What's On My Mind About Secret Lairs | A Magic: The Gathering Introspective Dialectic

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[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Go to BuyRaycon.com/tolariancommunity for 15% off your order! Brought to you by Raycon.

[@shooter0404]

you should go for a buzz cut again like in the old secret lair thumbnail. looks sharp

[@cleanartcollective]

Hey Brian, is there a way to get a refund or something on the kickstarter project i helped support and now don't get my product because of a survey that took place 6 months ago in june or something? your support team on kickstarter is rude and unhelpful... looks really shady if you ask me. feels bad being scammed :( Any way you might be able to remedy this, or at least acknowledge that you're fucking up instead of ignoring the bad parts of your "very successful" kickstarter? I literally payed day 1 and waited and waited and waited only to be told i dont get the thing i payed for.... any ideas on that Prof?

[@EclecticCamel]

I don't know why, but hearing "NEW SECRET LAIR ALERT" brings warmth to my cold dead heart.

[@LadyLunarSatine]

Funny, it just has me wanting to hit the right arrow key to jump ahead 5-10 seconds.

[@rileymcphee9429]

This relatable shit right here

[@MrPFMneto]

It also brings a bit of panic lol

[@solsticepride3302]

I love when we get to see the profs thought free-form instead of scripted like normal

[@wormspeaker]

Absolutely. I know he says he's having 'fun' with the character when he does the over the top stuff, but it's just not what I come to the channel for.

[@notme222]

No offense to anyone, but I don't. I find it rambling and I didn't bother watching the rest of this video.

[@C._Bradford]

@notme222 I agree with you, definately a bit rambling which can be grating. However I also feel like he's letting down his guard. Just dropping all pretentions and being super real.

[@seanfsmith]

Same! It's why I'm such a fan of Dies to Removal

[@owlbedamned4034]

@@seanfsmith Bring it back!

[@jasonhogan1614]

I feel like the prof could do a state of magic grading video/series in June on whether the state of: modern; standard; commander; the local gamestore; arena; etc are in a good state or whether they need to do summer school to improve

[@ghostguin1398]

That sounds fun

[@salfontana5712]

I like this idea!

[@slumdutchmillionare]

My biggest issue when buying foils is that sellers set their condition as “Near Mint” when it’s curled to high heaven.

[@magic_claw]

That’s not just Near Mint, but Mint 😂

[@BRand-oz9lu]

One of the things I've come to appreciate about the volume of Secret Lair, and really the volume of all MTG products, is that it forces me to reflect on my FOMO and help me overcome it because i cant possibly keep up with it all

[@copperbadge1]

Hey Prof, just wanted to let you know this format works very well in my opinion. Especially the freeform talking leading to a narrated block about the mentioned topic is something I enjoy. :)

[@aaron.k.]

Now there is a man who knows how to review Secret Lairs!

[@kellenmiller3391]

But has no idea how to open them! LOL

[@PhyrexianPraetor]

I adore the more subtle look of the etched foils

[@hallaloth3112]

Same, while I like a traditional foil occasionally. . .sometimes the etch foil just adds a touch of gilding that fits it perfectly.

[@seanfsmith]

Same: it reminds me of some of my favourite foil lands from Odyssey block

[@retro.7673]

NEW SECRET LAIR ALER - oh wait nvm. Good vid prof💜💜

[@Starman_Dx]

A story about secret lair foils. I ordered the Post Malone set and the 40k orks set, both foil at the same time. I received them both opened them up and noticed the orks were already curling. Post's foils we're perfectly flat. Today, those same ork foils are causing a hard sleeve to bend. Post's? Perfectly flat in a binder. I have no idea what black magic (cuz it was a black set, hah puns!) they used for Post's but I'm super curious if anyone else noticed it. Or maybe I got extremely lucky.

[@jacksonwilliamson256]

I can attest. The post foils don’t curl. The other secret lairs in my deck curl insanely hard though

[@spookytanooky]

Same here. Post foils arrived flat but my Street Fighter foils were curled before I opened them.

[@pando1520]

i love these free form videos. It's nice to just hear the prof give his thoughts about where magic is headed and how its been doing

[@MrNbkelly]

I wanna see Garret on shuffle up and play, along with Chang, and Abed

[@kevincarter9164]

Garret was and brought a deck 100% secret lair cards

[@Okega]

@@kevincarter9164pretty sure you’re thinking of gavin verhey 🤔

[@ozzwich]

After so many ads... I finally bought some raycons. Well done professor.

[@stephennolan8806]

I was hoping for a 30 minute "NEW SECRET LAIR ALERT" video

[@NCISfreak123]

This hybrid format is awesome - more if you can!!

