Magic: The Gathering has been getting more and more fed up with the new sales format for Secret Lair Drops, but the release of the Monty Python Drop was the final straw. The community is furious because the system is so easily exploited by scalpers and seems designed to prevent fans from buying the cards they desire.
Over on the MTG subreddit, moderators have had to create a Rant Megathread for every user to post their frustrations in because so many wanted to make individual posts about the Secret Lair situation. One of the TCG’s biggest content creators, Tolarian Community College, who is always incredibly fair to Wizards of the Coast when it comes to business matters, has said that he’s done and won’t be buying any Secret Lairs until something is done about the situation.
Completely sold out
Secret Lair Drops are proxies. Packs of MTG cards with unique artwork and based in the Universes Beyond realm. These Drops used to be printed to demand and were available to pre-order for a limited time on the Secret Lair website so that everyone had a chance to purchase them if they wanted them.
However, Wizards of the Coast recently moved to a limited print run system. This means that Secret Lair Drops can sell out if you don’t head to the website to buy them early. This has made them much more desirable and attractive to scalpers, especially because you can buy them in bulk.
As The Professor points out, this means that fans can no longer wait until they’re free to pre-order a Secret Lair Drop. Now, you’ve got to take time off work and block out the commitments so you can sit in a queue online and hope you get to order the cards you want. Many fans have done this, only to sit in a queue for over an hour and end up seeing a “Completely Sold Out” message when they get through to the site.
I used to order a lot of Secret Lair Drops. I have the Fortnite and Warhammer 40K runs and think they’re fantastic. I was able to order those right as the pre-order window came to an end, which was the perfect system for me as a dad who has no time to spare apart from the 10 minutes before I pass out at the end of the day.
As user Hotfirelegend on Reddit puts it, “This new system is terrible.” Fans are calling for everyone to voice their frustrations through feedback to Wizards of the Coast. The more stories I read about users not having time to order due to work or Drops going live in the middle of the night in their time zone, the more confused I am about why this system was changed.
On the surface, the old Secret Lair sales format worked, but I can see how it could lead to stock from canceled orders piling up with nowhere to go. This new system all but ensures a 100% sold rate for every product, which looks great on a spreadsheet but comes at the cost of approachability. When buying from scalpers at double the price point becomes the best way to buy something, you know the system is broken somewhere.
Published: Jul 31, 2024 03:41 pm