Magic’s new Welcome Decks include a Monster Hunter card that was previously canceled

Magic: The Gathering’s Secret Lair has offered a whole bunch of crossovers in recent years, and while they’re not full Standard sets and instead operate as a “get them before they’re gone” limited-time event, they’re certainly not immune to controversy.

From discussions around the printing process, to selling the same cards at different prices, one of the more contentious drops has been the crossover with Monster Hunter.

Intended to include multiple sets for Hunts, Hunters, and Monsters, the set had a bunch of issues. For one, there was a typo on Champion of Kotoko (it should have been Kokoto), while the card selection felt lacklustre – something that’s been pulled into even sharper focus with the reveal of Secrets of Strixhaven’s Welcome Decks, which will include Drakuseth, Maw of Flames.

The card, which is valued at a dollar or less on TCGplayer, was intended to represent Rathalos, one of the Monster Hunter series’ most iconic creatures.

It wasn’t the only cheap card being given fresh art and a higher price tag in the set, but now it’s being included in a 40-card freebie deck given to new players, which highlights that, as cool as the card is, it’s not the kind of card you’d necessarily get excited about in a Secret Lair drop.

To Wizards of the Coast’s credit, it announced it would go “back to the drawing board” with the Secret Lair set for Monster Hunter back in November, and has been quiet on the matter since. Is an Ur-Dragon reprint with Rathalos art too much to ask for? Probably, but we live in hope.

In case you’re curious, the Welcome Decks actually look pretty great. They’re available for free at participating stores, and the full decklists show neat cards like Lyra Dawnbringer, Massacre Wurm, Vizier of the Menagerie, and Sphinx of the Final Word.

Honestly, just this last week I needed a bunch of red dragon cards for a deck and bought the singles, but the red Welcome Deck includes some handy staples like Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind, Kargan Dragonrider, and Etali, Primal Storm.