When I’m not working or playing games, I love going to the movies. I average 15-20 trips to the movie theater every month.  I’m also a bit of a singer, and I like musicals, but the stage production of Wicked was always a blind spot for one reason or another.  As a result I didn’t see Wicked on stage and my first introduction to it came from seeing Wicked: Part One in theaters last year.  I fell in love and went back 8 more times before it left theaters. With Wicked: For Good coming out this weekend, I’ve got the award winning musical on the brain today. Some of the characters in the musical are familiar, appearing in both Wicked and The Wizard of Oz. They’re larger than life which I think makes them great candidates for Magic: The Gathering.

One could make the argument that a three-hour musical or its five-hour movie adaptation  isn’t enough content for a full set and perhaps that’s true.  A Secret Lair Superdrop may be a more realistic goal.  Another argument for adapting Wicked for Secret Lair is that main sets take considerably longer to produce. A main in-universe set takes about two years to produce and can be even longer for Universes Beyond.  On the other hand, Kpop Demon Hunters was released in June 2025 and mere months later it was announced that Netflix’s most popular movie of all time would get a Secret Lair Superdrop in 2026.   

Galinda Upland becomes Glinda, The Good

Many Secret Lair drops stick to only doing reprints but when the situation demands, they have been known to produce a whole new card for a drop.  I think that the two leading ladies of Wicked need to have brand new cards produced.  Further, I think Wicked shows the transformation of these two characters so it would be important to show that through the card.

So here’s my idea: Galinda Upland would be a Legendary Creature. She would cost 1UR to cast.  Her subtypes would be Human Aristocrat and her power/toughness would be 2/2.  She’d have an ability called Popular. The text for that ability would read: Popular — At the beginning of your end step, starting with you, each player votes Popular or Not Popular. If Popular gets more votes, transform Galinda. If Not Popular gets more votes, each player who voted Not Popular sacrifices a nonland permanent or discards a card. If the vote is tied, both results occur.

Galinda Upland would transform into Glinda, The Good.  Glinda would be a Legendary Creature with Human Wizard subtypes and a power/toughness of 4/5. She would have an ability called For Good. The text would read For Good — If Glinda, The Good would leave the battlefield, instead put her into your graveyard or the command zone. You may cast her from there on a future turn as Glinda, The Good by paying Galinda Upland’s mana cost. She can’t be cast as Galinda Upland again. 

Elphaba Thropp becomes Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West

Glinda, The Good asks the poignant question “Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” Her point which she makes a moment later is that Elphaba wasn’t always The Wicked Witch of the West.  She was a product of the changes she went through.  To show that change, Wizards would need a double sided card for her too.  Elphaba Thropp would be a Legendary Creature with a mana cost of 1GWB. Her subtypes would be Human Noble. She would have power/toughness 2/2.  Elphaba Thropp would have an ability called Defying Gravity. The text for that ability reads: Defying Gravity — 1G : Elphaba Thropp gains flying until end of turn. Put a Condemnation counter on Elphaba Thropp. At the beginning of your end step, if Elphaba Thropp has three or more Condemnation counters, transform her.

Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West would be a Legendary Creature with Human Wizard subtypes and power/toughness 6/6 and flying. When Elphaba is transformed or attacks, create a 2/2 blue Monkey creature token with flying. If that token was created during an attack, it gains haste and is attacking. Whenever Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West deals combat damage to an opponent, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control with flying.

Of course, the temptation would be to stick Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on the card art and call it a day. Stage production fans might campaign for Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth or some other favorite from Broadway but that’s the problem with using an actor on the card art. While I don’t mind seeing an actor representing their character on a Magic: The Gathering card, there are a plethora of actresses who have played Wicked’s lead roles. On Broadway, Glinda has been played by 8 people and Elphaba by 9. Including understudies who have stepped in and other special guest performers, the number of actors to take on each role on Broadway exceeds 30 each. One of Magic’s artists would have to take on the task of creating a unique version of these characters for the card that stays faithful to the descriptions of each character.

While I think a Wicked Secret Lair Superdrop is a long shot and a full Universes Beyond set is almost completely out of the question, I do hope I’m wrong.  I think the personalities present in Oz could be a great compliment to the vibrant world of Magic: The Gathering.