MTG: Final Fantasy - First Impressions From an FF Fan

Final Fantasy is a video game franchise that has been near and dear to me for as long as I can remember. As of writing this article, I've played every mainline installment of the series aside from Final Fantasy XI and XIII (yes I know I will get to it!). Some of my favorite games in the franchise include Final Fantasy IV, VII, and IX, but I honestly enjoy all the games and I replay at least one every year. As a long-time fan of both Final Fantasy and Magic, this set is a bit of a dream come true for me. After the initial announcement of the crossover, which feels like forever ago now, I've been patiently waiting for a first look at what some of these new cards may look like. Now that we've finally gotten our first look at what this set has to offer, I wanted to quickly go over all the new cards we've seen so far and give some initial impressions! 

Cloud, Ex-Soldier

Starting off with the Commander Deck Legends we have the poster-boy himself, Cloud, Ex-Soldier. My first thought looking at this card was that it's a bit odd to include Green in Cloud's color identity, but since so much of Final Fantasy VII's overall themes are Green in nature, I think it makes sense. Equipment and gear loadouts are a big aspect of every FF game, so building Cloud around Equipment here is pretty cool. I'd be curious to see if we end up getting any Materia in this precon too! Cloud caring about power 7 or greater also makes sense for FFVII, since so many things in that game reference the number 7. 

I'll also quickly note, I really love the full art versions of these characters that include their respective roman numerals in the background. 

Terra, Herald of Hope

Here again, I initially thought Black felt a bit off for Terra's color identity, but considering the events and themes of Final Fantasy VI, I think it fits quite well. Terra, Herald of Hope gaining flying as a part of her Trance mechanic is really nice to see, I'd almost like to see a double sided Terra card somewhere else in the set too honestly. The idea of rebuilding your battlefield in a similar way to the events of FFVI also fits really well thematically. Also, green hair! 

Also, the set symbol for the Commander precon decks being a little Chocobo is perfect. 

Tidus, Yuna's Guardian

Tidus, Yuna's Guardian turns the entire game into a match of Blitzball! His ability to pass around counters to help buff out his team feels a lot like something the star player of the Zanarkan Abes would do. Plus, whenever Tidus or one of his teammate scores a goal (deals damage to a player) you get to celebrate by drawing a card and proliferating! This card feels super flavorful and fun to build around, I'm really excited to see what the rest of this deck ends up looking like. 

Y'shtola, Night's Blessed

The design for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is actually really sweet. I think her color identity here is perfect, since her personality aligns really well with Blue, and she wields White and Black magic. This card doesn't have quite as much Final Fantasy flavor as Tidus or Terra's cards, but it does seem like a super fun card to build around. As someone who's been playing FFXIV on and off since the beta for A Realm Reborn, I am really excited to see what other cards we end up getting in this precon deck! Also, really love the creature types for this card.

Sidequest: Catch a Fish // Cooking Campsite

Final Fantasy XV is a game I grew to really enjoy and appreciate, and I look back on the time I spent fishing with Noctis and the gang quite fondly. The flavor of this card is honestly perfect, fishing off the top of your deck for an artifact or creature card is such a creative way to capture this aspect of the game. Plus, you get a food token out of it too! Cooking Campsite is also an incredibly flavorful card, since you and the team get a nice little buff from your hard earned catch. I'm sure Iggy will have a great time coming up with some new recipes in the world of Magic! 

Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant

The flavor here on Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant is really great. Plus, this card is really quite strong in any strategy that's looking to donate permanents to other players. I'm really happy that we get to have Moogle as a creature type too, long live Good King Moogle Mog the XIIth! 

Summon: Shiva

Combining Sagas and Creatures is such a cool way to depict Summons in Magic. These creatures may only stick around for a few turns, but they look like they'll still get a lot of value just from being on the board. These cards kind of remind me of the way that summons work in the Final Fantasy VII Remake games, where they join the battle for a limited amount of time, then they perform their signature attack before they take their leave. I'd really love to see a Mythic Rare level Alexander or Bahamut summon card too!

Cecil, Dark Knight // Cecil, Redeemed Paladin

Back when this set was first announced, the very first thing I thought of was how awesome it would be to have a Black/White Cecil card that flipped from Dark Knight into a Paladin. Final Fantasy IV is my favorite game in the series, and Cecil is one of my favorite characters of all time. The flavor on this card is absolutely perfect. Although I do think this card is a bit difficult to build around as a Commander, I will 100% be building him once the set releases. 

