MTG reveals high-profile Brain Dead Secret Lairs

Wizards of the Coast has revealed three of its upcoming Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair cards, and they are some of the most visually extraordinary cards we’ve ever seen.

All three releases are part of a collaboration with Los Angeles artist collective Brain Dead, who draw inspiration from alternative, punk, skater and underground subcultures. The result is a set that is both artistically intriguing and contains some highly desirable reprints.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Lands

The first drop is Secret Lair x Brain Dead Lands. Unlike other basic land drops that only contain five cards, this one contains two five-card cycles.

The first, by Gage Lindsten, uses the Brain Dead logo combined with fantasy art that’s very reminiscent of retro Magic, while the other, by Hank Reavis, instead plays with run-down scenes from trash-strewn rural America. Both are very emblematic of both the general style of Brain Dead and what else these drops have to offer.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Staples

Continuing this absolutely bizarre drop series is the collection of five Commander cores. It’s nice to see a Secret Lair with actual usable cards and even more absolutely bizarre art to go with it.

Lightning Greaves and Skull Clamp are two of the most popular equipment artifacts in Commander, and here tattoo artist Jackston Epstein explores a completely new, untouched medium for Magic art. His other two cards in the drop, Thought Vessel and Command Tower, are more traditional illustrations, but with thick lines and sharp shading that still give the cards a tattoo vibe.

The last card is of course Sol Ring, the most played card in Commander. Is it a sponge? A coral? A honeycomb? Whatever the case, the lion faces peeking out of it make this one of my personal favorites in all three Brain Dead drops.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead creatures

The main event of these drops is the creatures, so even if the art on offer isn’t quite to your taste, there are some highly sought-after reprints included that could make the purchase worthwhile.

Chaotic Goo has never been reprinted before, it debuted back in Tempest. It’s perhaps the least powerful card in this drop, and even then, coin flip decks will absolutely love it as a flip enabler.

Meteor Golem is the lowest value card in this drop, as it has been reprinted in almost every Commander set for many years. However, the comic sketch by Kogan is really cool.

Consecrated Sphinx, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, and Wurmcoil Engine are the headliners here, though. All three contribute to some really nasty combos and have collectively retained value for more than the cost of the drop, despite all three being reprinted in recent years.

Each of these drops will be available as part of the Inside An Elevator superdrop, which begins on Monday, July 29th, while supplies last. Non-foil versions will retail for $29.99/£29.99, while foil versions will retail for $39.99/£39.99.

Magic the Gathering

Created by Richard Garfield in 1993, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has become one of the largest collectible card games in the world. Taking on the role of a Planeswalker, players build decks of cards and battle against other players. More than 100 additional sets have added new cards to the library, while the brand has expanded into video games, comics, and more.

franchise

Magic the Gathering

Original release date

5 August 1993

Number of players

2+

Age recommendation

13+

Length per game

variable

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