In this article: Other trading cards and collectibles have regularly created numbered, limited run cards and items to create scarcity and drive demand. Now, Wizards of the Coast has quietly released serialized copies of a special Viscera Seer in Secret Lair drops.
Starting back in 2019, Wizards of the Coast has been pushing their Secret Lair drops: a premium product line that contains special versions of cards including new arts, unique card frames, and crossovers with other non-Magic IPs. Typically, Wizards announces the Secret Lair drops in advance with specific details about what they will contain.
Last week, reports started coming in on Twitter and other social media about something strange that was coming out of Secret Lair products: copies of Viscera Seer that have mirrored text and art – and a gold stamp with a number x/100.
Limited quantity, numbered cards have been a long time staple of other trading cards and collectibles, especially in sports cards. Magic: The Gathering has certainly had ultra-rare cards before, including unique judge promos and special cards for Wizards employees:
Indeed, the concept of rare, numbered cards might not feel much different to some players than the lottery-style cards that have been included at a super-low occurrence rate in booster packs of Standard-legal sets such as the Zendikar Expeditions and the Kaladesh Inventions.
However, serialized cards that are released to the public is something entirely new for Magic, and it has been turning a lot of heads in the community. Lottery cards like the Expeditions are distinctly different in part because they were printed in Standard sets, which are typically printed-to-demand. This meant that there was theoretically no limit to how many of the lottery cards would be printed and end up in the wild. With the serialized Viscera Seer and any other cards Wizards gives this treatment to, there will presumably only ever be 100 examples in existence.
Numbered cards obviously have the potential to be extremely valuable to collectors due to their concrete limited quantity. This move was likely taken by Wizards of the Coast to continue to drive demand for Secret Lair drops, which now have an added layer of mystery and exclusivity since they can apparently contain these unannounced, extremely rare collectors’ pieces.
Content creator @TheMaverickGal even asked Wizards’ senior communications manager Blake Rasmussen about the mirrored cards on stream. He cheekily responded at first with “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” but then admitted he did in fact know about the numbered cards but could not actually comment on them.
Asked Blake if he was able to comment during the Magic stream today. No direct answer (understandable and expected) but at least got acknowledgement about it. https://t.co/IyGDC6WN0R
— Paige, The Untouchable 🔜 VEGAS (@TheMaverickGal) November 11, 2021
It seems that this is just one of a number of stunts that Wizards is trying around the Secret Lair drops, – see also the peeling card from the upcoming Secret Lair X MSCHF – and it’s something that the Magic community, especially the collector and financial side of the community, is going to be watching very carefully going forward.
