Card Selection for Secret Lair: Quentin Tarantino Leads Players to Speculate Something is Afoot

Tomb Raider. Doctor Who. Iron Maiden. Furby. For the past few years, Magic: the Gathering’s Secret Lair initiative has begun incorporating properties spanning the spectrum of the niche interests many Magic players hold dear into the game. With their latest collaboration, Wizards of the Coasts has decided to continue on with this tradition, with a fantastic twist: one for the cinephiles, with the announcement of the Quentin Tarantino Secret Lair. Sporting four cards hand picked by the silver screen giant himself, as well as an entirely new to the game design, this drop seems poised to wiggle the piggies of players lucky enough to snag one in the coming Super Drop.

“When I heard the news, I couldn’t believe it,” wrote TJToeJam on r/mtgfeet. “Finally, some new flavor for my Big Stompies deck.” Other users quickly chimed in, equally fawning over the selection of goodies. “Footbottoms, tonight we FEAST!!!” replied HotInToePekah. His post received 3 upvotes.

And why shouldn’t these users be excited? The card selection is a shining example of the level of love and quality we’ve come to expect from a Secret Lair. Swiftfoot Boots, an expected but welcome Commander All-Star and no stranger to a Lair printing makes an appearance, alongside two throwback cards from the original Lorwyn Block – Crush Underfoot and Footbottom Feast – just in time to build hype for the much-anticipated return to the plane. Rounding out the list of reprints is a limited role-player from 2025’s Tarkir Dragonstorm, Underfoot Underdogs, a fantastic 2 for 1 common goblin. All in all, an inspired snapshot of the game, spanning nearly 20 years of its storied history. 

The fifth and final card, however, is certainly the star of the drop. Joining the likes of Cleopatra and Leonardo Da Vinci in the hallowed halls of cards based on historic figures is is Paul Dano, lovingly rendered as a two mana 1/1 Human Actor with a simple keyword: Menace. What a card. According to unsubstantiated rumors, Tarantino worked tirelessly alongside half of the Universes Beyond: Marvel’s Spider-Man team in order to get this design down pat, and they’ve really knocked it out of the park. An all time use of company resources, if I may editorialize. 

“Wizards approached me with this collaboration, and my first thought was ‘what the fuck is this nerdy-ass shit?’ said Tarantino in an exclusive interview. “But then they started to explain it to me, and I was like, hold on, a card game where I get to kill that pussy Dano? Finally!” As for his curation approach, Quentin had this to say: “There are so many cards in the game, I almost didn’t know where to start. I decided to trust my instincts though, and I think this might be my best work since D’jango.” 

As with sharing any plans on his future films, Tarantino was cryptic regarding a continued relationship with Wizards of the Coast. As it stands, this collaboration is only a Reservoir Dogs situation, a one-and-done, but the future remains a mystery. We may be seeing a second Lair-antino very soon.