Magic The Gathering reveals Final Fantasy Collab
In devastating news for gamer savings accounts everywhere, Wizards of the Coast have announced the upcoming Final Fantasy series for Magic The Gathering, another landmark entry in their IP collaborations that is sure to move more cardboard than an Amazon delivery driver. The new set releases on June 13th and will feature a range of products including Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Commander decks, Collector’s Edition Commander decks, Bundles, and Gift Bundles.
The set brings a handful of new mechanics and thematic touches that will surely appeal to Final Fantasy fans prompted to make the move over from the Final Fantasy TCG.
First up are Summons, a staple of the franchise with some truly iconic animations. Many of the most famous Final Fantasy Summons will appear in MTG:FF as Saga creatures. These enter battle with a single lore counter, granting an immediate effect. However, in keeping with the source material, these cards wont hang around for very long and will need to be utilised quickly and efficiently for maximum impact on the game state.
In a homage to every multi-phase boss fight that pulled the rug out from under the player, MTG: FF sees the return of Double-faced cards. These cards range from the representations of famous FF characters to fun minigames and story moments across the series. By casting the front face of the card for its mana cost and fulfilling its required conditions, it can transform, flipping over to sometimes devastating effect.
It wouldn’t be Magic without something for Commander format players, and the Final Fantasy wave of products shouldn’t disappoint. At launch, there will be four Pre-con decks in both a Standard and Collector’s Edition format, each telling the story of an individual game from the franchise. While the initial wave will contain Commander decks focused on Final Fantasy VI’s Terra, VII’s Cloud Strife, X’s Tidus and XIV’s Y’shtola, there’s no way there won’t be more catering to a wider range of FF fandom.
For the speculators and collectors, MTG: FF will offer three flavours of Borderless cards; Character, Woodblock and Artist. The former consists of 55 borderless character cards showcasing unique artwork from a range of Japanese artists.
Borderless Woodblock Cards lift a little more from Japanese culture, taking inspiration from traditional woodblock paintings to create a new look for many summon, spell and monster cards.
Finally, Artist cards promise borderless card art from famed contributors to the Final Fantasy series over the decades of its development, with more info to come.
Taking it one step further, the Final Fantasy Through the Ages reimagines legendary Magic: The Gathering cards with a fresh coat of Final Fantasy artwork and are sure to be sought after by MtG and FF fans alike.
Wizards of the Coast have promised more details in the lead-up to the June 13th release with more reveals still to come. In the meantime, preorders have begun to trickle from many dedicated gaming retailers, so support your friendly local game store where possible.
