Sonic's Magic: The Gathering Drop Sparks Long Queues

Magic: The Gathering's Secret Lair crossover with Sonic the Hedgehog launched this morning and instantly drew massive demand. Within minutes, hopeful buyers encountered lengthy virtual queues and uncertain checkout prospects.

Secret Lair is Magic's premium series of specialty cards, frequently showcasing alternate art, experimental layouts, and crossover themes. Past collaborations, including a highly popular Final Fantasy crossover that quickly sold out, demonstrate the line's appeal.

It comes as no surprise that Sonic the Hedgehog, an iconic figure in gaming, would attract significant attention. True to expectations, fans rushed to purchase the Sonic-themed set this morning, causing queue times to skyrocket.

Waiting yet another hour to find out I can’t buy the sonic secret lair because I was .01 seconds too slow to checkout

(And I once again do not receive an email notification that it’s going live despite signing up to be “notified” about 12 times now)

— Arin Hanson (@egoraptor) July 14, 2025

Social media quickly filled with reactions from Magic and Sonic fans waiting patiently for a chance to buy. The drop includes reprints like Unexpected Windfall, Sol Ring, and Lightning Greaves, plus brand-new cards that could serve as Commanders for Sonic-themed decks.

Shortly after launch, the official Secret Lair account posted that the site was experiencing "extremely high traffic" and warned of longer-than-normal wait times. Later updates acknowledged issues with the queue system and assured fans that the team was working on a fix.

The Secret Lair website is currently experiencing extremely high traffic and wait times may be longer than usual. Please monitor the queue page for real-time updates, including product availability in your region.

— MTG Secret Lair (@MTGSecretLair) July 14, 2025

From my personal experience, I added items to my cart about 30 minutes after launch and have been stuck on a queue screen showing "more than an hour" wait ever since. While some fans have successfully checked out, securing this set clearly requires considerable patience.

Wizards of the Coast enforced a two-per-person purchase limit, which may have helped manage availability. Still, the shift last year from print-to-order to limited print runs has drawn some criticism.

Despite frustration over wait times, many persistent fans reported securing their orders. The true scarcity of this set will become clearer in the coming days, especially as products appear on third-party reseller sites.

In other Magic news, the next set, Edge of Eternities, releases on August 1, with prerelease events starting July 25.