Header image provided by Secret Lair x MSCHF

In the words of an official announcement from Wizards of the Coast, Tuesday (Sept. 2)'s Chaos Vault sale of The Zeta Set was "a disaster."

Prospective purchasers of the Secret Lair exclusive set were met with difficulty when attempting to digitally queue up to snag a pack of the 121-card set. While the sale began at noon EDT, trouble began soon after; purchasers were halted with messages less than an hour later informing them that the sale had been delayed "due to technical issues." They were instructed to stay on the page, and in the queue, to reserve their spot.

When another message was presented shortly after 2 p.m. EDT, purchasers read that the sale would be "moving forward normally."

Once the queue resumed, many found the set had sold out. According to a statement on the Wizards website released late Tuesday, "We are in the process of investigating exactly what went so very wrong and will share more as soon as we're able to untangle the mess and understand the root cause — be it an internal systems issue or external tampering."

In the statement the Secret Lair team thanked purchasers who were able to complete their orders, while those who believe they completed a purchase have been told to have patience while the issues were investigated. They also recommend buyers reach out to the Secret Lair Customer Support team, a service as of this writing currently experiencing delays due to an increased volume of tickets.

The statement continued, stating that "we're continuing to investigate what happened today and it may take a little while to fully get our heads around it. For everyone who participated in what can only be described as a frustrating and disappointing experience, whether you made it through the queue or not, we are going to try and make this right."

The Secret Lair Zeta collaboration with art collective MSCHF has drawn plenty of discourse since its reveal to the public on August 25, only one week prior to the sale. While the cards, styling, and art direction have stirred contemplative discussion on Magic-focused social media, the concept of randomized seven-card packs sold for $19.92 each has divided Magic fans. Each pack contains three commons, two uncommons, one wildcard of any rarity, and one rare/mythic rare.

As we covered last week, MSCHF is known for projects that turn familiar cultural readymades into something entirely new, whether through fashion, art, technology, or consumer products. For Zeta, MSCHF has designed 138 cards (121 official in-set cards, and 17 still-unknown bonus cards), making this the first set-scale collaboration through Magic's Secret Lair program.

As stated by the Secret Lair team, some purchases were completed. As of Tuesday evening, there are several listings on eBay for single packs going for upwards of $80-150, each claiming to have "presale confirmed," though that claim has not been verified. One listing, set at $999.99 or best offer, is for a 12-pack set, the maximum number of packs one customer could order as per Secret Lair purchase limit.

The statement Tuesday evening concluded by saying that "once we have a better sense of orders that actually got through, failed orders that we can track, and everything in between, we'll come back and share as much as we can."

Were you in Tuesday's queue? Were you able to get a confirmation of your purchase? How do you think Secret Lair's intent to "make it right" will take shape? Sound off below.