UNTAP WEEKLY

Welcome back to Untap Weekly.

KPop Demon Hunters became a global phenomenon almost overnight. The film shattered Netflix records, its music dominated the charts, and its characters escaped the screen into nearly every corner of pop culture.

That made its arrival in Magic feel inevitable.

The surprise was how cautiously Wizards handled it.

The newly announced Secret Lair has excellent artwork and seven playable cards, but no new designs, no mechanically unique characters and none of the ambition many players expected from one of the largest entertainment breakouts of the past several years.

Meanwhile, Magic itself continues growing from hobby-store mainstay into one of the largest entertainment properties in gaming.

Here’s what mattered this week.

Wizards revealed the Corn Maze Superdrop, an eight-drop Secret Lair release arriving October 12.

The collection includes Labyrinth, Marvel Zombies, several artist-driven releases and Secret Lair x KPop Demon Hunters: How It’s Done.

The KPop drop contains:

The drop costs $29.99 USD non-foil or $39.99 USD foil. magic.wizards.com

The artwork is not the problem. The cards capture the movie’s colour, characters and energy well.

The problem is how safe the product feels.

KPop Demon Hunters was not a minor crossover searching for an audience. It became Netflix’s most-watched movie and developed the type of fan base companies normally spend decades trying to create.

That created expectations for something larger: mechanically distinct versions of Rumi, Mira and Zoey, a complete HUNTR/X package, or cards that let players build a recognizable deck around the property.

Instead, Wizards selected seven existing cards and applied new artwork.

My take: Swan Song and Underworld Breach are useful reprints, and the artwork will sell the drop. But this feels like merchandise rather than a fully realized Magic crossover. For an IP with this much momentum, Wizards had room to take a bigger swing.

The drop launches October 12 while supplies last.

See the complete Corn Maze Superdrop

Magic has spent more than 30 years moving between growth cycles, but the current expansion is different.

The game is no longer growing only through established card shops and competitive players. Universes Beyond products are pulling fans into Magic through franchises they already understand, then Commander, Arena and local play give them reasons to stay.

Hasbro reported that Magic generated approximately $1.72 billion in revenue during 2025, an increase of 59% from the previous year. During the first half of 2026, Magic sales reportedly exceeded $1 billion, while Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming division posted another major revenue increase during the second quarter. reuters.com

That growth explains the release calendar.

Magic can now support traditional sets, digital events, Commander products, Secret Lair drops and major licensed releases at the same time. The concern is no longer whether players will receive enough products, it is whether they can keep up with them.

Why it matters: More players mean stronger local communities, more singles entering circulation and more people discovering Commander. It also means shorter attention cycles. A card, set or crossover may dominate the conversation for two weeks before the next announcement replaces it.

Magic is healthier when new players become long-term players, not simply customers for one recognizable franchise.

View the complete Universes Beyond list

Reality Fracture continues pushing older Planeswalker cards upward, but release-week prices remain volatile.

Oath of Teferi lets every Planeswalker you control activate its loyalty abilities twice each turn.

That was already powerful in established Superfriends decks, but Tam, the Possibility has created another natural home for it. Tam reduces Planeswalker costs and rewards controlling multiple Planeswalker types, making Oath of Teferi one of the deck’s clearest payoff cards.

Both regular printings have climbed from approximately $1 to more than $4 during the past week. Draftsim

My take: The demand is legitimate, but this is an easy card for Wizards to reprint. Search your collection before buying into the spike.

Track Oath of Teferi’s price

Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God has nearly tripled from around $5 to approximately $14–$16.

Bolas gains the loyalty abilities of every other Planeswalker on the battlefield. That makes him both a powerful Superfriends threat and a direct answer to opposing Planeswalkers.

He is appearing in a large percentage of early Tam, the Possibility decks and also works as a major hit for Jace, Multiverse Architect. Draftsim

My take: Bolas has stronger long-term appeal than most release-week spikes, but tripling in one week is still dangerous. This is a hold if you own one, not a clean entry point.

Track Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God’s price

Tyvar, the Pummeler has moved from the $4 range toward approximately $16 for regular copies, with some premium versions climbing considerably higher. TCG Strat

Tyvar rewards +1/+1 counter strategies by doubling the power and toughness of your creatures until end of turn. One activation can turn an established board into lethal damage.

The card has limited supply, explosive Commander appeal and the type of effect players routinely underestimate until it ends a game.

My take: This is the most speculative move of the three. The card is powerful, but the current price assumes demand will continue after release-week attention moves elsewhere.

Track Tyvar, the Pummeler’s price

Reality Fracture enters the Arena Quick Draft rotation, providing a lower-pressure way to learn the format without drafting against a live clock.

The new Secret Lair release includes:

A foil Maze of Ith styled as The Labyrinth is available with qualifying purchases while supplies last. magic.wizards.com

The digital expansion arrives on Arena alongside Alchemy: Reality Fracture Premier Draft and additional events.

Arena Powered Cube returns with some of Magic’s strongest cards and explosive draft environments.

Players can compete for physical Reality Fracture Play Booster boxes through MTG Arena. Competitive Brawl also receives a Metagame Challenge from October 23–25. magic.wizards.com

Magic’s next major Universes Beyond set enters local game stores one week before release.

The complete set launches digitally.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek arrives with Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Commander decks, bundles, a Beginner Box and several specialty products.

The release coincides with MagicCon: Atlanta and World Championship 32, running November 13–15. Star Trek™: A First Look

Participating local stores will host the first Commander Party built around the new set.

See the official Star Trek release details

Some classic Magic cards do not build an engine, generate incremental value or wait three turns to become useful.

They simply end the game.

Hatred is a five-mana black instant from Exodus. As an additional casting cost, you pay any amount of life. Target creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the life you paid. Cards Realm

In Commander, that turns an unblocked creature into lethal damage without warning.

If your commander already has five power and connects, paying 16 life makes it a 21-power attacker, enough to eliminate that player through commander damage.

The strongest homes are decks that can:

Hatred becomes especially dangerous with commanders carrying infect, double strike or damage-sharing effects.

There is a real risk: paying life is part of the casting cost. If Hatred is countered or the creature is removed, that life is already gone.

Where we would play it: Aggressive black Commander decks that can reliably force one creature through combat. Do not cast it into open mana unless you have protection. Hatred rewards patience more than recklessness.

Why it made the cut: Modern Commander is full of value engines that announce exactly what they plan to do. Hatred is old-school Magic, five untapped mana, one unblocked creature and a game that suddenly changes.

The next two months are packed with products, but the best way to understand Magic’s growth is still to sit down across from three other players.

Bring the deck you have been tuning. Let the new player borrow something straightforward. Trade the cards sitting unused in your binder. Ask the table what they are building next.

Magic’s releases create attention. Regular play creates community.

The winner of September’s Secret Lair: Desolation Foil Edition and playmat giveaway has been selected and contacted by email.

The winner has until Sunday, October 11 to respond and confirm the prize.

If we do not receive a response by then, the prize will return to the draw and a new winner will be selected.

Check your inbox, and your spam folder.

That’s the week.

KPop Demon Hunters proved that massive popularity does not automatically produce an ambitious crossover. Magic’s growth proves that recognizable worlds can bring enormous numbers of new players into the game.

The challenge is making products worthy of that attention.

Corn Maze arrives October 12. Star Trek follows in November. Between those releases, Reality Fracture still has to establish which cards will survive beyond launch-week excitement.

Until next Sunday, keep chasing the shiny cardboard.

C. Savage
Untap Weekly
Untap. Draw. Repeat.