With the success of the Final Fantasy set transitioning Magic‘s collaboration era truly into the mainstream, Wizards of the Coast is running full speed ahead with its latest collaboration: a new Secret Lair drop that will bring Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends to the game.
Rather than being reprints of old cards with new art, like the case of the SpongeBob Secret Lair or the recent benefit for the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the new Sonic cards, revealed by Variety today, will bring seven completely newly designed cards to life. Each one features art from a litany of famous Sonic artists, bringing Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Amy Rose, Knuckles, and Doctor Eggman to the game, alongside a legendary enchantment representing the super state gained by unleashing the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
The card designs themselves are all pretty fun—naturally, a lot of them are based around quickening mechanics from across Magic‘s ruleset, like haste, flash, or first strike. Amy can easily attach equipment to herself (yes, give her the Buster Sword, you know you want to), Tails can make vehicles you play into flying vehicles, and Eggman forces players to either discard cards or let him bring more constructs, robots, and vehicles to the battlefield. But of course, Sonic is perhaps the standout, not only because he gets more powerful the more he attacks (as do other cards with Haste or Flash), there’s a risk/reward element too: if Sonic or any of your other cards with Haste or Flash are damaged while he’s in play, Sonic creates tapped treasure tokens, representing the fountain of rings that explode out of the poor hedgehog whenever he’s hurt in the video games.
It’s perhaps not going to stop the grumbling about Universes Beyond’s proliferation into the game—which won’t be stopping any time soon, with Spider-Man and Avatar sets on the way later this year, alongside original sets like the upcoming Edge of Eternities. But if you prefer to keep your Magic away from the collaborations, at least as a Secret Lair the Sonic cards won’t be as common in play as the new standard-legal UB sets are. The Sonic the Hedgehog Secret Lair drop will launch at 12pm ET/9am PT on July 14 with three drops: a standard set of all 7 cards for $30, a set of foil variants for $40, and a bundle of both.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
English (US) ·