The best cards in MTG Final Fantasy to help you conquer the battlefield

MTG Final Fantasy cards aren’t just delivering a heaped helping of JRPG nostalgia, they also happen to include some really solid additions to your deck.

If you’re one of the lucky ones that have managed to get their hands on MTG Final Fantasy stock, you might be wondering which cards to keep an eye out for while cracking the packs, or which singles you should add to your collection directly. There are plenty of valuable cards to choose from depending on your preferred archetype, game format, and color identity, but there are a few MTG Final Fantasy cards that stand out regardless.

Here are some of the top cards from MTG Final Fantasy to look out for, so you can bring your best to one of the best card games.

1. Vivi Ornitier

• Boosts spell-heavy decks with bonus mana
• Tough enough to hold its own
• Good to pair with 'storm' effects

Vivi Ortnitier is a powerful card that obviously lends itself well to inclusion in spell-slinger decks. Constantly dealing instants and sorceries not only provides you with a great opportunity to buff Vivi with +1/+1 counters (and chip away at your opponents’ health total), but also provides you a boost to your mana pool – meaning you can afford to cast even more spells.

However, Vivi Ortnitier would be right at home in an enchantment or artifact-heavy deck too. It’s a super versatile card in that respect; once you get any stream of noncreature spells aflowing, your opponents are in for a bad time.

Alongside being a valuable mana-production engine, Vivi Ornitier delivers a solid win con once you up its power and start swinging for damage. Also, thanks to its increased toughness, Vivi should be able to hold its own in plenty of combat encounters. It’s worth pairing Vivi Ornitier with cards that have storm – to create copies of your casted spells – so you can provide even more triggers for its self-buffing ability.

2. Eye of Nidhogg

• Transforms creatures into a dragon...
• ...which has flying and deathtouch
• Pair with Accorder's Shield for max chaos

Eye of Nidhogg is an enchantment that transforms a target enchanted creature into a 4/2 black Dragon with flying and deathtouch. It also gives this creature goaded, meaning that it attacks each combat and attacks a player other than you if able.

Flying and deathtouch is a pretty killer combination; either your opponent finds themselves unable to block due to a lack of flyers on their board, or they get their flyers wiped out one by one by deathtouch. Not a fun time for them at all.

The only real downside is the enchanted creature’s low toughness; you’ll likely want to buff it to ensure it stays on the board for as long as possible. Accorder’s Shield is worth pairing with Eye of Nidhogg, as it not only gives your creature +0/+3 but also gives it vigilance — allowing your creature to be just as valuable defensively as it is offensively.

If your Eye of Nidhogg-enchanted creature is killed in combat (or it’s hit with some targeted removal), you can thankfully return the aura from the graveyard and back into your hand. Simply pick another creature to enchant and begin your reign of terror again!

3. Battle Menu

• Offers a variety of buffs or benefits
• Very versatile
• Cheap to use

Battle Menu is a modal instant spell that can be of use to you no matter what you’re looking for. For two mana, you can choose between: flashing out a creature; buffing a creature’s toughness; targeted removal; or gaining life. While none of these effects are likely to entirely turn the tide in any of your games, Battle Menu is such a reliable, versatile card that’s also impressively low-cost.

Well worth popping into your deck, in other words.

4. Buster Sword

• Buffs and cheats out a spell
• Attach to a creature with unblockable/trample
• Pair with Tifa for best results

Not only does Buster Sword offer a tasty little buff to your creature’s power and toughness, but it also provides card draw and the opportunity to cheat out a spell.

The crucial thing to remember about the spell-cheating element of Buster Sword’s trigger is the mana value limit is dictated by combat damage dealt to a player, not their creatures. To facilitate that, you’ll probably want to pop Buster Sword onto an unblockable creature or one with trample, which will allow any unblocked damage to be passed onto your opponent.

Tifa Lockhart is one of a couple of good candidates for the Buster Sword, and you can have her on the board pretty early in the game too. This two-mana 1/2 has a landfall trigger that doubles her damage every turn you play a land card, allowing you to increase the value you get from Buster Sword’s trigger.

5. Jumbo Cactuar

• Basically a 'win the game' card
• Deals 10K damage
• Pair with indestructible/hexproof

Jumbo Cactuar’s 10,000 Needles ability is not only a total flavor win but is also one of the wildest pieces of rules text I’ve ever seen on a Magic card. With a creature capable of 10,000 fire-power, there’s plenty of room to experiment with adding abilities like lifelink or trample to really maximize the value of each swing. When played right, this card is an automatic ‘win the game’ button.

Of course, Jumbo Cactuar will have a big ol’ target on its spikey back as soon as it hits the battlefield, so it’s worth attaching indestructible or hexproof to it to prevent it from reaching an early grave. Alternatively, you could use a card like Illusionist’s Bracers to copy the 10,000 Needles ability onto another creature, giving your opponent 20,000 needles to try to avoid instead.

Whatever happens, just hope your opponent doesn’t respond to Jumbo Cactuar’s attack with something like Deflecting Palm; you really don’t want those needles pointed back at you.

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