MTG summer Secret Lair makes up for low reprint value with gorgeous art
WotCMTG’s Secret Lair: Artist Spotlight series is a tremendous success for the world’s oldest TCG. This limited edition product line is not only great for collectors, it serves to highlight and give due praise to some of the incredibly creative talent that has always gone into making Magic: The Gathering a worldwide hit.
MTG’s Artist Series: Julie Bell has been announced for Secret Lair’s Summer Superdrop 2024. Bell’s art has long been acclaimed by fantasy fans, and this Secret Lair is a chance to spotlight a creator outside of Magic’s usual talent pool.
The cards included in this Secret Lair are as follows:
- Coat of Arms: a typal-boosting Artifact that powers up Creatures based on the number of others on the battlefield with the same Creature type.
- Good-Fortune Unicorn: a classic Selesnya card that adds counters to your other Creatures as they ETB.
- Soul Warden: part of the fan-favorite ‘soul sisters’, low mana-value permanents that provide reliable increments of lifegain.
- Shivan Dragon: a straightforward red flier that can be boosted with additional mana input.
- Elves of Deep Shadow: A cheap Golgari mana dork that can provide black mana in exchange for taking 1 point of damage.
Just like with the previous hit product Artist Series: Rovina Cai, this set foregoes Secret Lair’s usual inclusion of cards with good reprint value. Instead, it stands out through the art’s incredible detail and classic fantasy style.
While some fans have voiced their displeasure at the lack of value, just as many are focused on Bell being a major get for MTG, predicting how good the art will look in conjunction with classic-bordered MTG cards.
Secret Lair’s Artist series has become even more sought-after with the switch from print-to-order to limited-run. Standout product Artist Series: Rovina Cai sold out right away, with many fans bemoaning their inability to lock in a copy so soon after pre-orders began.
For any MTG fan hoping to get their hands on Secret Lair Artist Series: Julie Bell, it’s worth keeping an eye on the official Secret Lair store when the Summer Superdrop becomes available on June 24.