On August 9, Magic: The Gathering publisher Wizards of the Coast revealed the Secret Lair set tied to its upcoming 30th-anniversary event – and we’re pretty sure no one could have predicted the chosen theme. ‘Li’l Giri Saves the Day’ uses new art and flavour text on existing cards to tell the story of an anthropomorphic onigiri.
The rice ball representing Magic’s big birthday is heroic and adorable, but he’s also virtually unheard of in the world of MTG. Kawasumi is the credited artist for the five new traditional foil cards, and it’s in their work Li’l Giri’s origins can seemingly be found, as the character also appeared in a series of Japan-only Orb of Dragonkind promo cards Kawasumi illustrated.
The five cards getting a rice ball re-theme in this Secret Lair set are Peek, Greed, Curiosity, Vandalblast, and Last Chance. The Secret Lair set will be available for $39.99 / £33.07 at the Las Vegas Magic 30 event taking place October 28 – 30, as well as online as part of the Festival in a Box merch bundle. Li’l Giri also makes an appearance in this package on the back of 100 card sleeves.
“Help the brave food fighter Li’l Giri save the day in these five adorable cards with art by kawasumi”, says Wizards in its August 9 announcement. “This timeless story of derring-do, told across the card art and flavour text, is the perfect addition to any deck or collection.”
What’s rarer than a Magic player who’s heard of Li’l Giri before today? Only the most expensive Magic cards around – read more about them in our guide. We don’t have any rice balls to offer you, but we do have some other tasty guides on the best MTG Commanders and planeswalkers.