Following the release of a massive PlayStation crossover and a highly popular Encyclopedia product by Secret Lair recently, many may expect the franchise to slow down as we approach the end of the year. Recent developments, however, have proven that this is nowhere near the truth. Not only is there an Avatar: The Last Airbender Superdrop on the horizon, but we’re getting yet another Universes Beyond Secret Lair crossover this year.
While a Monster Hunter Secret Lair was almost confirmed thanks to some context clues on the Secret Lair site, there is no longer any doubt that this Superdrop is coming. Out of nowhere, 19 different cards have now been revealed to appear in the Monster Hunter Superdrop.
The entire Monster Hunter Secret Lair, dropping on December 1st of this year, is reskinned reprints of existing MTG cards. Unfortunately, despite the card names for this Secret Lair being revealed today, we don’t yet have the images for them. Additionally, while we know that four different Secret Lairs will be part of the Superdrop, all of the cards were revealed under one umbrella, so there’s no confirmation which cards will appear in which Secret Lairs.
That said, thanks to some descriptions provided for each of the Secret Lairs, the MTG community has sleuthed its way into figuring out what some of the Secret Lairs are likely to include, with the exception of the last two. While these are not confirmed, they certainly make a lot of sense. Despite this, with each drop priced at $29.99 for their nonfoil copies and $39.99 for foils, only one Secret Lair from this batch looks remotely worth it from a reprint perspective.
Secret Lair X Monster Hunter: The Hunt
The first Secret Lair, The Hunt, is dedicated to depicting devastating attacks that iconic Monsters can release from the franchise. Featured across five different non-creature MTG spells of different colors, these are the only cards in the reprint list that fit the description of this Secret Lair drop.
Sadly, the predicted reprint value for The Hunt is disappointing at best. Not a single card in this list breaks the $2 mark, with Blind Obedience, Snap, and Tooth and Nail being the only cards whose cheapest variants are worth more than a dollar. This has about $6 worth of reprint value for a $29.99 Secret Lair, and we’re being generous.
That said, there are some chase variants for these cards that are worth a decent price tag. Snap, in particular, has a Secret Lair printing already worth a staggering $22.50. The same is true for Blind Obedience at $24.75, suggesting that there could be some hidden value should this Secret Lair sell out fast.
Even if these cards are financial duds, they are all quite efficient in Commander. Snap can delay your opponent’s plans, or save your own creature for free, while Blind Obedience slows down your opponent’s fastest starts in the format. Village Rites is an all-star for Aristocrat synergies, and Tooth and Nail can tutor up a whole series of game-ending combos for its Entwine cost. Unless you’re a Monster Hunter fan, we would give this Secret Lair a pass, but you should be able to find homes for all these cards if you want to.
Secret Lair X Monster Hunter: The Hunters
Similar to The Hunt, Secret Lair X Monster Hunter: The Hunters offers five cards of different colors, but these represent the Hunter characters in the series, with each card sharing the Human creature type. Once again, these are the only cards that fit the description for The Hunters among the cards appearing in the Monster Hunter Superdrop.
While The Hunt offers some lackluster reprint value, The Hunters almost breaks even. Grand Abolisher and Imperial Recruiter are all-star Commander reprints, each offering a secondary market value around the $10 mark. Both of these cards excel at high-bracket levels of play, with Abolisher shutting down opposing interaction for your combo turns, and Recruiter offering a powerful tutor effect that’s easily abusable with Blink shenanigans. Champion of Lambholt, a $2 reprint that falls in the middle of the pack, is commonly included in all kinds of go-wide creature strategies as a massive threat that makes your army unblockable.
The other two cards are misses from a reprint perspective, but they’re still both redeemable. Grim Haruspex retains a $1.50 reprint value thanks to being decent in both Morph-themed and Aristocrat decks as a card advantage engine, while Archaeomancer can create a series of infinite combos with the right setup, despite being a 25-cent card.
This Secret Lair seems a lot more appealing than The Hunt from a reprint and a usability perspective. Considering the premium prices that Secret Lair reprints usually bring, there’s a fairly good chance that this Secret Lair will be a decent buy.