[@parc57]

Prof i just wanted to let you know that today i received my "Academic" deckbox. Great work. keep it up and thank you!!

[@KennethKnickerbocker]

I love the art of the. talismans. I picked up a talisman of dominance for my Wilhelt commander deck. Beautiful.

[@twarnold14]

I’m fine with a lot of different art styles per secret lair drop. Gotta make sure there is something for everyone. I wish they had some consistency though, or at least tell us what it is if there is a consistency. Like, 2 drops related to the corresponding set, 2 drops that artist series, 2 off-the-wall things, and 1 basic land drop. Something like that so that we know what to expect. And that includes knowing the consistent amount of cards per drop. Instead each lair just feels so wildly different that it takes just even more to grok. It goes back to what you said about each set having a ton of different versions. Good that it can cater to different people, but it makes it such a mental challenge to comprehend it all!

[@antoniohenderson6090]

I absolutely love the etched foils. Not just for the aesthetics but for the lack of curling. I've had a lot of unsleeved etched foils sitting in a drawer now waiting to be tucked away into a deck and they are straighter than the Ikoria foils that were immediately sleeved.

[@XxJackFrostxX]

I actually prefer the textured foils. They have the brushed texture of etched foils all over the card, but the picture is bright, clear, and foil. I think it’s the best of both worlds and I love them.

[@billdoetsch]

Yes, but they are being used as chase variants and aren't widely available.

[@josephkoepke1251]

Etched Foil cards look so good. But also the foils from dominaria remastered were very solid.

[@dakotawolf1027]

Prof always making good insightful comments about MTG. I agree on many points about Secret Lair, they do release them too frequently and they need to do more WPN exclusives. We all need to recognize the potential for this game to get back on the tables this summer and make sure our LGS situations stay strong. Without dedicated places to play all card games are on a path to exile 😉

[@Dawnfeethers]

Interesting contrast with the etched/brushed vs normal foils!

[@DarktoneX]

Hey Prof, I dont play MTG anymore unfortunately but I still have a love for the game. Im not a consistent viewer of your videos, but whenever I get a chance to watch, you are ALWAYS spitting FACTS!!! Thank you for looking out for the community.

[@pk0a0gundam]

Your shuffle up n play series has brought me so much joy over the past year. This product is amazing and what you have made after continues to be of the same quality!

[@StrikerX-]

Hearing the joy in your voice when you said this Felwar Stone is for Brian brought a smile to my face

[@BREAKERisDEAD]

These videos are such quality. The Prof really goes all out and it shows in how well made and informative they are

[@ericbowers5968]

I like how genuine you are. I feel like I'm the one opening the secret lairs. Ty much for all you do

[@zagmir4727]

37 minutes? Hell yeah, love the long videos Prof.

[@vinamacias7546]

Youve mentioned how unscripted videos can be tough for you to make, so I hope this mixed scripted-unscripted style was more comfortable! Another great video as always ^u^

[@Hamond1989]

That mixture of free-form and scripted was really something, sets an interesting pace, combining imo the best of both worlds, hope you'll make more like that in the future :)

[@irvingfaverman7419]

Etched foils, particularly the Dan Frazier talismans, are some of my favorite foils i opened mine as soon as I got them and they haven’t curled a bit (the ones not in commander decks are just in perfect fits)

[@nolanloughlin1793]

Before there was Secret Lair there was the From the Vault series which wasn't the exact same thing but something somewhat similar by reprinting cards throughout Mahic's history around a particular theme. Just without the alternate art.

[@eighteentwilight8547]

I like this free-form style of discussing. It feels more relatable and organic.

[@sstankfish]

Prof, I appreciate who you are and what you've done for the community. I truly hope I can play in a pod with you some day. Or even play my jank modern decks (inspired by your videos) against your merfolk!

[@crazymembrane]

As far as the secret bonus card goes, i do wish they said if the bonus card had the same style as the secret lair, or if it is a generic extra card. Especially in the artist series.

[@Zytri92]

I don’t think I’d love this game as much without you’re content Prof. Always fair, always informative, and always full of joy.

[@weeaboojonez9685]

New secret lair video alert!!! New secret lair video alert!!! New secret lair video alert!!!

[@3TailedKitsune]

I enjoy you going back and forth between scripted and free form.

[@asomelord]

That mock UN episode was one of my favourite episodes of community, but i completely forgot about the Crisis Alert. I just assumed Erik Charles Nielsen was a magic youtuber. I mostly just remember Troy's Georgian Accent from that episode

[@danabell2709]

I always figured the 'Secret Lair Alert' skits were all about the frequency. I always got the idea that your opinion on them was pretty much 'some are good, some are bad but there are too many' :)

[@MrLucky5001]

27:19 wait! the non-crossover doesn't have "E. Honda, Sumo Champion" under its name like the Godzilla cards from Ikoria. does that mean we can have both on the field at the same time?

