The Finest ‘Last Fantasy’ References in Its Big ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Crossover

At this time one of many largest units in Magic: The Gathering‘s latest historical past makes its grand arrival ultimately: Final Fantasy, the primary of Magic‘s at-times-controversial “Universes Past” crossovers with different franchises to be given the complete standard-legal therapy. It’s a wedding of two of gaming’s most beloved fantasy realms, and with absolute legions of followers of each Magic and Last Fantasy to please, it has to hit the highlights and mechanical flavoring of 16 mainline sport’s value of viable playing cards. From all the things we’ve seen of the set within the run as much as immediately’s launch, it seems to be like Wizards of the Coast and Sq. Enix helped construct a match made in (seventh) heaven—however right here’s a few of our favorite nods to Last Fantasy‘s huge legacy that we love most from the set.

Naturally, a few of these references are about key main story factors of their respective Last Fantasy titles. When you’re not caught up with the 16 mainline video games which have launched over the previous 4 many years, nicely, contemplate your self very frivolously spoiler warned right here.

Tiered Spells Are a Excellent Mix of Last Fantasy and Magic

One of many new mechanical additions the Last Fantasy set brings to Magic is the “Tiered” rule: if a participant pays an extra price to the cardboard’s preliminary mana price, they will choose from one in all three tiers of energy. Extra mana means extra results—similar to how in Last Fantasy plenty of magic spells have three evolutionary steps: their base type, a stronger model of that type with the suffix -ara, after which its strongest type with the suffix -aga.

The tiered spells within the set are unfold throughout two totally different types: some are given to characterize varied restrict break assaults from Last Fantasy VII, reflecting the get together’s skill to develop stronger particular assaults over the course of the sport. However the ones that characterize a few of Last Fantasy‘s elemental and restorative magics are every neatly attuned to the colour identities they’re assigned to in Magic. Aggressive hearth and thunder magics are assigned to purple; ice, which as an alternative of doing harm bounces playing cards again into an opponents fingers or libraries, is assigned to blue, which displays that colour’s archetypal deal with interruption and management mechanics. It’s a really neat option to mechanically marry a Last Fantasy participant’s understanding of the sequence’ base magic system to a Magic participant’s understanding of its personal colours’ archetypes and escalatory results.

Suplex the Prepare, Dammit

Suplex, renamed to Meteor Strike in later variations of Last Fantasy VI, is without doubt one of the many martial talents of Sabin the Monk, letting him… nicely, choose an enemy up and flip them within the air to slam them straight again down. However whereas Sabin can use the transfer on a large number of VI‘s massive creatures, essentially the most notorious sufferer of the assault—spurring years of web meme historical past—is the truth that he can use it when the get together encounters the Phantom Prepare after Sabin, Cyan, and Shadow flee the Empire’s invasion of Doma. The Phantom Prepare is, in fact, a spectral haunted steam practice, so it’s very absurd that Sabin can simply choose it up and suplex it prefer it’s no massive deal.

Suplex will get its personal card as a sorcery in Magic, which helps you to do three harm to a creature—fairly primary. Besides, a participant who performs Suplex may as an alternative use its second skill, which permits it to particularly exile an artifact card. You recognize what’s an artifact within the Last Fantasy set? The Phantom Prepare.

Lightning’s Stagger

FF XIII‘s protagonist has a number of playing cards to her title within the set, however Lightning, Military of One has a number of cool mechanical nods to XIII‘s battle system. The primary is that “Military of One” suffix, a reference to Lightning’s highly effective combo assault of that title within the sport—an aggression that’s symbolically matched within the card by giving her a number of offensive key phrases like Trample (which lets her deal extra harm from fight on to a participant) and First Strike (which lets her deal harm earlier than anybody else resolves harm in fight).

However it’s Lightning, Military of One’s different rule that’s the neater reference: she has Stagger, a nod to the mechanic of the identical title in XIII that lets the get together deal bonus harm to an opponent as soon as they’ve maxed out its stagger gauge by way of regular, repeated assaults for a short time frame. In Magic, it lets another creature that assaults Lightning’s goal, whether or not it’s one other creature or a participant, take double harm for the remainder of the flip. Similar hat!

