Wizards of the Coast has revealed a new batch of Secret Lair MTG cards starring vocaloid pop star Hatsune Miku. Appearing in the Summer Secret Lair drop which goes on sale June 24, the six cards include a Sol Ring, Diabolic Tutor, Chord of Calling, and Thespian’s Stage. This is the second of four Miku-themed drops coming out in 2024.
As MTG Secret Lairs go, we’ve gotta say, this one is pretty uninspiring. Most of the cards, including horrible board-wiping MTG commander Child of Alara, cost a dollar or less. The highlight card, Chord of Calling, only goes for about $5.
However, given Hatsune Miku’s immense popularity, it’s likely this bundle of cards will sell out extremely quickly. The first lot, released on May 13 as part of the Spring superdrop, was sold out in less than 24 hours, doubtless with many fans unable to buy the cards thanks to Wizards’ new approach to SLs.
Glancing at the illustrations, it seems like, once again, the company didn’t pick artists who specialize in manga-style art, leading to wildly varying approaches. Some of these work better than others. Child of Alara looks pretty good, but Kekai Kotaki’s awesome fantasy style clearly didn’t map well onto an anime character – the background for Chord of Calling looks good, but the face seems off.
There were lots of complaints about the inconsistent look of the cards when the last Hatsune Miku drop was revealed. It’s particularly odd, this, since Wizards has produced tons of cards featuring perfectly solid manga art in the past. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty had plenty of manga-style tie-ins and promos, but recently we also had the manga Enchanting Tales cards of Wilds of Eldraine.
Manga art has been in Magic since as far back as War of the Spark. Wizards clearly has the contact details for artists who excel at the style, so why is it not using them?
As announced back in spring, each of these Hatsune Miku Secret Lairs will celebrate a different season. This one’s part of the summer drop, so we can expect one more in fall and another in winter.
For more Magic: The Gathering content, check out our guide to the best MTG precons, or our guide to every single MTG set in order.