Ever since it was first teased in late 2023, the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set has been hot on MTG and Final Fantasy fans’ minds alike. With 16 mainline Final Fantasy games to not only pull from but also do justice, it’s no wonder there’s a lot of hype for what this set can be! As a crossover set, it’s likely one of MTG’s most ambitious collabs to date. To further up the ante, this will be the first Universes Beyond set to enter standard, unlike other gaming crossover sets like Assassin’s Creed, Fallout and Warhammer 40,000. With so much at stake and so many Final Fantasy games, how does the latest Magic: The Gathering set stand up, especially following Tarkir: Dragonstorm?
I’ll start out by saying I’m not the biggest Final Fantasy fan. Upfront, I’ve played FF7, a little bit of FF13 and all of FF15. Outside of that, I know parts of the stories and characters, but I’m definitely not the most knowledgeable. Still, even I can’t deny just how enamouring this set is. With Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy’s net being cast so broadly across the 16 mainline games, there’s likely going to be at least a few cards that even players who’ve never crossed paths with Final Fantasy will recognise.
The reality of this set is that it’s definitely a love letter to Final Fantasy told through Magic: The Gathering. This can be typical of the Universes Beyond sets, with little set narrative in play past the IP MTG is interacting with. While typically this is a drawback, in licensed sets it really gives the cards the freedom to engage, and here it’s dialled up even higher. The set has so many characters, events, items, moments, and other easter eggs to draw from. Even as someone less familiar with Final Fantasy, it’s impossible to appreciate the effort that’s been poured into the collab.
As Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond set themes go, Final Fantasy already takes itself more seriously than other collaborations. With the addition of play boosters, the set feels more accessible, even if the price tag is still at a premium. While there have been other Universes Beyond sets to include non-collectible boosters such as Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, and Assassin’s Creed, here, things are different. This is the first licensed IP to include play boosters and also be legal across all other formats, including Standard. This makes it feel more like a real set, even if it’s not another continuation of MTG’s adventures across the multiverse.
The Universes Beyond Final Fantasy set range is just like a usual set, featuring four commander precons, play boosters, collector boosters, the prerelease kit, a bundle, and a gift bundle. There’s also a Starter Kit that is perfect for any Final Fantasy fans new to MTG. It features prebuilt Cloud and Sephiroth decks, ready to go head-to-head and learn the game right out of the box.
The MTG Final Fantasy main set features 309 cards or 586 cards, including art card variants, which are playable in Standard. The Final Fantasy Commander set has 444 cards, 92 of which are new cards specifically for commander play. These cards only appear in collector boosters and the 4 preconstructed commander decks. There’s also the stunning Final Fantasy Through The Ages bonus sheet, which includes 65 cards featuring new and existing artwork from the games, as well as the legendary artists behind them. These appear in both play boosters and collector boosters.
It’s impossible not to give this set its flowers for such incredible art, either. While everyone loves finding a mythic or rare in a pack, here it’s good to see even the common cards feeling just as interesting, thanks to the set theme. Even as someone who’s less versed in Final Fantasy, there’s a distinct world that these cards eagerly pull you into. From the cute Moogles to the quirky Cactuar, it’s easy to enjoy just how rich this set is with its lore.
Every card also features a stamp in the bottom left corner telling you what game it’s from, which is a lovely detail. I honestly wish this appeared in other Universes Beyond sets. It’s the lightest detail, and yet it sings to how much care has gone into bringing Final Fantasy to Magic: The Gathering. Where Tarkir: Dragonstorm felt very situated, Final Fantasy takes the breadth of its theme in stride. While the surge foils return, although for the luckiest, there are also chocobos to collect. The rarest of rare is a Golden Serialised Chocobo, along with 4 neon chocobo and a black chocobo. These are some of the rarest cards in the set and are limited to collector boosters.
The Through The Ages Bonus sheet is also a standout, as mentioned earlier. Featuring stunning moments from the games and other new and existing artworks by the likes of Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura. These appear in play boosters and collector boosters.
There’s also cards on the bonus sheet pulled from the orginal games including Blessing of the Oracle, Search for the Frozen Esper, and Squall Leonhart. I really like this nod to the source material and wish more Universes Beyond sets would lean into this.
Along with the common card treatment, players can also find a new range of card types, including stunning Borderless Woodblock designs that feel much like those iconic Bloomburrow Showcase Woodland designs in all the right ways. As a card style, these are so detailed and even more impressive in foil!
Borderless Character Cards also showcase iconic Final Fantasy characters on a background from their game. In usual sets, I find this style a little flat, but the character art on these makes them another favourite in the set. What I wouldn’t do for a Surge-foil Cloud or Noctis on that maroon background in this style!
It also wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy set without Cid, a mainstay character across the games in his many forms. The set features 16 assorted artworks of Cid, Timeless Artificer.
