The 23 Most Expensive Secret Lair Cards in Magic

Lotus Petal | Illustration by Mike Burns

Greetings planeswalkers! Today we’ll be covering 23 of the most expensive Secret Lair cards ever printed. Secret Lair is infamous for essentially monetizing proxies, as WotC saw a unique opportunity to make some rather unique cards. Prepare for a fun little journey with a $3,000+ card at the end!

What Are Secret Lair Cards?

Fabricate | Illustration by Mateus Manhanini

But first, what are Secret Lair cards? They come from Magic’s Secret Lair program, which is an exclusive, limited-time selection of unique cards. These are distributed to players in drops which can be ordered online, and are usually printed as limited runs. Here’s how WotC officially describes the program:

“Secret Lair is the party inside the party at Magic: The Gathering. We combine everything we love about Magic with the stuff in pop culture that inspires us. Each drop puts a brand-new spin on your favorite cards and might even have something entirely new. Think collabs with all kinds of different artists, art styles you’ve never seen on a Magic card before, and crossovers with characters and partners from across pop culture.”

All price data used in this article came from Scryfall as of late October, 2025, which uses market value prices from TCGplayer. We’ll be starting with the 23rd most expensive Secret Lair card below, and working our way up to #1.

#23. Persistent Petitioners – $317.93

Our first card comes from the Persistent Petitioners Secret Lair drop, which consisted of eight different arts for Persistent Petitioners. This gorgeous rendition features three beautiful women and one giant turkey. I’m not sure how this relates to what the card actually does, but the art is still pretty sweet.

#22. Chaos Emerald (Lotus Petal) – $323.34

The green Chaos Emerald is the most expensive version of it online. These Emeralds could show up in the Sonic the Hedgehog superdrop as random bonuses. I’m not sure I’d want to swag out something that I’m immediately going to sacrifice for mana, but to each their own!

#21. Magus Sisters (Endurance) – $338.53

Magus Sisters is one of five reskinned evoke elementals from various Final Fantasy drops.  I’m a huge Final Fantasy X fan, so I’d play this for my Endurance art if I could.

#20. Jace, the Mind Sculptor – $354.47

This unique treatment of Jace, the Mind Sculptor was given out exclusively to Pro Tour 2023 participants. The artist (Wizard of Barge) is also responsible for a number of other Secret Lair cards. Their unique art style really shines on some other cards like Triskaidekaphile, Dark Ritual, and Goblin Recruiter.

As for Jace, the Mind Sculptor itself, the once terrifying planeswalker has seen better days. It’s too slow to be a Modern staple, and can no longer claim the title of best planeswalker (Oko, Thief of Crowns stole it).

#19. Anima (Grief) – $369.07

As you’ll see now (and below), Magus Sisters isn’t the only card from the Final Fantasy drops to make this list! Anima is one of FFX’s most iconic summons, with sick aesthetics and a tragic backstory for lore nerds. It’d probably be the most expensive of the five if you could play it in Modern!

#18. Giant Growth – $369.69

This Giant Growth was given out to 295 random people at MagicCon Minneapolis 2023. Its price tag comes from its extreme scarcity, as otherwise Giant Growth has to be among the most printed Magic cards.

#17. Shiva (Subtlety) – $406.62

Shiva brings us into the $400+ range, and is a sweet rendition of Subtlety. I just watched Subtlety perform some serious beats at Pro Tour Edge of Eternities, though unfortunately not with this art.

#16. Chandra Nalaar – $423.30

This Chandra Nalaar comes from a Secret Lair Drop called “Magic: The Baseballing” which is… pretty much what it sounds like! Power creep hasn’t been especially kind to the original Chandra, although with art this fire I’m willing to overlook that. I also love the backside on these, which is laid out like a traditional baseball card.

#15. Smothering Tithe – $440.16

Smothering Tithe is an infamously overpowered EDH card, to the point where it earned itself a spot on the Commander Game Changers list. This rendition of Smothering Tithe shows off none other than Mr. Krabs, the covetous crustacean who runs the Krusty Krab. It comes from the Spongebob Squarepants: Internet Sensation Superdrop, which featured all sorts of ridiculous cards.

#14. Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes – $458.02

Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes comes from the D&D 50th Anniversary Superdrop. It’s by far the most expensive card of that outing, with most of the others being less than $13. Minsc & Boo is a powerful enough planeswalker to see some play in Legacy, and is still terrifying in Vintage Cube to this day.

#13. Ifrit (Fury) – $476.05

I would’ve expected Ifrit to be one of the cheaper summons, given that Fury is still banned in Modern. The market disagrees though, as players apparently are willing to pay a pretty penny for this sick art. It’s not the most expensive summon though, which is an honor that belongs to a card which is coming soon below.

