Magic: The Gathering is no stranger to video game crossovers at this point. On top of the full set dedicated to Final Fantasy, we’ve also seen Secret Lair drops for all manner of big titles, from Street Fighter to Sonic. Every time a product like that does well, as they all have so far, it opens the door a little wider for more to follow in the future. If you need proof of this hypothesis, look no further than the Secret Lair website. According to the site’s current banner text, we could well be getting a Monster Hunter Secret Lair drop for MTG soon.
MTG Meets Monster Hunter?!
If you head over to the official Secret Lair website right now, you’ll see that the banner at the top reads “Hunter Rank required: ???” This is a direct reference to the Monster Hunter series, in which Hunter Rank is an important element. In the games, your character’s Hunter Rank determines which missions they can take on, and it increases as you progress and take down bigger targets. Because of this blatant reference, many MTG players are now anticipating a full-on Monster Hunter Secret Lair drop.
While this message isn’t a guarantee of anything, it is worth noting that Wizards has used it to foreshadow products in the past. Back in February, for example, the banner featured a message about an Orcish Lumberjack reprint. This then came to pass in the Artist Series: Phil Foglio drop in June. Add in the fact that Monster Hunter has been collaborating with a number of different partners recently, and this seems like a done deal.
Assuming this is the case, it seems like a no-brainer crossover for Magic. Monster Hunter is a long-running series with a ton of iconic creatures to its name, many of which could make excellent MTG cards. The monster designs are honestly strong enough that simple reskins would likely sell out. On the other hand, mechanically unique cards for legends like Rathalos and Deviljho would be fantastic to see.
UPDATE: It appears that, after some data mining on the Secret Lair site, not only is a Monster Hunter Secret Lair effectively confirmed, but there appears to be an entire Superdrop, with multiple Secret Lairs, themed after the video game series on the way. This, once again, isn’t a confirmation, as it could easily be faked, but it really does look like Monster Hunter is coming to Magic: The Gathering in the future.
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