Magic: The Gathering crossover video games continue, and this time we’ve got an exclusive first look at the Tomb Raider series’ seven-card Secret Lair – including a brand-new, mechanically unique card for Lara Croft herself.
Flip through the slideshow below or watch the video above to see all the cardsand read on to hear a little about the drop from Wizards of the Coast.
Next year, Magic has both leadership decks for Fallout and a full crossover deck for the upcoming Final Fantasy, but next week’s Secret Lair Secretversary Superdrop will add Lara Croft to the game’s recognizable roster that’s rapidly expanding with a smaller video game franchise. This giveaway will include five reprinted cards with new Tomb Raider art, a unique treasure token, and an all-new Lara Croft card.
Although Secret Lairs have done a lot of video game crossovers in the past, they have generally been either mechanically unique cards like the Street Fighter drop or all reprinted with new art like the Fortnite drop. This product has both, and every drop of Secret Lair is different thanks to a whole bunch of different factors, says Daniel Nguyen, senior product designer at Wizards of the Coast.
“The goal is always to create products that respect and celebrate the partner and the fans, and make the cards on the bottom look like they belong in someone’s collection,” Nguyen explains. “They’re all important, and it’s necessary to strike a careful balance. There are a lot of conversations that happen during product development with a number of different factors taken into account, and the inclusion of mechanically unique cards is one of those factors.”
Nguyen says Secret Lairs is special within Magic thanks in part to its “ability to experiment and push the boundaries of what people expect” from a typical card. I suppose this feeds into why it’s no coincidence that although Lara is a unique card that can be used as a leader, the other cards are all cards you can play in a deck with her at the helm – not unlike the last Lord of Card. Ring scene boxes.
As for whether or not we’ll see more drops with this structure in the future, Nguyen says they “always listen to feedback (yes, we read all comments) and you can expect us to take that feedback and apply it to future drops you see.”
One thing we’ll definitely see more of in Magic’s future is crossovers in general. In addition to those mentioned above, as well as other recent crossovers like putting Chris Pratt on a Jurassic World-themed magic card, Wizards of the Coast recently dropped the bomb that Marvel crossover sets will be coming starting in 2025.
Tom Marks is IGN’s senior game reviews editor. He loves card games, puzzles, platformers, puzzle platformers, and much more.
“Certified food guru. Internet maven. Bacon junkie. Tv enthusiast. Avid writer. Gamer. Beeraholic.”
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