Magic: The Gathering (MTG), one of the most popular strategy card games by Hasbro-owned publisher, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), constantly puts out collectible cards with illustrated designs, but there’s a whole other side to the game that serious collectors are in the know about – when Magic meets licensing, and releases a series of exclusive card drops that can disappear quicker than the snap of your fingers.
Known as Secret Lair, these officially licensed Magic: The Gathering cards are rare because WotC only ever releases them once, never to be repeated again. They have been released with greater fanfare over the years, crossing properties and genres that you might not link to strategy cards, from virtual singer Hatsune Miku to streaming sensation Stranger Things.
The moral of the story? If you come across it, do yourself a favour and pick them up if it catches your fancy, mainly from WotC’s Secret Lair website. And if you don’t play MTG, here are some things about the Secret Lair drops you should be aware of.
1 ) Availability: Starting from 2024, Secret Lair changed its production model for most products. Instead of printing on demand, they will have limited print runs. This means faster shipping times, but some popular items may sell out. They will use past sales data to estimate demand and ensure most players get what they want. There might still be a few exceptions with the old print-on-demand model.
2) Secret Lair cards are legal for play, but only within Magic: The Gathering Eternal formats, which are Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Pauper. You can still use these cards in tournaments with these categories, as most Secret Lair cards are re-skins of existing cards with some exceptions, but it’s best to check in with tournament organizations.
3) Universes Beyond: The Secret Lair cards are part of MTG’s Universes Beyond line, which is a sub-brand of the main MTG line and exists alongside it. Media tie-in cards are usually part of the Universes Beyond category, but they are considered non-canon to the Magic lore.
4) Booster/Commander/Draft sets: MTG Booster sets supplement your existing deck, depending on what kind of build you’re going for. A set booster has 12 playable cards, while a draft booster has 15, and a commander deck has 100 cards.
5) Superdrop/Secretversary: Every season, Secret Lair releases a new wave of drops in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, with different media tie–ins each time. And on SecretVersary, an annual drop with the most epic releases, that’s usually when Secret Lair goes all out with releasing even more cards.
Here are our picks for 10 of the most epic Secret Lair drops in history.
1. Secret Lair X The Walking Dead (2020)
The Walking Dead Secret Lair drop switched up the formula, with previously released cards being reskins of already existing cards with alternate art, but not this time. This Secret Lair drop was the first time mechanically unique cards were introduced, with Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Michonne, and Negan being the featured characters, having different abilities that switched up the game. The drop also came with five Zombie tokens, each an important walker from the show, and one Treasure token.
2. The Godzilla Lands (2020)
Who doesn’t love Godzilla? In this Secret Lair drop, Godzilla stomps its way through five different landscapes, which naturally, represents land cards. If you look closely, you’ll spot characters from the franchise in the card backgrounds, like the Mothra twins and a showdown between Godzilla and Hedorah. What’s interesting about this drop is that it was released in collaboration with Godzilla’s rights owner, Toho Corporation, and were only on sale for 24 hours.
3. Secret Lair x Stranger Things (2021)
If the kids from Netflix’s supernatural series Stranger Things had picked up Magic: The Gathering instead of WotC’s Dungeons & Dragons, what would they look like as MTG cards? The Stranger Things Secret Lair Superdrop of October 2021 featured the Hawkins crew in a series of mechanically unique cards, and of course, Eleven gets to be a mage, along with the Mind Flayer getting a card of its own. A Clue Token was also included with the drop, which lets players sacrifice an artifact to draw a card.
4. Secret Lair x Street Fighter (2022)
Street Fighter’s legendary World Warriors fought their way into the MTG universe in a February 2022 superdrop, which featured the original eight fighters on cards with unique mechanics relating to their in-game abilities. A bonus Hadoken card was also a re-skin of the Lightning Bolt card, which deals 3 damage to any target. So you can fireball your way to victory but now with style.
5. Transformers: Optimus Prime vs. Megatron (2022)
December 2022’s Secret Lair release featured three Transformers drops, with land cards representing Cybertron’s various locations, an Optimus Prime vs. Megatron set, and six re-skinned spell cards with art featuring various Autobots and Decepticons.
What’s unique about these cards is that both sides of each card have the same rules text but different art, allowing you to choose their look as they enter the fray. The front and back sides of each card in the Optimus Prime vs. Megatron set form a panorama, which is pretty cool even if you’re just displaying them.
