Since 2019, the Secret Lair series has provided exciting, subversive new takes on classic 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Magic: The Gathering cards for players to gaze at, slack-jawed, during play. From crossovers with other properties to guest appearances by offbeat non-Magic artists, each new Drop has 🌊managed to delight, and divide, the community withဣout fail.

This remained true in 2023, where some of the boldest, most experimental Secret Lair Drops yet were gleefully unleashed from the Mag𝓀ic labs. All of these Drops have something unique t🎉o offer, but some are just so striking, so out there, that they stand above the rest. Prepare for a voyage into the wildest reaches of the Multiverse.

10 Secret Lair X The Princess Bride 💙

A Fun, Flavorful Secret Lair Drop? As You Wish

Some crossovers in Magic work better than others. Lord of the Rings, for example, was a natural fit, while Transformers was a bit more of a stretch. The Princess Bride, a story soaked in the trappings of classic🔯 fantasy itself, slips onto Magic as easily as a supple leather glove.

The art style used for this Drop is exquisite, utilizing the iconic depictions o𓆏f the characters made famous by the 1987 film alongside a recurring motif of circles that add extra detail to each💖 scene. The cards included, while certainly an eclectic mix, are all useful in one format or another, and excellent flavor fits to boot.

9 ♏ Secret Lair X Creepshow

Roll Up, Roll Up!

Past Secret Lair Drops, such as Thrilling Tales of the Undead, have dipped their toes into a schlocky B-movie aesthetic, but Secret Lair x Creepshow dives in head-first. Calling back to the comics based on the 1982 classic helmed by horror titans George A. Romero and Stephen King, this Drop brings 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:key Zombie staples back to life like never before.

The dual-faced design, which captures the style of 80s horror comics beautifully, is complemented further by the wearing detaiᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚl on the front faces, and the innovative ability distribution on the backs. To top it off, the five cards included are all playable in Zombie decks to this day.

8 Goblin & Squabblin&rsqu𓆏o;

If You Wanna Be In My Gang, My Gang

Wizard of Barge is a regular contributor to the Secret Lair series, having lent his pen to the Prime Slime Drop as well as some standalone promos. Goblin & Squabblin’ is his latest creation, and certainly his best yet, bringing together five 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:powerful Goblin cards in his searing signature style.

Highlights include the fishnet-sporting Goblin Lackey and the prune-faced Shattergang Brothers, but all five car๊ds here are crammed with enough personality to fill an entire entry on this list alone. They’re also excellent picks from a value standpoint, with all five being viable options in Goblin decꦬks in one format or another.

7 Phyre♔xian Faves 🅰

Cards So Iconic You Don’t Need Their Text

Cards with Phyrexian text have grown more common over time, with a large number arriving alongside the Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machine expansions, but Phyrexian Faves ap꧅plies the style to perhaps the m🐼ost powerful crop of cards it’s seen so far.

While mostly drawn from Mirrodin Besieged and New Phyrexia, this Drop also takes a detour into Commander 2019 to pick up K’rrik, Son of Yawgmoth. All five cards here are immensely powerful, be it in infect decks or Commander in general, and seeing them appear in their native language really compleats the pa𒊎ckage.

6 🐟 The ‘90s Binder Experience

Dig Out Your Rose-Tinted Glasses

A heartfelt tribute to the joy and excess of childhood, The ‘90s Binder Experience cemented itself as a Secret Lair classic as soon as it was unveiled. The included cards aren’t anything special, even ဣin Commander, but playability barely matters in the face of the hyper-luminous artistic majesty this Drop brings to the table.

All five cards burst with color and detail, crafting entire joyous worlds for your mind to wander 🐟in as your opponents take their turns. They also call back to specific ‘90s trends, such as CatDog and the Care Bears, in a subtler way than the Secret Lairs that simply include characters from other properties wholesale.

5 ⭕Now On VHS! 🗹

A Drop So Good You’ll Want To Buy, Not Rent

Another retro throwback Drop, Now on VHS takes us back to the days of video rental and cheesy movie night monster flicks, reimagining four cards as cardboard sleeves for classic tapes. While the visuals definitely take center stage here, the four cards chosen are actually fairly so💯lid in terms of playability too.

Rewind is 🍎more of a cheeky nod to the VHS concept itself than anything, while Food Chain, Rampant Growth, and The First Sliver all play into the B-movie monster theme. The use of scuffed edges and worn stickers in the artwork are masterstrokes, evoking the period these cards call back to and showing key📖 information at the same time.

4 Secret Lair X Dungeons &a🌺mp; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 🃏

Famous Faces And A Format Staple

Following Magic’s full-on Dungeons & Dragons expansion, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, a smaller set based on the 2023 film Honor Among Thieves made perfect sense, leading to💃 this stella❀r Secret Lair Drop. Like the Walking Dead Drop before it, this Drop added brand-new, Secret Lair-exclusive cards to the game.

Also like the Walking Dead Drop, this one also introduced an extremely powerful card in Doric, a potent option for go-wide green decks in Com💦mander. Theꦯ other legendary creatures included here are more balanced but no less flavorfully designed, helping to assuage the uncanny feeling of seeing Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant on Magic cards somewhat.

3 The Stars Gaze Back ♐

An Art Style With The Element Of Surprise

Like nature herself, Magic’s Elementals have been slowly reclaiming their place in the world, putting up strong results in Modern and beyond. This Drop is a full-on 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:celebration of the creature type, featuring four of its best ca🎃rds with an incredible new look by Yu Maeda.

From the vibrant Voice of Resurgence to the almost-hypnotic Omnath, Locus of Rage, every card here shines bot😼h in terms of art and playability. The stars won’t be the only ones gazing back if you rock up to your LGS with these beauties.

2 ﷽ ♓ Featuring: The Mountain Goats

A Journey That’s Anything But Basic

Some Secret Lair Drops function more as concept pieces than meaningful sources of reprints, and Featuring: The Mountain Goats is certainly one of them. On the surface it’s just a set of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:ten basic Mountains, but ܫdig a little deeper and you’ll find a Drop that’s as creatively rich as the beꦗst of them.

Created in collaboration with John Darnielle, frontman of the titular Mountain Goats, these Mountains feature stunning art alongside even more stunning flavor text, which renowned lyricist Darnielle wrote himself. It’s a ꧋simple Drop to be sure, but for fans of the band, or fans of great art and writing,ཧ it’s one not to be missed.

1 ꦕ Magic: The Baseballing 𝄹

No Way! A 2023 Jace Beleren?

Magic: The Baseballing is simultaneously an incredibly exciting Drop, and an incredibly obvious one. Of course recasting the Gatewatch as baseball players and tapping into the primordial roots of the trading card market by emulating the style of baseball cards is a great idea! Like all great ideas, though, this one w﷽as only truly proven in the ex♈ecution.

And what an execution it is. The typefaces, muted palettes, and classic layouts combine to make these cards feel like authentic artifacts from a collectors series that never existed, while the bios and fun facts about each ‘walker add an extra layer of tongue-in-cheek humor. The cards may not be too powerful mechanically but, like their inspirations, they’ll likely 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:hold a lot of value regardless.