New Secret Lair Drop Revives Classic Artifact With A Twist

Peter Smith 1 hour ago Uncategorized

Last updated on May 12, 2026

Birthing Pod | Illustration by Daarken

Long ago, there was a terrible machine. An artifact so putrid and so wretched that it sapped the very life force of any who dared to use it. It demanded sacrifice, but for those willing to give, the rewards were greater than anything you could imagine. It corrupted the land, spreading until it was too much to bear. And so it was vanquished from this plane of existence. But it seems this unholy thing has returned, in a form so confusing, so ancient, that nascent minds cannot comprehend it. Only those who know the old magic can begin to grasp at what its markings mean. The name of this horrible device: Birthing Pod.

Table of Contents show

The Birthing Pod

Theatrics aside, Birthing Pod is not that scary these days, although it still is banned in Modern. It was a scourge on the format, turning Kitchen Finks into Siege Rhino, acting as a toolbox combo enabler that was a bit too easy to make work. But now it's back, in all its disgusting vile glory, as it's receiving a reprint in the upcoming Back in My Day! Secret Lair, alongside Battle Hymn, Breath of Fury, and Veil of Summer. There's always a gimmick with Secret Lairs, and the gimmick with these cards is that they're all printed with old school rules text. In the case of Birthing Pod, it gets a bit complicated.

Rules Nightmare

Chthonian Nightmare | Illustration by Thomas M. Baxa

You may notice in the type line, it's not just an artifact. It's a Mono Artifact. You see, back in the early days of Magic, artifacts would sometimes have the label of Poly or Mono if they had an activated ability.

Mono meant that you had to tap the artifact to activate its ability. Poly meant you could activate its ability any number of times. There's more confusing stuff about how artifacts worked in the 90s, but all you really need to know for this new printing of Birthing Pod is that the term “Mono Artifact” means that you need to tap it to activate its ability.

Colored artifacts also did not exist until the Shards of Alara block, and so although we're used to seeing it these days, if you want to port a colored artifact over to the old rules, you have to describe it with rules text. And just when you think you can't get any more exhausted reading a card, you have to remember that Phyrexian Mana also did not exist before the Scars of Mirrodin block. That means that instead of just having the symbol on the card, you have to describe the action of paying life rather than mana. It really makes you appreciate the conciseness and consistency of Magic rules these days.

What's Old is New Again

Temporal Manipulation | Illustration by Franz Vohwinkel

Aside from the headache that you might get from trying to comprehend the rules text, this alternate printing is a breath of fresh air in many ways. The art style is evocative of something we don't really get to see anymore. Its grimy dark composition is a far cry from the sleek clean digital scenes we get today. Side by side next to something like Practiced Offense shows the contrast between the art style of yesterday and the art style of today. The same goes for the rest of the cards in the Secret Lair, although Birthing Pod definitely stands out.

Value

Treasure Chest | Illustration by Dan Scott

While there is sentimental value attached to a card printed in a style that has gone by the way side, Birthing Pod and the rest of the cards in this secret lair bundle have some resale value. The market has yet to decide the price for these cards, but it seems like these printings of Birthing Pod and Breath of Fury will probably settle around $30.00 USD for nonfoil and upwards of $45.00 for foil. There is less demand for Battle Hymn and Veil of Summer, and they'll probably sell for around $5.00 USD for nonfoil and around $10.00 USD for foil, give or take.

Birthing Pod has always been a fan favorite, and so any alternate art reprinting of it comes as a nice and welcome surprise, especially with a gimmick as fun as this. The rest of the cards are a bit less exciting, but they can't all be winners. Good luck trying to get your hands on one of these, as I suspect it's going to be in high demand.

Follow Draftsim for awesome articles and set updates:

Magic News Magic News Article magic secret lair MTG news MTG News Article mtg price MTG Secret Lair

Peter Smith

Peter has been playing Magic since 2015. He started out playing Modern, but in the past few years he has found a passion for drafting. He likes to get in depth with the rules, and he loves coming up with outside-of-the-box strategies, and is happiest sharing what he knows with other people who love the game.