Last updated on October 10, 2023
Evolving Wilds (Secret Lair) | Illustration by Bob Ross
Who’s your favorite Magic artist? Do you like the swirling chaos of Raymond Swanland’s work (Warstorm Surge, Thraximundar), the movement and action in Jesper Ejsing’s art (Colossal Dreadmaw, Epic Proportions), or maybe the serene, quiet landscapes from Bob Ross?
Wait a second… the Bob Ross? Happy little trees and peaceful thoughts? That Bob Ross? Yes, it’s true, Bob Ross’s art is featured on a number of lands from a Secret Lair product. This guide will show you which cards have Bob Ross artwork and where you can get your hands on them.
What Is the Bob Ross Secret Lair?
Mountain (Secret lair) | Illustration by Bob Ross
The Bob Ross Secret Lair, officially titled “Happy Little Gathering,” was a limited time product offered through WotC’s official Secret Lair site. It was only available for purchase for two weeks in December 2020, and as with all Secret Lairs, once the sale ended the product would no longer be produced. That means if you missed out on buying one, you now have to rely on the secondary market to get your copy.
Did Bob Ross Really Make/Draw Magic Cards?
While Bob Ross’s art is featured on these official Magic cards, he was never directly commissioned to make art for Magic: The Gathering. The late artist passed in 1995 while this particular product was released in 2020, but the Secret Lair team partnered with Ross’s estate to create these cards using works originally created by Ross himself. So, while he probably never intended for his art to be used on Magic cards, they are, in fact, original works by the artist.
List of Bob Ross MTG Cards
Happy Little Gathering contains two different versions of each basic land as well as a “secret” Evolving Wilds.
Are the Bob Ross Cards Legal?
The Bob Ross lands are official Magic cards and therefore are legal in any format where these cards would normally be legal. It’s worth noting, however, that some foil Secret Lair cards have been known to warp and bend a bit, so you should check the condition of your cards before registering them for an official tournament (warped cards can sometimes be considered “marked” for the purposes of tournament play).
Are the Bob Ross Cards Expensive?
At the time of writing, individual Bob Ross basic lands range between $2-$6, with foil and non-foil prices being relatively close. Evolving Wilds currently sits around $7 for foil or non-foil copies. While none of these lands are individually expensive, a fully “Rossed out” mana base could get a bit pricey. It’s worth noting that the original price of the Secret Lair product was $30 for non-foil copies and $40 for foils.
Is it Worth it to Buy the Bob Ross Secret Lair?
Whether or not you consider buying a Bob Ross Secret Lair to be worthwhile completely depends on your budget for buying cosmetic products. If money’s not an issue and you’re a Bob Ross fanatic who wants a happy little mana base, this product might be for you.
For most players, this Secret Lair won’t improve the quality of your deck or give you access to cards that might otherwise be hard to get, so your money’s probably best spent elsewhere. Ultimately this is more of a collector’s item; if you’re trying to construct new decks or looking to build out a diverse collection of cards, I’d advise against purchasing this product since it’s a purely cosmetic upgrade to your basic lands.
How Do You Get Bob Ross Lands?
Since new copies of the product are no longer available through the Secret Lair website, let’s look at some common places you could grab a sealed box of these lands:
Stores
TCGPlayer is probably your best option, with “Happy Little Gatherings” sitting at around $44.99 and $58.95 for non-foil and foil copies, respectively.
Amazon is a bit pricier, with the lowest options I could find running for $69.45 and $117.92, again for non-foil and foil boxes.
eBay is a common marketplace for Secret Lairs, but as always, you should use your best judgment when buying off eBay, since individual sellers set the prices they’re looking for. With enough snooping you might find a great deal. I was able to find non-foil copies for just over $50 before tax, with most foil copies selling for $60+ before tax.
MTG Arena
All ten Bob Ross basics are available on Arena, but can’t be redeemed using wildcards. There were store codes available to redeem the art for one of each basic, but those codes have since become inactive. The remaining five basics (plus Evolving Wilds) require a digital activation code that comes with the purchase of a Secret Lair through the official site. That means if you missed out on buying directly from Wizards, you’d have to scour the internet for someone selling their activation code to get these.
I’ll let you judge if the juice is worth the squeeze there, but be careful to only buy from trusted sites (once a code is redeemed by one user, it won’t work for anyone else). Most vendors I checked while writing this were sold out, but some were available through eBay.
Keep in mind that it's plausible Arena might post these again as a daily deal down the line, or you might high-roll one or two from the random cosmetic items that come from Midweek Magic and similar events.
Magic Online
For our MTGO players out there, Bob Ross lands are available and fairly easy to get. There are plenty of Magic Online vendors selling these cards, and they’re cheap. A playset of Secret Lair Evolving Wilds will cost about $1.50 through MTGOtraders.com or $1.44 through cardhoarder.com.
To purchase these, you’ll need to first buy them from an online source and then connect to that source’s in-game seller on MTGO. Of course, if you know someone on MTGO who’s simply willing to trade or sell them to you directly, you always have that option.
Wrap Up
Swamp (Secret Lair) | Illustration by Bob Ross
If you’re on the hunt to give your lands a Bob Ross makeover, it can be difficult to get your hands on the cards, but it’s not impossible. If you missed the initial Secret Lair sale, you could use the methods given here to try and get the ones you’re looking for. Maybe by some happy little accident, you’ll stumble on a good deal.
And with that, I hope we’ve answered any questions you might have about the Bob Ross Secret Lair. As Ross himself once said: “It’s so important to do something every day that will make you happy.” If showing off these lands to your friends makes you happy, go for it!
Do you know what makes us happy? Hearing from you! Let me know if you have any questions we might have missed. As always, check out the Draftsim Discord, and thank you for making Draftsim your #1 stop for all things Magic!
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