[@CreditedJester2]

Could call videos like this “after hours” it’s very laid back and relaxed great video as always!!

[@PeterNXavier]

Love this opinion piece. Also you have to start the pull from the left. If you start from the right, it will break.

[@corbenmurphy1807]

" 'Hella' Curled"!🤣 Accurate and good use of the word. Keep it up prof

[@evilporkchops2866]

Hey Prof, random viewer from Switzerland here. This is unrelated to the video but I just got my deckbox from your kickstarter and I love it, thanks a lot!🥳

[@gamertrojan4038]

Loving the new free form you. And also loving my new kickstarter deckbox and accessories. It finally arrived. Well worth the wait. Thanks for everything you do Prof!

[@ImmortalLorient]

The etched foils are some of my favorite cards. I really hope we see more of them.

[@wafflehaxxx]

Me and a friend ordered some secret lairs together to save on shipping. When the package finally arrived after several months, HALF the content was missing. Full taxes charged, the receipt listed our full order, yet there was only 3 packs inside when we ordered 6. Still no response from their customer support because they are experiencing a "high volume of contacts" which is no surprise if they manage to mess up shipping like this.

[@sagethevvitch]

I'm curious, did y'all ever get the rest?

[@wafflehaxxx]

@@sagethevvitch We did, we had to pay VATS again because they put the full price of the product on the packaging. When the cards arrived they were misprinted so heavily you could barely read the text on the cards. Tried to contact them about a replacement and they expected us to pay shipping to get it fixed (and probably VATS again on the return trip) so we just gave up. My friend swore to never buy secret lair products ever again.

[@sagethevvitch]

@@wafflehaxxx I'm surprised to ever see a reply to this. But yeah, that's no surprise. I still have never bought a Secret Lair and while some of them I like, it's just not worth the hassle.

[@daniellambeth6769]

OH MY GOD an episode with Erik Charles Nielsen (Garrett) would be the greatest thing ever. That actor is hilarious, Community is my favorite piece of media of all time. I would love to see him play, but even just having him talk would be cool.

[@jasonloss5582]

I love this format! I want more calm sleeving having a chat videos

[@MTGUnpacked]

Enjoyed hearing your unscripted thoughts on these! They've definitely improved the foils since the earlier iterations, despite them still curling. Aside from non-curling foils, my other Secret Lair wishlist item is that they stop including basic lands as the secret bonus card. I'll take a Sliver any day of the week!

[@Matt-qp1ek]

I’ve switched to Etched Foils whenever possible, I notice a lot less (if any) curling and like the style

[@aidanbrendel1592]

Every video i watch of yours, I always hear you do the scripted lines, and i hear so much passion within them

[@mfsoab]

Personally I like the old foil style, where only parts of the art/card were highligted and the rest pretty much normal/non foil. Don't know where these came from, but I got some and they are gorgeous! All over foiling sometimes really ruins the visual experience. Regarding curling: AFAIK the curling happens, when the humidity in the printing facillity differs from the humidity in your area. Most times curling can be fixed by either readding/removing moisture to/from the cardboard. This can be achieved with packs that are used for humidifying plants/cigar boxes, or de-humidifiers like silica. There are some really good tutorials for this on YT! Once flat, just put them in a sealable inner and normal outer sleeve and they should not curl again.

[@charleslynn7420]

Loved the video prof! Speaking of DMR collector foils I bought a box and can say they look absolutely STUNNING. I was however very disappointed with the curling. Where I am is not excessively arid or humid and the curling was slightly worse than the traditional foils shown around 16:00. It’s a lot of money to spend for the frustration that curling causes when sleeving, shuffling, storing, playing, and just appreciating the cards. WotC makes money hand over fist and the idea that their product is not some technological achievement in the scale and quality of printmaking speaks to their prioritization of the wrong kind of paper

[@aj1604]

With how big the old boxes were I was shocked to find that I did not get at least a playset of all the full text lands

[@kobe9886]

it would be so awesome if you could get eric on, id love to hear him talk about literally anything

[@mikep2661]

Something I hope you touch on eventually is the shipping cost being $9, as there is no realistic way that sending that envelope of cards out costs $9 in the slightest

[@danacoleman4007]

handling

[@Shannon_Vlogs]

Actually love the pacing of this video. It was nice to chill out as I get ready for bed

[@Captainmaximus87]

Hey prof my post didn't upload on the TCC reddit but I just received my Acedamic and I wanted to say thank you To you and your team at TCC Keep it up to good work

[@ZackeroniAndCheese]

If anything will be the real death of Magic, it will be WotC killing local game stores. Secret Lairs are a big part of this issue

[@underscore_5450]

I'd love for secret lairs to not be only direct to consumer. I'm sure wotc could print extras and sell them at game stores or walmart or something.