Featuring the Reversible Borderless Blightsteel Colossus as “Megatron”, Reversible Borderless Darksteel Colossus as “Optimus Prime”, and the Reversible Borderless Doubling Cube as “The AllSpark”, the set is one of the most epic Transformers drops yet.
6. Secret Lair X Fortnite (2022)
This might be a surprising development to some, but yes, official Secret Lair x Fortnite cards exist, despite the younger demographic skew of the video game. The game’s vibrant environments are turned into reskinned cards with alternate art, which offer a fun alternative for fans of both the card game and the hit video game.
The set included Wrath of God as “Shrinking Storm”, Dance of Many as “Dance Battle”
Etherium Sculptor as “Supply Llama”, Grim Tutor as “Crack the Vault”, Triumph of the Hordes as “Battle Royale”, Smuggler’s Copter as “Battle Bus”, and Planar Bridge as “The Cube”.
7. Secret Lair X Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
There is no denying the similarities between WotC’s Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, so it’s no surprise that both properties have collaborated plenty of times in the past. Their most recent collaboration brings characters from the 2023 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie into the MTG universe. Each card is mechanically unique, and themed according to the characters they represent, including Xenk, Paladin Unbroken, Simon, Wild Magic Sorcerer, Forge, Neverwinter Charlatan, Holga, Relentless Rager, Doric, Nature’s Warden // Doric, Owlbear Avenger. and Edgin, Larcenous Lutenist.
8. Doctor Who: Regeneration (2023)
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of British sci-fi icon, Doctor Who, a MTG card series was released. While there have been other Doctor Who MTG card decks in the past, this deck features cards of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctor, who have not appeared in previous Commander decks.
This drop featured mechanically unique cards themed according to Rose Noble, The Celestial Toymaker, The Meep, and the Fourteenth and Fifteen Doctor, along with a surprise bonus card, the Sonic Screwdriver, which let players add one mana of any colour.
9. Secret Lair x Fallout: S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (2024)
A S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Fallout drop happened this year, in conjunction with Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout TV series release, and each card represents a different Attribute, with accompanying art and abilities. Seven cards were released in this drop, containing the Steelshaper’s Gift, Propaganda, Elixir of Immortality, Council’s Judgment, Idyllic Tutor, Anger, and Lightning Bolt, corresponding to the attributes in order.
The art style was inspired by the Fallout: Shelter mobile game, and the limited-print run was sold out almost immediately, with eager collectors snapping the cards up.
10. Spring Superdrop 2024 (featuring Hatsune Miku: Sakura Superstar)
Vocaloid idol or face of an MTG card, Hatsune Miku can do it all. The Spring Superdrop featured a six-card Miku set which had reprints and skinned cards, showcasing art of Miku in spring-themed outfits. The Hatsune Miku: Sakura Superstar set had illustrators around the world come together to create those six cards, which have Miku in a lightning storm, or among cherry blossoms, bringing her song around Japan.
The featured cards that came with the drop included the Shelter, Chandra’s Ignition as “Miku’s Spark”, Harmonize, Azusa, Lost but Seeking as “Miku, Lost but Singing”, Feather, the Redeemed as “Miku, the Renowned”, and the Inspiring Vantage cards, with a limited purchase amount of 5 cards per customer, and sold out lightning fast.
Bonus: Secretversary 2023 (featuring Jurassic World: Dr. Ian Malcolm )
Life finds a way. Secretversary 2024 had fan favourite Jurassic Park character Dr. Ian Malcolm in an MTG set of his own, with iconic illustrated scenes (yes, including that shirtless moment) from the original movie as four reskinned cards and an egg token. The cards included reskinned versions of the Laboratory Maniac, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, and Atla Palani, Nest Tender.
Also accompanying the Jurassic Park theme was a companion Jurassic World: Life Breaks Free set, which featured escaped dinosaurs – the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex, along with the terrifying Spinosaurus, Velociraptor, Indominus Rex, and a gentle Triceratops card to balance it out.
The respective reskins included Etali, Primal Storm as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Rampaging Ferocidon as the Velociraptor card, a Polyraptor as the Indominus Rex card, a Wayward Swordtooth as the Triceratops card, and a Regisaur Alpha as the Spinosaurus card.
Trinity is a geek who enjoys watching anime, superhero and Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. She enjoys gaming (however has terrible gacha luck) and creates cool homebrew campaigns in her free time. She’s always up for a new adventure — with a cosy jacket and a good book in hand.
Ted Chen
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