It's MTG Final Fantasy spoilers season. Both FF and Magic fans have been eagerly anticipating the crossover between the beloved Square Enix series and one of the best card games since it was initially announced. However, up until very recently, we've been pretty much in the dark about the set, save for a few pretty pieces of key art.
Thankfully, we've just learned a whole lot more about the upcoming MTG Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set thanks to this flood of great spoilers.
Mechanics
Newly dropped spoilers show that MTG Final Fantasy will be home to the first Saga creatures. These multi-stage spells are usually reserved for Enchantments and accumulate different effects each turn with the addition of lore counters. We've already been shown one instance of Saga mechanics at play on a Creature card through the example of Summon: Shiva. Saga creatures enter the battlefield with one lore counter on them so Shiva can immediately tap a creature an opponent controls and put a stun counter on it. Shiva's abilities develop until the end of turn three, when its owner has to sacrifice it. Saga creatures' time on your battlefield will be short, but let's hope it's sweet.
Double-faced cards will make a big appearance in MTG Final Fantasy too, though this is a returning mechanic as opposed to a new one. Emet-Slech, Unsundered is the first of these cards from the upcoming set we've gotten a look at and it sees the FFXIV wizard transform into his Hades form once there are 14 cards in your graveyard. The set will also feature Garland, Knight of Cornelia and his alternate form, Chaos, the Endless. These double-faced cards promise everything from "representations of your favorite characters to fun minigames and story moments across the series." So, be sure to keep an eye out for these as more MTG Final Fantasy spoilers emerge.
Booster fun
As has come to be the case with every Magic: The Gathering, there are some mighty fine alternate art treatments to look out for in this set. There are apparently over 100 Legendary creatures in the MTG Final Fantasy set (Commander players, get ready to do some deck-building) and 55 of them are set to get special borderless character cards with backgrounds that illustrate their first appearances in the series. If you have one particular FF character that's close to your heart, these cards are a real treat.
The two other alternate treatments utilize unique art styles to make your collection even more special. Borderless Woodblock cards make creatures like Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant and Jumbo Cactuar even cuter thanks to their simple, graphic style inspired by the woodblock printing technique. Lastly, the Borderless Artist cards will be an alternate treatment of cards from the set, that include contributions from fan-favorite creatives involved with Final Fantasy over the series' run. We haven't gotten a taste of any of these yet but they're sure to be something special.
Bonus sheet
Final Fantasy Through the Ages is a bonus sheet that'll accompany the core set, where fans will get the opportunity to see work from beloved series contributors like Yoshitaka Amano (天 野喜孝) and Tetsuya Nomura (野村哲也) recontextualised and transformed into Magic: The Gathering cards. As it stands, MTG Final Fantasy spoilers show a PSX-era Yuffie as Yuriko, The Tiger's Shadow and Dragon of Mount Gulg as Ancient Copper Dragon. We've never had a bonus sheet for a Universes Beyond set before so it's difficult to predict many more Through the Ages cards we should expect to see in the final product; however, previous bonus sheets have contained a count between 15 and 65. So, you should expect to see more spoilers of these lovely reprints as we get closer to the release date.
If you're keen to get your hands on MTG Final Fantasy goodies when the set releases in June, there are a couple of ways to go about it. The full product lineup consists of:
- Play Booster (available as individual packs or a box)
- Collector Booster (available as individual packs or a box)
- Four Commander precons (each available in Standard and Collector's edition)
- Bundle
- Gift Bundle
- Prerelease pack
- Starter Kit
- 3 Secret Lair drops (more details TBA)
All these (with the exception of the Secret Lair drops, of course) are all available to preorder now at Amazon, as well as at smaller retailers, and your local game store.
To catch up on the most recent Magic release, check out everything you need to know about MTG Aetherdrift. Product fatigue hitting? MTG Aetherdrift addressed one of the most common player complaints ... but it still won’t solve that.
