After Wizards of the Coast coyly revealed two cards from upcoming Magic the Gathering Secret Lairs celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons, one card artist let slip that she’d packed the art with hidden references. Marzena Piwowa’s challenge for fans: can you find all the Baldur’s Gate 3 Easter eggs in her new art for Astarion, the Decadent?
Wizards announced five new Dungeons and Dragons themed MTG Secret Lairs on X on Thursday, which will be available from August 27 with limited stock. The five new drops are:
- An Exhibition of Adventure
- Astarion’s Thirst
- Karlach’s Rage
- Death is in the Eye of the Beholder I
- Death is in the Eye of the Beholder II
Wizards hasn’t revealed the list of MTG cards each Secret Lair will contain, but it did show off new versions of two cards from the 2022 MTG set ‘Battle for Baldur’s Gate’.
The reprints of Astarion, the Decadent and Karlach, Fury of Avernus have updated art that’s a much better match for how these Baldur’s Gate 3 companions appear in the release version of the game.
Prolific fantasy artist Marzena Nereida Piwowa shared her art for the Astarion card on Reddit, with the challenge: “Find all of the Easter Eggs!”
So far, site Baldur’s Gate 3 fanatic Mollie Russell has spotted two for certain: the bald cat is His Majesty, while the grimoire resting on the chest at the back of the room is the Necromancy of Thay. Astarion is wearing his default camp outfit, but that’s not really an Easter egg.
We’re not sure if the body with its head under a pillow is a reference to a specific game event or piece of dialogue, or just general Astarion vibes. One Reddit commenter suggested that the red rose in the window glass might be a reference to the card art of Blood Moon… it’s possible. Piwowa has illustrated plenty of Magic cards, so she knows her Magic.
Astarion, the Decadent just got a little bit more compelling as part of your Brawl format MTG Arena decks now that Bloomburrow has hit on the MTG release schedule, with the Orzhov bat archetype focused on life gain and life drain. If you want to pump up your Historic, Brawl, and Timeless decks with some free cards, make sure you check out our guide to all the MTG Arena codes that still work.
Source: Wargamer
