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The Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy crossover was the best-selling set in the history of the game, with players lining up to add familiar characters like Cloud Strife and Estinien to their decks.
While any crossover has the potential to be a lazy cash-in, especially with Magic: The Gathering (cough, Monster Hunter delay, cough), the Final Fantasy set was incredible. Not only was the artwork stellar across the board, but the developers made an effort to make each character and mechanic feel familiar to the video games, while still matching the card game.
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In fact, some of the cards may have been a little too good. The Final Fantasy crossover set quickly came under fire for having some truly overpowered cards, with fans begging Wizards of the Coast to ban at least one of them.
The Final Fantasy set has been especially popular with Commander players, as the wacky and powerful cards fit perfectly in that format, ensuring they’ll be used for years to come.
But what are the best cards in the Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering crossover set? There are tons of amazing cards present, but who sits at the top of the pile?
10 Jumbo Cactuar
Who Knew Drizzt Do’Urden’s Best Friend Was A Cactus?
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Jumbo Cactuar |
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Creature - Plant |
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5 + 2 Green Mana |
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10,000 Needles — Whenever this creature attacks, it gets +9999/+0 until end of turn. |
The number 9999 appears a lot in the Final Fantasy series, as it represents the damage limit seen in many games. Anyone who wants to tackle the super bosses, like Emerald and Ruby Weapon, will need to hit these numbers if they want to succeed.
The Jumbo Cactuar creature can hit for 9999, thanks to its ability to raise its power to that degree when attacking. If it gets a clean hit or is given Trample, then it’s pretty much a guaranteed win. Also, if Drizzt Do’Urden from Dungeons & Dragons is on the field, he can become a 9999/9999 creature if the opponent manages to take out Jumbo Cactuar.
The reason Jumbo Cactuar is so low on this list is that it takes a while to get out, owing to its large mana cost. Unless the opponent has whiffed hard, they should have something in hand to stop it, as they’ll have had the chance to prep plenty of lands in the time it takes to get the resources to play Jumbo Cactuar.
9 Absolute Virtue
Repeat The Pain That Final Fantasy 11 Players Felt
Image Via Square Enix|
Absolute Virtue |
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Legendary Creature - Avatar Warrior |
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6 + 1 White + 1 Blue mana |
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This spell can’t be countered. Flying You have protection from each of your opponents. (You can’t be dealt damage, enchanted, or targeted by anything controlled by your opponents.) |
Absolute Virtue from Final Fantasy XI might be the most notorious boss in the history of the Final Fantasy series, due to it being so difficult that it took years for players to work out. The developers of Magic: The Gathering recognized its strength in the card game.
Absolute Virtue has a high cost, but the fact that it can’t be countered and gains immunity to players means that it’s a terrifying foe when it hits the field. It requires some dedicated support to get it out early, thanks to its eight mana cost, but once it’s out there, the opponents will have a hard time dislodging it.
8 Summon: Primal Odin
Zantetsuken Can Still End Fights
Image Via Square Enix|
Summon: Primal Odin |
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Enchantment Creature - Saga Knight |
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6 + 2 Black Mana |
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(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.) I — Gungnir — Destroy target creature an opponent controls. II — Zantetsuken — This creature gains “Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player loses the game.” III — Hall of Sorrow — Draw two cards. Each player loses 2 life. |
Summon: Primal Odin features one of Magic: The Gathering’s alternate win conditions, or rather, a forced losing condition for an opponent. Once it reaches its second Lore counter, if it strikes an opponent, then they lose the game.
The reason Odin has such a powerful ability is a reference to his recurring summon in the Final Fantasy series, which can instantly wipe out any enemy using his Zantetsuken attack. It usually doesn’t work on bosses, but it can make short work of random mobs.
As the Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering crossover heavily featured the summon mechanic as Enchantments, there are several cards focused on bringing them out, keeping them on the field, or returning them from the graveyard. This means there are decks that can make Odin’s instant kill a recurring threat and one that the opponent will need to burn resources to neutralize.
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7 Garnet, Princess Of Alexandria
The Princess Who Keeps Summons Around
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Garnet, Princess Of Alexandria |
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Legendary Creature - Human Noble Cleric |
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1 White + 1 Green Mana |
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Lifelink Whenever Garnet attacks, you may remove a lore counter from each of any number of Sagas you control. Put a +1/+1 counter on Garnet for each lore counter removed this way. |
Garnet, Princess of Alexandria, is the best summoner in the Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering set. Her ability to keep Sagas on the field indefinitely by removing Lore Counters (and buffing herself in the process) means that any deck without reliable Enchantment removal is going to have a really hard time surviving against her.
While some players prefer Yuna, Hope of Spira as a summoner, she’s more expensive to bring onto the field and can only bring back one spent Enchantment from the graveyard. The fact that they’re both green/white cards means that any deck using Garnet would, ideally, also have a Yuna, but the Final Fantasy 9 character is slightly better.
6 Kefka, Court Mage
Players Will Be Dancing Mad When The Clown Enters The Field
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Kefka, Court Mage |
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Legendary Creature - Human Wizard |
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2 + 1 Blue + 1 Black + 1 Red mana |
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Whenever Kefka enters or attacks, each player discards a card. Then you draw a card for each card type among cards discarded this way. (8) Each opponent sacrifices a permanent of their choice. Transform Kefka. Activate only as a sorcery. |
Discarding can be a major nightmare in Magic: The Gathering, especially when facing something without a lot of drawing power, like a blue deck. Kefka, Court Mage excels at robbing the opponent of their options, forcing them to discard when he enters and whenever he attacks, with his controller drawing cards equal to the discarded card types.
