The next Secret Lair Superdrop is right around the corner and there’s a lot to look forward to. Over recent weeks we’ve seen the, rather controversial, Spongebob Squarepants drops, as well as plenty of traditional Secret Lairs too. All of these will be released next week on March 24th. Before then, however, MTG players got a welcome surprise earlier this week.
On Monday, Wizards of the Coast randomly released the Cats vs Dogs Chaos Vault drop. This unexpected release featured two near-identical Secret Lairs with the same cards, but different art. As you might expect from the name, one of these drops featured Cat-themed art, while the other was Dog-themed.
Playing into the chaotic nature of the Chaos Vault, this release was a race to see who could sell out first. The winner would receive the honor of getting an all-Cat, or all-Dog, Secret Lair Superdrop in 2026. Unsurprisingly, given that Cats and Dogs are some of the most beloved creature types in MTG, it wasn’t long before we had an answer. Not long after this, we’ve now seen the first Bonus Card from this recent MTG Chaos Vault drop.
Cats Are Officially Better
In case you’ve missed the banner on the Secret Lair website, Cats ended up selling out first, winning this heavyweight title fight bout. As such, we’re going to be getting an all-Cat Secret Lair Superdrop sometime in 2026.
Sadly, there’s no telling when Wizards of the Coast is actually going to release this newly confirmed Superdrop. Since 2026 is quite a ways away. It seems we have a decent wait in store no matter what. We can only hope that the Cat-based Superdrop will be worth all the waiting we have to do.
Thankfully, even before we’ve seen any of this Superdrop’s cards, we can already expect it to be successful. As one of the most beloved creature types in MTG, there’s bound to be plenty of demand for this drop. That much should be evident from the fact that the Cats Are Better Than Dogs drop sold out before Dogs Are Better Than Cats.
While it’s probably too early to be making predictions, there are tons of fantastic cards that Wizards could reprint. Scythecat Cub, Displacer Kitten, and Ygra, Eater of All would all make for fantastic reprints, for instance. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see what gets reprinted. At least we know there will be a lot to enjoy, since Cats are getting an entire Superdrop, not just a Secret Lair.
Helpful Hunter Bonus Card
Fittingly, considering they won the contest, the latest Bonus Card to be revealed comes from the Cats Are Better Than Dogs drop. As you can see above, this Bonus Card is an even more adorable version of Helpful Hunter. Like all the cards in the Cats Are Better Than Dogs drop, this card will undoubtedly be beloved due to its art alone.
Curiously, Helpful Hunter was only just printed last year in MTG Foundations. It has barely been over four months since then, and the card already has its first reprint. While we can’t deny this reprint is adorable, it definitely wasn’t needed from a value perspective.
Thanks to being a common in MTG Foundations, which was incredibly widely printed, Helpful Hunter is worth just $0,17. Somewhat unsurprisingly, this low price is kept down due to the fact that Helpful Hunter doesn’t really see play anywhere. Since Helpful Hunter only draws you a card when it enters, it really doesn’t set the world on fire.
Despite this lackluster power, Helpful Hunter does still get played in Commander. While there are plenty of Cats to choose from for a Typal deck, drawing a card is still good in the archetype. On top of that, Helpful Hunter obviously also gets points for being cute, and even more so now with its new art.
Potentially, while the normal version of Helpful Hunter isn’t expensive, this new art could be surprisingly valuable. Depending on the supply of the Cats Are Better Than Dogs drop, this variant could even be rather scarce. We’ll just have to wait and see where the price ends up for this card, as this drop is only just starting to be delivered to players.
Man’s (Second) Best Friend
While the Dogs Are Better Than Cats drop didn’t win the competition, it’ll still be getting its very own Bonus Card. So far, this hasn’t been revealed on social media, but that hasn’t stopped players from predicting what it is.
For starters, it’s believed that this Bonus Card will be different from Helpful Hunter. Obviously, Helpful Hunter is a Cat, and that just wouldn’t fly within a Dog-themed drop. As such, players are wondering which one of Magic’s many Dogs is this drop’s Bonus Card. Potentially, as CareerMilk suggests, we could get a reprint of Spirited Companion, although that’s just speculation.
Despite just being a guess, a reprint of Spirited Companion would be rather fitting. Not only does it have the exact same ability as Helpful Hunter, but it’s basically the same price too. Copies of this Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty card can be picked up easily for $0.15 on average. There is, however, a chase Promo Pack variant which sells for around $1.39.
Ultimately, given there are 124 Commander legal Dogs in MTG, there is no end of guesses that could be made. Subsequently, we’re just going to have to wait and see to find out what this Bonus Card actually is. Thankfully, we shouldn’t have to wait too long for this to be revealed, at least, since drops are clearly being shipped quickly.