#12. Shadowborn Apostle – $486.95

As with Persistent Petitioners, there was once a drop of Shadowborn Apostles with nine different arts. This treatment is by far the most expensive one, which is no surprise given the demon waifu in the art. Procuring 40 of these for your Commander deck would cost you a whopping $19,748!

#11. Playtest Counterspell – $499

This unique Counterspell is the only card in this article that isn’t tournament legal. It was given out randomly in 2023 Secret Lair drops, and was made to resemble inkjet playtest cards (which WotC uses to this day). You can read all about how this card came to be here.

#10. Yojimbo (Solitude) – $500.59

Yojimbo is the most expensive of the five Final Fantasy summons. Anyone who has played FFX can tell you that this summon was incredibly badass. You had to pay him money for him to do anything, and even then, he would just do whatever he felt like anyways. There’s technically an absurdly complicated formula the game uses, but remember, this is a Magic article!

#9. Liliana Vess – $549.99

Liliana Vess is a fan favorite planeswalker, so it’s not surprising to see her as the most expensive card from the baseball superdrop. As with Chandra Nalaar, you’d be playing this one mostly for the sweet art rather than Liliana Vess’ power level. She doesn’t even say “each player discards” for Commander, so expect mostly to tutor with her (and have other players gawk at the art).

#8. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite – $584.53

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite appeared in Outlaw Anthology Volume 2: Sinister Scoundrels, which featured fellow praetor Vorinclex and some other baddies. The art here features Elesh Norn laying an apparent smackdown on a hapless bystander, and the flavor text is pretty cute too. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is also a generally strong EDH card, which likely contributes to this one’s appeal.

#7. Merfolk of the Pearl Trident – $699.99

$699 for a vanilla 1/1? In this economy!?

It turns out that if you make a card rare enough and give it sweet art, anything is possible. Like the Giant Growth we covered earlier, this Merfolk of the Pearl Trident only has 295 copies worldwide. It was given out to 295 random people at GenCon 2023.

#6. Lightning Bolt – $783.37

This gorgeous Lightning Bolt was given out as a first-place prize at Secret Lair Spectacular events in 2025. These took place exclusively at MagicCons. The art comes from Peach Momoko, who is known for her work on comics such as Ultimate X-Men and Demon Wars: Scarlet Sin.

#5. Swords to Plowshares – $850.63

This Swords to Plowshares was also given out to 295 random people, this time at MagicCon Vegas 2023. Its price tag is likely higher than the others due to playability, as Swords to Plowshares remains among the best removal spells ever printed. If someone hits you in Commander with this art, beware; you’re likely at a high rollers table!

#4. Encore Electromancer (Snapcaster Mage) – $1,026.08

Hatunse Miku proved popular enough for WotC to print four separate Secret Lair drops! Encore Electromancer comes from the Hatsune Miku: Sakura Superstar drop, and is by far the most expensive card from it. As with Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Snapcaster Mage has sadly been largely power crept out of Modern, though I wouldn’t dare call it unplayable.

#3. Mana Vault – $1,306.95

Commander bans can’t keep a broken card down, at least not with art like this. This Mana Vault comes from the Fallout: Vault Boy drop, where it would show up incredibly infrequently. Its combination of iconic art and scarcity has led to Mana Vault being one of the most expensive Secret Lair cards ever printed.

#2. Murktide Regent – $2,367.50

If you were able to compete in 2024’s Secret Lair Showdown Championships, then you had a chance to win this highly exclusive dragon. Murktide Regent isn’t especially popular in Modern at the moment, but was once a format staple after its printing in Modern Horizons 2. Whether you are a collector or a player though, you’d have to pay an exorbitant sum for this one!

#1. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer – $3,396.66

The #1 spot belongs to none other than Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, specifically this version of the infamous monkey. As with Murktide Regent, Ragavan was a top 32 prize for Secret Lair Showdown Championships, although it was given out at 2023's rather than 2024's. Either way, with a crazy price tag reaching over $3,000, Ragavan is the single most expensive Secret Lair card ever to be printed!

What Is the Most Expensive Secret Lair Drop?

The most expensive individual Secret Lair Drop is the preconstructed Commander deck, Angels: They're Just Like Us But Cooler and with Wings, which current sells for around $520.

What Is the Most Expensive Card That Has Received a Secret Lair Version?

Mox Opal is the single most expensive card to have received a Secret Lair Version. It could be briefly ordered online as a part of Dan Frazier’s Mox Box, alongside Mox Tantalite and Sol Ring. It costs almost $200 more than both of those cards!

Wrap Up

Verduran Enchantress | Illustration by Volkan Baga

And with that, we’ve reached the end of the 23 most expensive Secret Lair cards. We’ll be updating this every now and then, especially if something challenges Mana Vault’s top spot.

Were you surprised by which card took the #1 spot? Let us know in the comments, or find us on social media with the links below.

Thanks for reading!

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