During the annual Magic: The Gathering Showcase, Wizards of the Coast announced what fans can expect from the coming year, introducing a slew of new sets and collaborations. This includes a Dungeons & Dragons: Baldur's Gate expansion as well as a Lord of the Rings-inspired set, slated to come out in 2023. The showcase also unveiled new Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drops, which will premiere new Fortnite-inspired cards.
Secret Lair is Magic: The Gathering's version of limited-edition releases. Rather than a full set, which can range from 40-100 cards depending on which version of Magic is played, Secret Lair drops only contain five to seven cards. This makes creating Secret Lair cards a much lighter lift for Wizards of the Coast and allows developers to experiment with new ideas before committing to designing a full and balanced set. This makes Secret Lair an ideal avenue for introducing new collaborations with external IPs, such as Godzilla, The Walking Dead, and, now, Fortnite.
Not much has been revealed about Fortnite's Secret Lair drop. Wizards of the Coast has confirmed there will be two of them at some point in 2022, and that the cards will feature recognizable characters and locations from the game. The cards will be reprints of existing Magic: The Gathering cards, done with Fortnite's iconic and colorful art style. It's currently unclear if the Fortnite version of these cards will contain any additional abilities, or if it's simply the artwork that has been redone.
Magic: The Gathering Collaboration - Why Fortnite?
In an interview on YouYube with Magic: The Gathering Showcase hosts Jimmy Wong and Becca Scott, Wizards of the Coast product architect Mark Heggen announced the Fortnite collaboration. According to Heggen, the Wizards of the Coast team are "huge fans" of what Epic Games is doing with Fortnite, and part of the attraction of the collaboration was being able to bring the game's color into Magic: The Gathering. Transferring Fortnite's art style to Magic: The Gathering cards was a good creative exercise for the team.
Fortnite is also well-known for its multitude of collaborations, spanning from the NBA to Marvel to Star Wars. This has created what its massive player base calls the multiverse, a hub for different IPs to come together and be introduced to a potentially new audience. Bringing Fortnite to Magic, even just via artwork, could be a way to introduce new players to the tabletop card game, and even opens the door to the possibility of Magic: The Gathering's strongest creatures making an appearance in the shooter.