Magic: The Gathering just keeps getting weirder and weirder. After the Final Fantasy MTG set, it seems most MTG players have gotten over their reservations about Universes Beyond. That said, some crossovers feel like they come right out of left field. Sure, Hatsune Miku and SpongeBob SquarePants were wild, but that didn’t mean we were expecting Sonic the Hedgehog.
Coming in a new Secret Lair Superdrop next month, Sonic the Hedgehog is getting three unique Secret Lairs. So far, two of these have been revealed. Turbo Gear features reskinned reprints of some iconic cards, while Sonic: Friends & Foes gives us seven brand-new cards. Only playable in Eternal formats, each of these cards looks pretty nuts for Commander.
Sadly, with how the last Secret Lair Superdrop went, this is very bad news for most MTG players.
Sonic the Hedgehog
As the titular Hedgehog themselves, it only makes sense that Sonic the Hedgehog kicks off the Sonic: Friends & Foes drop. Notably, this drop will make Hedgehog an official type in MTG, which is fitting, albeit still wild. Outside of this mostly irrelevant flavor point, Sonic the Hedgehog seems like a pretty nuts MTG card.
Heavily themed around going fast, as you might expect, Sonic the Hedgehog makes Haste Typal a thing. He does this by being a decent lord for Flash and Haste creatures, buffing them with +1/+1 counters when attacking. While this puts Sonic above most regular lords, putting your Commander at risk can get expensive fast.
Thankfully, Sonic the Hedgehog mitigates the rising cost of Commander Tax with their second ability. Whenever he, or a creature with Flash or Haste, is dealt damage, you get a tapped treasure token. At the very least, this will help your creatures partially pay to replace themselves whenever they die in combat.
Admittedly, you’ll need a lot of card draw if you want to utilize all these treasures, but thankfully, Sonic is blue. This should allow you to build a pretty robust deck around him that can keep churning out creatures regularly. Like almost all the cards in the Sonic: Friends & Foes Secret Lair drop, Sonic seems seriously strong.
Shadow the Hedgehog
Keeping with the Haste Typal theme, Shadow the Hedgehog goes in a different direction. Rather than giving you treasures, Shadow lets you draw a card when a creature with Flash or Haste dies. This allows each Flash or Haste creature to effortlessly replace itself, which is nuts in an ultra-aggressive deck.
Beyond allowing you to churn out a steady stream of creatures, Shadow the Hedgehog can make all your spells uncounterable. So long as you have enough mana rocks or Treasures, Shadow’s Chaos Control ability is absurdly powerful. Thankfully, Shadow is only in Rakdos colors, so decks won’t have access to the most degenerate spells.
That said, Shadow the Hedgehog still looks obscenely powerful in an aggressive deck. This card is definitely going to dominate some tables in Commander and honestly seems cEDH viable.
Super State
Keeping with the Hedgehog theme, Super State is yet another busted card in the Sonic: Friends & Foes drop. While not cheap, at seven mana, this card offers a mountain of buffs to a single creature. No matter what you slap it on, becoming a 99/ with Flying, First Strike, Trample, and Haste, is seriously scary.
Beyond just making something small a massive threat, Super State allows you to hit all of your opponents at once. This clause makes Super State perfect for most Voltron decks in Commander, which go tall with Auras and Equipment. Typically, these decks create creatures that can easily one-shot opponents, but only one at a time.
With Super state from the Sonic: Friends & Foes drop, this will no longer be a problem. While this card is hugely exciting for Voltron players, getting hold of it likely isn’t going to be easy. Unless Wizards is printing a mountain of these cards, soon-to-be staples like Super State could quickly become obscenely expensive. This could easily be a $50 MTG card…
Amy Rose
Keeping the theme going once again, Amy Rose is a fantastic new Commander option for Equipment-themed decks. Allowing you to attach one equipment for free when attacking, Amy can quickly scale into a major threat. With her as your Commander, you’ll even be dishing out Commander Damange, which makes her that much scarier.
Beyond just bringing the hurt herself, Amy Rose can also buff up another creature you control. As with Super State, this allows a go-tall Voltron deck to potentially take out two opponents at once. Already, this makes Amy Rose a very exciting new card, but she has one last trick up her sleeve.
