Last updated on January 14, 2025
Untitled Card | Illustration by Rhonda Libbey
WotC has been releasing Secret Lairs for a little over five years, with the first one dating all the way back to December 2, 2019. Given how long they've been at this game, it is no surprise to see them mixing up their formula a bit with the Chaos Vault, a new variant of Secret Lair. This enigmatic offering officially launched with one drop set last month, and should have much more for us to expect from it in the future.
What is the Chaos Vault?
As described by WotC in their article introducing it, the Chaos Vault is “an anything-goes spot for us to stretch our creative muscles or just do one-off, cool, weird things.” They further went on to describe some interesting ways we might see this expressed:
- Sales that happen at unusual times
- “Experimentation,” likely with regards to art, layout, and possibly the card choices themselves
- “Unusual items,” with a hint given (“we heard you like hats”) which is reminiscent of Unfinity‘s BW archetype (i.e., Hat Trick)
If you're really combing over that article for clues, you may also note Blake's use of “barking up a tree” and “scratching post,” which are obviously hints for dog and cat releases. Perhaps we are getting another take on Rin and Seri, Inseparable? Or maybe they'll just go with some great dogs and cats instead (Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd and Enduring Curiosity would be my picks)?
When Can Players Engage with the Chaos Vault?
You can engage already, as The Fairest Drop of All (Foil Edition) released a short while ago and is still available for purchase on the site. That's the only drop we have so far, but one could anticipate something else coming within a week or two. You can also sign up for their email list, which might be a good call if you have any interest in Chaos Vault. “Sales at unusual times” means an offer could strike at any time!
What has Released so far from the Chaos Vault?
As of this article (1/14), the only drop so far from the Chaos Vault was The Fairest Drop of All (Foil Edition). The Fairest Drop of All has a clear Bant enchantment theme, and even includes two commanders for this. It's currently available for order on sale (at $24.99), and includes:
- 1x Foil Reversible Estrid's Invocation
- 1x Foil Reversible Steely Resolve
- 1x Foil Reversible Estrid, the Masked
- 1x Foil Reversible Tuvasa the Sunlit
The art here was beautiful, as the layout makes use of both sides of the card by making the front side nearly full art, while putting all the rules text + new flavor text on the backside. You could knock this kind of design for readability though, as you (and your opponents) will have to flip the cards over each time you want to clarify rules text. It's the kind of design that's definitely cool, but only in small doses!
Any Other Hints of What's to Come?
Their earlier article didn't just stop at cryptic text hints, and also included some new arts that will appear on cards coming down the pipeline. The first of these is a nifty basic land cycle, which will be sold in sets of 10 rather than one at a time. One of these arts also went viral online for its resemblance to… well, that's best left to your interpretation!
Fans were also given four card arts that will be featured in upcoming Chaos Vault products, though it's unknown which cards they will correspond to. These arts are:
That cute beagle is clearly some kind of dog creature, probably Generous Pup or Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd. The girl (a witch based on her hat?) laying with her adorable cats could go on some generally useful green commander card that fits the art, such as Harmonize. The solo kitty in the 3rd art could be Ocelot Pride, Scythecat Cub, or Helpful Hunter. Finally, the last fish art is reminiscent of Drawn from Dreams, but could also be some other kind of blue support spell (as the art would probably be too close to the original for a Secret Lair).
What Are Players Saying About it?
Reactions to the earlier Fairest Drop of All seemed fairly positive, with people praising its art and lowered price point. There was a bit of snark when Blake's article was first posted, as one redditor (amc7262) complained that it just felt like a normal Secret Lair release. There was also a bit of the usual bellyaching about corporate greed that you'd expect from reddit. This quickly gave way to people discussing that Island's art, for again, uh, reasons.
Whether you end up buying any of it or not, it should be interesting to see how Chaos Vault unfolds. If nothing else, it's always a treat to see more cat and Dog representation in this game. Until next time, and don't forget to subscribe to their email list if you're interested!
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2 Comments
I think the dog could be rapid hybridization as it’s turning into a frog lizard… maybe
Clever, I’ll buy you one of the Secret Lairs if that ends up being true.
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