Magic: The Gathering’s upcomingFinal Fantasyset has a bit of a problem on its hands, but I think its latest preview has shown us how it will be solved. The main issue for the set will be trying to print cards for all the major characters fromFinal Fantasy’s 16 mainline games. Between extensive parties - like inFinal Fantasy 6- and plenty of iconic villains, I wasn’t sure how every character was going to get a card without unbalancing the set.
Magic: The Gatheringsets, like all Trading Card Games, are made up of cards from across a spectrum of rarities. In theoriginal crop ofFinal Fantasyspoilers, and with the couple previews that followed,every major party member was printed as either a rare or mythic rare card, with lower rarities being reserved for villains or creatures like Tonberry. However, the latestFinal Fantasypreview card has shown that this isn’t the case for the entire set.
Magic’s Latest Final Fantasy Preview Shows The Set Will Include Legendary Uncommons For Party Members
Previously, Party Member Cards Were Are Rares Or Mythics
In celebration of his birthday,Final Fantasy’sFacebookpage posted a preview of a card featuring Gladio fromFinal Fantasy 15. The card, Gladioulus Amicitia, isthe first party member we’ve seen in the set who is being printed at uncommon. I honestly didn’t think this was going to happen after seeingFinal Fantasy 8’s Zell printed as a rare card, but I’m happy to see it.
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Now that I know party members can be printed at lower rarities,I’m less worried that we aren’t going to get some of the series' best characters. While I figured main characters, like Clive or Squall, would show up, I was worried about less-popular party members who might not get a card. Now I’m optimistic we will see less popular characters likeFF6’s Gau or characters fromunderappreciated games in the series likeFF13’s Snow.
Party members being printed at lower rarities also means that they are more common to show up in Drafts and Prerelease events. I’m now extra excited to crack open myFinal FantasyPrerelease pack and see which characters I end up with for my deck. It’s also nice to know thatFinal Fantasyfans who may just want to collect the cards will likely be able to snag some of their favorite characters for a lower price.
The New Gladiolus Card Is Another Flavor Win For Magic’s Final Fantasy Set
The Gladioulus Amicitia Card Capture’s The Character’s Talents
Aside from being a nice confirmation that uncommon - and possibly even common - party members are on the way,Gladio’s card also feels like another flavor win for this set’s mechanics. Gladio loves the outdoors and was the best at tracking and scavenging inFinal Fantasy 15’s party. Trackers inMagic: The Gatheringtypically have abilities like Gladio’s that let you search your deck, so his first ability feels like a good fit.
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Gladio’s landfall ability does feel a bit more like a stretch, but that’s because landfall is a tricky ability to try and picture in terms of its narrative meaning. That said,landfall abilities are typically found on creatures that have some connection to nature, so I still think it’s a pretty decent fit. I don’t think it’s nearly as big of a stretch asMagic’sSpider-Mancards depicting Green Goblin as a literal goblin just because it’s in his code name.
In general, I’ve been mostly happy withMagic: The Gathering’sFinal Fantasycards in terms of flavor. While there are some that excite me less than others - I’m a little bummed Cloud is relegated to being an Equipment Commander - the set mostly has me eager to try it out. WithTarkir: Dragonstormreleasing soon, I expect we’ll get even moreFinal Fantasypreviews shortly thereafter.
