For the last few years, Secret Lair Showdown side events have been a highlight of each MagicCon. These offered players the chance to play in high-level games with incredibly valuable promos on the line. For 2025, things are changing in a big way. Secret Lair Showdown is being replaced with Secret Lair Spectacular, the first edition of which will feature an unexpected dash of Planechase gameplay.
As a casual-only gameplay feature, it’s pretty shocking to see Planechase incorporated into a competitive event. Some players have mixed feelings on this, especially given the pedigree of the promos involved. On the other hand, such a development is perfectly in keeping with the spirit of Secret Lair. A little bit of boundary-pushing mischief actually makes total sense here, all things considered. Whatever your opinion, this is an unexpected development indeed.
Planechase In The Secret Lair Spectacular?!
The news that Planechase will be a part of the Secret Lair Spectacular at MagicCon: Chicago came to us via the official event website. An update yesterday revealed new details about all aspects of the event, including specifics on the side events and prize structures. While we still don’t know everything yet, this gives us a much fuller picture of what to expect.
As far as the format goes, Secret Lair Spectacular looks like Modern with a twist. Players will play regular matches with Modern-legal decks, but they’ll be given a ‘Redemption Challenge Ticket’ at the start of the event. This ticket can be redeemed once during a game to take it ‘into the Secret Lair.’ In layman’s terms, using this ticket will introduce a Planechase element to the game. Players will use a “specially designed deck of Planechase cards” here, all of which will presumably be new.
The first of these revealed is called Imaginary Friends. This is a plane that lets players cast spells as if they were other Modern-legal spells of the same type and mana cost. This is remarkably similar to Richard Garfield, PHD’s passive ability. Obviously, the implications of such an effect on a game of Modern are massive. If the other new planes are equally impactful, then the ‘Spectacular’ in the event title will be more than warranted.
We don’t know anything about the other planes at present. That said, it would be safe to assume they’ll all be based on past Secret Lair drops. Imaginary Friends was a drop from back in 2022, after all.
Rich Rewards
The MagicCon Chicago website update also revealed some details of the prizing structure for the event. As with all previous Secret Lair Showdowns, this event will have its own set of exclusive promos. We actually got a look at these back in December. Now, we have more information about how they’ll be distributed.
Just for participating in the Secret Lair Spectacular event, and sampling its Planechase goodness, players will receive a non-foil copy of the Sudden Edict promo. This is not an expensive or widely played card at all, so I don’t expect this new version to be worth a lot. This event has another participation reward too. All Secret Lair Spectacular players will also receive the ‘secret Redemption Challenge item’ for the event. So far we have no information about what this is, but it’s likely a miscellaneous collectible like a pin badge.
While no exact details have been given, distribution of the other two promos will likely be based on performance in the event. Both Lightning Bolt and Questing Druid have foil and non-foil versions available, so there’s a lot of monetary potential here. On top of that, players can also win a ‘Secret Lair Li’l’est Walkers Mystery Box.’ Again, no further information has been given on what exactly this entails.
We’ve seen three different Secret Lair drops in the past under the Li’l Walkers banner. Each features five chibi takes on beloved planeswalkers. If I were to guess, I’d say these new Mystery Boxes will include a random selection of cards from those drops. Currently, there are no details on the finish you need to earn this prize, but a high one seems fairly likely.
Point Of Contention
While adding Planechase elements to the Secret Lair Spectacular seems like a bit of harmless fun on the surface, some in the community are less than convinced. After being shared by MTG personality fireshoes on twitter, many players had their say in the post’s comments.
“This was the best side competitive event for non-limited players and they turned it into a commander event. Made the effort to go up to Chicago and now I gotta play format Cups for tixs instead of THE showdown.”
fatoulema
This is a valid complaint, to be sure. Past Secret Lair Showdowns were fairly straightforward Modern events. This gave the format a continuous presence at big events, which was great for keeping players invested. While the Secret Lair Spectacular is technically still Modern, the addition of Planechase does change things significantly. Even with just one plane revealed, it’s clear that a huge element of chance is being injected into the event with this change.
“Am I reading correctly that this is mental magic for $300 promos?”
JohnRuml
With significant prizes on the line, this is a shift that some aren’t in favor of. Granted, it’s unlikely that the promos this time around hit the $300 heights of past Showdown prizes. As far as we know there are no hyper-limited promos like the Brainstorm and Dark Ritual of 2023 and 2024, respectively. There aren’t even any Modern staples like Ragavan or Murktide Regent. This is a much more reserved promo lineup all told. This means there’s less to lose if Planechase RNG doesn’t go your way. Regardless, it’s still a valid concern for players.
That said, wacky random elements like this do make perfect sense for a Secret Lair initiative. These have been serious events so far, but there’s no reason they need to stay that way. Especially with the Magic Spotlight Series coming in this year to pick up the slack. Planechase is a woefully underused part of Magic, too, so it’s great to see it get a huge platform like this.