Sephiroth Yearns to Kill Aerith

One of many most infamous moments within the authentic Last Fantasy VII is Sephiroth’s homicide of Aerith as she prays within the Metropolis of Ancients. Just like the synergy between Suplex and Phantom Prepare earlier than it, Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier and Aerith have a synergy that grimly displays his fated killing: Aerith’s guidelines let her achieve +1/+1 counters each time you achieve life, and Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier provides you life each time one other creature dies. The fourth time that impact occurs, you’ll be able to flip Sephiroth over, remodeling him into his highly effective One Winged Angel type.

However he can even sacrifice any card, together with one in all your individual, each time he assaults. Which, as a rule, triggers “dies” as a mechanic, advancing Sephiroth nearer to his transformation… and Aerith herself has a particular rule that, when she dies, her accrued +1/+1 tokens will be given to all Legendary Creatures you’ve gotten in play. So, if in case you have them each in play, Sephiroth can sacrifice Aerith for his fourth set off, remodeling, and then reap the advantages of all of the +1/+1 tokens Aerith had constructed up from his attacking. It’s imply! And really flavorful.

Or you could possibly simply play Sephiroth’s Intervention, a black Immediate that destroys any goal creature, in case you simply need to kill an Aerith for funsies.

Last Fantasy XIV‘s Last Days

One of many largest items of background lore within the critically acclaimed MMORPG Last Fantasy XIV is the “Last Days,” a cataclysmic apocalypse that occurred 1000’s of years prior to now that noticed the world of Etheirys, the realm of a precursor race referred to as the Ancients, break into 14 shards throughout a battle between the gods Zodiark and Hydaelyn in an try to stall the Last Days’ arrival. A lot of Last Fantasy XIV takes place on the first of these reflective shards, the Supply, whereas a few of its expansions have seen gamers journey to the worlds of different shards, like Shadowbringers.

This occasion comes up in a number of poignantly thematic playing cards within the Magic set. Zodiark, Umbral God sees a participant sacrifice half of the creatures they management, as a reference to the sacrifice the Ancients made to summon Zodiark and delay the Last Days within the first place. In the meantime, Emet-Selch, Unsundered—one of many few surviving Ancients, haunted by his want to revive the world to what it was in his lifetime—can rework into his godlike type of Hades as soon as 14 playing cards enter your graveyard, and may play playing cards out of your graveyard as soon as he’s achieved so.

Phoenix Down Can Heal… and Hurt

Phoenix Down is an iconic merchandise from throughout Last Fantasy, the straightforward revival medication that allows you to convey again a useless get together member in battle. In Magic, it might solely convey again playing cards out of your graveyard with a mana worth of 4 or much less, reflective of its comparatively primary type of restorative magic. However even higher is the truth that it has a second skill: you need to use it to exile undead creatures, a nod to the truth that therapeutic objects in Last Fantasy can be utilized on undead enemies to do harm as an alternative.

Worry the Tonberry

Tonberries could look oddly cute with the dainty little knife and their massive yellow eyes, however each Last Fantasy participant is aware of that these inexperienced critters imply enterprise as soon as they get near you. In most of their appearances, Tonberries take a number of turns of fight to slowly inch in direction of your get together—and as soon as they do, they immediately kill you in a single assault with their chef’s knife. That is splendidly translated into Magic with a mixture of two mechanics: a Tonberry enters play tapped and with a stun counter on it, which implies it takes two participant turns to be able to assault. As soon as it does assault although, it has First Strike and Deathtouch, which means regardless of how a lot harm it does to a creature, it is going to at all times do deadly harm.

Galuf’s Sacrifice

Galuf’s demise combating Exdeath in Last Fantasy V is without doubt one of the sport’s most iconic moments, made all of the extra bittersweet by the very fact his talents are handed onto his granddaughter Krile, who joins the get together in his stead. That inheritance is of course mirrored in Galuf’s Last Act, which not solely briefly boosts a creature’s energy (a nod to Galuf going all out as he takes on Exdeath 1v1), however lets it cross on +1/+1 tokens equal to its energy when it dies.