There’s even a very tender nod to Final Fantasy 7 fans. Cloud’s special date with one of the party members as chosen by the player appears in a variant art of Secret Rendezvous.
Playing Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy is admittedly just as fun, too. In my time spent with the set so far, I was able to draft and play Commander with the Final Fantasy X deck, Counter Blitz featuring Tidus. While I was unfamiliar with FFX, seeing cards from FF7 and FF15 was the best part, while other smaller easter eggs wait to be unravelled. I knew after pulling a Noctis, Prince of Lucis, I had to try and build around him in two-headed giant, which wasn’t so hard with dual lands and 12 boosters to pull from. I concocted a black blue deck that was a little rough but pulled through in one match thanks to his lifelink ability. My setback was that I never managed to utilise his other ability enough to sacrifice life to then bring things back from the graveyard. I definitely made it harder selecting him, but it was worth the experience building around him in that draft format.
The set features some unique new, altered and returning card mechanics, including the following:
- Job Select allows players to create a 1/1 hero token to attach the equipment and benefit from its other abilities.
- Tiered sees players choosing one spell card ability for an additional cost.
- Saga’s return with Final Fantasy’s Summons, where players can progress the card with lore counters till it reaches the final part, and it must be sacrificed.
- Transforming cards can upgrade permanents if certain conditions are met. These cards are double-faced to represent the two forms and must be cast as the front face first.
- Sidequests play just like transforming cards.
- Landcycling enables players to pay mana to discard and search their library for a land, which you must then reveal and put in your hand before shuffling.
- Adventures feature instant or sorcery abilities that can be played in place of the rest of the card. The adventure can only be played once, even if the card is returned to the battlefield.
The Saga cards are the standout for me, giving motion to the “Summon” style gameplay from across the Final Fantasy games. The impermanence of these cards makes it feel like playing them at the right time is more than necessary. On a similar note, Sidequests are a fun spin on the Transforming card mechanic, although they don’t feature that prominently in the set, which feels like a missed opportunity.
Counter Blitz took me by surprise. Tidus, Yuna’s Guardian, synergises with the deck incredibly well. In combat, he can adjust a counter, moving it to another player. Cheer also rewards attacking with the ability to draw a card and add a counter to any cards with counters already present. Yuna, Grand Summoner, is the deck’s backup commander and plays into the counter theme impressively. Not only can she tap to cast the next creature with two counters on it, but she can also rescue counters from your cards headed to the graveyard.
Across the deck, counters are king in every way, which leads me to really vibe with this commander deck’s playstyle. Past the commanders, cards like Chasm Skulker allow you to build piles of counters just for drawing cards, so when it dies, you can create X 1/1 blue squids, where X is how many counters you had. The best part is that if the opponent has an island, those squids can’t be blocked! Luminous Bloodmoth is also one to watch as a mythic in the deck – it allows player creatures that have died to return with flying counters. Damning Verdict and Farewell both add some board wipe into the mix depending on your situation. Counter Blitz sets itself up as a strong yet easy deck to helm right out of the box. One could look to add some extra counter multipliers as easy upgrades.
For those looking to dip their toes into MTG Final Fantasy, the commander decks are a great themed starting point, thanks to their playability and focus on some of the most iconic games. Similarly, the Starter Kit is an equally great way to jumpstart a collection.
I definitely feel the urge to collect more of the set, particularly the iconic character arts, but it comes with a hefty price tag, even for MTG. Where I think Universe’s Beyond still falls short, even with such an impressive theme, is the price vs value. Collector boosters are becoming the place to go for the cool cards, yet at over $70 AUD each, it’s a steep ask. More worrying still is that these boosters do see some incredible pulls for the most part, but like any random booster pack, nothing is for sure. Thankfully, Play Boosters do still feel fun to open and pack some hits, but I’d really love to see less exclusive art in the high tier. The light at the end of the tunnel is that, as a standard set, Final Fantasy will be around for quite a while, so prices should settle on the singles market eventually.
This set is a real ripper, even for those who aren’t die-hard Final Fantasy fans! Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy easily holds its own as an anthology set. Bringing together MTG and Final Fantasy is no small task, and yet here it feels right at home. Breathing new life into Universes Beyond, thanks in no small part to the characters, moments, items and even game mechanics – it’s clear why this was the set to blow the doors off standard. There’s something here for everyone, whether you’re just after some cool new cards or a stunning surge foil showcase for your collection. As collabs go, Final Fantasy is right at home in MTG format, and I’m looking forward to playing with this set further!
Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy is out now at your local games store or TCG stockist.
NextPlay received Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy products, including Final Fantasy Play Boosters, Final Fantasy Collector Boosters, a Final Fantasy Commander deck and a Final Fantasy Bundle for the purposes of this coverage.
