Money. It is the only thing Eugene H. Krabs cares about. So, honestly, when Wizards of the Coast announced a SpongeBob SquarePants Secret Lair drop for Magic: The Gathering, we all knew he had to be on the greediest card possible. Enter the Mr. Krabs Smothering Tithe.
It’s not just a meme. It is a legitimate chase card that has sent the secondary market into a total tailspin. If you haven’t been keeping up with the "Secret Lair x SpongeBob SquarePants" drop, you might’ve missed the drama surrounding this specific version of the card. Basically, it wasn't even part of the main set you could just go out and buy. It was a "bonus card"—a hidden slot that turned a $30 purchase into a $600 jackpot for a few lucky collectors.
What is the Mr. Krabs Smothering Tithe anyway?
If you play Commander, you’ve felt the pain of Smothering Tithe. It’s a white enchantment that costs $3W$. Its effect is simple but soul-crushing: every time an opponent draws a card, they have to pay 2 mana. If they don’t? You get a Treasure token.
In a four-player game, this card is basically a money-printing machine. You’re constantly asking, "Do you pay the two?" over and over until your friends want to throw their decks across the room. It fits Mr. Krabs perfectly. The flavor text on this specific version—"Me wildest dreams finally come true!"—is basically the anthem of every white deck player ever.
The art, illustrated by Tyler Walpole, features Mr. Krabs surrounded by a mountain of gold. It’s iconic. It’s loud. It’s everything a "whale" collector wants in a card. But the real story isn't just the art; it's how hard it is to actually find one of these things.
The "Bonus Card" Gambit
Wizards of the Coast likes to play games with our wallets. For the SpongeBob drop, they included several bonus cards that could appear in the back of the envelope. Most people opened a Command Tower (the Pineapple house) or maybe a Dismember (featuring the "My Leg!" guy).
But a tiny, tiny percentage of people opened the Mr. Krabs Smothering Tithe.
Because the pull rate was so low, the price didn't just climb—it teleported. On sites like TCGplayer and eBay, we saw listings for this card hitting $800 to $900 in the first few weeks. Even now, in early 2026, the market for a Near Mint foil copy is absolutely brutal. You’re looking at a car payment for a piece of cardboard with a cartoon crab on it.
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Why the Price is So High
- Scarcity: It’s a "rare" bonus card, meaning it’s not guaranteed in any bundle.
- Playability: Smothering Tithe is a staple. It’s not a junk rare; every white deck wants one.
- Nostalgia: SpongeBob is a cultural juggernaut. People who don't even play MTG want this.
Is it worth the hype?
Look, let’s be real for a second. Is a piece of cardboard worth $600? Probably not. But in the world of Magic: The Gathering, "worth" is a weird concept.
The card represents a perfect intersection of internet culture and high-level gameplay. When you play this card at a local game store, people notice. It’s a flex. It’s the ultimate "I have more money than you" move, which, again, is incredibly thematic for a character like Mr. Krabs.
However, there is a darker side to the Mr. Krabs Smothering Tithe craze. The "Gacha" style of distribution has left a lot of fans feeling burned. Imagine spending $150 on a "Superdrop" bundle hoping for the Krabs, only to end up with three Pineapple Command Towers. It’s frustrating. Some community members, especially on Reddit's r/magicTCG, have argued that putting such a high-value, high-demand card in a random bonus slot feels a bit too much like gambling.
How to get your claws on one
If you’re determined to add this to your collection, you’ve basically got two options.
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First, you can hunt the secondary market. You’ll need a thick wallet. Be careful with "Lightly Played" listings—at this price point, you want a card that looks like it was pulled from the pack with surgical tweezers. Check for the foil stamp at the bottom to ensure it’s not a high-quality proxy.
Second, you can look for the non-foil versions. While the "Rainbow Foil" is the one making headlines, non-foil copies do exist, though they aren't exactly cheap either.
Moving forward with your collection
If you’re looking to invest or just play, here is the move. Don't buy "sealed" SpongeBob Secret Lairs hoping to hit the jackpot. The odds are stacked against you. You’re better off buying the single card directly, even at the high price, rather than flushing money down the drain on the "lottery" aspect of the packs.
Keep an eye on the market trends over the next six months. Usually, these "chase" cards spike early, dip a little when people realize they need to pay rent, and then slowly climb back up as supply dries out. If you see a copy for under $450, that’s probably the floor.
Ultimately, the Mr. Krabs Smothering Tithe is a piece of MTG history. It’s the moment where the game fully embraced the "meme-economy," and whether you love it or hate it, you can't deny that Eugene Krabs would be proud of the profit margins.