Magic: The Gathering and Wizards of the Coast have launched the third Secret Lair Commander deck, named “Angels: They Are Just Like Us But Cooler and With Wings” now available for preorder.
This new set is limited to five copies per player with Wizards of the Coast accepting orders since Thursday, August 10. The set retails for $150 and is a notch more expensive than the traditional Commander Masters decks.
However, Wizards of the Coast have made up for the fact, by offering great retail value to the set with multiple $30 cards featured insider. The artwork alone is what puts a strong value to the entire box, and if you are not too miffed at the rather bizarre title, Secret Lair: Angels is actually a really good bargain.
There are a number of valuable reprints available in the new deck, including the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx Legendary Land card, a card that has been broadly discussed and potentially floated as a possible ban. Yet, the win rates for this particular deck and card, to wit Mono Green Devotion, have not been too worrisome to necessitate a balancing act by prohibiting it.
The card retails easily for $30 itself, so you are getting a really juicy value here. Another such card is Commander’s Plate, which is also fetching $30 currently, although it was selling for $19 a few months back. This commander card has plenty to offer, and it adds outstanding value to your Commander, making it a good pick. Just these two cards alone should add $60 worth of cards to your purchase.
Then, you have Archangel of Thune, who has Flying, lifelink, and puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control, making it a really good card to have. It’s a great card to use in lifegain strategies and definitely adds a lot to your deck. Serra’s Ascendant comes next.
Once again, lifelink may actually be the way to go here because for as long as you have 30 or more life, this creature gains +5/+5 and also has flying. As the small text puts it, her faith in Serra reached new heights – as should your faith in the Serra Ascendant! Now, this one doesn’t quite retail for $30, it fetches $20 presently at market prices but it’s a pretty good value, nevertheless.
More good cards include Gisela, the Broken Blade, which has flying, first strike, and lifelink, making it an outstanding card. It’s currently retailing for $15, and it’s still a good fetch. There are plenty others to consider as well. The question is – will it be worth to actually buy the set just to resell? The short answer is – definitely. This set’s secondary market value is priced anything between $240 and $280, and it will be a great way to get a few reprints along the way, or in the very least – sell with an up mark.