Welcome back, timeboxed-to-demand readers! Today I'm returning with Part 3 of my coverage of the Secret Lair Drop Series. Secret Lair continues to go strong, despite the hiccups of a global pandemic that the rest of the world got under control relatively quickly but the Unisted States of America, being exceptional as we are, did not. This is relevant, as the makers of Magic: the Gathering live in the US and their primary printing and shipping partners are located here as well. Despite all that, and somewhat longer wait times for Secret Lairs to arrive, the product itself shows no signs of slowing down (other than the aforementioned shipping, of course).

Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition (SLU 1-5)

Verdant Catacombs by Sam Burley

My first topic for today is only here because it's been branded as a Secret Lair, but realistically it's a different product entirely. Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition is a mixed bag. Putting aside the astronomical retail price, they're actually pretty cool cards, if incredibly difficult to actually obtain. The model for these is reminiscent of the popular From the Vault products, which it shares far more resemblance with than Secret Lair, but I digress. The flavoring is a lot of fun for these, and as Vorthos reprints they're fantastic. I should note that technically, Ultimate Edition is a separate product series than Secret Lair with a separate numbering system, but it's worth including here.

Marsh Flats is a Lorwyn-set reprint, featuring the notable lily pads and reeds common in the swamps of that plane. Scalding Tarn is part of Shiv on Dominaria, which is appropriate given that Shiv lands are usually red-blue. Verdant Catacombs is set on Innistrad, given the prominent Avacynian collar displayed in the art. Arid Mesa is set on Amonkhet, notable by the obelisks and pyramidal ruins evident in the art. Finally, Misty Rainforest is set on Ixalan, flavored as a River Heralds location thanks to the Jade statute prominent in the artwork.

A random, non-foil version of one of these five cards was included as a promo with the Summer Superdrop (which I covered partially last time and will finish out today). The numbering was still Secret Lair Ultimate, however, making it distinct from the stained-glass planeswalker promos or the white-bordered Tibalt included with other Secret Lair Drops.

Mountain, Go (83-86)

Lightning Bolt by Brigette Roka

Mountain, Go contained a playset of full art Lightning Bolts, each with different artwork reimagining the classic Magic card. Brigette Roka's art, above, shows the lightning bolt zapping a Grizzly Bears, another iconic Magic card. Robbie Trevino's art features a drake or dragon getting zapped, while Alexis Ziritt's artwork features a horned being holding a staff... also getting zapped.

The Path Not Traveled (87-90)

Domri Rade by Chris Rallis

I have to admit, I like the concept of The Path Not Travelled more than the execution. The idea of alternate universe versions of our planeswalkers is exciting, but I've never been a fan of this execution of that idea. It's a style I mostly associate with fan art trying to get past artist alley fan art rules by putting anime characters in a fedora and calling it original work. I would have much rather had versions of these characters having made different choices in-universe.

That said, I think each of these has merit and the genre mash-ups involved are interesting. Ajani Steadfast is an obvious riff on the Marvel comics mutant Cable, which is appropriate given their eye situations and general beefiness. Domri Rade reimagines the Gruul character as a cowboy, while Tamiyo, Field Researcher gives her a noir or Indiana Jones vibe. Vraska, Golgari Queen posits the popular gorgon as a prom queen.

Ornithological Studies (91-95)

Baleful Strix by Allen Douglas

Birds! I'm not sure what more there is to say about these gorgeous illustrations of real-life birds by Allen Douglas and Ovidio Cartagena. The soft, pastoral colors lend to gorgeous work I wouldn't mind hanging on my wall (if I could afford it...), although I'm happy with the regular versions of these cards, I also appreciate that the bird lovers in the community got their shout-out. That's the cool thing about Secret Lair, lots of underserved audiences of different styles get their day.

Every Dog Has Its Day (96-99)

Rest In Peace by Jakob Eirich

Who's a good dog? These are good dogs! Every dog has its day is the perfect Secret Lair: a must own for dog-lovers and an easy pass for everyone else. It is so freaking cute, though, it's hard to give it a pass. I just want to give all these cute puppers some skritches. They're all really funny too, with Dig Through Time featuring a dog actually digging a hole, Ancient Grudge featuring a dog breaking a mirror to attack its own reflection, and Lightning Greaves getting chewed on by a heckin good pupper.

Happy Yargle Day! (110-114)

Explore by Franz Vohwinkel - (Motivational Poster from Secret Lair Twitter)

Yargle, Glutton of Urbog gets a sweet send-up this Secret Lair, dropping the giant Frog Spirit into Swords to Plowshares, Opt, Fatal Push, Anger of the Gods, and Explore. My personal favorite is the new take on Opt, where Demonlord Belzenlok takes the place of Teferi's statute in the background of the Dominaria version of the art. As usual, Belzenlok is rewriting history for himself, and I for one am here for it!

Prime Slime (133-137)

I... l have no idea what this Secret Lair is about. It features the work of Dakota Cates (aka Wizard of the Barge), an artist known for slimy, gross-but-cartoony parodies.

The Walking Dead (144-

Not even the aforementioned Secret Lair Ultimate Edition was as controversial as this The Walking Dead product. I had so much to say about this Secret Lair that I'm splitting off a dedicated discussion of other Intellectual Property in Magic, which will be next week's topic. Short version: I'm a big fan of it!

That said, gosh I don't like these cards or this execution of the idea. There are a lot of issues people have raised having to do with the availability of such a product (it's not available in large parts of South America) and circumventing Local Game Stores. Others have problems with mechanically-unique black border cards from other IPs, as while the Godzilla series put Godzilla in Standard (and this product does not), the Godzilla treatment was only one version of the card - outside of Zilortha, Strength Incarnate, that is. Further clarification from Wizards of the Coast indicates, however, that these cards are functionally similar to Zilortha, and could be reprinted as the same card under the rules, just with a different Magic-flavored name. Still others have problems with this specific IP, and featuring a character like Negan, the Cold-Blooded could easily be triggering. If you are getting this set, I urge you to discuss the Negan in your deck before beginning a game.

So, let's review. While the artwork itself is gorgeous, they're so photorealistic they appear at first glance like photos imported into a Magic Set Editor render (the popular custom card creator). If your IP crossover doesn't look significantly better and/or different than the custom fan cards of the same IP, what's the point? The 'new' frames have the most basic metallic gradient effect applied to them, in a strange choice to make only these only slightly different than regular Magic cards. I imagine a lot of people looked at these cards and knew they felt wrong but couldn't explain why? It's because of the combination of the photorealism of well-known actors and a frame that's not quite right for a standard Magic card. I'm not sure why they didn't go with something more thematic here, like barbed wire and wood barricades framing the art if they were going to keep the frames. I also genuinely dislike the 'full art' border style in general, which is more or less just a transparent text box, when we have borderless card technology out there. The cards themselves, mechanically, have some great flavor for representations of their respective The Walking Dead characters.

Zendikar Revisited (154-158)

Admonition Angel by Anato Finnstark

Like Theros: Stargazing before it, Zendikar Revisited tackles older cards from a plane with a newer showcase style. I'm a big fan of this frame, and bringing some landfall staples (Admonition Angel, Roil Elemental, Avenger of Zendikar) feels really good in that little section of my brain dedicated to all things Vorthos. There's no question these are slam dunk wins. I'm not quite as sure why Zulaport Cutthroat and Warren Instigator are here over other classic landfall cards, but they're pretty too.

That's All Folks

Commander Legends previews begin soon, and I'll have a ton of stuff to say about that, and my own book(!?!), in the coming weeks.