Spring, at last, is here. And as the Winter frost thaws, it reveals the bounty beneath: a fresh batch of off-the-wall entries in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Magic: The Gathering’s esteemed Secret Lওair series. Grouped together under the Spring Superdrop, these eight new Secret Lair Drops are as striking as they are varied, presenting bold new takes on well-loved cards and forgotten fav🐠orites alike.
From Showcase cards from pre-Showcase sets to the long-awaited full Drop by Rebecca Guay, ther💛e’s something for everyone in this bumper Springtime harvest. Join us now as we celebrate the turning of the season by looking at the best of this bold new batch.
10 Questing Beast, By Omar Rayyan ♐
A card notorious both 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:for its power level and for having too many abilities to ꦚpossibly remember, Questing Beast left behind a lasting legacy when it slunk its way out of Standard in 2021. It receives a suitably grand interpretation here, with Rayyan using Eldraine’s storybook fr𝕴ame to bring the Beast to life anew.
The tangled vines of the frame blend seamlessly into those of the art, drawing the reader int෴o the scene: a lone Phyrexian warrior standing their ground against a reimagined Questing Beast, all three heads roaring with a newfound vitality that’s a far cry from the more subdued tone of the original. It feels like a page from a medieval epic, albeit one in which you’re rooting for the huge, terrifying monster🌞 for a change.
9 Lin𝔉vala, Keeper Of Silence, By Alayna Danner ಞ
A piece that reminds us of the serious religious origins of Ma♛gic’s Angels, Alayna Danner’s take on Linvala feels grand in the cosmic sense of the word. Using the vast expanse of space as her backdrop, Danner shows us Linvala standing w😼atch over the Earth itself, as the stars twinkle on in the distance.
Excellent setting aside, Linvala has never looked better, blending more grounded attire with a solemn facial expression and distant stare: a sobering combination that perfectly captures the weight of her responsibilities. As a final touch, the celestial rings protruding from her back ♏perfectly encircle the full moon behind her: a well-placed reminder of her heavenly power.
8 ꧂ Muddle ꦬThe Mixture, By Rebecca Guay
The mere mention of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Magic art icon Rebecca Guay is enough to get players excited, and this Superdrop features some of her most exciting work to da𝕴te. Chief among this is her take on Muddle the༺ Mixture, a name which seems to have been taken as a personal challenge by Guay during its creation.
From the simple painting style of the character’s trousers, the slightly askew 🧸pose, and the use of chalk outlines on a pure black backdrop throughout the piece, Muddle the Mixture feels like nothing Guay has done before. And while the text in the graffitied-on speech bubble may translate to ‘Very Guay,’ it’s hard to think of a piece she’s created that’s ‘less Guay&rsquoﷺ; than this one.
7 Nezahal, Primal Tide, By Yeong-Hao Han ꩵ
Imagining a Showcase style for the pre-Booster Fun expansion of Ixal🌜an, Yeong-Hao Han shows us one of the five Elder Dinosaurs immortalized on some kind of currency based on the circular shape. The creature itself is lovingly rendered, with the blue highlights on its spines and teeth welcome touches, but the real star of the show here is the interplay with the card frame.
The various feathers and carvings that enshrine the coin feel like authentic parts of the world, rather than just set dressing, building up our picture of Ixalan’s culture and how its people revere the Elder Dinosaurs throug🌳h their art. It’s a perfect use of ♏a Showcase frame.
6 🙈 Ulvenwald Tracker, By Aya Kakeda
Despite the simple, almost childlike style on display here, Aya Kakeda’s take on Ulven﷽wald Tracker is rich in detail, building up the relationship between a Shaman and the Bear they’re taming in a single, perfect frame. This begins with the Shaman, and their distinctive animal skin hat with leaf ears, mirrored in the staff they hold in their hands.
The colors used for the Shaman transfer over into the small headpiece atop the Bear in the background, serving as a symbol of their bond. You can feel the cutting edge of the icy criss-cross winds that d💙ominate the backdrop here, reminding you of the harsh conditions these sworn companions are training under and giving an idea of the strength of their friendship in the process.
5 Thassa's Oracle, By Lauren YS
‘Cool’ isn’t a particularly articulate way to describe a piece of art, but it's hard to think of a more fitting term for this radical reimagining of Thassa’s Oracle. From the bright neon colors, the superb use of translucency, and the sea-inspired tattoos and accessories sported by the Oracle herself, everything just oozes an offbeat chic that represents a welcome change from the Magic norm.
Of par♌ticular note is the thermometer-esque red rod held like a cigarette between the Oracle’s fingers, perhaps some oceanic equivalent of our vices here on the surface. This pairs up nicely with the visor over her face, a means of shielding the rest of the sea from the harmful outputs of her cigarette: an act of rebellion in a world rapidly hurtling towards climatic disaster.
4 🐷 ಞ Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain, By Lisa Heidhoff
A stalwart throughout 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:every age of Dominaria, and every major battle on the Plane, Jhoira is a ꦫfan-favorite character with good reason. Lisa Heidhoff’s new interpretation is a welcome one, however, subtly conveying the psychological toll living through so much war and destruction can have on a person.
This can be seen in her pained expression and how her eyes search the horizon for answers in a cruel and💃 arbitrary world. It can also be seen, more literally, in the flames that wreath Jhoira here, reminding her of all she’s lost and all she will never know again. It’s a complex and mature take on a popular character that will continue to hold weight as long as the world knows suffering.
3 C🎐leansing Nova, By Rebecca Guay
Rebecca Guay fires on all cylinders with this piece, finding a romantic angle in the unlikeliest of places: the art for a white board wipe spell. Showing two spirits embracing above a scene of𝕴 molten destruction, Guay shows us how great love can spring from great tragedy. And how, in Magic’s fantastic world, death can be the release that opens the way for love to pass.
It’s large🤡ly simplistic overall, with muddled blacks and reds m🦹aking up the background, but the spirits themselves are rendered in Guay’s typical loving style, with sweeping bodily curves and hair that seems to flow on forever. As their dark hair blends with the smoke beyond, the Spirits, and the viewer, find some unexpected peace in this piece.
2 Nature's Will, By Aya Kakeda
In a piece that feels straight out of the works of Tove Jansson, Aya Kakeda brings us a whole world filled with colorful characters in this one vivid scene. The central sasquatch-like creature bears a wide grin as his 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Frog fan club feeds him, as the flavor text informs us, strawberry crumble: 🧸a true testament to their friendship, given the difficulty of sourci🧸ng that in a forest.
Each Frog is distinct, with different arrangements of leaf skirts, headdresses, and carried bowls, implying a hierarchy within their society. The ba𓃲ckdrop is a lovely final touch, using simple scribbled lines to convey trees, adding a childlike innocence to an already joyful piece.
1 ▨ Selfless Savior, By Randy Vargas
A piece both beautiful and tꦐragic in equal measure, Randy Vargas crams a full movie’s worth of story and heart into a perfect moment here. Showing a beloved family dog standing its ground against a group of shadowy attac🐬kers, we can anticipate what happens next even without the aid of the card’s mechanics and flavor text.
The little touches, like the ex🙈pressions on the family’s faces in the background and the red ribbon tie🌌d around the dog’s neck, likely signifying a strong bond with the child, really tug the heartstrings here. As boys in Magic go, this Savior is as good as they come.