Secret Lair X Monster Hunter: The Monsters/The Monsters II
It’s undeniable that, for Monster Hunter, the Monsters themselves are the stars of the show. For this reason, two separate Secret Lairs will be dedicated to reskinned reprints of various iconic Monsters from the Monster Hunter series.
Unfortunately, this also means that we are less confident about how the cards are divided among these two Lairs, with the overall MTG community being unable to come to a consensus. While we know that five cards are appearing in the first Monsters Secret Lair versus four in the second, how these cards are combined is currently a mystery. For that reason, instead of talking about these Secret Lairs separately, we’ll instead go over the reprints all together.
Razaketh, the Foulblooded, appearing as The Gore Malaga from Monster Hunter 4, is undoubtedly the best reprint of the nine-card lot. Boasting an $8.75 reprint value with proven potential for big premiums, Razaketh is a kill-on-sight card that commonly ends games of Commander as soon as it enters play. Razaketh’s repeatable tutoring effect can easily end games with the abundance of life that Commander offers you, making this a sweet Monster Hunter-themed reprint for your Commander deck.
Perhaps even more powerful in Commander, Nezahal, Primal Tide is also getting a reprint here. Appearing as Lagiacrus from Monster Hunter 3, Nezahal threatens to draw an absurd amount of cards when left unanswered. Making things even worse, Nezahal can protect itself with all the cards it draws, making it even harder to deal with. Its $7.33 reprint value might be a bit under Razaketh, but it will be just as effective on the battlefield.
That, sadly, is where the strong reprints end, as every single other reprint in the nine Monster Secret Lair cards are all less than $2. This means that, no matter how these cards are combined between the two Secret Lairs, they will not have decent reprint values associated with them. Even if all nine cards were in the same Secret Lair, they still wouldn’t offer a $30 reprint value.
That said, Kalamax, the Stormsire deserves a shoutout among the weaker reprints here. It only has a reprint value of 50 cents, but Kalamax has proven itself to be a deadly Commander when built around. Capable of copying the instants and sorceries you cast, should kalamax’s Monster Hunter reprint be desirable, there is a chance that it could demand a high premium.
List of Cards
Here’s the list of cards that should be appearing in the two Monster-themed Secret Lairs:
- Nezahal, Primal Tide: Lagiacrus from Monster Hunter 3™
- Drakuseth, Maw of Flames: Rathalos from Monster Hunter Generations
- Sarulf, Realm Eater: Zinogre from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
- Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire: Nergigante from Monster Hunter World
- Ziatora, the Incinerator: Fatalis from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
- Razaketh, the Foulblooded: The Gore Malaga from Monster Hunter 4
- Amareth, the Lustrous: Velkhana from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
- Wasitora, Nekorus Queen: Nargacuga from Monster Hunter Portable 2nd Generation/Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
- Kalamax, the Stormsire: Brachydios from Monster Hunter 3 Generations™
Finally, here’s the full list of the other cards appearing in the MTG x Monster Hunter Secret Lair Superdrop:
- 1x Blind Obedience: Malenzo from Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak™
- 1x Snap: Kushala Dora from Monster Hunter 2™
- 1x Village Rites: Magnamalo and Tobi-Kadachi from Monster Hunter Rise™
- 1x Mizzium Mortars: Yian Gaurga from Monster Hunter Generations™ and Monster Hunter 2
- 1x Tooth and Nail: Azure Rathalos and Seregios from Monster Hunter 4™
- 1x Grand Abolisher: Tigrex Armor with Bone Scythes from Monster Hunter Generations and Monster Hunter Freedom 2™
- 1x Archaeomancer: Velkhana Armor with Slinger and Winged Seraphyd Greatsword from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne™
- 1x Grim Haruspex: Nargacuga Armor with a Hidden Eye Light Bowgun from Monster Hunter P2G/MHFU™
- 1x Imperial Recruiter: Rathalos Armor with Red Tigrex Claws; Brachydios Armor with Burning Knocker; Gore Malaga Armor and Royal Rose from Monster Hunter 4G™
- 1x Champion of Lambholt: Astalos Armor with Verdant Lightning Shield from Monster Hunter Generations.
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