Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy PAX East Panel: See The Revealed Cards Now
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Jason Fanelli
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Final Fantasy is making its way to Magic: The Gathering…
Following its initial announcement two years ago, Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy—the joint project between Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix showcasing all 16 main Final Fantasy titles—is set for release in just a month. Today, during the PAX East presentation, Wizards of the Coast inaugurated the Final Fantasy set preview period by unveiling several cards from the primary set, the Commander pre-constructed decks, and the Final Fantasy: Through The Ages bonus sheet.
The presentation featured cards sourced from each Final Fantasy installment, commencing with the original and progressing to Final Fantasy XVI. The primary set will comprise more than 400 cards, while the four pre-constructed Commander Decks will each include 100 cards.
Meanwhile, the Final Fantasy: Through The Ages bonus sheet contains 64 reprints from Magic’s past—four cards for each entry in the FF Franchise—reskinned with art reflecting Final Fantasy’s extensive legacy. Through The Ages cards will appear in one out of every three Play Boosters and in every Collector Booster.
Below is a compilation of every card showcased during the presentation, listed in the order they were revealed. Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy will be available at local game stores and major retailers on June 13, with prerelease events beginning on June 6 at local game stores.
Garland, Knight of Cornelia // Chaos, the Endless
The presentation started with a card that was earlier revealed in February, Garland, Knight of Cornelia, who has the ability to shift into Chaos, the Endless. Transformation is a significant aspect of the Final Fantasy expansion, with double-faced cards utilized throughout.
White Mage’s Staff and Black Mage’s Rod
Next up are two standard Equipment cards that highlight one of the set’s novel mechanics, Job Select.
Job Select cards generate a 1/1 Hero creature token, which is then immediately equipped with the Equipment card that was played. Each Equipment card featuring Job Select adds a creature type to the equipped creature—Cleric for White Mage’s Staff, Wizard for Black Mage’s Rod, and so on—along with an additional boost.
Firion, Wild Rose Warrior and Firion, Swordmaster
Moving on to Final Fantasy II’s main character, two cards featuring Firion were displayed—one from the primary set and another from the Through The Ages bonus sheet. Firion, Wild Rose Warrior can duplicate Equipment cards for a turn and grant hastiness to equipped creatures—an exciting feature for Equipment-dense red decks.
Firion, Swordmaster is a reprint of Sram, Senior Edificer, which provides discounts on Aura, Equipment, and Vehicle spells. This card showcases the original Firion artwork created by Yoshitaka Amano in the late 1980s.
The Darkness Crystal
Advancing to Final Fantasy III, The Darkness Crystal is part of a “cycle”—a term in MTG for a set of five cards, each one in every color, sharing a common theme. In this instance, the theme is “powerful crystal,” with each card reducing the cost of spells matching its color by one mana while on the field.
The Darkness Crystal, however, forces all opposing creatures to be exiled upon death instead of being sent to the graveyard and can subsequently return those creatures from exile under the control of the crystal’s owner.
Cecil, Dark Knight // Cecil, Redeemed Paladin
Next, the presentation advanced to Final Fantasy IV, showcasing Cecil‘s double-faced card once more. Also introduced during the initial announcement in February, Cecil can transform from dark knight to holy warrior once its controller’s life drops below half.
Kain, Traitorous Dragoon
Cecil’s counterpart, the dragoon Kain, was revealed next, and true to his treacherous nature, Kain can join another player’s board whenever he inflicts damage, providing his former owner with a decent return but significantly reduced life.
Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms
The presentation subsequently turned to Final Fantasy V, introducing Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms. Gilgamesh allows you to sift through the top six cards of your deck for Equipment, placing them on the battlefield, and then granting one of those Equipment to a Samurai creature you control.
Summon: Esper Valigarmanda
Final Fantasy VI—marked as the first title on the list to feature a companion Commander pre-con deck—was next, and after examining the Terra card previously displayed, the panel premiered one of the cards unique to the deck: Esper Valigarmanda.
This Summon can exile spells from each opponent’s graveyard, allowing you to cast one of these spells per turn for the subsequent three turns, utilizing any color of mana.
Terra, Magical Adept // Esper Terra
The subsequent card unveiled was yet another Terra card, but this variant possesses the capacity to morph into Esper Terra, and it showcases unique artwork by Amano-san himself.
Not to be outdone, the next reveal showcased Terra’s fiercest adversary…
Kefka, Court Mage // Kefka, Ruler of Ruin
The malevolent jester Kefka made his MTG introduction on the very next card, which also displayed two fresh pieces of art by Amano-san. According to the discussion, this marks the first occasion Amano-san illustrated Kefka’s ultimate form.
