Just as we predicted recently, Wizards of the Coast has begun teasing the latest round of Secret Lair products. With nothing on sale on the Secret Lair website right now, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Interestingly, rather than getting a new Secret Lair Superdrop as expected, Wizards had a different surprise in store. Soon, we’re going to be getting another Secret Lair Commander Deck.
While we haven’t been given all the details just yet, a new banner has popped up on the Secret Lair website. Advertising the upcoming “Secret Lair Commander Deck: Raining Cats and Dogs” there are no prizes for guessing what this deck is about. That’s right, people who guessed anyway, this new Commander deck features two of the most adorable Typal archetypes; Cats and Dogs!
Sadly for fans of these furry critters, details about this new Secret Lair Commander Deck are currently sparse. For instance, there’s no indication about whether this deck will feature a Universes Beyond crossover with the 2001 cinematic masterpiece Cats & Dogs. Despite this lack of critical information, thankfully, the deck is still already shaping up nicely, and we’ve only seen two cards!
Secret Lair Commander Deck: Raining Cats and Dogs
As we mentioned mere moments ago, when revealing the new Secret Lair Commander Deck, Wizards only revealed two cards. While this might not sound like a lot, Wizards did spice things up by releasing four pieces of artwork! Upon hearing this, you might immediately think that Wizards is reprinting Mischievous Catgeist, however, you’d be wrong!
For the Raining Cats and Dogs deck, Wizards is creating new reversible MTG cards. Featuring the same card on either side, the only difference is the art on display. Somewhat unsurprisingly, considering the name of the deck, one side features feline-focused art, while the other canine-centric artwork.
Just as the past Secret Lair Commander Decks have had, these reversible cards are the deck’s major selling point. From the looks of things, the deck is going to include at least four of these cards. While this doesn’t sound like a lot, thankfully, there is the potential that the deck will contain more reversible cards. For now, however, four is the total that has been confirmed via the banner.
Thankfully, while there might only be a few reversible cards for players to enjoy, there are other Secret Lair reprints. Supplementing the reversible cards, currently five normal Secret Lair cards are shrouded in mystery. Should each of these cards have new artwork, this deck should be a goldmine of gorgeous art. Previously, Secret Lair Commander decks have only included five cards with Secret Lair artwork.
According to the banner on the Secret Lair website, previews for the deck will be revealed on January 19th, 2024. At the moment, it’s unclear if the deck will launch at the same time, or if we’ll have to wait. There’s also no indication of how much this new Commander deck will cost, however, past precedent indicates a $150+ price tag.
Temptingly Lucrative Reprints
While only two cards from the Raining Cats and Dogs deck have been revealed thus far, already it’s looking great. On their own, for instance, the face Commander of Rin and Seri, Inseparable is worth $21. While this is already rather expensive, the past Secret Lair artwork for this card sells for $32.
Since Raining Cats and Dogs is likely to be a limited-run product, this new reversible variant is likely to be even more expensive. Should there be a surge in demand, this new variant could even match Gisela, the Broken Blade’s worrying $100 price tag! Thankfully, while this is a very real possibility, there’s no indication such a monumental price hike will happen anytime soon.
Alongside Rin and Seri, Inseparable, Wizards has also revealed a new reprint of Anointed Procession. Having only been printed in Amonkhet and The List, this token doubler currently sells for around $44. In theory, since this card is being reprinted the price could drop a little, however, this deck is likely limited-run, so I wouldn’t expect much.
For now, those two cars are the only ones that have been officially announced by Wizards. While this technically isn’t a lot to be excited about, the guaranteed $65 of value is definitely compelling. Hopefully, there the rest of the deck’s Secret Lair reprints will continue this trend of being valuable all-stars.
Unfortunately, since there are 407 Cats and Dogs in total to choose from, divining this deck’s contents is rather difficult. That being said, however, hopefully, we can expect to see plenty of Commander favorites. Ideally, this should mean reprints of staples like Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful, and Qasali Slingers.
The Calm Before the Storm
Right now, for better or worse, this is all we know about the Secret Lair Commander Deck: Raining Cats and Dogs. As mentioned previously, this should change fairly soon on January 19th once previews are revealed. Following this, or alongside this date, the deck will be made available for sale, which should be quite an event.
If Raining Cats and Dogs is anything like its predecessors, this deck is going to be rather limited-run. Should the deck’s contents be as good as we hope, this could cause a mad scramble to buy it. Between potential server issues and scalpers causing havoc, this could lead to a lot of players being disappointed. Hopefully, and ideally, those troubles won’t happen this time around. Whether or not we’ll be so lucky, however, remains to be seen.
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