Tonberry

Creature - Salamander Horror is a pretty good way to describe a Tonberry I think. Having this card enter tapped with a stun counter makes sense, since Tonberries are pretty slow to start out a fight. However, Chef's Knife giving it first strike and deathtouch when it attacks is a perfect way to capture the terror that Final Fantasy players have known for many years now when facing down a Tonberry in battle. 

Jumbo Cactuar

While I respect the decision, I don't think they needed to take the 10,000 Needles attack quite so literally here. Attacking for this much damage in a game like Magic is pretty... unheard of to say the least. I've already seen a lot of discussion around this card online, and honestly, I'm a Jumbo Cactuar fan. Many people are already coming up with ways to give this powerful plant haste, trample, lifelink, etc, and I am happy to report that I am one of those people. 

Sazh's Chocobo

I think cards like Sazh's Chocobo are a perfect way to fill up non-legendary creatures at lower rarity slots. This card is pretty cool too, starting off small but slowly growing larger and larger over the course of the game. I think putting Chocobos in Green makes a lot of sense, since the typical yellow Chocobo doesn't fly. I think it'd be really neat to see Black Chocobos in other colors too! 

Emet-Selch, Unsundered

I think I could talk about how perfect this card is forever. The flavor captured in this card, the art on both the regular and full art versions, the power level of the card overall, this is truly an amazing way to depict Emet-Selch in Magic. Requiring fourteen cards in your graveyard in order to flip him into Hades is such a flavorful way to capture his past and backstory. Then, being able to cast anything from your graveyard on your turns allowing for you to build your own version of Amaurot is just incredible. I would really love to see an Elidibus card somewhere in this set too. 

Garland, Knight of Cornelia // Chaos, the Endless

Garland, Knight of Cornelia is a pretty decent card for a two mana uncommon. The flavor on this card is also really solid, since it depicts Garland's slow transformation into Chaos pretty well. Plus, Chaos returning to the bottom of your library when he dies is a really great way to show the time loop aspects of the first game in the franchise. That being said, the Chaos half of this card is not as powerful as I would hope for such an iconic antagonist, so I hope we get to see him somewhere else in this set as well. At least they did a great job with Garland's flavor text. 

Sin, Spira's Punishment

Now this is a powerful depiction of an antagonist. Sin, Spira's Punishment seems like a terrifying card to play against, as it should be! Without going too far into spoilers for Final Fantasy X, the flavor here is really on point. You should get a special achievement if you ever get to use this ability to exile a Tidus card. 

Cloud, Planet's Champion

This version of Cloud is pretty powerful, and plays well with the previous depiction of him as well. I can't wait to see what the Buster Sword may end up doing in this set! It would be really cool to see other weapons from Final Fantasy VII like Hard Edge or the Nail Bat make an appearance as well. 

Sephiroth, Planet's Heir

The big man himself finally takes the stage, and what an entrance! Sephiroth, Planet's Heir has a lot of potential to take over games quite quickly. I really like the idea of Sephiroth descending upon the battlefield and instantly cleaning up any smaller foes in his way. I'm sure this won't be the only version of Sephiroth we see in this set, and I can't wait to see what else we get!

Dragon of Mount Gulg

I'm so glad that we're getting some cards featuring the incredible artwork of Yoshitaka Amano in this set. Even though this card is a reprint of Ancient Copper Dragon, I think the art here fits perfectly. I'm really excited to see if we end up getting more Amano art in this set too, maybe on some original cards! 

Yuffie Kisaragi

Yuffie is here, featuring some classic art from Tetsuya Nomura! This card is a reprint of Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, but the card design really does fit Yuffie quite well. I would love to see more cards with Nomura's art too, I think the original Dissidia character art would look amazing in card form!

Closing Thoughts

This set is honestly looking outstanding so far. All the new art is so incredible, and I really love all the full arts we've seen as of now. I am so very excited to see more cards from the release, and I can't wait to actually get my hands on them in person. I've played a little bit of the Final Fantasy TCG, and while that game is pretty fun, Magic has always been my card game of choice. Having two of my all-time favorite games come together like this is such an exciting experience for me, and I hope everyone reading this can share in that excitement as well!