Traveling Chocobo
With the transition to Final Fantasy VII came the introduction of Traveling Chocobo, the premier Chocobo card in the set. Naturally, being a FF7 Chocobo indicates that there may be variants…
Traveling Chocobo (Variants)
…and indeed there are, in the form of various colors of Traveling Chocobo! These variants can solely be discovered in Collector Boosters.
You might have observed one particular color is absent. That’s due to…
Traveling Chocobo (Gold Serialized)
…it’s the Headliner of the Final Fantasy set!
Headliner cards are serialized items with exclusive artwork that can only be found in Collector Boosters. Typically, a serialized card will be limited to either 250 or 500 prints—this golden Traveling Chocobo, however, will have merely 77 copies produced globally.
Cloud, Midgar Mercenary
Next in line was the hero of FF7 himself, Cloud, Midgar Mercenary, whose primary ability enabled him to receive double the benefits from Equipment cards connected to him.
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel
Wherever Cloud ventures, Sephiroth is sure to follow, and his main-set card features stunning artwork by Tetsuya Nomura. Sephiroth can sacrifice creatures near him to siphon life from an opponent, and eventually, he can morph into the One-Winged Angel.
Aerith Gainsborough
Situated between Cloud and Sephiroth is Aerith, making it fitting that she was presented next. Aerith grants you benefits for accumulating life by boosting her power, and when she falls in battle, she transfers those enhancements to every other legendary creature under your control.
He annihilates all opponents for damage equal to the cumulative mana cost of all of its controller’s permanents. If the player who summoned Bahamut has 20 mana’s worth of permanents on the battlefield, that’s 20 damage to every adversary.
Zanarkand, Ancient Metropolis
The initial rare land card showcased during the presentation was Zanarkand, which not only introduces the new Town subtype for lands but also illustrates the Adventure mechanic, making its debut on land cards in the Final Fantasy set. Cast the Adventure spell first, exile the card, and later return it as a land.
Absolute Virtue
The first card from Final Fantasy XI is Absolute Virtue, which makes it impossible to harm its controller simply by being on the battlefield. It also cannot be countered, ensuring that once it’s cast, it will resolve seamlessly.
Balthier and Fran
The sole Final Fantasy XII card revealed at the presentation was a duo, Balthier and Fran, who can enhance Vehicle-type cards and enable you to inflict additional damage through a repeated combat phase.
Lightning, Army of One
The hero of Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning, possesses a unique ability; if she inflicts damage on an opponent, then until your next turn, any damage that player takes will be multiplied. In a multiplayer scenario, this could make one of your opponents a significant target due to the added vulnerability.
Fang, Fearless l’Cie and Vanille, Cheerful l’Cie
Next, we were introduced to two cards featuring a mechanic unique to them. If you have both Fang and Vanille on the battlefield and pay the mana cost outlined in Vanille’s ability text, you can “meld” them into a colossal creature…
Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance
…Ragnarok, a creature that is nearly impossible to defeat, also takes down another permanent with it while reviving a permanent from your graveyard in the process.
Summoner’s Grimoire
Final Fantasy XIV followed, and after a glimpse at Y’shtola, the leader of the FFXIV pre-constructed deck, the panel unveiled Summoner’s Grimoire. This is another Job Select card that enables the equipped creature to deploy a creature from their hand onto the battlefield—and if it’s an enchantment creature, it enters tapped and attacking.
Combine this with the previously mentioned Bahamut, and you could potentially bring in Bahamut far earlier than anticipated.
Zodiark, Umbral God
Another FFXIV card, Zodiark instantly removes half of every player’s non-God creatures just by entering the battlefield. If that wasn’t sufficient, each creature he sacrifices grants him additional strength.
Noctis, Prince of Lucis
Transitioning from FFXIV to Final Fantasy XV, next was Noctis, Prince of Lucis, who can resurrect artifacts from the graveyard by expending some life as an extra cost. In artifact-rich decks, this could provide a formidable enhancement.
Clive, Ifrit’s Dominant // Ifrit, Warden of Inferno
The hero from Final Fantasy XVI, Clive, was the penultimate card revealed, and as expected, Clive can transform into Ifrit anytime as long as you pay the mana cost. Ifrit, in turn, immediately vanquishes an opponent’s creature using the fight mechanic and then adds four extra mana to the mana pool each turn until he reverts to Clive.
Cid, Timeless Artificer
The final card—or, more accurately, 15 cards—shown at the panel featured 15 variants of Cid, Timeless Artificer. Cid is a recurring figure in Final Fantasy, and Magic acknowledges this by not only showcasing 15 distinct versions of the same card but also permitting you to play as many copies of Cid as desired, regardless of the format.