UNTAP WEEKLY

Welcome to the first Untap Weekly. It was a busy week in Magic, new cards are moving prices, another release is around the corner, and Commander players have a few new toys to keep an eye on.

Here’s what mattered this week.

THE ZETA SET SALE WAS A DISASTER

Wizards isn’t sugarcoating this one.

The September 2 sale of Secret Lair x MSCHF: The Zeta Set was plagued by checkout problems, failed or uncertain orders, and duplicate confirmations. Wizards later issued a statement describing the sale itself as “a disaster.”

They’re now investigating what went wrong, including whether the problems came from their own systems or outside interference.

The timing couldn’t be much worse. Just one day earlier, Wizards had published an update discussing improvements to the Secret Lair purchasing experience.

Why it matters:
Secret Lair’s limited-supply model already frustrates players. Another high-demand drop falling apart puts even more pressure on Wizards to fix the buying experience.

This spike has a much sadder reason behind it.

Following the passing of Peter Cullen, the legendary Canadian voice actor who brought Optimus Prime to life for more than four decades, MTG players and Transformers fans have been buying up Optimus Prime cards as a tribute. Cullen passed away August 26 at age 85.

Optimus Prime, Hero jumped from roughly $4 to over $13 this week, while some rarer Optimus printings saw even larger dollar increases.

RIP Peter Cullen — the voice of a generation.

Bearscape — Beorn The Fierce fueled bump
The original Odyssey printing climbed from roughly $6.30 to $11.90. This is exactly the kind of Commander-driven spike worth watching: an older card suddenly gets new synergy and supply disappears quickly.

Marneus Calgar — Hobbit Bump
The premium surge-foil version has pushed toward $100, with new support from The Hobbit helping renew interest in the Commander favourite. Unlike a cheap card doubling from $1 to $2, this is a substantial move on an already expensive printing.

Why it matters:
New releases don't just move new cards. They can send players digging through years-old sets for the pieces that suddenly work with them.

REALITY FRACTURE PREVIEWS — SEPTEMBER 8

Reality Fracture takes over next week. The official set debut lands September 8, kicking off card previews and revealing more of the new mechanics and Jace’s twisted Echoverse. The first half of the ten-part story is already live, with the finale arriving September 11.

The complete card gallery arrives September 18, followed by Prerelease September 25–October 1 and the full tabletop release October 2.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE — SEPTEMBER 14

He-Man, Skeletor and the rest of Eternia are coming to Secret Lair. The Most Powerful Superdrop in the Universe goes on sale September 14 — which should be an interesting test of Secret Lair’s checkout system after this week’s Zeta Set disaster.

On the radar:
Wizards has also warned that Reality Fracture Play Booster supply could become tight shortly after release in North America because part of the shipment is delayed by congestion in the Panama Canal. Prerelease and release weekend are expected to be mostly unaffected, but boosters could become harder to find afterward.

ROTATING FIREPLACE

At first glance, Rotating Fireplace looks like a strange three-mana rock.

It enters tapped with a time counter, then taps for colorless mana equal to the number of time counters on it. Its second ability lets you time travel, adding or removing time counters from your permanents and suspended cards.

That means the Fireplace can grow from an awkward mana rock into something capable of producing multiple mana every turn.

Where we would play it:
Counter-heavy Commander decks that can manipulate its time counters — exactly the kind of weird artifact interaction we're looking at for Kilo, Apogee Mind.

NERD GEAR — CUSTOM PRINT PLAYMATS

Nerd Gear just launched a custom playmat option that lets you upload your own artwork and build a mat around your deck, Commander or whatever else you want on the table.

You can customize the layout, add text, choose between 2mm and 3mm thicknesses and pick different surface finishes. Stitched edges come standard, and each mat is printed to order in Canada.

Why it made the cut:
I liked the idea enough that I ordered one myself. Once it arrives, I’ll let you know if it lives up to the expectations.

Check out Nerd Gear's Custom Playmat Designer

Not sponsored — I bought this one myself.

That’s the week.

Reality Fracture previews kick off Tuesday, so by next Sunday we’ll have a whole new batch of cards, mechanics and Commander possibilities to dig into.

Until then, keep brewing.

C. Savage
Untap Weekly