Wizards of the Coast loves a good troll. Honestly, it’s basically their brand at this point, especially when they’re dealing with a character like Wade Wilson. When the Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card finally started landing in mailboxes, the Magic: The Gathering community didn't just have a collective "aha" moment; they had a "wait, is that legal?" moment.
It’s weird.
Usually, when you drop a hundred bucks on a premium cardboard drop, you expect a specific rhythm. You get the art you saw on the website, and then there’s that little mystery slot at the back of the envelope. Sometimes it's a basic land with some funky art. Sometimes it's a persistent petitioner. But for the Deadpool drop, which celebrated the Merc with a Mouth in all his fourth-wall-breaking glory, the bonus card had to be something that felt… chaotic.
What is the Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card exactly?
If you were looking for a brand-new, mechanically unique card that would break Commander, you might be a little disappointed—or totally thrilled, depending on how much you value a good gag. The Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card is actually a version of Headless Horseman.
Yeah. You read that right. A card originally from Legends (and later Renaissance and Masters Edition IV).
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But it isn't just a reprint. That would be too boring for Deadpool. Instead, it’s a "Deadpool-ized" version of the card where Deadpool has, quite literally, lost his head. The art depicts Wade in his classic red suit, holding his own severed, masked head while riding a horse. It’s morbid. It’s hilarious. It fits the vibe of the Deadpool & Wolverine era perfectly.
The card itself is a black creature, a Zombie Knight. It costs $2$ generic and $1$ black mana. It’s a $2/2$. That’s it. No flying. No trample. No "when this enters the battlefield, destroy all Fourth Walls." It is a vanilla $2/2$ from the mid-nineties dressed up in a superhero costume.
Why this card?
Because it’s a pun. It’s a literal headless horseman. Wade Wilson loses limbs like most people lose their car keys. By choosing a relatively "bad" card from Magic's history and giving it the premium treatment, Wizards is leaning into the joke that Deadpool would absolutely hijack a mediocre card just to show off his healing factor.
The controversy of the "Vanilla" bonus
People have feelings about this. Strong ones.
If you go onto Reddit or the MTG Salvation forums, you’ll see two distinct camps. Group A thinks this is the peak of Secret Lair flavor. They argue that the Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card shouldn't be a staple like Rhystic Study or Mana Vault because the drop was already packed with value. To them, the bonus card is a "bonus"—a little treat, a dessert you didn't pay for.
Group B? They’re annoyed.
They look at previous drops where the bonus card was something like a Relentless Rats with unique art or a high-value shadow-foil, and they feel like a vanilla $2/2$ is a letdown. "I paid for premium content, give me a playable card," is the general sentiment.
But here’s the thing about "playability." In the world of collectibles, the power level of the card often matters less than the scarcity and the "meme factor." A Deadpool-themed Headless Horseman is a conversation starter. If you're playing a casual Commander game and you drop this, someone is going to ask to see it. That's the real value of these drops. It's not about winning the Pro Tour; it's about the "Rule of Cool."
Why the Deadpool drop was different from the start
Most Secret Lairs are announced, teased, and then sold over a month-long window. The Deadpool drop was part of a shift toward "limited quantity" releases. This changed everything. It meant that by the time people even realized there was a Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card to hunt for, the drop was already sold out and hitting the secondary market at a massive markup.
Wizards collaborated heavily with Marvel for this, and it wasn't just a one-off. This was the opening salvo of the Universes Beyond partnership with Marvel. Because of that, the stakes were higher.
The art in the main drop featured:
- Deadpool, King of Monsters (A reskin of Grumgully, the Generous)
- Deadpool’s Chimichanga (A reskin of Regrowth)
- Deadpool, Merc with a Mouth (A reskin of Zurgo Helmsmasher)
Wait, let's talk about that Zurgo reskin for a second. Zurgo is an aggressive, three-color commander that demands to be in the red. Mapping Deadpool onto a card that has to attack every turn and is indestructible during your turn is flavor perfection. It makes the "filler" nature of the Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card (the Headless Horseman) feel more like a strategic choice by the designers. They gave you the "real" cards in the main pack, so the bonus could be a pure joke.
Market value and the "Waifu" tax (Deadpool edition)
Let's get down to the brass tacks. Money.
