Both cats and dogs are some of the most beloved creature types in MTG. Despite having a fierce rivalry with one another, it’s not uncommon to see these types pairing up in battle. Wizards of the Coast has even played off this theme before, especially within Secret Lair products. The Raining Cats & Dogs secret lair, for example, was the ultimate Commander precon for anyone who wanted to play these cuddly critters on the table. After the massive success of that product, Secret Lair has returned to the theme once again.
Today, two new Secret Lairs were revealed. On sale right now, both of these Secret Lair drops have the exact same cards, however, they do have different artworks. This isn’t something that we’ve ever seen before, potentially giving the drops some unique appeal. Whether you’re a cat or a dog person, this Secret Lair offers the perfect cards for you. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for powerful reprints, prepare to be disappointed.
Secret Lair: Cats VS Dogs
Secret Lair: Cats VS Dogs contains two different foil drops. One contains five cards with artwork featuring our furry feline friends. The other contains the same cards with artwork of man’s best friend. While the theme is whimsically fun, and the art is adorable, the cards are disappointing. The most expensive reprint in this Lair doesn’t even surpass $3.
That expensive card is Titanic Ultimatum. This is the ultimate buff spell for a massive board, but the fact that a seven-mana spell doesn’t create value on its own makes it a joke. This, alone, relegates Titanic Ultimatum to Commander. Even within Commander, you’ll probably only play a card like this in a themed Cats or Dogs deck.
Despite this, Titanic Ultimatum certainly has its uses. The card has very few printings as well, so as far as functional reprints go, there were worse choices.
Basilisk Collar
Unlike Titanic Ultimatum, Basilisk Collar is a $2 card that has game. Granting Lifelink and Deathouch to any equipped creature can create some nasty synergies between any abilities that allow the creature of choice to deal damage.
For this reason, Basilisk Collar is a very powerful card in Captain America, First Avenger decks. Captain America can detach equipment to deal damage to three different targets. With Basilisk Collar in play, this means you can remove three different creatures for just three mana.
Despite having plenty of applications, and a very popular Commander, this card is on the cheaper side because it has been reprinted a ton of times. That said, as long as your Commander deck has some synergy with it, Basilisk Collar is definitely worth the money.
Escape to the Wilds
Escape to the Wilds is another card that can be strong in a Commander environment. Impulse drawing five cards while getting an extra land drop is a great way to refuel. Not only do you get ahead on mana, but because these cards are available until the end of your next turn, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to use most of them.
While Escape to the Wilds is decent in Commander, the card is only worth 30 cents. It doesn’t see a ton of play anywhere and has been reprinted more than you may expect. This is a common card to appear in Gruul-colored Commander precons. On the flip side, Escape to the Wilds is a great way to flavorfully highlight your pet making a dash for an open door.
Rip Apart
On top of being another flavorful way of emulating your pet making trouble, Rip Apart is a rather popular removal spell that sees constructed and Commander play alike. The options granted on this Boros spell make it able to deal with a ton of different threats. Cheap and flexible removal is rather sought-after.
Rip Apart only has two printings at an uncommon rarity, but the card isn’t incredibly popular. Thanks to that, Rip Apart’s reprint value is worth about 25 cents. That said, this is a great card for budget decks where it is legal.
While these cards will definitely hold a premium over other printings for their cards on the market, this Rip Apart is unlikely to have much competitive appeal. These cards are only available in foil, which is rather risky to use in a competitive setting.
Arcane Signet
Arcane Signet’s presence in this Secret Lair clearly communicates the target audience of the drop. Almost every Commander deck wants Arcane Signet since it essentially functions as the perfect two-mana ramp card. This card, similar to Sol Ring, is basically reprinted in every single Commander precon, so cheap copies of it are only worth about 50 cents.
Similar to Sol Ring, premium versions of Arcane Signet tend to hold a pretty penny. While there are dozens of reprints of Arcane Signet available, the demand for this card is very high. Any players who want to bling out their decks may turn towards rarer variants of the cards, like the one featured in this Lair.
Art Holds the Value
In total, the reprint value of this Secret Lair comes out to about $5. Considering that the cat and dog-themed Secret Lairs are $40 each, that’s a lot of money to spend on some rather cheap cards. The good news is that it is very likely that these specific copies of the cards are likely to hold a decent secondary market value over their existing printings.
If anything, this Lair will have a smaller audience for it than most. Players looking to get a decent deal on a reprint won’t be interested in this. Only the players who want some cat and dog-themed Secret Lair cards will likely add this to their collection.