Combat or Flight

An notorious gag second in Last Fantasy VII comes when the get together goes to rescue Aerith from Shinra’s HQ forward of the climactic escape from Midgar. You’re given a easy selection, in each the unique sport and in Remake: take the elevator as much as the sixtieth flooring, which stops a number of instances for a sequence of fights, or the “quiet” route… having to manage Cloud as he runs up 59 flights of stairs.

The Magic card Aerith Rescue Mission encapsulates that selection completely: you’ll be able to both take the elevator, providing you with three 1/1 Hero Tokens (representing Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett being able to battle), or you’ll be able to take the steps, which helps you to faucet and stun as much as three creatures (representing their cardio-induced duress).

The Cycle of Sin

Last Fantasy X is constructed across the cycle of Sin, a large creature that rises to cull civilizations that develop too massive or too superior—however whose slaughter will be paused for a interval of “Calm” years when a Summoner sacrifices themselves in a last battle towards Sin to summon a last aeon able to defeating Sin… albeit solely briefly, locking the world in a cycle of destruction.

That will get a fairly spot-on mirror within the card Sin, Endless Cataclysm; it not solely removes counters from any variety of creatures on the battlefield (to characterize Sin’s limitation of technological development), but in addition returns to your library when it dies quite than dying, which means it might’t be conventionally defeated. Its personal bonus counters created from eradicating counters will be given to one in all your different creatures… you understand, so Sin can inherit them twice over when it returns.

Champions From Past the Rift, Heed My Name!

Champions From Past is a multilayered reference for Last Fantasy XIV gamers: the title and the artwork represents the climactic moments of the Shadowbringers enlargement, when the participant is aided by Iconic Catboy G’raha Tia, who summons heroes (aka, different gamers) from throughout the 14 shards of the world to battle Emet-Selch. That group-content focus is mirrored in its guidelines, which helps you to create any variety of Hero tokens whereas additionally providing bonuses for attacking in both teams of 4 or eight creatures.  These are references to the 2 customary group sizes for FF XIV‘s multiplayer content material: Gentle Events, teams of 4 for normal dungeon content material; and Full Events, teams of eight usually utilized in more difficult boss fights or endgame raids.

Quistis’ Blue Magic

Last Fantasy has all types of various magical archetypes throughout the sequence, however Blue Magic is one in all its most arcane emblems within the varied faculties of color-themed magics. Black Magic is primarily damaging elemental spells, White Magic is therapeutic and help, Pink Magic blends the 2, whereas Blue represents a capability to soak up and study the abilities of an enemy opponent. Blue Mages exist throughout a number of Last Fantasy video games, however FF VIII‘s Quistis it maybe one of the crucial well-known. It’s becoming then that not solely is she slotted into Magic‘s blue colour archetype, however that her Blue Magic skill lets her forged spells from any participant’s graveyard, be it yours or your opponent: and that she forged them with any mana, no matter their authentic price.

Kain’s Thoughts Management

Kain Highwind is an enchanting foil in Last Fantasy IV, his lingering jealousy in direction of FF IV‘s essential character Cecil making him a straightforward goal for the sport’s antagonist, Golbez, to deprave him and brainwash him a number of instances over the course of the story. Kain’s almost-comical skill to be compelled into betraying you is delightfully woven into Magic along with his card, Kain, Traitorous Dragoon—at any time when Kain does harm to a different participant, they will select to take management of him and he does mirrored harm to his authentic proprietor, which means that Kain can bounce backwards and forwards between possession over the course of the sport!

Ashe’s Temptation

A significant turning level in Last Fantasy XII comes when Ashe, the exiled princess of the dominion of Dalmasca, finds herself confronted with a harmful temptation: fulfill her future as Ivalice’s generational ruler and use the facility of the almighty crystal referred to as the Solar-Cryst to destroy the Archadian Empire that attacked Dalmasca at the beginning of the sport, or destroy the Solar-Cryst and free Ivalice from the machinations of its creators.

