Magic: The Gathering's Brain Dead Secret Lair Features Tattoos, Junkyards, And Big Money Cards

Summary

• Limited time-only Secret Lair drops feature unique Brain Dead art inspired by alternative subcultures.
• Brain Dead Lands includes two five-card cycles with retro Magic style art and rural America scenes.
• Creatures drop has highly sought-after reprints with Chaotic Goo making its return as a coin flip enabler.

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

All three drops are part of a collaboration with Los Angeles art collective Brain Dead, which takes inspiration from alternative, punk, skater, and underground subcultures. The result is a set that’s both artistically fascinating, and also includes some highly desirable reprints.

Secret Lair is Magic’s limited-time brand. These cards will only be available while they’re in stock, and won’t be reprinted again.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Lands

The first drop is Secret Lair x Brain Dead Lands. Unlike other basic land drops that include just five cards, this one has two five-card cycles included.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Lands

Plains (x2)

Island (x2)

Swamp (x2)

Mountain (x2)

Forest (x2)

The first by Gage Lindsten uses the Brain Dead logo juxtaposed with fantasy art that has a very retro Magic kind of feel to it, while the other by Hank Reavis plays with rundown scenes of junk-laden rural America instead. Both are very emblematic both of Brain Dead’s general style, and also what else these drops has to offer.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Staples

Continuing this utterly bizarre series of drops is the collection of five Commander staples. It’s nice to see a Secret Lair of actually useable cards, and some more absolutely bizarre art to go with them.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Staples

Skullclamp

Lightning Greaves

Sol Ring

Thought Vessel

Command Tower

Lightning Greaves and Skull Clamp are two of the most popular Equipment artifacts in Commander, and here, tattoo artist Jackston Epstein is exploring a whole 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 harsh shading that still gives a tattoo-y vibe to the cards.

The final card is, naturally, Sol Ring, the most-played card in Commander. Is it sponge? Coral? Honeycomb? Either way, the lion faces poking out of it make this one of my personal favourites in all three of the Brain Dead drops.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Creatures

The main event of these drops is the Creatures. Even if the art on offer isn’t entirely to your taste, it includes highly sought-after reprints that could make it worth picking up.

Secret Lair x Brain Dead Creatures

Consecrated Sphinx

Chaotic Goo

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

Meteor Golem

Wurmcoil Engine

Chaotic Goo has never had a reprint before, debuting way back in Tempest. It’s perhaps the lowest-power card in this drop, and even then coin flip decks are going to absolutely love it as a flip enabler.

Meteor Golem is the lowest-value card in this drop, having been reprinted in just about every Commander set for many years. The comic-book sketch art by Kogan is really cool, though.

Consecrated Sphinx; Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker; and Wurmcoil Engine are you headliners here, though. All three of them contribute to some truly disgusting combos, and have retained combined value of more than the drop’s cost, despite all three being reprinted in the last few years.

Each of these drops will be made available while stocks last as part of the Inside An Elevator Superdrop, which begins on Monday, July 29. Nonfoil versions will cost $29.99/£29.99, while foil will be $39.99/£39.99.

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Magic: The Gathering

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