Upcoming Secret Lair Deck Supports One of Magic’s Wildest Formats

Last updated on May 19, 2025

Predict | Illustration by Rebecca Guay

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, what's the best MTG format of all?
Is it Standard? I think not.
Is it Modern? Not by a longshot.
Legacy maybe? Commander, you say?
Which format is truly the best one to play?

It's Dandân, folks. Mature Magic players know Dandân is truly the greatest format ever conceived for Magic, and frankly, it's about time the world learned that. And they just might, since it looks like the specialized Constructed format is getting some unexpected love at MagicCon Atlanta this September in the form of a dedicated Secret Lair drop!

What Is Dandân?

Dandân | Illustration by Drew Tucker

Let's assume for a moment you haven't heard of Magic's greatest format. Dandân, more accurately named “Forgetful Fish,” is a player-created format originally designed by Nick Floyd in which blue mages fight over a singular threat: the eponymous Dandân. It's all a bit whacky and has some meme energy for sure, but it's also highly skill-intensive and customizable, for very little investment upfront.

Players draw from the same premade deck, which always features around 8-10 Dandâns, supported by a ton of countermagic, draw spells, redirects, and so on. Basically, one solitary threat that can actually end the game, and a million and one ways to either protect or remove it. It's blue at its very Core, and provides incredibly strategic and repeatable gameplay for people who want a deep dive into Magic's basic control elements.

MagicCon Atlanta Event

So what's happening in Atlanta exactly? Well, their massive events page has one specific event referred to as Secret Lair [Redacted]. Scheduled for Saturday, September 27, the event costs $125 and features best-of-one Swiss matches with a cut to Top 8. More importantly, the event claims that players will receive a an upcoming Secret Lair Non-Commander Preconstructed product. A Sealed tournament using a preconstructed deck and best-of-one matches is all a bit odd, but Dandân certainly fits the bill here.

Source: Unknown Discord Server

Thankfully some extra details have been provided confirming the event will in fact feature Forgetful Fish as the headlining format. The Discord post above has updated the event and labeled it as “Unforgettable Fish – Phantom Constructed MagicCon.”

It's a bit conflicting since “Phantom” usually implies players will not keep the cards they receive in the event, but the tournament details on the event page specifically note that players will keep the cards. With a $125 entry and the Secret Lair tie-in, it's very likely players are walking away with the product they receive for this event.

What Should Players Expect?

Brainstorm | Illustration by Willian Murai

Dandân is a pretty fluid format; since it's Battle Box-like in nature, each player can construct their own Forgetful Fish piles however they want, adjusting numbers and tweaking total deck sizes however they wish. So there's no real standard for how many cards a Dandân deck should be playing, and therefore no real expectation on the size of the upcoming Secret Lair deck.

The decklist above shows Floyd's original Forgetful Fish pile, and the vision of the format, but many people have iterated on this stack and added their own twists to the format. Safe to say the Secret Lair tie-in will feature some number of actual Dandâns, but aside from that, it's up to Wizards of the Coast's blue mages to construct a pile appropriate for a MagicCon side event.

Note that there are other currently undisclosed prizes for Top 8 players at this event (Dandân plushies, anyone?), though the side event seems to be pretty casual in nature. Well, as casual as an event with a $125 entry fee can be.

Check out the MagicCon Atlanta page for more info on the weekend's events, and brush up on your stack interactions before sitting down to this Dandân event in particular.