The discard ability is so good that it might dissuade people from paying 8 to transform Kefka, Court Mage, into Kefka, Ruler of Ruin. His second form is a flyer that lets the player draw cards whenever an opponent loses life, equal to the life lost. This can get silly and force you to discard a ton at the end of the turn, but if you’re looking for specific cards, then the massive draw number is helpful.
5 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER
Prepare The Latin Chanting For His Entrance
Image Via Wizards of the Coast|
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER |
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Legendary Creature - Human Avatar Soldier |
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2 + 1 Black |
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Whenever Sephiroth enters or attacks, you may sacrifice another creature. If you do, draw a card. Whenever another creature dies, target opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. If this is the fourth time this ability has resolved this turn, transform Sephiroth. |
It’s only natural that Sephiroth was given an amazing Magic: The Gathering card, given his popularity as the most iconic Final Fantasy villain, if not the most well-known video game antagonist of all time.
In Magic: The Gathering, Sephiroth is a card with a transformation gimmick. If four creatures die during one turn, Sephiroth turns into his famous One-Winged Angel form, ensuring that your opponent loses life, and you gain life whenever something dies. Couple this nightmarish end boss with some board wipes spells, and Sephiroth will finally be securing a win.
The tricky part with Sephiroth is actually hitting the four deaths in one turn. Fortunately, as a mono black creature, he fits well in decks with lots of removal options, including for the player’s own creatures.
4 Lightning, Army Of One
The Commando Who Ends Battles Quickly
Image Via Square Enix|
Lightning, Army Of One |
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Legendary Creature - Human Soldier |
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1 + 1 Red + 1 White mana |
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First strike, trample, lifelink Stagger — Whenever Lightning deals combat damage to a player, until your next turn, if a source would deal damage to that player or a permanent that player controls, it deals double that damage instead. |
Lightning, Army of One is an amazing card for swift aggro decks. For a cheap cost, she’s a 3/2 with First Strike, Trample, and Lifelink, which is a ton of keywords for such a low entry cost.
The reason why Lightning, Army of One is so good is due to Stagger. Once Lightning hits an opponent, for the rest of the turn, everything else that hits the opponent deals double damage. With the right setup, Lightning can blow through an enemy’s defenses and force them to scramble for a way to stop her.
The only reason Lightning isn’t higher is that there’s another Final Fantasy leading lady who does something similar, but better. And much like in the mainline games, this other heroine is far more popular.
3 Sin, Spira’s Punishment
Spira’s Scourge Just Can’t Stay Dead
Image Via Wizards of the Coast|
Sin, Spira’s Punishment |
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Legendary Creature - Leviathan Avatar |
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4 + 1 Black + 1 Green + 1 Blue mana |
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Flying Whenever Sin enters or attacks, exile a permanent card from your graveyard at random, then create a tapped token that’s a copy of that card. If the exiled card is a land card, repeat this process. |
Sin, Spira’s Punishment, is one of the most terrifying commanders in all of Magic: The Gathering. Sure, it’s expensive, but once it’s on the field, it’s going to cause a lot of trouble for the opponent.
When Sin enters or attacks, it creates a token copy of a randomly selected card from your graveyard. If the card is a land, the process is repeated. Not only is making free copies of creatures a terrifying prospect, but the fact that Sin can provide multiple free lands is even scarier, as it provides the opponent with an amazing mana engine.
Sin needs a deck focused around it to bring out its best features, especially something milling-related, but once it’s going, it can be tough to stop.
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2 Tifa Lockhart
The Planet Is Very Good At Empowering Its Protectors
Image Via Square Enix|
Tifa Lockheart |
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Legendary Creature - Human Monk |
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1 + 1 Green |
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Trample Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, double Tifa Lockhart’s power until end of turn. |
Tifa Lockhart has the potential to end games very quickly. In a dedicated Landfall deck, she can decimate foes in a handful of turns, due to how ridiculously high her Power can get, made even more terrifying with her Trample.
There are lots of ways for green cards to get lands on the field. It doesn’t matter if they enter tapped or another land had to be sacrificed in order to get them out: Tifa doesn’t care. As long as the lands are landed, she gets her power boost.
Throw a decent Power-boosting equipment card on her, and Tifa can end games before they truly begin. The fact that she has Trample means decks can’t even protect against her. If there’s no removal in play, Tifa will Dolphin Kick her way to victory, all without breaking a sweat.
1 Vivi Ornitier
The Black Mage That Destroyed An Entire Game
Image Via Square Enix|
Vivi Ornitier |
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Legendary Creature - Wizard |
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1 + 1 Blue + 1 Red mana |
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Tap - Add X mana in any combination of Blue mana and/or Red mana where X is Vivi Ornitier’s power. Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi Ornitier and it deals 1 damage to each opponent. |
It almost feels like cheating to put Vivi at the top of the list, considering that it’s now banned from several formats due to being so powerful. From the start, people pegged Vivi as the standout card of the set, and it wouldn’t take long for their suspicions to become fact.
Vivi has two things going for it. Firstly, Vivi is a mana-making machine, able to spawn additional mana based on its Power value. Now, Vivi starts with zero Power, but that will quickly change, as it gains +1/+1 every time its owner casts a non-creature spell, while also dealing damage to an opponent.
Vivi has the potential to get very big, very quick, with his natural damage sapping away at the opponent. If it weren’t for the mana engine, Vivi might not be as terrifying, but the fact that he provides a huge source of resources for free on his turn makes him one of, if not the best Commander in the game. This black mage rightly deserves his spot on the banlist.
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