl Deck....
The first 3 minutes of this video BUT as a 10 hour video. I’d sleep to it every night.
Thanks Professor, we all appreciate you doing these for secret lair videos. Happy spooky season!
Ash as Arden, Intrepid Archeologist?
also wtf ash is not mono white he is totally jund
Wait I'm.. _checks mirror_ ..old?!
I definitely planned to pick up the Princess Bride and John Avon lairs. If I played Modern I'd probably be picking up the Dalek lands too, but not too crazy about them for Commander. Thanks is always for your review professor
The bundle that includes the princess bride , John Avon, and meditation lands got me good.
Professor has finally cracked. 😂
I did pick up the Cards in Costume Bundle. It brought the cost of the Meditation lands down to about $10, which I feel is much more of a fair price for basic lands. (plus it helped me get to free shipping.)
Question: Does Magic make original stuff anymore or is this Universe Beyond stuff just gonna be around for a year? Now I ask this as a YuGiOh player where the next big set is mostly support of older archetypes or a new one that's based on a retrain of an ancient Ritual Monster. But I'm bored with all this MTG crossover stuff AND I DON'T PLAY. I can't imagine what a real player feels like. Although, the Doctor Who and Princess Bride sets look cool as a fan of both (and Evil Dead looks groovy). It just seems odd to me. Like the identity of MTG is just becoming a big crossover and nothing else.
I just bought several of these before watching this video. The Meditations basics are some of the prettiest Magic cards ever printed, but I would like a few more of 'em for that money.
Like you, I got the Princess Bride one, though as a gift for my brother. I have in total bought 3 Secret Lairs: Phyrexian Praetors w/ Phyrexian text, Slivers, and this. I am incredibly picky about these as they are never a good use of my entertainment budget for what I get for my buck. I am however a sucker for some specific flavor wins especially for my favorite tribes.
I expect the next they could get would be the OG weatherlight crew in a unified art style maybe to sucker me back in again.
I couldn’t even tell you what secret lairs are anymore and I think that’s a good thing at this point. I’m completely mind’s eye blind to SLD and just treat them as one of the forty other variants of each card that gets produced. (Which is a shame for the amazing artists). 😊
Some neat art, garbage cards.
Pixil dual lands would look fire.
Thanks for being honest.
My problem (and its a me problem, I accept that) is that I can't just insert UB cards into Magic decks, I have to make full in theme decks.
So the Princess Bride cards... I'm already thinking "I could make proxies of other 80s fantasy movies, like Hawk the Slayer, Krull and Neverending Story and make a deck!"
Same for the 80s horror cards... "I'm sure there's a demon that would make a good Pinhead". But why WHY was Ash done as Puresteel Paladin. Awful decision.
Great themes squandered by mediocre card selection is a real trend with SLs. The Evil Dead one is particularly upsetting as the selection is mostly bad, and there are SO many missed opportunities to for more cards. Ash not being a legend (or at least not having a legendary Ash in the set) is one thing, but it's disappointing that it didn't span into ED2 - could have had more cards, and importantly the opportunity to give us CHAINSAW EQUIPMENT! Army of Darkness included could have given us a Boomstick and a myriad of other characters. Just really half-measured.
Princess Bride has probably been my favorite “Universe Beyond” since Street Fighter. LOTR, Warhammer, and DnD are all super nerdy and awesome, but they were all a bit too big and expensive.
21:00 Let’s see, I got Kaleidoscope Killers when Secret Lairs first came out even though I’ve never cast any of them. The Happy Little Gathering Bob Ross lands, which I’ve collected quite a few of and probably unintentionally manipulated the price of one of the islands… sorry. The Fiona Staples one with Dryad of the Elysian Grove. The last one I got was the Street Fighter one after the fact, I probably could’ve just bought them as singles but I wanted the little box and Hadoken card. Oh yeah, how I could I forget the Mark Poole one! That one was foil, I love that original Birds of Paradise, Counterspell, in foil with the new border, apparently that one is the cheapest out of all of them.
I've bought fewer than 10 Secret Lairs throughout the lifetime of the product. I'm not opposed to WotC directly reprinting cards. Factors that get me over the line on a SL are if I were planning on buying the singles anyway for a deck I'm building and value. Flavor and art styles are contributing factors.
Some examples: I really enjoy Transformers and I bought one of those SLs. But I was planning on making an Ultra Magnus deck and could use the Blightsteel and Darksteel Colossi, which are also relatively pricey cards. I bought the praetors SL because the value was absurd, but I also knew all of those cards are playable (hence the value). Some of them have found homes in decks, but not all.
