The MTG Secret Lair line has grown a lot in the past few years. Once considered rather controversial, especially when the mechanically unique Walking Dead cards were released, the line originally got a lot of criticism for taking away business from local game stores.
Fast forward a few years later, and the Secret Lair line is now a thriving and very accepted part of the MTG product line. The Walking Dead cards eventually got reprinted recently in Wilds of Eldraine as in-universe counterparts, and Secret Lairs, nowadays, mostly stand as a way for players to acquire unique artworks on fan-favorite MTG cards.
Interestingly, some of the details revealed to upcoming Secret Lairs years ago have yet to be revealed. According to a Reddit post relating back to a two-year-old article, an unannounced artist series has been delayed for more than two years.
A Missing Picture
Reddit user The_Only_Gatsby is interested in where this image will appear for an upcoming Secret Lair set. Announced two years ago in a Hipsters of the Coast article was the above artwork featured alongside a few other pieces of art. Many of which have already become a Secret Lair.
Announced in this two-year old article was the then upcoming Artist Series: Seb Mckinnon Secret Lair. This Lair, containing Damnation, Sower of Temptation, Enchanted Evening and a special Swamp, was released quite a long time ago.
Artist Series: Johannes Voss was also announced to release a year after the announcement. Containing Carpet of Flowers, Karmic Guide, Sphere of Safety and Sanctum Prelate, this Secret Lair has also already released and is no longer available for sale. This artwork for Voss’s Secret Lair appeared in the same article and has since been released on Sanctum Prelate.
This means that, even though we have not seen the mysterious artwork featuring what many MTG players expect to be Zedruu the Greathearted trying to hand off a creepy cat, it is very likely that it will appear in a Secret Lair sometime in the future. What Secret Lair is this a part of, and when should we expect to see it?
Artist Series: Kaja Foglio
It appears as though the above image could appear in an upcoming Artist Series: Kaja Foglio Secret Lair. Judging from Kaja’s past artwork, however, this seems rather unlikely.
Kaja is responsible for a lot of older MTG art pieces, totaling 63 cards on Scryfall. Many of the cards that feature Kaja’s artwork don’t see much play anymore, but you can find Kaja’s art on popular cards like Hydroblast, Pyroblast, Shaharazad, Summer Bloom, Sylvan Tutor, Swords to Plowshares, Teferi’s Puzzle Box, and the incredibly expensive Mishra’s Workshop.
While Kaja’s Secret Lair was announced at the same time as the other Secret Lairs mentioned in the Hipsters of the Coast article, we have not seen it come to fruition yet. Additionally, judging from the Reddit commentary for this artwork question, a lot of people are seriously excited for Foglio’s Secret Lair:
“Yeah I’ve been needing the Foglio one forever.”
PyreDynasty
“The Foglio SL is an auto buy for me.”
ChefCano
It’s tough to know when Foglio’s Secret Lair will finally get into the hands of ravenous fans, but one Reddit comment does suggest that Kaja’s Secret Lair is still on it’s way, just a bit delayed:
“Kaja recently confirmed on Twitter that she just hasn’t finished that commission yet lol, so it is still coming just (obviously) not on schedule”
mrduracraft
We don’t know when Foglio’s Secret Lair will be released, or even if it will be at all but, hopefully, these comments give hope to fans that Kaja’s Secret Lair is not gone, just delayed.
Who is this Sketch From?
We have absolutely no idea, and neither does the MTG community. While this strange looking Zedruu, in the words of MTG fans, is giving off Emrakul vibes, it’s tough to know when and if this Zedruu will ever appear in a Secret Lair product.
The artwork is immaculate and somewhat unnerving. Should this end up appearing in an Artist Series Secret Lair like the Hipsters of the Coast article suggests, we could be in for some seriously awesome MTG art in the near future.
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