Wizards of the Coast released the Corn Maze Secret Lair Superdrop on Tuesday, a card drop that was heavily anticipated for its crossover with the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, but one that has left many players feeling let down by what the studio ultimately delivered. The drop, which arrived after a mysterious spooky teaser confirmed the crossover was imminent, offers a mix of reprints and artist series that reviewers have praised, yet the headline KPop Demon Hunters content has failed to meet expectations for a franchise that has become a cultural phenomenon since its release last year.
The Corn Maze drop is undeniably one of the best-looking Superdrops in recent memory, featuring gorgeous reprints of every Labyrinth card and a self-contained Veronique Meignaud artist series focused on strong black staples. The Marvel Zombies reprints have been described as pitch-perfect, with Zombie Captain America recruiting more zombies, Zombie Giant-Man growing larger as creatures die, and Zombie Thor refusing to actually die. Even the treefolk-focused Drop illustrated by Ashley Dreyfus has been praised as a perfect combination of cohesive theme and dreamy, colorful art.
The KPop Demon Hunters Content Falls Short
Despite the strong reprint value, the much-hyped KPop Demon Hunters crossover has disappointed. The art, predominantly drawn by Scott Watabane, has been called stunning, capturing a good mix of iconic moments and beloved characters. Swan Song, a one-mana counterspell that creates a weak little bird for the opponent it targets, features the hat-wearing demon bird Sussie, while an incredible printing of Underworld Breach with art by Helen Chen rounds out the drop’s reprint value. At a $29.99 non-foil price point, both cards usually cost around $11, though some cards like Dawn’s Truce and Freed from the Real feel half-cooked thematically.
I seldom go out of my way to buy Secret Lair Drops, but I probably will this time around because I love KPop Demon Hunters so much. These are some solid cards, and even though I have most of them, the art is good enough that I still want to put them in some of my decks. But this Drop is missing the obvious: Where is Huntr/x? Where are the Saja Boys?
Magic: The Gathering player
What Players Expected
Many players expected Corn Maze to include at least two individual KPop Demon Hunters Drops, one for each musical group, and for it to be mostly legendary creatures. Some hoped for different kinds of demons, like the water demons that Mira hates so much, represented as some random demon in Dimir. The drop has already shown what Secret Lair can do with musically inclined reprints through the Hatsune Miku preconstructed Commander Deck, and players have suggested they would take another Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice, with Huntr/x on it, or just a reskinned version of Halana and Alena, Partners.
The core desire among players is clear: they want Rumi as their Commander, probably partnered with a Mira and Zoey team-up card. This reflects a broader appetite for playable, deck-building content rather than the thematic reprints that the Corn Maze drop has primarily offered.
Looking Ahead
One hope is that the “How It’s Done” Drop is merely a timid first step on the way to something much more interesting. Wizards of the Coast has not yet revealed details about the three Universes Beyond sets planned for 2027, one of which is bound to be another based on Marvel. With World of Warcraft crossing over with Dungeons & Dragons in a matter of weeks, that seems like another strong possibility, raising the question of whether this is Wizards paving the way for a full-on KPop Demon Hunters expansion in 2027.
Even if the crossover is on the smaller side, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Hobbit, there is probably enough material for a full Universes Beyond set. Players are hoping that if Wizards is testing the waters, it will include a water demon and show what KPop Demon Hunters in Magic could actually sound like, delivering the content that fans have been waiting for.
1 comment