Magic: The Gathering is continually evolving with its collaborations and interesting gameplay tweaks, but Final Fantasy could very well be the biggest one yet. The famously popular RPG series spans almost 40 years of content, which makes this particular set a particularly tantalising prospect; the possibilities feel endless.
There’s no overarching story for this one; while other sets tie into the broader Magic universe narratively, Final Fantasy falls into the separate Universes Beyond camp. I’ve really enjoyed the willingness of Wizards of the Coast to collaborate with loved video game IPs, with Assassin’s Creed and Fallout previously offering some unique twists on the formula. But with a shared love of all things grandiose, fantastical and magical, Final Fantasy and Magic: The Gathering feel like the perfect fit.
It’s hard not to get swept up in the nostalgia of it all. This MTG x Final Fantasy set adds 309 cards to the mix, and a bonus 64 additional cards called “Through the Ages”, a showcase of reprints with gorgeous artwork from artists like Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura. These reprints are of some of MTG’s most well-known cards, reskinned with concept art, official renders and pixel art from Final Fantasy history. Apparently, the team combed through over 5000 pieces of artwork to land on these 64, and they’re gorgeous.
The entire set is a celebration of Final Fantasy, in every single way. Opening booster packs makes for some truly gasp-worthy moments for fans; it’s wonderful to see loved characters like Cloud, Vivi and Yuna, alongside important nods to Final Fantasy’s broad and strange history, from Chocobo’s to Blitzball, key narrative moments like Sephiroth’s devastating final blow in Final Fantasy VII and Tidus and Yuna sharing a romantic embrace.
Each card is clearly labelled with which Final Fantasy it’s referencing, but the set is admittedly a little heavy with some of the more modern or mainstream Final Fantasy titles. I get it; Final Fantasy VII is an all-timer, and with the original and two parts of a three-part remake, alongside movies and more, it takes up a lot of space, but it’s probably justified. There’s still more than enough deep cuts to keep fans happy. I particularly love the cards that have the large number behind the character on a slick borderless card; they look rad.
Unsurprisingly, there are a number of ways to get involved with this set. Collector Boosters are eye-wateringly expensive (around $120AUD) and hard to find, including some of the rarest cards that you’ll come across. Given this might even be a Final Fantasy lover’s first foray into the vast and complicated world of Magic, there’s a Starter Set, featuring Cloud vs. Sephiroth decks, which might prove to be a good starting point. Interestingly, this is the first Universes Beyond set that will be legal in the Standard competitive format, so this set is a great introduction to that style.
There are also four different Commander Decks available for MTG x Final Fantasy, with each focusing on cards from a specific game, including Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIV. These 100-card decks are ready-to-play straight out of the box and feature 25 new-to-Magic cards in each deck, so they’re another worthwhile addition for fans. It certainly feels like Wizards have gone all-in here with this collaboration, and it works as a great way to shine the spotlight on specific games in the series in clever ways.
Game-changers
Of course, while I could spend the whole article drooling over the artwork (don’t tempt me), we should touch on the changes to mechanics and the Final Fantasy-esque twists that are present in the set, too. Job Select is a new triggered ability found on some Equipment; it reads “When this Equipment enters, create a 1/1 colorless Hero creature token, then attach this to it”. Each Equipment with Job Select works like other Equipment, and its other abilities tell you how it benefits the equipped creature, and it can be attached to other creatures you control using its equip ability. For example, with Dragoon’s Lance, the equipped creature gets +1/+o and is a Knight, in addition to its other types. Being able to create a creature from just playing an equipment card is certainly handy in a pinch.
Some spells in this set are Tiered, offering three different effects, increasing in effectiveness with how much mana you pay for them. This means that a card like Ice Magic can trigger either Blizzard (for the regular mana cost), but can also be played for Blizzara, or the even better Blizzaga if you can pay those additional costs. It’s a neat way to tie in the progressive Final Fantasy spells that we know and love from the video games, and I like that it offers multiple choices to help you switch up your moves a little bit.
People love Summons in Final Fantasy, so Saga Creatures are another nice addition. Each Saga creature features a new card frame to help organise its abilities, which is certainly helpful, as they contain a lot of information. They follow the same rules that other Sagas do; essentially, they have a number of chapter abilities preceded by a Roman numeral symbol and enter with a lore counter, triggering its first chapter ability. As your first main phase begins during each of your turns, you add a lore counter to each Saga you control, including the Saga creatures. Any time you add a lore counter to a Saga, you’ll then trigger the next ability in line, and so on, until you sacrifice it at the end of the third. The difference here is that it’s a Saga creature, so it can do all the things a creature can do, including attacking and blocking. They’re not on the battlefield for long, of course, so making sure you utilise them effectively is crucial.
There’s also Towns, a new land subtype that doesn’t affect gameplay, but is used to interact with other cards that reference towns (similar to Gate cards we’ve seen previously). They also allow for some really lovely references to iconic Final Fantasy landmarks from the games, which makes them more than worthwhile in my opinion.
On top of that, transforming double-faced cards are in this set, allowing you to upgrade permanents with potentially devastating results. Adventures also make a return; shown in the lower-left quadrant of the card, Adventures have their own name, mana cost, type line (including the Adventure subtype), and rules text, while the other part of the card is a permanent. You can play it as a regular permanent (i.e. a Land), ignoring the Adventure portion completely. Or, if you choose the Adventure portion, it might do something completely different. It’s another example of the Final Fantasy set providing choices and options while playing, which freshens things up even more.
Final thoughts
Overall, it’s hard to view this set as anything but a resounding success. As a Final Fantasy fan, seeing characters and worlds I’ve fallen in love with my entire life represented in these beautiful cards makes it one of the most instantly collectible Magic: The Gathering collaborations I’ve ever seen. I do find some of the borderless cards to be a little difficult to read the text, but that’s a small nitpick on what is otherwise a brilliant celebration of one of my favourite gaming franchises.
When it comes to the amount of history, the artwork and lore to draw from, and how it ties in with the MTG universe in a natural way, Final Fantasy is up there as one of the best collaborations in either IP’s long, storied history. Gear up, and get questing.
The MTG x Final Fantasy set is available now in all good gaming stores.
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Checkpoint Gaming was provided with MTG x Final Fantasy cards from the new set for this coverage.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