Based on that, I'll consider the Emrakul one but I don't have a deck I'd use her in.
To be honest, the only scary aspect about this are the prices. I don't care at all about anything that was released here flavor-wise but even if I did - no chance I'm paying that amount of money for it. To be honest once again - I LOVE Angels in MtG. I would've really loved to get my hands on the SL Angel deck but man...that's 150+€. I've only recently returned to MtG after a 15 years or so break from paper-MtG and since Arena is an utter shitshow on my Galaxy S10+, a break for idk how long since the last console release of a MtG game. This means there are countless other decks and cards I dont have and I can get pretty much 5 full Commander decks for the price of that one Angel deck. It's just not worth it.
As far as Evil Dead is concerned, I don't like that flavorfully Wizards and a lot of people consider it to be ZOMBIES. It is NOT a zombie movie! The movie is about the Kandarian DEMON being unleashed via the necronomicon and the demon is POSESSING the bodies of people, with no regard for whether or not they are alive or dead. The dead are not coming back to life in the sense that they are zombies, they are puppets. It's just such a surface level interpretation of the franchise.
Definitely picking up the Evil Dead Secret Lair. While I'm not a fan of their choice for Ash, it IS worth noting that he WAS just a regular guy before all hell broke loose, literally. Also snagging the John Avon in foil, and Creepshow. Buying a friend the Princess Bride SL for Christmas, as she's a diehard fan of the movie and a collector as well. I'm really just stuck debating if I want the Evil Dead in foil or nonfoil. (I don't want it to pringle.)
I absolutely love The Princess Bride. It is a top 5 movie for me. When I saw this secret lair announced, I was ecstatic. But I've never bought a secret lair before, and 48 dollars after shipping and taxes for non-foil is atrocious. Professor, do you think in 6 months or a year that I'll be able to buy these singles online cheaper? 😂 It sounds like a dumb question, I guess; but the thought of these cards being sold at much lower prices later on really throws a damper in my ability to make a nonsensical purchase now. If anyone has any input on this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all of your videos, Prof. Much love.
I honestly couldn't believe they printed such bad drops, but at least we get Andre the Giant on a card? I guess he had a special way to throw his opponents if they annoyed him enough, so Brion is a fitting option. This is a drop where I'm mostly sitting it out, but at least they throw in packs of Brothers' War I guess? These drops features some sub-bundles, so as long as you happened to want those exact drops (at that ratio) then you pay a smidge less fwiw.
It's rough that the meditation lands are so incredible. On the plus side, if you use them it'll raise your attack power (assuming I remember my Pokemon Red) a notch? That's something? Maybe you'll get all 5 out and be 250% attack? totally worth spending the turns on...
Hi there! I was wondering if the prices in the USA are indeed $29.99 / $39.99 for this product. In Europe, especially in France, the prices are listed as €34.99 / €44.99, not including the €5.99 shipping fee. Can you confirm this ? Are we getting an even "better" deal in Europe?
I really wanted the water color lands - I really did - until I have found out that there is only one of each and that makes a BASIC LAND be 7$ ... then I said no. What am I supposed to do with only one? I usually run like 3 of each relevant basic land in my deck. If there were like 5 of each basic land I would have bought it, it would have been 1.4$ per land which is agreeable since I spent 1.1$ per kamigawa full art land.
But no, basic land secret lairs are highway robbery. I will repeat myself, 7$ per basic land.
To prove the point at the end of his video about personal value (I'm not watching the video Prof, I just know how you are), I love the movie Princess Bride. Absolute favorite movie of all time. Why am I buying the secret lair? Because I run a Samut EDH deck, and she just doesn't do it for me man. I've never cared for, or liked Samut that much. She's the gas that keeps my deck moving. Having a printing of Samut I can care about? That's worth some value to me.
I have never been a fan of the skin cards solely because WOTC is unable to just...make sure legendary characters are on legendary creatures. This isn't new. Dracula cards had numerous non-legendary named characters (I can never have a Van Helsing commander deck) and Godzilla also had that. Mothra is not a legendary. Until they can commit to not doing that, I just prefer unique cards. It's annoying Ash is in magic and cannot be a commander. I'd rather just not have him at all. Skins create a feels bad moment when wotc just slaps a named character on some random mythic or uncommon
I LOVE the Princess Bride, and the cards are so flavorful! But I couldn’t bring myself to spend my limited funds on something that’s not worth it, especially since I wouldn’t play the cards. If I could put all 9 of them into a Princess Buttercup Commander deck, I would, but they don’t work well together at all. Especially with Battle of Wits.