Storm Counter helper card | Art by Wizard of Barge

On Monday, May 18th, at approximately 9 AM Pacific Time (12 Noon Eastern), Wizards of the Coast officially releases Secret Lair Commander Deck: Goblin Storm! This 100-card deck features cards with art by Wizard of Barge, whose work exudes a delightfully cartoonish style. You'll be able to find Goblin Storm on the official Secret Lair website, selling for $149.99. Is this deck worth the pains of queuing up for? Read on, and we'll explain!

This Could be an Exemplary Secret Lair Deck!

As we discussed in our previous article on the matter, Goblin Storm is a fantastic Secret Lair deck. The trouble, as it always has been, is that people will inevitably snatch these up like the latest video game console model. This much is almost entirely a certainty.

However, there are two things that Goblin Storm (sort of) has going for it. The first is that Wizards of the Coast has printed rough Commander decks with the Secret Lair model before. Everyone's Invited, the previous deck, was a typal-matters deck that they priced at a staggering $199.99. As a result of the paltry list value versus the price point that Wizards put down, Everyone's Invited remained on the webstore for several weeks. What this says to me is that Wizards knows how bad a deck has to be to not sell, which means they know the floor of their limitations.

This brings me to the second thing that Goblin Storm has going for it. That thing is Wizards' experience in doing every single Secret Lair drop before it. If Wizards is acting in good faith when pricing and printing Goblin Storm (and it seems like they are, since they're also limiting purchases on the webstore to just one per customer), they'll use this experience to make sure players get what they want.

I, personally, can't get a copy of this deck, as cool as it is and as badly as I really, really want it. $150 is still a lot for me to shell out for a preconstructed deck, even one as novel as Goblin Storm. But if you have that kind of cash handy, it's probably not a bad investment. It's already a great deck in many ways, and the value it provides is also quite good. Just expect to be queuing up for a little while tomorrow if you aim to purchase it.

Conclusion

In short, in only a few short hours after this article goes live (which is 6:30 AM Eastern Time, for those curious), you'll be able to make a mad dash to the Secret Lair webstore and purchase Secret Lair Commander Deck: Goblin Storm for $149.99, plus any applicable sales tax and/or shipping. Please know that these are limited print-run only and that this deck will most likely sell out if it's anything like decks in the past (Everyone's Invited notwithstanding). You may be disappointed, so steel yourself for that if you're going for it.

In any event, let's open the floor to you, dear readers! Are you going to gun for this Secret Lair deck later today? What's your favorite thing about it? Could it be the Wizard of Barge art? How about the card choices within the deck? Sound off in the comments below, and happy queuing!