The Sonic The Hedgehog Secret Lair MTG cards are arriving in collector's hands and then immediately hitting the secondary market. Already we've seen some absolutely shocking prices, with these Lotus Petals reskinned as Chaos Emeralds going for as much as $1,500.
That is an outlier, and most of these bonus Sonic cards - which I ranted about the other week - are not being sold for quite so much dosh. But they are still going for more than $500, which seems absurd. It's not like Lotus Petal is one of the most expensive MTG cards either. This is a reprint of a card that currently costs about $25.
The price of these Chaos Emeralds will likely have been driven higher by superfans keen to collect one of each. We saw how this works in the past with cards like the Nazguls in the Lord of the Rings MTG set. While only at uncommon rarity, the fact the Nazguls had nine different artworks drove the price of each one way above what you'd expect, and these are still $10 - $20 cards today.
Wizards of the Coast has shown a willingness to capitalize on this kind of collectibility recently to drive pack sales, specifically in the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set. There, we not only saw numerous different Cids, but also multi-colored Chocobos.
Just like the Chocobos, there are Chaos Emeralds of all different flavors, and some fans are bound to try and obtain a full set. Those poor saps.
Chances are good these cards won't stay at such a high price point, however. We have no idea how often they're showing up in Sonic Secret Lairs, as Wizards hasn't given any hints about the drop rate. We can be sure, however, that most fans are looking disappointedly at a Command Tower rather than a Lotus Petal right now.
But as the Secret Lairs reach more fans, more Chaos Emeralds will hit the secondary market. As supply grows, the price is likely to shrink. We also can't discount the possibility that some of these scalpers are selling to other resellers - or even to themselves - with those looking to turn a profit buying at high rates and attempting to drive up the price.
If you were lucky enough to pull one of these pricy, pricy petals, come brag in the Wargamer Discord. And don't miss our MTG release schedule - Edge of Eternities is on the way and MTG Spiderman is close behind.