Yuga Labs has launched Mudwater, a physical-digital trading card collection built on Solana, opening claims for Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) holders on October 17, 2026. The launch extends the company's digital collectibles ecosystem by combining physical cards, blockchain-based ownership records, and secondary-market trading. The release also stands out because eligibility is determined by the company's established NFT collections while the cards themselves live on Solana, putting a new collectible format in front of one of the NFT sector's most widely recognized holder communities.

Swamp Origins Collection Links Physical Cards to Solana NFTs

The collection, titled Swamp Origins, features 120 distinct artworks based on familiar Bored Ape imagery. Each card has a physical counterpart and a matching Solana non-fungible token (NFT) held in a vault, connecting traditional card collecting with blockchain records that represent ownership of digital assets. This vaulted structure, in which a custodian holds the physical item while its digital token records ownership, has become a common approach for collectibles that trade across both physical and blockchain markets.

Claims opened shortly after the launch announcement, running from 23:30 to 23:35 UTC in conjunction with ApeFest 2026, Yuga Labs' annual community gathering, held this year in Charleston. The timing ties the release to the company's existing collector community while introducing a new format beyond its established NFT collections.

Mudwater Features Four Card Tiers

The Mudwater series contains regular, foil, serial, and rare cracked ice versions. Among the rarest pieces from the collection are eight serial and one-of-one cracked ice cards. These limited-edition items add rarity value, while the diversity of the artwork gives collectors more options for collecting and trading. Serialized and one-of-one cards follow rarity conventions long used in traditional trading card markets, translated here into a blockchain-tracked format.

Totems Manage Eligibility and Claims

Eligibility and claim management are handled through Totems. The project allocated 6,551 Totems to BAYC and MAYC NFT owners. Totems are ERC-6551 token-bound accounts, meaning an NFT controls a specific blockchain account; in this setup, each Totem serves as a container that receives and manages Mudwater packs. Because Totems follow an Ethereum token standard while the cards are Solana NFTs, the design links holder credentials on one blockchain with collectible ownership on another.

Solana (@solana) via X, October 18, 2026:

The Mudwater TCG from @yugalabs is now live on Solana. Mudwater: 120 BAYC art pieces, plus foils, serialized and cracked-ice grails, physical and digital.

(View the post on X)

Allocations differ between the two collections. Every eligible BAYC NFT entitles its holder to 10 packs, while each MAYC NFT qualifies for two. Each pack contains 10 cards, and more than 140,000 packs are available to claim in total. The policy gives BAYC holders a larger starting allowance, though MAYC holders also gain access to the collection through their NFT holdings. With the claim window lasting only five minutes, secondary venues such as OpenSea are where collectors who missed the claim would need to look for packs or cards.

OpenSea Support Expands Trading Access

OpenSea's support for Solana NFTs provides marketplace context for the launch. On August 31, 2026, OpenSea announced that Solana NFTs could be discovered, purchased, and sold alongside its other supported tokens. According to OpenSea, Solana became the latest blockchain in the company's list of more than 25 supported blockchains.

Mudwater cards, packs, and Totems will be tradable on OpenSea, offering cardholders a venue to sell their cards beyond the initial claim process. The marketplace lists the Mudwater collection within its general NFT marketplace rather than restricting activity to a Solana-only platform. Marketplace availability, however, does not necessarily ensure demand or liquidity.

ApeCoin Linked to Card Trading Volumes

Mudwater also connects card-market activity to ApeCoin (APE), the token associated with the Bored Ape ecosystem. Under the planned mechanism, 2.5% of Mudwater's card trading volumes will be devoted to buying APE tokens, which will be allocated among collectors according to the number of cards they own.

The 2.5% allocation refers to the portion of trading volume used for APE purchases, not a guaranteed return for individual holders. Allocation amounts are determined by rules, trading activity, and the number of tokens purchased. How the mechanism plays out will depend on the trading volumes the collection records once cards begin changing hands on the marketplace.

A New Collectible Layer for the Ape Ecosystem

The launch of the card game creates a new opportunity for BAYC and MAYC owners to interact with Yuga Labs' ecosystem, combining physical collections, Solana NFTs, and marketplace trading. Further development of the project depends on collector participation and secondary-market activity, with claim completion, OpenSea listings, and the ApeCoin allocation mechanism among the details to follow as the collection moves past its claim window.