Thread by @HipstersMTG

Wizards is addressing The Walking Dead Secret Lair on today's Weekly MTG. #MTG

"Magic is doing historically well" despite the pandemic, says Aaron Forsythe.

Mark Heggen says that Secret Lair is "first and foremost our testing ground...a new platform that let's us try things we wouldn't be able to do in a regular set or product."

Heggen also says that it is a place where they can speak to audiences of different sizes—they can serve much more niche audiences with Secret Lairs than is possible in regular sets.

Reprints will always be a part of Secret Lair, Heggen says, and the product line gives Wizards an opportunity to reprint cards that they otherwise would have trouble finding a home for.

"Like Magic, Secret Lair will always evolve," Heggan says.

"The first year was really focused on art...Secret Lair will continue to do new art...but, as we have new ideas and want to run new tests, if those experiments can be run through Secret Lair."

(I'm transcribing these quotes live so a word may be off or missing—make sure to watch the VOD for the exact quotes and context.)

Wizards believes that direct-to-consumer is the only way to do Secret Lair. They believe it serves niche audiences so small that it wouldn't work well with the LGS distribution model that is used for normal Magic sets.

Forsythe says that Magic is two things: a game system and an intellectual property.

Wizards has tried to take the IP and make it work away from the game (comics, video games, etc).

The Walking Dead Secret Lair is an example of trying to peel the game system away from the IP.

He continues by saying that Garfield's original vision of Arabian Nights fits in this idea of the Magic game system working outside of the Magic IP.

The Walking Dead was the first IP that Wizards is trying to fit on top of the Magic game system. Forsythe believes that there are a lot of really cool opportunities to do the same in the future.

Forsythe believes that the fact that The Walking Dead Secret Lair cards are not Standard/Pioneer/Modern-legal makes it a far less risky proposition than mechanically unique Buy-a-Box promos.

The cards in The Walking Dead Secret Lair are not intended for tournament play, Forsythe says. They are intended for fans of the IP who want to add variety to their decks.

Heggan says that The Walking Dead is Magic-adjacent enough that it isn't hard to imagine these characters existing in the Magic multiverse, similar to the Godzilla kaiju.

Fitting in with the Magic vibe is essential to these partnerships, he continues.

"We're trying to speak to fandoms," Forsythe says. "It's about leaning into...those kind of fandoms that, when you immerse yourselves in them, they're amazing." Fandoms with worlds and characters that are cool and fit with Magic's vibe.

Forsythe also says that this was the first time they've tried external IPs in black border. He says that silver borders are typically reserved for cards that cannot be done within Magic rules, while The Walking Dead cards fit perfectly within the rules.

"Our goal was to be more inclusive and let people use the things that they're buying, especially when their designs don't call for [silver borders] at all," Forsythe says.

He doesn't want TWD fans to have to ask other players for permission to use the cards a la un-cards.

Forsythe also says that the security holofoil stamp is different on the external IP cards, which is how you can tell that the card is not part of the Magic universe.

Heggen says that making non-TWD versions of these cards is very possible, or even reprinting them in partnership with AMC.

"The mechanics on these cards are not exclusive," he continues, meaning they could be printed on other cards without issue.

Heggen emphasizes that the specific version of these cards in The Walking Dead Secret Lair are exclusive to this printing of the drop, but other versions (TWD or no) could be printed in the future.

Forsythe says that we should expect more partnerships with other IPs in the future.

He believes that the game system opens doors for combining with other fandoms and IPs and that they're going to experiment with it.

He also says that these experiments won't just be direct-to-consumer and that they could be through normal channels, e.g. mass-market stores and LGSes.

That's the end of the stream. Again, I want to emphasize that I was transcribing this live and I could have missed some words or context. Please watch the VOD for exact quotes.

twitch.tv/videos/7577676…