One of the biggest hits ever produced by Seattle’s independent video game scene is joining the Magic: The Gathering multiverse later this month. Sort of.
Magic, the long-running collectible card game published and developed by Renton, Wash.-based Wizards of the Coast, frequently puts out special crossover editions via its Secret Lair imprint.
The Secret Lair “drops” are limited-run collectibles that typically reimagine older Magic cards with new designs and art, which replaces Magic‘s usual cast of wizards and monsters with, for example, Dwarf Fortress, Garfield, or various Marvel superheroes. A caveat: Secret Lairs are priced to appeal to die-hard collectors, rather than casual players.
On Friday, during the first day of MagicCon Amsterdam, Wizards announced several upcoming “drops” for Secret Lair, three of which are based on the popular indie video game Stardew Valley.
Stardew, made by solo developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, is arguably the single biggest success story to come out of Seattle’s independent game development scene. It’s an open-ended video game about a young person who moves back to their grandfather’s abandoned farm, to raise crops, breed livestock, make friends, fish, adventure through the nearby abandoned mines, and/or romance neighbors. This can all be taken at the player’s own pace, with no particular time limits or directions.
Stardew’s success helped to popularize what’s come to be known as the “cozy” genre of chill-out, low-stress video games, alongside other hits like Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. Stardew celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this year, has sold nearly 50 million copies across multiple platforms, and has spun out into a successful concert tour, a cookbook, and as of earlier this month, a crochet book.
Now Stardew is coming to Magic via Secret Lair, in a package that Wizards is calling the “Superdrop of the Moonlight Jellies,” named after a jellyfish-themed town festival in Stardew Valley.
Coming on July 27, the drop is split into three specific sets of cards: Welcome to Stardew Valley, Life in Pelican Town, and A Flicker in the Deep. The first set, Welcome, features unique pixel art made by ConcernedApe on each card.
Most of the cards in the Stardew Valley Secret Lair are reprints of existing Magic cards, though some have been renamed in keeping with the theme. For example, Swords to Plowshares is one of the oldest cards in Magic, but it’s getting a new Stardew-themed edition in this Secret Lair.
The lone exception is the actual Stardew Valley card (above), which is a special land that’s designed to be compatible with most styles of competitive Magic play.
Other upcoming Secret Lairs announced at MagicCon Amsterdam include:
- a full playable deck that’s based on the virtual Japanese singer Hatsune Miku;
- a food-themed take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit;
- four separate Marvel Comics drops, including one that will feature the universe’s various super-pets;
- three drops built around specific artists, including American cartoonist Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese);
- and most oddly, a drop with a theme based upon the French record label Lofi Girl, best known for its 24-7 chillhop YouTube “radio station” featuring its namesake and mascot.
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