[@God_is_a_High_School_Girl]

Off-script Prof has some ASMR chill energy

[@chaelsonnen1]

Patiently waiting for the Prof secret lair

[@anthonydelfino6171]

100% agree about basic land offerings. Granted I proxy 99% of the cards I play with through a professional printer, and as a digital artist I can drop in whatever art I want... I realize not everyone else can do this. And with any 3-color commander deck I typically run 6 of each basic land, that put someone who wants a specific art currently into needing to buy about a half dozen of them just to build a deck. In almost every format, you need multiple basic lands in your decks, so offering several printings of the art style should be the norm so people can actually use them in their decks.

[@1GoodBean]

I really agree with the basic land sentiment. I would love to get more in the bundle. I also think that a possible nice option would be to buy bundles buy color. a pack that is 10 of just one basic for example. It would be really nice for folk wanting them for specific commander decks knowing you don't need ALL the basics.

[@AeynYT]

Love the video format and the analysis. Thanks for your thoughts Prof!

[@ethantufts3591]

Yeah ETCHED FOIL never curls for me. I am not exxagerrating when I say I have bought most of the etched foils (non secret layer) that they have made, and not a single one has curled. That's one reason I love them so much.

[@dragonfire14x]

I liked Secret Lairs at their introduction. An end of the year super drop with various themes. Initially I thought they would continue like this, like over the year artist at Wizards would be able to experiment with cards, and at the end of the year they would do another drop. It wasn't until Secret Lairs became abundant and constant that I started to hate it as a product line. It just adds to the product fatigue, and it makes me not want to buy any secret lair, because what if next month there is a better one!

[@pluralkumquat]

On the subject of foils, I vastly prefer the Etched foils from some of the secret lairs and commander legends over current foils or even some of the new variants of etched foils. However, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for classic foils. When they do retro border cards and they foil them correctly I love it. I run all foil basics in my Windgrace deck and I use Mercadian Masques foils.

[@terraeon1536]

I personally like the etched foils a lot more than traditional foils.

[@fivefourtwo4498]

My Thalia Secret Lair foils are comically curled, to the point of being pringles EDIT: After finishing the video, definitely thought it was a well balanced, honest set of statements about how Secret Lairs have improved while still having some way to go.

[@bobross8585]

I just double sleeve mine and then slowly curl them against a large aerosol spray can. Works wonders.

[@fivefourtwo4498]

@@bobross8585 I will try this

[@ΠερίανδροςΜεσολωράς]

Thank you for the great video and review Professor. Even though I haven't bought and probably will not buy any secret lairs, I gotta say I love the trade-off of reflectiveness vs curling. I prefer to get alternative art styles more than foils and most of all the borderless style. But I would rather have all my cards non-foil and simple art than have them curl. Old or new cards, I like to be using them in good quality sleeves as a battle deck so the curling actually ruins their use in the deck. So yes, less curling over more reflectiveness 100%.

[@jacksonwilliamson256]

That tireless tracker is straight adorable. Gonna have to buy that now

[@bavarianwolf3806]

i dont know this guy he dont know me but he has almost the same flavour of good cards / good looking card then myself.. a true magic enjoyer with a great eye for beautiful cards

[@spamtneo]

I prefer the shininess of traditional foils over etched foils 🌞💛

[@TheChitownboi93]

I like the quality of the foils from Dominaria Remastered. They had a mild shine to them that looked luxurious and classy to me.

[@Aerix]

How I wished secret lairs worked... Wizbro releases new set complete with showcases. Wizbro also releases secret lairs along side release and the life of the set revisiting old staples from in-theme cards in the new showcases most likely from a previous visit to featured plane. Could also add updated showcased classics to "the list." Example: when they released neon dynasty it would have been cool to see secret lairs for staple and $$$ cards like yuriko, higure, etc for one or multiple ninja secret lair in that anime art style. Could also do this for samurai, dragons, etc. Also would have been nice for the midnight hunt showcases for old werewolves and crimson vow showcases for vampires from previous innistrad sets. And maybe controversial the double feature showcases with new art intended to be black and white instead of just desaturated.

[@thedude3445]

Sometimes the Secret Lairs have tied into the sets, but I really wish there was a lot more of it. It's a great chance to expand the brand-new planes as well, with cool reprints in the new sets' styles.

