Magic's Next Secret Lair Drop Features Brain Dead

News

By RC Staff

18 July 2024

If you’re into Magic: The Gathering and esoteric streetwear brands, we’ve got something right up your alley. Wizards of the Coast have once again tapped Brain Dead for a new MTG collection, this time featuring 20 new cards as a Secret Lair set. While Magic fans aren’t super excited for the new drop, it is generating a lot of talk within streetwear circles. This has potential as an outside flip, so here’s what you need to know.

Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair

First, let’s make a few things clear. This new collection is part of Magic’s “Secret Lair” a separate section of cards intended for collecting rather than playing.

Secret Lair drops feature detailed, distinct artwork, frequently from artists outside the usual TCG network. You can find some pretty weird stuff, and it gives Magic fans and WotC an opportunity for some truly unique MTG cards.

Previous Secret Lair drops have included crossovers with The Walking Dead, Street Fighter, and Doctor Who. While they are technically playable, many tournaments exclude them and other “Universes Beyond” cards. They’re collectibles first, and that’s what most people are buying them as.

MTG Brain Dead Secret Lair

And the next Secret Lair will feature art from LA-based design brand Brain Dead. Well known within the streetwear community, Brain Dead is distinct for an art-forward philosophy and highly detailed graphics that take center stage on their products.

Along with the usual tees and hoodies, Brain Dead has produced perfumes, water bottles, scented candles, and even furniture. Their upcoming Secret Lair collection is also not their first collaboration with Magic, having produced a card and jacket with the brand in previous years.

But this drop will be their biggest crossover yet. There will be twenty different cards from eight artists within Brain Dead. These are divided into three different types: Lands, Creatures, and Staples. You can check out all the art here.

The cards in the Brain Dead Secret Lair collection are remixed versions of classic Magic cards like Chaotic Goo and Wurmcoil Engine in a variety of artstyles. The Staple cards Skull Clamp and Lightning Greaves, for example, are photographs of tattoos.

Altogether, it’s thoroughly imaginative collection of cards. While MTG fans on Reddit are not the biggest fans (when have they ever liked anything cool?), the new Brain Dead Secret Lair drop is generating a lot of talk on social media.

If you’re interested, you should know the Brain Dead Secret Lair collection goes live on July 29, as part of the larger “Inside an Elevator” superdrop. You’ll be able to buy either a 10-pack of Lands cards or 5-packs of Creatures and Staples cards.

Prices are $30 for standard packs and $40 for foil editions. All cards are included with each purchase, so you don’t need to worry about getting a lucky rip.

Will Brain Dead Secret Lair Cards Resell?

Good question. While these cards are definitely cool, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be a good flip. One reason card collecting and reselling is so popular is the randomness involved; when a particular pack has a slim chance of having a rare card, it makes the entire pack much more valuable.

Since you’ll be able to buy all of the cards from this collection directly from WotC, it doesn’t have the same appeal to card rippers. If you really love the art it’ll be worth it, but it’s definitely a different ballpark.

But we can say there is interest in Secret Lair cards among collectors. PSA 10 graded cards and designs from popular drops have flipped for more than $100 recently, and it’s possible this new collection will do just as well.

Remember, Secret Lair drops are limited print runs. All of the cards are printed before the order window closes, and once they sell out, they’re gone. They also will not restock again in the future, so consider this your only warning.

The Brain Dead Secret Lair order window runs from July 29 to August 18. Make no mistake, this is an outside bet, but the relatively low buy-in means you could make some decent money after orders ship.

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