While the surprising ban announcement may have overshadowed things somewhat, May 18th had a lot going on in the world of MTG. Secret Lair, for instance, also had Goblin Storm go on sale today. Offering one of Secret Lair’s best deals ever, it’s no wonder players were rabidly trying to pick copies of this Secret Lair Precon up. Sadly, despite an unprecedented one-per-player limit, it appears that there were far too few copies of Goblin Storm to go around.
MTG Goblin Storm Sold Out
Considering that Goblin Storm offered $278 of reprint value for just $150, it’s no wonder that this deck sold out in just 34 minutes. In fact, the actual value of this deck should be even higher than this when considering premiums for Secret Lair printings. Considering that some players were literally checking out with the deck as it sold out, it’s no wonder they’re so disappointed.
While player outrage over this is widespread, the obvious Scalping that occurred makes things even worse. With over 180 listings for the deck already on eBay, it’s safe to say that Wizards’ one-per-player restriction didn’t help things at all. With most decks being listed for above $500, the markup on this product is absolutely ridiculous. Making things worse, listings on TCGplayer start at a whopping $698.
This is hardly the first time that MTG Secret Lair has had supply issues, but Wizards of the Coast should have easily been able to do better. With a popular MTG artist and a ton of raw value on the line, Goblin Storm was bound to be a popular precon. That’s why, when players initially saw the one-per-player cap for this Secret Lair, there was a lot of worry.
Wizards Can Do Better
While these quick sellouts are obviously inexcusable from a player perspective, they aren’t perfect for Wizards of the Coast, either. They may have moved all of their printed product, but much of the monstrous demand for this precon remains unsatisfied. Thanks to this, Wizards left a lot of money on the table by underprinting the product, which is hardly ideal.
Sadly, while Wizards missed out on tons of hypothetical cash here, it’s hard to believe that in-demand product sales like these will get better soon. The Dandan Secret Lair, alongside recent Chaos Vault sales, demonstrated this, and Goblin Storm somehow took a step in the opposite direction.
On the bright side, we do have proof that Wizards can improve Secret Lair. This is mainly seen in recent Secret Lair Superdrop sales, with most drops having a shelf life of a few weeks. With this and a monetary incentive to improve, there is hope that Secret Lair sellouts like these will occur less often. Frankly, however, it seems unlikely that things will change any time soon.
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