[@keylockmvp]

I keep staring at the street fighter secret lairs but like I'm worried about curling and its literally the only reason I'm second guessing it and this kind of plays into what this video is about.

[@benjaminschomburg7746]

Regarding the question about preferred foiling method: since foils are not special any more, I'd rather have no foiling at all so I can best enjoy the art ^^

[@HughMurphy395]

Don't forget that the Stranger Things were also printed in SLDs, and then got Universes Within versions too.

[@Visionz9200]

Some are fan of the professor, and some are fans of Brian. This video is for the fans of Brian.

[@cakgrim]

Hey Prof, Would love to see an updated Sliver Overlord deck tech!!

[@Amaurn89]

When you mentioned "Standard" I genuinely had to take a minute to remember what that is, not just being facetious (been playing MtG for 18 years).

[@macaiebo]

The arts are great, but yeah with the values in question it turns out to be kinda subjective on what you want of each secret lair. Great video prof.

[@Asrugan]

Just imagine getting enough basic lands in a SL to actually run those lands in a deck without having to augment that with other things? That would be amazing!

[@fromadhdtodndtomtg]

The issue is the curling, with so many different vendors and treatments, and not knowing the where, it makes it hard to determine 'is it worth it' for buying foils. Because of the variability, I am having to avoid them - which is sad, cause I love the idea, but I don't do the pringles.

[@WilsonChoo]

prof dissociating himself and brian is somehow really funny to me

[@dustinburns4550]

Luv ya prof !!! Keep hitting us with your great content !!😊

[@mawtaus]

I used to enjoy getting foils for their (perceived) rarity, but I've since decided I'd rather have my whole deck in a single style and it's cheaper to do that with non-foils. However, I do like the less shiny etched foiling, so I might come around to picking up a few of those eventually.

[@X7373Z]

11:27 In response to your question I tap my keyboard and cast "Answer": I don't prefer foils at all, but if I were to get foils I'd rather get the Etched foils, half because they curl less, the other half because the foil art on a lot of cards gets too dark and hard to see on normal foils and the etched foils either don't have this problem or the etching adds additional detail that the regular card wouldn't and it becomes a neat tradeoff rather than a (for me) downgrade like a normal foil. You had once mentioned in your criticism of the Collector booster packs that all the foils and the lack of value in these cards but had offhandedly mentioned that maybe they could do more showcase or full art treatments of cards in those packs and if they did a more 50/50 foil and showcase art split (or even just more of the showcase arts as per my dislike of foils) then Yeah, I'd buy a lot more collector packs for sets, I'd be buying a lot less cards overall as a result but I'd still buy them. For like half of the sets that have come out I've absolutely LOVED the showcase treatments of cards. For example, I loved the Zendikar Rising ones when they first? introduced them in set boosters, and while I can't say I've loved all the ones in sets in between I can say that I've put all the showcase art cards that I've pulled into a binder.

[@jomembawang]

Thank you for the deck box!!!! Bought two of them and love them!!

[@willielogan4811]

I'd love more of these non scripted videos. It's after class with the prof.

[@travis_approved]

You should try and get garret on an episode of shuffle up and play and do something beginner friendly like jump start or card kingdom battle decks. I love community so it would be an interesting crossover!

[@Theorak]

Bought the Talisman collection as well, it is a surprisingly great print.

[@Beeegdix]

I came from yugioh and Pokémon and it’s insane the quality difference between a standard non-promo Pokémon/magic foil and that of collectors booster promo from a couple years ago

[@ullrich]

For me personally, the best foils I've ever seen in MTG are those that have been in recent Collector Boosters - not just Dominaria Remastered (although those are great) but in All Will Be One as well. The card quality is higher for sure, but you can also tell that the foiling is slightly muted - it doesn't have the ultra metallic luster, and it just seems to blend with the color on the art card better rather than just glaring. Interesting side note: in DMR, the retro foils from the Collector Boosters are different than the same card retro foil from Draft Boosters - CB retro foils don't have foiling on the art while Draft do. Also, it's interesting that curling isn't a new thing. I recently ordered a foil set of the panorama basic lands from Champions of Kamigawa (20 total cards from a bunch of different sellers) and they curl pretty bad, albeit in the other direction. Same is true for some of the Shadowmoor foils.

[@AtraxaApologist]

I actually really like the subtle foils and the more extravagant ones. I mostly prefer when certain aspects are foiled instead of the entire card being rainbow foiled. I think subtlety can be good!

[@death_valley_paige]

Would love to see Erik on an episode of Dies to Removal or even Shuffle Up and Play.