Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy Is As Exciting For The Design Team As It Is For The Players

It would be an understatement to say that the team responsible for the upcoming collaboration set of Magic: The Gathering with Final Fantasy is eager to debut it.

“As we approached the convention center, we spotted this enormous screen that read ‘Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy’,” said principal designer and set design lead Gavin Verhey during a media preview event for the imminent set. “We exchanged glances and thought, ‘This is it, this is what we’ve been anticipating. It’s finally happening.’

Such moments are what Verhey, executive producer Zakeel Gordon, principal game designer Dillon Deveney, and senior game designer Daniel Holt have envisioned during the four years of developing this set. As they reflect on their experience collaborating on the expansion—both at Square Enix’s offices in Japan and Wizards of the Coast headquarters in Renton, Washington—our Zoom conversation is filled with smiles and joy over the mere mention of cards like Summon: Bahamut, names like Yoshitaka Amano, and numerous other nods.

For this quartet, the launch of Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy symbolizes a culmination of dedication, a tribute to both Magic and Final Fantasy, and ultimately, a declaration of triumph. GameSpot engaged the panel in an extensive discussion about Final Fantasy’s entry into Magic: The Gathering, which begins on June 13.

The creative journey

“I was crafting cards around 2 AM” is a phrase commonly heard from Verhey. In this context, he specifically references Absolute Virtue, the formidable opponent from Final Fantasy XI, which was showcased during the panel. Gordon, Deveney, and Holt nod knowingly, anticipating the unfolding narrative.

“I was attempting to design Absolute Virtue but hit a wall,” Verhey shares, “and I dozed off at my desk—like an adult. Suddenly, I jolted awake and thought, ‘Ah! Protection from everything!’ It literally occurred to me as I was waking up. I entered it into the file, thinking, ‘Well, this probably won’t stick,’ but when I presented it, everyone loved it. They found it incredible.”

Not every discussion flowed as smoothly; Deveney described some discussions with Holt as “spirited.” “We have limited design slots in the [pre-constructed Commander] deck for new cards,” Deveney explains. “Who gets chosen? Who becomes part of the set?”

Deveney recalls a debate regarding the Final Fantasy XIV pre-constructed deck—a daunting task, indeed. “Honestly, this game has been ongoing for over a decade, with 14 years of content; we could likely create an entire set based on that one title,” Deveney states. “I’ve been a player since its launch, and Daniel mentioned he was playing as well, so our viewpoints varied.”

Deveney mentioned that this contrast in perspectives aided them in refining the FF14 Commander deck to authentically reflect the game. Occasionally, Deveney advocated for a character that Holt deemed less significant; at times, Deveney wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. “One character, in particular, I insisted, ‘Daniel, if they don’t make the cut, I’ll be very upset, because someone will be very displeased with me if they aren’t included.’

Emphasis on Commander

With extensive history to sort through and only so much space in an expansion set, deciding which products received specific cards or designs led to more “spirited” discussions. “We view the complete product as a singular experience but need to examine each individual component—main set, Commander, etc.,” Deveney states. “I often ask myself, ‘If this is the sole item a fan buys, what do they hope to see?’ “

For Commander specifically, which Daniel Holt was primarily attuned to, it offered him the opportunity to delve into the four games receiving pre-constructed decks—FF6, FF7, FF10, and FF14—narratives that stand uniquely on their own. As Holt noted, “in the Commander decks, we were able to go extremely in-depth.”

“The Commander decks could almost be regarded as separate Universes Beyond products in the way we approached them,” Holt elaborated. “Final Fantasy VI creates its own realm, whereas FFVII has its own. They do not intersect. Each allows us to introduce varied elements; for instance, elves only appear in select games, so we incorporated some elf reprints in the deck designated for the game where they’re featured.

“In Final Fantasy VI, we embraced a graveyard recursion theme, but instead of death, it’s about ‘uplifting your allies.’ We modified several reprints to align more with this theme. Although there were numerous creative restrictions, this constraint also enabled us to produce really unique ideas because of it.”

Artistic creations

An intriguing detail shared during the press preview concerned various artists who contributed to the card art: Nine of them, renowned for creating Final Fantasy illustrations throughout the years, were given the liberty to depict any character or theme of their choice. This provided some fascinating chances; although Amano had illustrated Kefka in the past, he had never rendered Kefka’s final transformation during his entire career—until now.

This resulted in what Verhey describes as one of the…

Some of the most remarkable experiences of his lifetime. “We’re in Japan, and we happened to be at the Square Enix office when Amano’s Kefka artwork arrived. Nobody had seen it prior, and it was delivered in this black art briefcase provided by Amano himself.”

