Some links in this post are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Rise of the Polygons is a $40 video game you can shuffle. Magic's Secret Lair team has made its 2026 drop for Extra Life, and after 2024's trip to the 16-bit years it moves one console generation forward, into the age of chunky 3D. Young Pyromancer is the hero, Balefire Dragon is the final boss, and half of what you pay goes to help children at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Here is what's in it, every date, and a number we didn't expect when we priced the cards.
The art is the best part. Each card is dressed as a screenshot from an old 3D game, with a heart and health bar across the top and little arrows either side of the rules box, as if you could page through it. Square slots hold item icons, like the sword and wings on Balefire Dragon.
Four cards, one very tidy total
The drop has four cards and an Elemental token, all drawn by Brendan “Sully” Sullivan, for $39.99 or $49.99 in foil. So we looked up each card's lowest price on TCGplayer. On 6 November, the four came to $39.58.
| Card | Set | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Balefire Dragon | Innistrad Remastered #479 | $15.80 |
| Big Score | Marvel Super Heroes Commander #802 | $0.47 |
| Young Pyromancer | Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might #20 | $0.24 |
| Sword of Truth and Justice | Secret Lair Drop #1867 (foil) | $23.07 |
| All four | $39.58 | |
That's $0.41 less than the non-foil drop. Pay that little extra over the plain singles and you get new art and a token, and about $20 goes to the cause. The Dragon and the Sword are nearly all of that total, so if you only want Young Pyromancer or Big Score for a deck, singles are still the way to go: Young Pyromancer on eBay and Big Score on eBay both cost next to nothing.
Why these four cards
- Young Pyromancer (first printed in Magic 2014, 2013) is a two-mana creature that makes a 1/1 Elemental every time you cast an instant or sorcery. That explains the token in the box. Find a copy: TCGplayer.
- Big Score (Streets of New Capenna, 2022) makes you discard a card, then draws two and hands you two Treasures, so it pays for itself. Find a copy: TCGplayer.
- Sword of Truth and Justice (Modern Horizons, 2019) gives protection from white and blue, then adds a +1/+1 counter and proliferates each time it connects. Find a copy: TCGplayer.
- Balefire Dragon (Innistrad, 2011) is the boss fight: a seven-mana flyer that repeats its combat damage on every creature the defending player controls. Find a copy: TCGplayer.
Every date and price
| What | Price | When |
|---|---|---|
| Rise of the Polygons, non-foil | $39.99 | 13–15 Nov at MagicCon: Atlanta, 16–30 Nov online |
| Rise of the Polygons, foil | $49.99 | 13–15 Nov at MagicCon: Atlanta, 16–30 Nov online |
| Arena: five sleeves with the drop's art | 3,000 gems | 16–30 Nov |
| Arena: sleeves with Anthony Garzonna's art | 1,800 gems | 16–30 Nov |
| Arena: sticker emote | 800 gems | 16–30 Nov |
| Dragon Shield playmat | $25.00 | MagicCon: Atlanta only |
| Dragon Shield sleeves | $20.00 | MagicCon: Atlanta only |
The online window closes at 1 a.m. Pacific on 30 November, so anyone in the US should treat the evening of the 29th as the real deadline. You'll find it on the Secret Lair store.
On the money: half of each online sale, after third-party fees, goes to Children's Miracle Network through a charity called Our Change Foundation, and this year it's aimed at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Not going to Atlanta?
The website is open to everyone from the 16th, and Arena gives you a second way in. One bundle turns the drop's art into five card sleeves. The other uses Anthony Garzonna's cheerful art of Ajani, Chandra and a small gaming gadget that doesn't have a name yet, and there's a sticker emote of that same little friend. Wizards says all proceeds, after transaction fees, go to the cause.
If you are going to Atlanta
Tickets have sold out, so this part is for people who already hold one. The Extra Life booth gets the drop three days before the website does, in limited numbers. It also sells a Dragon Shield playmat and sleeves you can't buy anywhere else, and $10 of each goes to the cause. Give $20 at the booth for a pin of Loot, or $40 for a random Collector Booster, while they last.
One detail is worth a look. Online, Wizards says half of the sales price is donated after third-party fees. For the booth, it says 100% of proceeds go to Extra Life after those fees. It doesn't spell out what proceeds covers, so we won't guess at the difference.
Missed the window?
When a Secret Lair closes, the only way to get one is from another player. Once copies ship, check TCGplayer and eBay. A resale sends nothing to the cause, so if you want to give either way, you can donate directly through Extra Life.
Products, prices, dates and donation terms from Wizards of the Coast's announcement of 3 November 2026. Card prices are TCGplayer market prices on 6 November 2026, each card's lowest price, in the set named in the table; they move daily, and each card's page has today's. Links to the drop's cards go to their pages here. The donation figures are half the sale price, before third-party fees.
