Over the past year, there have been a ton of different Universes Beyond crossovers that were given the spotlight in the world of MTG. Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth back in June was one of MTG’s most successful sets ever. From there, crossovers including Jurassic World and Fallout took center stage. There’s no denying the sheer volume of Universes Beyond products that continue to make their way into our beloved game.
One rather intriguing crossover that was largely created for a noble cause involved My Little Pony MTG cards. The original Ponies: the Galloping product was released back in 2019, but in September 2023, a sequel was created. Featuring four new and distinct MTG cards, this Secret Lair item further built on the ideas of the first Ponies: the Galloping product.
Just recently, players came across what appears to be the bonus card associated with the Ponies: the Galloping 2 Secret Lair. Unlike with many other Secret Lairs, the secret card isn’t a random Elf or Relentless Rats reprint. Instead, it’s a fifth mechanically unique My Little Pony card with an extremely strange textbox. Before we share this card in all its glory, it’s worth highlighting what makes the Ponies: the Galloping 2 Secret Lair special.
My Little Pony Products
The main purpose behind the release of the original My Little Pony package was to benefit the Seattle Children’s hospital. The My Little Pony franchise is also a part of Hasbro, and in the case of the sequel Secret Lair, 50% of the proceeds would be given towards this charity event known as the Extra Life fundraiser.
The four cards shown above were acted as the follow-up to the first group of My Little Pony cards. Notably, one of them, Princess Twilight Sparkle, mentions a few specific Pony cards in its ability. With the release of this Secret Lair, these Ponies were finally brought to life in a new group of silver-bordered acorn-stamped cards. Given their acorn stamp, these cards are not tournament legal. That being said, they could provide some interesting gameplay in a Commander setting, depending on what your playgroup desires.
Read More: Wizards Announces Massive MTG Arena Changes!
Discord, Lord of Disharmony
Now that we’ve covered a bit of information about the Ponies: the Galloping 2 Secret Lair, it’s time to take a look at the associated bonus card: Discord, Lord of Disharmony.
Discord is a rather interesting character that appeared in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic animated television series. Known for its embodiment of chaos and, as the name suggests, disharmony, this intriguing entity has showcased plenty of unique powers throughout the series.
Notably, Discord has the ability to alter reality through magic, making it a perfect character for an MTG adaptation. In fact, this card is extremely flavorful when taking into account its appearance in the My Little Pony RPG. Supposedly, the RPG mentions that Discord is all-knowing when it comes to spells. Well, now we have an MTG version of Discord where you are able to summon any spell from across the MTG universe!
From a gameplay perspective, though, this card isn’t entirely clear about what cards count in the realm of non-Land Magic card names. For instance, can this include Alchemy exclusives? Conspiracies that can’t realistically be cast? For the sake of simplicity, if you’re interested in trying to make use of this card, say in a casual Commander setting, you can always use Scryfall to select an MTG card at random. It’s also quite possible that a randomizer designed specifically for Discord is created in the near future. Given that a similar program was designed for Urza, Academy Headmaster, this isn’t far-fetched.
Read More: Surprising Prices for MTG Assassin’s Creed Boosters Causes Player Concern
Player Reaction and Commander Potential
Generally speaking, it appears as though a lot of players wish this card had been previewed with the rest of the Secret Lair. There are players that stated that they would have been more inclined to purchase the Secret Lair product in the first place had they known Discord would be a part of it. It is nice that this bonus card seems to be a very well-received inclusion right off the bat. However, given that this Secret Lair boasted charity applications, it may have been better to highlight Discord’s appearance from the get go.
From a Commander standpoint, Discord is a very funky card with its wording. Obviously, you get the opportunity to cast a random spell from MTG’s history for a turn cycle when Discord triggers on your end step. However, Discord then specifically states that you can copy this ability once you cast the random card. Technically, if you have enough mana to work with, you can continue to chain spells together. This makes Discord a cool infinite mana sink, especially if you have a card like Leyline of Anticipation that can let you cast spells you reveal on your end step at Instant speed.
Of course, this is quite risky, because if you reveal a board wipe or something actively harmful to your gameplan, you won’t want to cast it. This means that the fun is over until your next end step, where the chain reaction can start again. Still, this is super fitting for a chaos-themed card. All things considered, Discord looks like a massive hit and a nice surprise for players that purchased the Secret Lair.
Read More: Strange Strixhaven Bulk Rare Gives Dead Devotion Deck New Life!
