Secret Lair is a Magic: The Gathering product line that’s been one of the CCG’s greatest hits over the past few years. They’re sets of limited edition MTG cards, reprints that are dressed to impress with funky new art styles. Magic fans go wild for Secret Lairs, throwing money at them hand over fist – so naturally Wizards of the Coast keeps on making more.
As a result, it’s extremely hard to keep up with the non-stop MTG Secret Lair releases- especially with all the other Magic spoilers to worry about. These days, a new Secret Lair drop is announced every other month. Since Secret Lair was first created in December 2019, there’ve been a whopping 99 Secret Lairs up for grabs, and the gravy train shows no sign of slowing.
Secret Lairs are a big hit for many reasons. Partly it’s the interesting and experimental art styles; partly it’s the tie-ins with third party IPs, such as Street Fighter and Stranger Things. Another thing that makes Secret Lairs a hot property is they often hold valuable reprints for rare MTG cards, which are otherwise difficult or costly to get hold of.
If you’re worried about missing out on some snazzy Secret Lair cards, fear not! This guide will cover what’s up for sale at the moment and all the best Secret Lairs that have been and gone in the past, but can often still be found (albeit at a higher price) on the secondary market. Be sure to check back often, as we’ll update this page the second we catch the scent of a new Secret Lair drop.
Where can I buy MTG Secret Lairs?
When a new Secret Lair is announced, it can be found and bought online from Wizards’ Secret Lair store. You usually have to wait patiently after purchasing, as there’ll be months between clicking ‘pre-order’ and actually receiving your cards. The official Magic: The Gathering website has a support page where you can keep track of the production and shipping status of any Secret Lair you’ve ordered.
There is currently only one set of MTG Secret Lairs up for sale on the official store: The Astrology Lands. These are land cards themed around the astrological signs; so far there’s been two islands and one swamp – for Pisces, Aquarius, and Capricorn.
According to this Secret Lair’s product description, a new land card themed around a different star sign will be announced each month, and surprisingly, the whole lot will be available until the end of 2022.
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It’s exceedingly rare for MTG Secret Lairs to stick around this long. More typically, Wizards will put a bunch of Secret Lairs up for sale in one go, in batches known as Secret Lair drops. These will only be available to purchase for about a month, after which they’re gone for good. You have to act fast if you want to snap one up.
…Except it’s not that simple. In fact, you can still obtain cards from many older Secret Lairs if they strike your fancy, thanks to the awesome power of the secondary market.
Below you’ll find a list of the best Secret Lairs ever released, along with a summary to give a sense of what’s within, and lots of links to help you find these limited edition cards.
Best MTG Secret Lairs 2022
- Street Fighter – Original Magic card versions of Street Fighter characters, from a Chun-Li with Multikicker to a Ryu with a Hadoken ability.
- Kamigawa: The Manga: The Cards – a ridiculous name, but a neat Secret Lair, with a classic manga look.
- Li’l Walkers – A bunch of planeswalkers, from Sorin to Ajani, done up in cute chibi style.
- Pictures of the Floating World – Five land cards in Ukiyo-e style woodcut style – (think the Great Wave off Kanagawa).
- Shades Not Included – Synthwave interpretations of the five basic land cards.
Best MTG Secret Lairs 2021
- Fblthp: Completely, Utterly, Totally Lost – A Where’s Waldo-style panorama featuring every Magic fan’s favourite navigationally-challenged Homunculus.
- Secret Lair x MSCHF – Radical takes on five famous cards by American art collective MSCHF.
- Monster Movie Marathon – Spell cards reimagined as overdramatic classic monster movie posters.
- Extra Life 2021 – A Secret Lair that features children’s drawings of MTG creatures drawn by children, reinterpreted by professional artists.
- Phyrexian Praetors Compleat Edition – The five Phyrexian Praetors – but reprinted in the Phyrexian language.
- Read the Fine Print – Alternate art versions of Liliana’s Contract, and the demons who she made it with,
- Stranger Things – Original MTG card versions of Stranger Things characters, from Eleven to Chief Hopper.
Best MTG Secret Lairs 2020
- Godzilla Lands – Basic Land cards with Kaiju stomping about in the background.
- Theros Stargazing – Five different Secret Lairs featuring fifteen Theros Gods with alt art showing their forms as constellations in the stars.
- The Walking Dead – Rick, and the rest of The Walking Dead gang, reimagined as Magic cards (this one caused quite an uproar at the time).
- The Unfathomable Crushing Brutality of Basic Lands – Black and white, metal (the style, not the material) versions of the five Basic Land cards.
- Ornithological Studies – A Secret Lair for fans of feathered friends, this one’s five cards featuring birds.
Best MTG Secret Lairs 2019
- Kaleidoscope Killers – Three five-colour creatures given the multi-chromatic treatment they deserve, really popping off the cardboard.
- OMG KITTIES! – It’s pretty obvious who this Secret Lair, which features cartoon kittens, is targeted towards. Everyone has one friend who wants this.
- Seeing Visions – Four different alternate-art versions of the card Serum Visions, by four different artists, covering styles from abstract to street art.
Source: Wargamer