On the floor, the Immediate Destiny of the Solar-Cryst is a fairly typical Magic card, paying 5 mana to destroy any non-land everlasting. However it has a bonus twist: it solely prices three mana in case you goal a tapped creature, ie… a creature that’s already attacked you. It’s a really flavorful option to incorporate Ashe’s temptation in direction of revenge.

Of Course Ignis Cooks

Ignis’ card simply wouldn’t be Ignis if it didn’t embody a capability primarily based round cooking. “I’ve Come Up With a New Recipe!” lets a participant faucet Ignis and pay some mana to exile a card out of your graveyard—and if it was a creature, you’ll be able to create a meals token, letting a participant regain well being. It’s named, in fact, for Ignis’ meme-worthy repeated catchphrase from Last Fantasy XV: the get together’s prepare dinner at any time when they camped, Ignis may study varied recipes all through XV to grant the get together varied buffs and standing results once they rested. Specifying the bonus for exiling a creature is itself a cute reference to the truth that Ignis can prepare dinner varied meals from the supplies you get from killing creatures throughout XV‘s world, besides.

A Smile Higher Fits a Hero

A number of playing cards all through the Last Fantasy set give new themed artwork to already established Magic playing cards. Relic of Legends, a easy mana-generating artifact launched in Dominaria United, is one in all them, however its inclusion within the Last Fantasy XIV-themed Commander Deck, Scions & Spellcraft, is given a painful twist. The relic of legend within the new artwork refers to a traumatic sacrifice from Heavensward, XIV‘s first enlargement, when one in all your allies within the kingdom of Ishgard, Haurchefant Greystone, makes an attempt to deflect a magical assault meant to strike the hero… just for his protect to buckle and for the strike to run him by way of as an alternative, killing him. Cue the waterworks!

Ifrit vs. Titan

Conflict of the Eikons refers to one of many standout moments of the latest mainline Final Fantasy, XVI, during which protagonist Clive Rosfield, remodeled into the almighty summon Ifrit, scraps with rival summon Titan in an epic battle. Except for trying as cool because the battle in XVI does, this sorcery enables you to manipulate the quantity of lore counters on a Saga card beneath your management: the cardboard archetype that represents Last Fantasy‘s varied summon creatures throughout the video games within the set to mirror their standing as highly effective, however limited-time forces in battle.

It’s not solely flavorful in that sense, it’s significantly flavorful to Last Fantasy XVI. The battle between Ifrit and Titan is actually the primary time that Clive actually comes into his personal as Ifrit’s “Dominant”, embracing his transformation and pulling out all of the stops to defeat Titan—so it’s solely becoming that that conflict represents the power to govern Sagas on this means!

The Warrior of Gentle Unites All

The Warrior of Gentle is the title of the character created to characterize the generic get together members of the very first Last Fantasy, who had no set characters and may very well be given any of the sequence’ iconic jobs over the course of the sport. Now a quasi-mascot of Last Fantasy as an entire, oddly sufficient the Warrior of Gentle doesn’t even have a singular card representing him within the Magic set (he seems on some, however none are particularly centered round him as a personality).

He’s represented, nonetheless, on the “Via The Ages” bonus sheet, a sequence of playing cards that reprints traditional Magic playing cards with art work drawn from throughout Last Fantasy historical past, from character idea work to promotional imagery from every sport. The Warrior of Gentle is represented on this set of playing cards with a reprint of Jodah the Unifier, an iconic card that’s widespread in Magic‘s Commander as a “WURBG” archetype: having a value that makes use of one mana from every of Magic‘s 5 colours, a deck with Jodah as its Commander will be constructed out of playing cards from each colour in flip.

On prime of that, Jodah the Unifier’s talents are constructed round synergies with Legendary Creatures and spells, buffing the extra of them you’ve gotten in play and getting extra of them in play as shortly as attainable. Throughout the Last Fantasy set most essential characters are represented as Legendary Creatures, so it’s becoming that the Warrior of Gentle can convey collectively heroes and villains from throughout the entire sequence to face collectively!

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