A Magic: The Gathering artist’s Secret Lair came with a surprise bonus card that was never announced. Proxy maker Ben Schnuck became an official MTG artist in 2021, creating the synthwave Shades Not Included lands unveiled in the February 2022 superdrop. It seems he received his own Secret Lair a touch early (fair enough) and that it held an unexpected bonus sliver card.
A very excited Schnuck shared his news on Saturday via Twitter, declaring that the secret card in this lair is “a reprint with a new treatment I’ve never seen before and cannot find anything online about”. While he said he was relishing being the only one who had seen the card, he soon uploaded a photo, revealing that it was a reprint of Horned Sliver, a green sliver card from 1997. (As he’s in his early 20s, it’s a card that’s older than he is.)
While not among the best MTG slivers, this copy of the card is still special for a few reasons, not least the fact that it was not announced, so came as a complete surprise. For starters, Horned Sliver has never been reprinted with a modern card frame. Also, this version is pretty snazzy. It’s in foil, has an extended border (so features more of the original artwork), and sexiest of all, it has the correct italicisation of ‘Weatherlight’s’ in the flavour text.
Plus, the card still has a role to play in sliver decks, as a cheap way to give all your creatures trample. Schnuck tells Wargamer: “I adore slivers and always have in Magic, so having a one-of-a-kind sliver collectible is fantastic.”
For those curious, I’ve tweeted a photo https://t.co/DUSlIrM7Yt
— Ben Makes Stuff (@BenMakesStuff) July 2, 2022
As far as Schnuck is aware, he is the only person with a copy of the Secret Lair Horned Sliver right now. He’s been wondering aloud about its value, perhaps hoping that it might be among the most expensive MTG cards. Naturally, it’ll all depend on how rare the bonus card turns out to be once other people get their Secret Lairs. Schnuck says he’s opened two copies of the Secret Lair right now, and only one had the sliver (the other had a Panharmonican with alternate art)
Check out our Secret Lair guide for more information on the Secret Lairs available right now. And if you want to know what’s happening in Magic: The Gathering, here are the 2022 MTG release dates.