Warning: this article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 15, and 16Magic: The Gatheringis continuing to preview its upcomingFinal Fantasyset, which has so far done a great job adapting the video games. Not only are standalone cards good representations of the game’s characters and items, but the cards also work well together to recreate iconic moments from the series. The designs are so well-done, that someMagicplayers may find themselves recreating iconicFinal Fantasymoments, even if they don’t realize it, or have never played the games.
Magic’sFinal Fantasysetcomes out in June, so at the time of writing there are still a few more cards to be previewed.This means even more iconic moments from the series may be possibleonce we’ve seen the whole set. Still, even without having all the cards spoiled, it’s easy to pick out many memorable moments from the games that can now be recreated inMagic: The Gathering.
10Locke Cole Steals Enemy Uniforms
This Moment Comes From Final Fantasy 6
InFinal Fantasy 6, after the Returner’s headquarters come under attack, the party splits. The party’s thief (sorry, “treasure hunter”), Locke Cole, doubles back to South Figaro on his own, which leads to a fun sequence where you have to sneak through town.You do this by collecting several different outfits from characters in town to gain access to different buildings. This is also accompanied by the humorous animation of Locke stealing the opponent’s clothes during battle, which leaves the enemy sprites blushing and trying to cover themselves with their hands.
The recently spoiledMagic: The Gatheringcard,Stolen Uniform, depicts Locke wearing some of the stolen clothes from this section of the game. This card lets you take an enemy’s piece of equipment for a turn and equip it to one of your creatures. There’s also a new blue and black version of Locke Cole, meaning you could run Stolen Uniform in a Locke Commander deck, allowing you to recreate his theft fromFinal Fantasy 6. The card’s short effect also mirrors the fact that Locke only wore each piece of stolen clothes for a short time.
9Tellah Sacrificing Himself By Casting A Powerful Spell
This Moment Comes From Final Fantasy 4
A few hours intoFinal Fantasy 4, the sage Tellah will recover his memories and remember how to cast a much wider range of spells than he started with. He is warned by other characters not to cast the spell Meteor, because it would be too taxing for him and he could die as a result. Later in the game,Tellah decides to sacrifice himself and cast Meteor during a fight with Golbez. Thanks toMagic: The Gathering’s new Tellah card, players can recreate this moment, though not as smoothly as with some of the other story moments here.
Tellah, Great Sage specifies that if you cast a spell with eight or more mana,you have to sacrifice Tellah, but you at least get to deal damage equal to the mana cost to each opponent. This mirrors Tellah’s sacrifice in the game, and the damage output from this mechanic represents him casting Meteor. Sadly,Magic: The Gathering’s meteor cards (at least the ones previewed at time of writing) are themed aroundFinal Fantasy 7, and neither cost enough to trigger this ability. Still, you may use another big spell to recreate this moment, like the card Meteor Blast.
8Ifrit Defeating Other Eikons
This Moment Comes From Final Fantasy 16
Easily some of the most memorable battles fromFinal Fantasy 16are the fights between the Eikons.Magic: The Gatheringrecognized this by creating a card depicting one such fight between Ifrit and Titan Lost on the card Clash of the Eikons, which allows you to have one of your creatures fight one of your opponents' creatures. This card can be used to recreate some of the memorable boss fights from the game, and so far it looks like Ifrit will win at least one of the fights he does inFinal Fantasy 16.
At the time of writing, we’ve only seen three Eikons and their dominants represented onMagic: The Gatheringcards. However, we have seen that Ifrit’s power and toughness are nine, whereas Phoenix’s are only four.You could use Clash of the Eikons to have Ifrit defeat the Phoenix, mirroring the early scene where Clive unintentionally beats his brother Joshua while in their Eikon forms, which establishes Clive’s motivations early in the game.
7Sabin Suplexes A Train
Sabin Figaro is a monk inFinal Fantasy 6who pulls off some impressive physical feats. Perhaps one of the most memorable of these is when he, Shadow, and Cyan are forced to fight the Phantom Train. During the fight, if you use Sabin’s Meteor Strike ability,he will pick up the entire train and slam it into the ground. This isn’t a moment in the game’s story, and only something that happens in combat if you choose this move, so I was pleasantly surprised to see this fun moment recreated inMagic: The Gathering.
The Phantom Train card is a vehicle, a special type of artifact that can become a creature temporarily. The card’s art shows Sabin, Shadow, and Cyan running from the train like they are during the fight inFF6.Magic’sFinal Fantasyset also has a Suplex card that shows Sabin charging at the train.This card can exile an artifact, so you’re able to use it to get rid of the Phantom Train. Alternatively, Sabin himself has power equal to the train’s toughness and Double Strike, meaning his character card can also take out the train on his own.
6Zack Fair Passes On His Buster Sword To Cloud
This Moment Comes From Final Fantasy 7
During an optional flashback inFinal Fantasy 7, it’s revealed that Zack Fair died defending Cloud from Shinra. In the original, Cloud crawls over to Zack’s lifeless body and picks up his sword before mourning his fallen friend. However, these events were changed slightly inCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, where we see a still conscious Zack hand his sword over to Cloud and ask him to be his “living legacy.“Now, you’re able to fully recreate Zack’s sacrifice, protection of Cloud, and him passing on his sword.