“They placed it on the table, and we all just fell silent, gazing at an original Amano piece…but from afar, as none of us wanted to get too near and risk damaging it in any way,” Verhey adds. “Nobody sneeze, no one do anything that could leave a stain on this.”

Deveney mentions that most artists sketched characters they were already familiar with, but a handful seized the chance to explore and try new things. “A few artists were just like, ‘Oh, I would love to experiment with this other game’s character, since I didn’t work on it, and that sounds really enjoyable,'” Deveney clarifies. “They were excited, saying, ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to illustrate this character!'”

As iconic as the artwork from Final Fantasy may be, the soundtracks to each game are just as celebrated. Incorporating music into a tangible card game, of course, presents challenges, yet the team made efforts to integrate it. As Deveney states, “those discussions definitely took place.”

“I’ll say there are two or three cards that you may find intriguing, featuring ‘wink, wink, nudge, nudge’ references to popular song titles–or instances where you can hear those tunes playing–that we managed to include in the collection,” Deveney explains. “There’s a broader conversation about music rights and how it varies by industry, but yes, we included a few elements that are very intentionally referential.”

Selecting a Featured Card

Recent Magic sets have introduced a Featured Card–a particular card that serves as a “chase” card, featuring a limited number of prints and each individually numbered. The previous set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, utilized Mox Jasper–the dragon-themed Mox gem–as the Featured Card, complete with special artwork from the original Mox artist Dan Frazier.

For Final Fantasy, the team recognized they wanted to select something that all FF aficionados would instantly recognize. Undoubtedly, they could have chosen a character such as Cloud or Sephiroth, but fans of FF7 would appreciate it more; supporters of other titles might not resonate with it as deeply. Thus, for Zakeel Gordon, the decision was straightforward: a chocobo, specifically the Traveling Chocobo.

“The Chocobo was the primary character that we wished to highlight, as it appears in the majority of games,” Gordon explained. “If you are a fan of the franchise, regardless of your connection to specific games, you will recognize a Chocobo.” The team indeed referred to a distinct game for the card–various versions portray different colored Chocobos from Final Fantasy VII–but even if a player isn’t familiar with chocobo racing, they will know what the creature is.

However, what’s peculiar about this serialized Chocobo is the number of printings–where previous Featured Cards had 500 copies made, the golden Traveling Chocobo will only have 77 prints. This was a deliberate choice, as the team aimed for the card to feel extraordinarily special. “77 is, in my opinion, the ideal midpoint for our recent serialization efforts,” Gordon clarified, “slightly less scarce than the ‘one-of-One Ring,’ but more unique than an ‘X of 500.’ And, in the spirit of Final Fantasy 7, two sevens just felt like the right amount.”

Throughout the Years

A significant addition in this fresh expansion is Final Fantasy: Through The Ages, a bonus collection of 64 cards–four cards for each of the 16 mainline FF games. All 64 cards are reprints of previously-released Magic cards, yet the artwork on each card comes directly from the authentic Square Enix archives. It’s a lesson in history represented through cardboard, and Dillon Deveney mentions they had a wealth of material to sift through–over 5,000 pieces of art, to be exact.

“We posed all sorts of questions,” Deveney recounted, “What do we think is the most distinctive aspect that someone would want to see about this game? What is the finest rendition of this art? What’s the prime version of this character? Should we opt for a rough sketch or a polished illustration? Would this fit better as a land, enchantment, or artifact? We examined everything.

Several cards from the bonus collection were showcased during the PAX East panel, including FF9’s Zidane Tribal as Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer and FF2’s Firion, Swordmaster as Sram, Senior Edificer. Previously, FF7’s Yuffie Kisaragi was revealed as a reskin of Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow.

“The bonus sheet provided a platform to perfectly balance each game,” Gordon shared. “We allocated a ‘budget’ to each game: There will be four cards, we’ll feature a protagonist and an antagonist, and then we’ll identify two moments; one perhaps is more story-oriented, and the other could be a bit more mechanically oriented.”

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As the panel wrapped up the preview, host and former MTG broadcaster Richard Hagon remarked that although this remains Magic: The Gathering, there’s something about the Final Fantasy set that feels distinct. “You can certainly enjoy fantastic games of Magic with this collection; the cards are there, the designs are there. However, the emotions tied to this experience are extraordinary and memorable, and that is what will resonate with people for a very long time.” As the panel agreeable nodded, that sentiment clearly came across from the creators behind the set. Now, all that’s left is for players to grab and enjoy.

Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy will be available June 13 at local game shops and larger retail outlets.