If you're looking to buy the Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card on TCGPlayer or Cardmarket right now, you’re probably going to see some price volatility. Because it’s a "bonus" and not a guaranteed pull in every single Marvel-related product (it was specific to the Deadpool drop), the supply is capped.
Historically, bonus cards that are vanilla creatures don't hold value well unless the art is spectacular. Look at the Princess Bride bonus cards or the Fortnite lands. They have a ceiling. However, Deadpool fans are… dedicated. There is a "collector tax" on anything featuring Wade Wilson.
Is it a good investment?
Probably not as a game piece. You can get a $2/2$ for a nickel. But as a piece of Marvel/Magic crossover history? It’s a must-have for the completionists. We’ve seen other bonus cards, like the "Blueprint" series or the "Stained Glass" Planeswalkers, hold steady because they look distinct. The Headless Horseman Deadpool has that same "distinct" vibe. It doesn't look like a Magic card. It looks like a comic book cover.
The technicalities: Is it tournament legal?
This is a question that pops up every time Universes Beyond does something weird.
The Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card is a legal card in any format where Headless Horseman is already legal. That means:
- Vintage
- Legacy
- Commander
- Pauper (Yes, it’s a common!)
You can't play it in Standard. You can't play it in Pioneer. But honestly, if you're trying to play a $3$ mana $2/2$ in a competitive Legacy tournament, you’ve got bigger problems than card legality. You’re basically playing on "Hard Mode."
In Commander, though? Go nuts. If you have a Zombie-tribal deck or a "Characters with Swords" theme deck, this version of Headless Horseman is a fun inclusion. It’s also a great way to proxy a more expensive card if your playgroup is cool with it, though most people will just want to appreciate the art.
Comparing the Deadpool bonus to other Marvel drops
As we see more Marvel drops—like the ones for Iron Man, Wolverine, and Captain America—the Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card starts to look like a bit of an outlier. The other drops tended to have more "serious" bonus cards. Land cycles or more functional reprints.
Deadpool stands alone.
It’s the only one that feels like the character actually had a hand in the printing process. It’s messy. It’s a bit of a middle finger to the "value-optimization" crowd. And that is exactly why it works. If Deadpool gave you a Sol Ring, it wouldn't be as funny as him giving you a headless version of a card from 1994.
How to spot a fake
Whenever a card starts climbing in value, the fakes follow. Because the Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card has a specific foil treatment (assuming you got the foil version of the drop), you need to be careful.
- The Green Dot Test: Always the gold standard. Use a jeweler’s loupe to look at the green mana symbol on the back. You should see the four red dots in an "L" shape.
- Surface Texture: Secret Lair foils have a very specific "slickness" to them. If it feels too grainy or like a standard playing card, be wary.
- The Holofoil Stamp: At the bottom of the card, there should be a small oval security stamp. On the Deadpool cards, this is embedded into the card stock, not just stuck on top. If you can feel an edge with your fingernail, it’s a red flag.
What's next for your collection?
If you already have the card, keep it sleeved. The "curly" foil issue is real with Secret Lairs, so keeping it in a tight inner sleeve and a top loader is your best bet to prevent it from turning into a Pringle.
If you're still looking to buy one, wait for the post-holiday lulls. Usually, card prices dip slightly in February and March when the "new toy" syndrome wears off.
The Deadpool Secret Lair bonus card represents a weird moment in Magic history where the game truly embraced the absurdity of its own collaborations. It’s a $2/2$ zombie knight that shouldn't matter, but because it has the right guy on the horse, it matters a lot to a specific group of people.
Actionable Steps for Collectors
- Check your bulk: If you bought the Deadpool drop and threw the "extra" card in a box without looking, go find it. People are paying $20-$50 for this "useless" card depending on the market swing.
- Verify the version: Make sure you know if you have the foil or non-foil version, as the Deadpool drop was sold in both configurations, and the price difference is significant.
- Update your Commander deck: If you run a "Flavor-First" deck, swap out a generic creature for this. It’s the easiest way to add personality to your board state without changing your mana curve.
- Monitor the Marvel sets: With more Marvel sets coming to "Tentpole" releases in 2025 and 2026, these early Secret Lair cards will likely become the "OG" collectibles of the Marvel MTG era.
Don't let the vanilla stats fool you. In the world of Magic: The Gathering, sometimes the most valuable thing you can have isn't a game-winning spell—it's a card that makes your opponent laugh before you beat them with it.