Summary
Magic: The Gatheringhas revealed its next Secret Lair crossover. Joining the likes of Fallout, Warhammer 40,000, and Lord of the Rings is none other than Vocaloid superstar Hatsune Miku.
Miku will be a recurring theme of this year’s Secret Lairs, with four drops planned to reflect the four seasons. The first drop, Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Sakura Superstar, will come in the Spring Superdrop in May, and includes six cards.
Miku, the Renowned (Feather, the Redeemed)
Miku, Lost But Singing (Azusa, Lost But Seeking)
Inspiring Vantage
Shelter
Though none of the cards here are super valuable, they all see play in Magic’s Commander format. Azusa, Lost But Seeking (here as “Miku, Lost But Singing”) is one of thego-to mono-green commandersthanks to her ability to ramp out lots of land each turn. Meanwhile, Feather, the Redeemed is a fantastic red/white combat tricks commander, and the addition of an anime girl to the art only makes the pain she can inflict all the funnier.
Although Miku’s Spark; Miku, Lost But Singing; and Miku, the Renowned all have different names to their regular versions, the game rules treat them all as identical to Chandra’s Ignition; Azusa, Lost But Seeking; and Feather, the Redeemed. You can only have up to four copies of any of them in your deck, or only one in Commander.
Joining the commanders are Shelter, Harmonize, “Miku’s Spark” (Chandra’s Ignition), and Inspiring Vantage. Again, none of them are big hits regularly – Shelter in particular was just printed at common in Commander Masters. But they’re all played, with Miku’s Spark being the highest-profile card and a great way to finish out a game if you have enough mana.
Why Can’t I See The Horizon? Hatsune Miku, Is That You?
If you don’t know Hatsune Miku, she started out as a Vocaloid voicebank – an artificial voice synthesiser used in music production. Her popularity has turned her from a Vocaloid mascot into one of the most recognisable characters in the world, and is described as the “world’s first virtual singer”. She’s made countless appearances in other media, and even hasher own games, manga, and evenlive concerts.
I think Alvin and the Chipmunks would have something to say about Hatsune Miku being the first virtual singer.
Oddly, this isn’t the first time Hatsune Miku and Magic: The Gathering have teamed up. For 2022’s Japanese-inspired cyberpunk set Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Miku contributeda single called Connected.
The Sakura Superstar drop will be available from May 13 from 9AM PST as part of the Spring Superdrop. Like other recent drops, this will only be on offer as stock is available, rather than being printed to demand like the Secret Lair drops of old. Interestingly, the foil ($39.99) and non-foil ($29.99) editions will be available in both English and Japanese.
