Magic’s Secret Lair series has always been a little bit experimental. Wild artwork aside, it has also dabbled in some unique physical experiments as well, like a dual-faced Norin the Wary Bonus Card. The next great Secret Lair experiment is nearly upon us, and it’s looking like an absolute doozy. I’m referring, of course, to the 20 Ways to Win Secret Lair Commander precon, spoilers for which started just yesterday.
This deck is all about alternate win conditions, offering 20 in total for victory-hungry players. These conditions have slowly been revealed on the Secret Lair website. So far, each has been framed as a kind of achievement. “#1: If You Want the Job Done Right” represents a Commander damage win, for example, while #2 and #3 are all about direct damage and milling players out, respectively. Numbers four to six have been revealed today, and the deck is now looking very spicy indeed.
Approach Of The Second Sun
- Mana Value: 6W
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Text: If this spell was cast from your hand and you’ve cast another spell named Approach of the Second Sun this game, you win the game. Otherwise, put Approach of the Second Sun into its owner’s library seventh from the top and you gain 7 life.
The first of the 20 Ways to Win spoilers for today is Approach of the Second Sun, represented by #4: Forgot Your Sunscreen. As alternate win conditions in Magic go, this is one of the simplest. All you need to do is cast it, draw it, and cast it again to win the game. If you have a good draw engine or a tutor effect, you can even skip the second part entirely.
Though it looks clunky on the surface, this is actually a card with some real pedigree. It proved itself a genuine threat during its day in Standard, serving as the win condition in various Control decks. It still sees play to this day, in Commander, Pioneer, and even Legacy. As a result, it still costs around $5 despite multiple reprints.
Approach of the Second Sun has had a Secret Lair printing before, in the Secret Lair x Blood Bowl drop. This version goes for around $7 right now, so not a huge markup over the original. The fact that this was a Universes Beyond style may have had something to do with that, however.
Biovisionary
- Mana Value: 1GU
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/3
- Card Text: At the beginning of the end step, if you control four or more creatures named Biovisionary, you win the game.
Biovisionary has to be one of the funniest possible alternate win cons Wizards could’ve chosen for this Secret Lair precon. Represented by win condition #5: Barbershop Quartet, this three mana 2/3 wins you the game on the spot if you can get four copies of it in play at once. This is tricky enough in 60-card formats where you can run a full playset, but infinitely more so in Commander where you can only run one.
This means you have to rely wholly on copy and Clone effects if you ever want to win the game with this card. Rite of Replication can make enough copies single-handedly if you have nine mana to spare. Followed Footsteps also gets the job done, albeit much, much slower. Cards like Doppelgang can also work, or untap shenanigans with the likes of Mimic Vat. Basically, unlike Approach of the Second Sun, you’ll actually need to put some effort into pulling win condition #5 off. Presumably, the 20 Ways to Win precon will include some Clone effects to support this.
In terms of price, Biovisionary is also much less exciting than Approach. Despite only having one previous printing way back in Gatecrash, the card is still sitting at around $0.40. Unlike Approach, it has never really been a viable win condition in any format. Due to its unique difficulties in Commander, it hasn’t flourished there either. This one is interesting more in terms of what it means for the rest of the precon than as a reprint in its own right.
Liliana’s Contract
- Mana Value: 3BB
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Text: When this enchantment enters, you draw four cards and you lose 4 life. At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control four or more Demons with different names, you win the game.
Last, on our whistle-stop tour of today’s 20 Ways to Win spoilers, we have Liliana’s Contract. This one represents win condition #6: Notarized. For MTG flavor fans out there, this one is a slam-dunk. It wins you the game on your upkeep if you control four Demons with different names, representing the four Demons Liliana made a deal with during her story. It also draws you four cards on entry, which can really help you find said Demons.
While it would be fantastic flavor if the 20 Ways to Win deck included the four legendary Demons Liliana dealt with to enable this card, that sadly isn’t possible. Kothophed, Razaketh, and Belzenlok are all legal in Commander, but Griselbrand remains Griselbanned. Unless Wizards’ first major decision as format curators is to unban this notorious Demon with the release of this precon, we can be confident it’s not showing up. The other three would still be great picks, however, since they can draw/tutor up cards to power your many alternate win conditions.
Possible reprint implications aside, Contract is a solid pick for this deck. Even if you ignore its potential as a win condition, five mana to draw four cards for four life is a great deal. This gives it extra utility that Approach and Biovisionary lack. All Commander decks need card draw, so including it in the same slot as an alternate win con is a very slick move. On top of that, it’s also a reasonably valuable card. Copies currently go for around $4. Granted this isn’t huge, but bear in mind that this Secret Lair drop will be a full 100-card deck and it starts to sound a lot more impressive.
