To Zanarkand

The year is 2001.

16-year-old Dre was having an absolute blast of a summer: Pokémon was at a height of popularity that wouldn’t be matched until the summer of Pokémon Go, my card games of choice were Magi-Nation and WWE Raw Deal, and Final Fantasy X had just dropped.

(Lil’ baby Dre feat. Magi-Nation and absolutely no lotion!)

Final Fantasy X took up a LOT of hours in my friend Meshari’s basement (over 100 of them!), and while it wasn’t the first role-playing game I’ve ever played (Scheherazade for the NES) or even my favorite (Chrono Trigger, but specifically the Nintendo DS version), it did set the pace for both enjoying more involved games down the road. Fast-forward two years, and I’m knee-deep in the release of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the Game Boy Advance, one of the only two games I’ve ever put 999 hours into (the other being Pokémon Emerald, on the same Game Boy Advance). Suffice it to say, Final Fantasy holds a special place in my heart.

This isn’t to say I haven’t enjoyed things from the other Universes Beyond products. If anything, I’m probably the biggest proponent for those products outside of people who actually work for Wizards. As I wrote in our To Unfinity – and Beyond! article, I think anything that brings more people to Magic: the Gathering is a good thing, and the numbers show that bringing fans of other franchises to Magic is definitely working.

(Magic fans when we eventually see sales numbers for Final Fantasy)

Final Fantasy in particular has some cards that are both great for gameplay, especially considering that this set will be Standard-legal, and for flavor so that a lot of the references made will actually hit with longtime fans like myself. The only thing this set doesn’t do for the fans is tell you whether 7 or 8 is the better game.

Vivi Ornitier may just be the most perfectly-designed card I’ve seen. I’m serious. The artwork is iconic and shows off our favorite Black Mage, both visually and in building on the Black Mage set mechanic. The card itself is just good enough to potentially see play in the sideboard of Izzet Prowess, the current best Standard deck, without being powerful enough to create its own deck or see serious play in eternal formats like Modern or Legacy. It’s Legendary and relatively low-cost, so it’ll see play as a popular Commander. It’s not a Mythic rare, so it’ll be relatively cheap to obtain.

I couldn’t possibly ask for more from one card.

Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is the most iconic and well-known villain in all of Final Fantasy, and his card absolutely does him justice.

He’s a Mythic rare, giving him that “end boss” feel that he should have. His ability creates an Emblem—for the first time we’ve seen on a Standard-playable card on any card that isn’t a Planeswalker. He’s also powerful enough to not only see play in eternal formats, there’s even a world in which Sephiroth gets BANNED from multiple formats. If he ends up being banned from any of Commander, Standard, or even Modern in the next year, I told you so. All he needs is a sac outlet and a few more friends, both of which are incredibly easy to find in Black.

So you’re excited. Is that the point here?

Not just excited, I think Final Fantasy will be an absolute banger of a set with potential to be the best-selling Magic: the Gathering product of all time.

This summer is going to be even crazier than The Lord of the Rings. I’m serious. Think about how well that set sold, but also understand that the last time we had a relevant Lord of the Rings product before this was back in 2003, when The Return of the King dropped in theaters. Final Fantasy has had multiple games drop over the years, with a total of 200 million copies of games sold. If you want to get your hands on cards, I don’t advise waiting. Head to Fusion Gaming and pre-order your box yesterday.