Magic: The Gathering is back with another exciting collaboration, this time merging with PlayStation’s iconic universes. Prepare for Secret Lair drops featuring fan-favorite titles like God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon, and Sucker Punch’s Ghost duology. This follows the incredibly successful Final Fantasy set from June, further cementing Magic’s strong ties with the gaming world.
Following the recent launch of Ghost of Yotei, we had the privilege of speaking with Jason Connell, Creative Director at Sucker Punch, alongside Jacob Covey, Steve Sunu, and Annie Sardelis from Wizards of the Coast. Our discussions centered on the intricate process of translating Jin Sakai’s world into stunning card art and gameplay mechanics. It became clear that Sucker Punch’s creative input was crucial, extending far beyond mere approval. Even more thrilling, we’re excited to reveal an exclusive first look at the ‘Atsu’ card from Ghost of Yotei, a powerful addition to the upcoming PlayStation superdrop.
Quote from Jason Connell, Sucker Punch: “Once we had the basics set up, it was a super collaborative process.”
A Cardboard Ghost
Jacob Covey, Art Director at Wizards of the Coast (WOTC), highlighted the shared passion between the studios. “Part of the fun of working with game studios is the mutual fandom between us—there’s usually a Magic fan or three on their side and a group of fans for their game on our team,” he noted. This shared enthusiasm was evident at Sucker Punch, where Creative Director Jason Connell revealed that 10-12 team members regularly play Magic, primarily in the Commander format. Some even keep decks at their desks for impromptu games! The concept for this crossover originated with Wizards, who were eager to collaborate on a PlayStation theme. WOTC manager Ben Jafari orchestrated the complex task of bringing multiple studios together on a unified timeline. Covey admitted, “We knew we wanted to work with these iconic PlayStation properties, so it was difficult to narrow it down to just a handful.” The idea quickly resonated with the Sucker Punch team. Connell explained, “Across both the Sucker Punch and PlayStation side, it was pretty clear that Ghost could be a really great fit as one of the featured franchises… We were definitely excited by the idea.” There was just one snag: Ghost of Yotei was still a secret to the public.
An exclusive image reveals the ‘Atsu’ card from Ghost of Yotei, part of the Secret Lair x PlayStation collection, credited to Wizards of the Coast.
Landing a Sucker Punch
Connell shared the initial challenges: “Our conversations with Wizards of the Coast began before Yotei had been announced, which we admit was probably frustrating from the Wizards’ side since we had to be so cryptic.” He continued, “We just kept saying we had a great idea for a secret card, but then saying we couldn’t elaborate yet, and thankfully, they were such great partners that they rebuilt the schedule to accommodate us delivering the information and art for Atsu after we announced the game last year, even though the rest of the cards had been locked in by that point.” He expressed gratitude, noting, “We knew the drop would be coming right around Yotei’s launch, so it felt like a perfect fit to try to get her included, and we’re grateful it worked out.” The Secret Lair drop features card designs for both Jin Sakai and Atsu, the main characters from Sucker Punch’s Ghost games. Covey praised Sucker Punch’s involvement in the artistic process: “On the art side, Sucker Punch was very trusting and also involved in helping us remain true to their carefully constructed universe, full of its own untold stories.” He added, “We aim to be authentically rooted in the Ghost universe while giving it our unique spin, focusing on how the characters and settings relate to the Magic ecosystem and gameplay.” Connell further elaborated on the collaboration, detailing their early meetings with the Wizards team. “We had some great early conversations with the Wizards team, including an initial kickoff where we just explained the key points of Ghost of Tsushima and sent over some materials from the game,” he said. “We explained what we felt was important to capture, even discussed some specific artist names and our overall style. It was really interesting getting a glimpse into their process, meeting artists and writers and directors who oversaw all of the different pieces that go into making a card. Once we had the basics set up, it was a super collaborative process. While the actual writing and artist selection happened on the Wizards side, we had a ton of input and chances to provide feedback and went through multiple rounds making sure everyone was happy with the overall look and mechanics for the cards.” A key aspect of bringing Jin Sakai to Magic was capturing his dual nature from Ghost of Tsushima—the honorable samurai versus the stealthy ‘Ghost’ persona. Connell stated, “Jin Sakai is about a warrior torn between two identities — the honorable samurai and the shadowy Ghost.” He lauded Wizards’ execution: “Wizards of the Coast did a great job capturing this in the card with the Standoff ability, which represents his swordsmanship, while Ghost highlights his stealth and ability to strike fear into his opponents. The rest of the Secret Lair cards that Wizards of The Coast curated for this drop helped show his journey to support that theme: tools of conflict, sacrifice, and shifting control that echo Jin’s struggle between tradition and survival.” WOTC Senior Game Designer Annie Sardelis chimed in, explaining her design philosophy: “From the start, I wanted to capture two ways of approaching encounters in Ghost of Tsushima.” She continued, “I combined elements of how Magic has classically expressed a lone fighter’s skills by only giving that bonus to a single attacker. Since double strike and ‘can’t be blocked’ are phrases we’ve seen time and again on Magic cards, I added the words to help my coworkers become familiar with what I was going for. Flavor words, like flavor text, can help give creative definition to rules text, and we ended up keeping them.”
Quote from Jacob Covey, WOTC: “We aim to be authentically rooted in the Ghost universe while giving it our unique spin.”
A second image showcases Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima, from the Secret Lair x PlayStation set, also credited to Wizards of the Coast.
A PlayStation Pantheon
Beyond the Ghost titles, the PlayStation Secret Lair Superdrop extends to other beloved franchises, including Greek and Norse sagas from God of War, the futuristic world of Horizon Forbidden West, and two distinct sets for The Last of Us. Despite the varied themes, from mythological gods to robotic dinosaurs, WOTC Senior Game Designer Annie Sardelis found Naughty Dog’s grim post-apocalyptic narrative to be the most challenging to adapt. Sardelis elaborated, “The hardest challenge I signed myself up for are the four ‘Survivors’ Partners from The Last of Us series.” She aimed to feature all playable characters while also incorporating the iconic infected into Commander games. “It was tricky to find out how to generate the Fungus Zombie tokens on characters that canonically fight against them!” she admitted. However, a creative solution was found: “Any player can make infected tokens with Ellie, Brick Master and Abby, Merciless Soldier riffs on cards like ‘Hunted Dragon’ to create an increasing number of tokens. Once that was figured out, the rest of the pieces were designed to complement a token/sacrifice strategy—hopefully in a way that inspires mixing and matching between the two drops!” Given Commander’s immense popularity as Magic’s premier format, the question of which new PlayStation cards would make an ideal deck commanders arose. Steve Sunu, WOTC Senior Product Designer, confidently stated, “If you’re sitting across from me, I think you can expect me to have an Aloy, Savior of Meridian deck or Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima deck somewhere on me.” He praised Sardelis’s contributions: “Annie Sardelis really hit it out of the park for all these designs, Aloy and Jin specifically feel like the designs were created just for a player like me. Annie’s an incredible designer, and we were so lucky to have her lend her talent to these new-to-Magic designs.” The highly anticipated Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair x PlayStation Drop is scheduled to launch on October 27 at 9 AM PT.
An image displays the Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair x PlayStation Superdrop, credited to Wizards of the Coast, offering a glimpse into the full collection.
This article was penned by Lloyd Coombes, an accomplished freelancer covering tech, gaming, and fitness for various publications. A dedicated fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s good-natured frustration. Additional contributions were provided by Robert Anderson, Senior Commerce Editor.