Ideas for Future Secret Lairs

Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum

Posted on March 29, 2020, 10:10 a.m. by DemonDragonJ

The Secret Lair series has received mixed reception from the players, thus far, with some players enjoying it and other players not being particularly fond of it (I personally dislike the fact that it is not being printed and released the same way that most other sets are released); in a certain sense, the Secret Lair series could be considered to be a spiritual successor to the From the Vault series, although Signature Spellbook also has that distinction.

However, some of the ideas and themes for the entries in this series are interesting, so I wish to speculate about ideas for future Secret Lair installments.

I think that a Secret Lair that focused on angels, demons, or dragons would be nice, but From the Vault already had two of those themes. Perhaps a Secret Lair with the first incarnations of Avacyn, Bruna, Gisela, and Sigarda would be an interesting idea.

A Secret Lair that focused on some of the best and most unusual counterspells in the game would be very nice, and I also think that a Secret Lair that contained some of the best mana-generating artifacts in the game would also be very interesting.

What does everyone else say about this? What are some ideas that you have for future Secret Lairs?

Suns_Champion says... #2

newer cards in old-boarder foil secret lair

March 29, 2020 10:18 a.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #3

Suns_Champion, why are some players fond of the old border style?

March 29, 2020 10:19 a.m.

Suns_Champion says... #4

I can only speak for myself.

  • Nostalgia.
  • It's simpler and more arcane-looking, like it was made long ago. The old borders invoke mysticism and ancient pages, like the cards were ripped straight from a magical book.
  • The modern card frame feels like a computer generated box, with perfect curves and angles, and too many lines. The old boarder feels like a hand made picture frame, and when foiled becomes part of the art itself.
  • I love simplicity in design.
  • The foils are just gorgeous. Mesmerizing. Dazzling. The border itself is foiled. Pictures don't do them justice.
March 29, 2020 10:33 a.m.

GhostChieftain says... #5

"Now introducing Secret Lair: All of the Reserved List"

March 29, 2020 10:51 a.m.

Gleeock says... #6

Are we talking about when each color had its own simple look, ie. having the bubbling miasma background? Yeah, I liked that too, it made you feel like each color was just so identifiable just on card border alone. Although I would take it a step further and make shards gold, but guilds have some unique simple border representations... this is not simplicity in design though.

March 29, 2020 11:20 a.m.

Caerwyn says... #7

I think a Four Horsemen themed one could be kind of fun.

Conqueror's Flail (moderately priced card. Not many options for this Horsemen - there’s a Three Kingdoms card that’s more valuable, but not necessarily deserving of a reprint).

Ravages of War (expensive, useful card).

Sword of Feast and Famine (expensive, useful card).

Death's Shadow (moderately priced, useful card).

Edit: The Eschatological Horsemen, not the Magic deck of the same name, as should be clear.

March 29, 2020 11:52 a.m. Edited.

ZendikariWol says... #8

The Praetors, the Gatewatch, the Eldrazi Titans.

That said, they could use these as tiny FTVs. Best of werewolves, 6/6 demons for 6, angels, allies, vampires, reprint the guildmages, the swords, maze runners or guildmasters, khans, dragonlords, ascendancies.

But what I, vorthos, would like most from this is LORE SPOTLIGHTS!! From the gatewatch, to villains from Magic's past, to the nine titans, to the participants in any single event in Magic's story, and maybe even before every set they could print the story spotlights in a secret lair??

March 29, 2020 4:21 p.m.

wotanaz1337 says... #9

The next Secret Lair:

Hasbro Inc. announces they're done with the farce of Secret Lairs. If they refuse to acknowledge the secondary market then fine. Reprint more stuff in another Mystery Booster type set. That way we don't get gouged for 1-6 different cards.

March 29, 2020 5:33 p.m.

ZendikariWol says... #10

K wotanaz1337, I get that the mtgfinance community exists, but they're outnumbered 10 to 1 by the college students like my friends and I who want to get into the competitive scene but can't afford to because the average deck costs 1-5 times as much as MY TUITION.

March 29, 2020 6:42 p.m.

wotanaz1337 says... #11

ZendikarWol,

That's just it. Reprints are your friend in terms of saving cash. It helps more than $40 alt arts.

March 29, 2020 7:40 p.m.

ZendikariWol says... #12

I misunderstood you. Yes. Reprints plz. I think secret lairs are excellent for that tho- what makes you apprehensive?

March 29, 2020 8:35 p.m.

MagicalHacker says... #13

Secret Lair is mostly a way to have non-magic-styled artwork present in the game. With that in mind, I'd love to see a secret lair using the most well-recognized works of art.

The Scream: Thoughtseize

The Last Supper: Collected Company

The Starry Night: Starfield of Nyx

The Persistence of Memory: Time Stretch

Impression, Sunrise: Blood Moon

I'm assuming that these are old enough to fall into public domain, but I am not 100% sure that they are

March 30, 2020 9:55 a.m. Edited.

DemonDragonJ says... #14

MagicalHacker, that would be an interesting idea, but I imagine that WotC would prefer to use their own artwork, akin to how they no longer use quotes from real-world literature outside of core sets.

March 30, 2020 10:20 p.m.

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