As I predicted in myFF7wishlist forMagic: The Gathering,the Zack Fair card has the ability to pass its equipment onto another creature. However,Magic: The Gathering’s designers took things even further than I expected by allowing you to do this as an intentional sacrifice that not only hands off Zack’s counters and equipment, but also gives another creature indestructible, mirroring how he defends Cloud. If you have Cloud on the field and a Buster Sword attached to Zack, you may fully recreate this scene fromFinal Fantasy 7.
5Terra Can Command All The Espers
Though not necessarily a story moment fromFinal Fantasy 6,I found the game’s use of Espers to be one of the most memorable mechanics in the series. I thought it was awesome that I could pick and choose which characters learned what spells by assigning them the right Esper. While otherFinal Fantasygames have similar mechanics, likeFF7’s Materia abilities,FF6stands out to me since your characters continue to know each spell they learn, even when you assign them new Espers.
When I say the “Esper” cards from this set,I am referring to the cards that representFinal Fantasy 6’s Espers. “Esper” does also refer to blue, black, and white cards inMagic: The Gathering, but that’s not what I mean when discussing building an Esper deck with Terra.
Similar to howFinal Fantasy 6allowed me to build Terra (and her party members) with a lot of flexibility,Magic: The Gatheringalso lets you assign any Esper to Terra’s control. Terra, Magical Adept flips into Esper Terra, a card that has each ofMagic’s five colors in its color identity. Terra, Magical Adept can be the commander of a five-color deck,which you can fill with every Esper card from the set. Terra’s abilities also synergize well with the Esper cards, so it’s clearMagic’s designers are encouraging this build.
4Fang And Vanille Transform Into Ragnarok
This Moment Comes From Final Fantasy 13
Final Fantasy 13’sFang and Vanille play a pivotal role in setting off the game’s events and during its climax. The two became l’Cie together through a shared ritual which gave them the ability to turn into Ragnarok. Though they are reluctant to do so, they ultimately turn into the beast at the end of the game to save their home from being crushed by the massive falling structure, Cocoon.
As someone who thinksFinal Fantasy 13is underappreciated, I was happy thatMagic: The Gatheringdidn’t just include Lightning and call it a day. Instead, you can fully recreate Fang and Vanille’s transformation thanks to one of my favoriteMagicmechanics, Meld. Meld cards are double-sided, and their backsides form one single massive card when placed side-by-side.Fang and Vanille can be melded into a large Ragnarok card, which feels appropriate in terms of size, and also its ability to destroy one permanent and save another feels thematically accurate.
3Defeat The Ancient Adamantoise And Claim Its Loot
This Moment Comes From Final Fantasy 15
Adamantoises are a recurring turtle-like monster in theFinal Fantasyseries, butnone are quite as memorable asFinal Fantasy 15’s version of the creature. This time around, the Adamantoise is a super boss with a massive health bar. Around the time the game came out, there were rumblings that it would take three real-life days' worth of playtime just to defeat this boss. Although it has since proven to be much quicker to defeat than that for appropriately leveled and equipped characters, it’s still a memorable boss, especially given the initial hype surrounding it.
Although the Adamantoise’s 20 toughness inMagic: The Gatheringis a far cry from its five million health points inFF15, it is still very formidable. At 20 toughness,the Adamantoise is the toughest legalMagiccard, only beaten by the silver-bordered B.F.M. card. Since all your creatures' damage gets reassigned to the Adamantoise, you can fight and defeat the creature with theFF15crew inMagic, just like in the game. You’ll also be rewarded with loot, this time 10 Treasure tokens instead of 50,000 Gil and a nice ring.
2Winning Blitzball As Tidus
This Moment Comes From Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy 10’s protagonist Tidus is a professional Blitzball playerbefore being sent 1,000 years into the future. He is ecstatic to find out his favorite sport still exists, and his skills help him get in with a new team shortly after finding himself in the future. Blitzball isn’t just a major part of Tidus' character at the start of the game, it’s also a fun mini-game. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself scouting and recruiting athletes for a sports team inFinal Fantasy 10.
Magic: The Gatheringincluded its own Blitzball mini-game in the form of the enchantment card Sidequest: Play Blitzball. To win Blitzball, you’ll need to do six or more damage to another player. There are some Blitzball-themed cards that can help you achieve this goal,both of which work well with a version of Tidus inMagic. Blitzball stadium will buff Tidus, Blitzball Star when it enters, since it’s an artifact. Blitzball Shot is a good enough buff to let Tidus, Yuna’s Guardian win Blitzball, so long as he isn’t blocked.
1Sephiroth Kills Aerith At The Temple Of The Ancients
Sephiroth killing Aerith is essentially theFinal Fantasyequivalent of Bruce Willis being dead at the end ofThe Sixth Sense. Even if you’ve never played any of the games,there is still a chance you know about this moment through cultural osmosis. It’s one of the most impactful moments in the game, and I was still surprised how much it got to me while playingFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, despite having known for years it was going to happen.
Magic: The Gathering’s designers haven’t just made recreating this moment possible, they are basically encouraging it. Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER has a way to benefit from sacrificing one of your own creatures, and Aerith Gainsborough can buff another creature when it’s destroyed. This is already decent synergy, but Sephiroth can also help you gain life, which will put more counters on Aerith. You can use Sephiroth’s ability to stack counters, then sacrifice Aerith when the moment is right to give Sephiroth a significant power boost. Whether it’s a remake or a card game adaptation, it seems Aerith just can’t catch a break.
