Last updated on January 5, 2026

Esper Sentinel | Illustration by Eric Deschamps
Well folks, we're just 5 days into 2026 and unreleased Magic: The Gathering cards are already popping up on Reddit. It would seem that a brand new Secret Lair precon is on the way, and it's looking juicy.
Leak #1
As of 13 days ago, we knew something was coming. A post which included the pictures below popped up in popular subreddit r/mtgrumors.



The post was simply titled โSecret Lair Deck Leakโ, so it's gotta be a Commander deck, right? The commander of the deck appears to be Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign. Of course, since it's a precon, Sol Ring?! At least the art style is absolutely bonkers. A new full art island is nice too.
Leak #2
On January 4th, a post titled โMore potential SLD Deck/Lair Leaksโ hit r/mtgrumors, and it was an absolute doozy.

What a grip, holy moly. At the time of writing, near mint copies of base print Esper Sentinel are going for ~$40 on TCGplayer. Sensei's Divining Top goes for ~$30. Sensei's would make a ton of sense in the 99 of a Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign deck, as its strategy would revolve around manipulating the top card of your library. Void Winnower is also spicy here. The deck almost looks like it could be a high Bracket 3 out of the box, which is to say it'll probably be more powerful than your average precon.

Reconnaissance is perfect for when you need to trigger Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign but don't want it to die in combat. Virtue of Persistence is getting its third printing here, and it seems like an awesome card to cast for free off of a Yennett trigger. Shadrix Silverquill brings a hint of Group Hug into the mix. Looks like we're also getting the first reprint of Misleading Signpost from Wilds of Eldraine Commander, one of the sickest 3-drop mana rocks out there.

Those full art foil swamps are pretty neat too.
Leak #3

Minutes later, yet another leak dropped. Swords to Plowshares is evergreen single target creature removal, and Weathered Wayfarer is one of the best white ramp options out there.
Wrap Up
I gotta say, the card quality here is top notch. Perhaps the relatively low success of the Everyone's Invited Secret Lair motivated a shift in design. Regardless, we're going to be getting a superbly powerful Esper deck with bonkers art sometime soon.
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