Wizards of the Coast recently announced a new collaboration for Magic: The Gathering in the form of a full-blown Universes Beyond set dedicated to Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IP, but a smaller set of crossovers is just around the corner, and it has some very good cards. In September 2025, WotC revealed the 2026 roadmap for Magic: The Gathering, including all the various remaining releases for 2025. With October 13 came a massive Secret Lair Superdrop featuring all sorts of new cards and reprints, and October 27 will mark the debut of MTG's PlayStation Secret Lair drops. These are dedicated to the following IPs:
- The Last of Us (Part 1 & 2)
- God of War (Greek & Norse Saga)
- Uncharted
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Ghost of Tsushima
Just recently, a new card for MTG's Ghost of Tsushima PlayStation Secret Lair was revealed, and it's dedicated to none other than the protagonist of Ghost of Yotei, Atsu. Considering the announcement dedicated to Ghost of Tsushima, it seemed a logical progression that Ghost of Yotei would eventually cross over with MTG in time, but fans may not have expected such a quick turnaround. Considering that Atsu's new card fits under Jin Sakai's Commander colors, it would be natural to pair them up, but Jin is actually not the best commander for Atsu.
Instead, that's Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow. This is because of Atsu's color identity, which is Blue, and the fact that it works perfectly with creatures that have 1 power, making them unblockable. On the other hand, MTG's Jin Sakai has 2 power, and it would work best as a card in the 99 for Atsu, rather than the other way around, but this is not possible.
It's worth noting that Atsu, Ghost of Yotei, is the bonus card for the Ghost of Tsushima Secret Lair.
Magic: The Gathering May Ban Two of Its Most OP Cards in Commander
Magic: The Gathering fans may have to say goodbye to a couple of very powerful cards in Commander after a recent post from Wizards of the Coast.
October 27 is Suddenly a Big Day for MTG's Yuriko Commander Players
This may not come as a surprise to longtime fans who own Magic: The Gathering Commander decks or have played the format even occasionally, as Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow is a powerful commander that also happens to be one of the most popular in the entire game. Yuriko is a Blue/Black creature with the commander ninjutsu ability, which means it can always be cast from the command zone for 1 Blue and 1 Black, regardless of the commander tax.
Commander tax makes players pay 1 generic mana more to cast their commander if it has been destroyed or removed in other ways that made it go back to the command zone. This stacks, meaning that a commander that is removed twice gets +2 generic mana to its third cast.
As such, Atsu makes Yuriko unblockable due to its 1 power, meaning that players can get a free card draw and also make opponents lose life based on the drawn card's converted mana cost. This is a powerful combo because it allows Yuriko to easily become unblockable even when casting the card with commander ninjutsu, whereas artifact cards like Brotherhood Regalia can't be equipped to Yuriko mid-combat, and enchantments/auras like Aqueous Form or Aether Tunnel can only be cast at sorcery speed.
Interestingly, Smoke Shroud can be returned from the graveyard to the field and attached to a ninja creature that enters, which works with Yuriko because it's a ninja. However, it grants flying rather than unblockable.
3 Out of 5 Magic: The Gathering PlayStation Secret Lair Cards From Ghost of Tsushima Can't be Played With Atsu
Excluding Atsu, Ghost of Yotei, which is the bonus card for the drop, the Ghost of Tsushima Secret Lair includes five cards. These are:
- Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima (White, Blue, Black)
- Path to Exile (White)
- Borne Upon a Wind (Blue)
- Ghostly Flicker (Blue)
- Castle Shimura/Eiganjo Castle (White)
This means that in an MTG Ghost of Tsushima Commander deck, one can either use all cards with Jin as a commander, or just Borne Upon a Wind and Ghostly Flicker with Atsu as a commander. However, history has proven that the Atsu card is not exactly a top commander in the format.
Three Ghost of Tsushima cards in MTG's PlayStation Secret Lair were illustrated by Dominik Mayer, who also happens to be the illustrator of a popular new Avatar card in MTG, Sozin's Comet.
Why Magic: The Gathering's Ghost of Yotei Card is Already Controversial
The reason is that Atsu is a reprint of Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, from Dominaria, and it has been a staple in Yuriko Commander decks for a while now, to the point that 23,200 out of 28,800 Yuriko decks on EDHREC include a copy of Tetsuko. While this may be good news for fans who wanted a new print of Tetsuko to use in their Yuriko decks, it's hardly a good thing for several other reasons, like:
- Those who wanted a mechanically unique Atsu card or an entire Ghost of Yotei Secret Lair in MTG are not getting one. Not now, at least.
- Atsu is mono-Blue, which doesn't fit the character's story and personality from Ghost of Yotei, according to fans.
- The art for the PlayStation Secret Lair Atsu card is simply the game's official art, rather than an MTG illustrator's take on the character.
MTG x PlayStation Ghost of Yotei Secret Lair Controversy Explained
Several players on social media have already shared their disappointment at Atsu, Ghost of Yotei being a reprint, especially when considering how unique and potentially very powerful the upcoming Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima card is. In fact, Jin is one of the few combat-matters Esper commanders in the game, joining the ranks of MTG's Final Fantasy Noctis card from the main set or even the new one from the December 5 Scene Boxes.
On top of that, many gamers who experienced Ghost of Yotei's story and also happen to be MTG players believe that Atsu should have been given different colors. Red fits the most, with Black being a good secondary color due to the theme of revenge, whereas mono-Blue makes very little sense. MTG's mana colors for Jin Sakai are more appropriate, for example, but since Atsu is a reprint, it could have had different colors only with a different base.
Lastly, other players are disappointed that the Atsu card uses Ghost of Yotei's key art rather than a new, dedicated illustration from the game's many renowned artists. This is likely due to a last-minute kind of deal, so it makes sense, but it's still sad for some.
Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
- August 5, 1993
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- Richard Garfield
- Player Count
- 2+
- Age Recommendation
- 13+