Today, on November 3, 2025, Wizards of the Coast is dropping a new Magic: The Gathering advent calendar, with 26 individually wrapped cards that you can open one day at a time, or all at once like an absolute barbarian. Each one has a different Secret Lair treatment, so if you pick this up you'll end up with a motley collection of cards with wild and wacky artwork.
The Secret Lair Countdown Kit is something Wizards also ran with a year ago (in 2022, which I'm pretty sure was just last year). While the last one had a card for every year in Magic's then 30-year history, the new version is themed around the alphabet, with one card for each letter.
It's also a darn sight more expensive, at $199.99 instead of $149.99 despite having four fewer cards. Guess that's inflation for you. But, because the complete card list has not yet been revealed - Wizards promises to provide it "in the future" - we can't actually say whether this is a good deal or a rip off. What we can say is that there have been some very neat cards among the handful revealed so far.
A WotC email advertising the drop showed off six cards, and there are quite a few pricey ones among them. The standout is Phyrexian Altar, a $65 card, but Urza's Saga also goes for $40, and that land on the top right looks a lot like a City of Brass ($20). Demonic Consultation has an awesome New York Times cartoon inspired piece, but it's a somewhat less valuable card at just $12. Then there are a couple of less exciting picks: Llanowar Elves and Wasteland.
Of the six cards revealed, that's about $140 of value. But has WotC frontloaded the most expensive MTG cards in the calendar in its teaser, or is this representative of the drop as a whole? Only time will tell.
Exactly what time today the Countdown Kit will go on sale on the Secret Lair website is not known - Wizards of the Coast hasn't revealed that detail yet, though many fans are guessing it'll be 9am PT. In 2022 this product sold out in a flash, so hopefully there'll be more copies available this time and a buy limit that's less than 30 calendars per person.
If you're counting down the days until 2026, you might be interested in reading about the Magic: The Gathering release schedule. You can also check out our guide to the best MTG cards of all time or give the Wargamer Discord a visit.