Amy Rose doesn’t specify that you need to control the Equipment that you attach to her. This means you can steal an opponent’s Equipment when attacking to really turn the tables. While this won’t be useful in every single Commander game, the swings that Any Rose facilitates are utterly bonkers.
Knuckles the Echidna
Speaking of utterly bonkers, Knuckles the Echidna offers a new “win the game effect” and a new creature type. As with Hedgehog, the new Echidna type is largely irrelevant here, but it’s nonetheless a welcome, flavorful touch. Thankfully, Knuckles’ new win-the-game clause is a lot more than just flavor.
If you amass 30 or more artifacts with Knuckles the Echidna, you can win the game. Notably, this effect happens on your upkeep, which does mean opponents will have time to disrupt you. Still, in Commander, 30 artifacts isn’t too difficult to accomplish, especially with an Academy Manufactor in play. That said, if the win condition is your concern, Hellkite Tyrant is a strictly better option.
On top of synergy with existing artifacts, Knuckles the Echidna can churn out tokens if you have a robust board. With four players in Commander, including ourselves, Knuckles the Echidna can technically generate four Treasure Tokens per turn, thanks to Double Strike. Realistically, you’ll be getting less than this, but just two Treasures is already fantastic value.
Beyond potentially winning the game with their token generation and final ability, Knuckles the Echidna is a decent beater, too. Double Strike, Trample, and Haste on a four cost creature is a very strong threat. Even if Knuckles isn’t helming a ton of Commander decks himself, he’s bound to be included in the 99 of many existing decks.
Miles “Tails” Prower
Sadly for Sonic fans, the last two cards in the Sonic: Friends & Foes drop are a fair bit worse than the rest. Miles “Tails” Prower, for instance, seems like a decent Commander for Vehicle decks, but nothing amazing. Offering card draw, or Flying Counters, depending on what Vehicles you play, Tails can definitely put in work.
Unfortunately, while Tails does have some utility, they’re not even the best Commander for a Vehicle Typal deck. Shorikai, Genesis Engine is still easily the best option in this category. Even cards like Kotori, Pilot Prodigy or Edward Kenway seem stronger. Thankfully, Tails can fit in the 99 of most of these decks, so it’s not like they’re unplayable.
Dr. Eggman
Lastly, we have Dr. Eggman, who is potentially absolutely insane. If you can convince your opponents not to discard anything, Dr. Eggman can potentially cheat out three massive threats each turn. Sadly, while this sounds amazing, most players will simply choose to discard something. Considering some of the things you could potentially cheat into play, this definitely seems like the smart choice.
Sdaly, it’s not an option to simply empty your opponent’s hands and then force them into choosing the worst option. Even with no cards in hand, an opponent can still choose to discard something as part of the villainous choice. When it comes time to choose, this ability will simply fizzle, and you’ll be left with nothing.
Well, thankfully, you do still get to draw a card at the end of every turn, and forcing discards isn’t bad at least. Just don’t expect Dr. Eggman to be an insane value engine cheating out Metalwork Colossus, Skitterbeam Battalion, and Cityscale Leveler in one turn. If you’re lucky, you might get a couple of free things each game, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Gotta Go Fast
The Sonic: Friends & Foes Secret Lair drop looks absolutely insane. Most of the cards in this drop are seriously strong in Commander and will have a huge amount of demand. Due to this, it seems incredibly likely this Secret Lair drop will sell out worryingly quickly. If this happens, these cards may well become stupidly expensive.
Unfortunately, while Wizards had been getting better, the recent Final Fantasy Secret Lairs sold out far too fast. This has brought back up massive concerns about the state of Secret Lair and in-demand drops. Since Sonic: Friends & Foes is bound to be popular, it might not be around for long.
If you’re interested in picking up a copy of Sonic: Friends & Foes, or the other Secret Lair drops, it goes on sale at 9 a.m. PT on July 14th. Priced at $39.99 for non-foil and $49.99 for foil, you’ll need to be ready as soon as this drop goes live. We can only hope that Wizards of the Coast has printed enough supply this time around.
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