Cards to Watch From Final Fantasy
Universes Beyond show no signs of slowing down. From gentle crossovers to fully-fledged expansions, we now move into the world of Final Fantasy. Except, it's not quite that simple.
Full transparency here, I'm not a Standard enjoyer. The closest I get is my usual trip to the prerelease or watching competitive coverage during sanctioned events. Beyond that, what is or isn't in Standard doesn't sway me one way or another. In saying that, Standard was always a kind of sacred spot for pure Magic play in my mind. A place where cards from the universe itself could thrive, with other formats being the flag bearers of creative expression.
Now, that part of pure Magic is lost and we will likely never get it back. Is that a good thing, or has the game needed to change with the times?
Not the Art I Would Have Proxied
What immediately stood out to me is that all of these cards have been included equally, rather than based on rarity.
Of the included cards, 22 have what appear to be screenshots from their corresponding games. These look very jarring and could be compared to mid/high-quality proxies. Outside of those 22, the remaining 42 strike me as more of a long-term investment. Fans of the games, and those who appreciate the unique art, will be delighted with the inclusions presented.
While it’s hard to gauge how much wider appeal the cards will have, there is a comparison point.
My top picks from this selection and where I’ve focused my own purchases were
Reunion
While we’re still in the pre-release window, before product circulation reaches its peak, Vivi’s price will decrease rapidly. Circling back to Hashaton, the post-release price drop was rather large and people who banked on this spec were not rewarded. I believe that Vivi Ornitier is primed to fall down toward the $10 mark if not below in the next month.
Each Final Fantasy entry is heavily associated with two main concepts: protagonist and antagonist. The set overall delivers a heavy influx of legendary creatures in both of these categories, but none more influential than
This card is aggressively costed and provides a small engine, with a huge upside on the flip which make it one of a kind. Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is going to keep making waves for the foreseeable future. For now, for those who are interested, I would begin to pick up copies post set release at the $30-40 range.
Last on my list from the main set is the series of Adventure lands. While not all of them are created equally, they provide options and additional play patterns. Currently, most of these can be picked up for under $2 and will likely remain in this price range until a major play pattern is seen in Standard. Otherwise, I envision these rising in price slowly over the next six months, as we’re unlikely to see a meaningful reprint anytime soon. The purchasing order for these from least impactful to most impactful is W>G>U>R>B.
What's Your Name Again?
Last but not least, we have the Commander portion of the set. In a pretty straightforward fashion, once again we are presented with a choice of four decks. I have two main issues with this product: the overall price and the included legends.
From a price perspective, the premium on these decks is quite high. Comparing them to their
My second issue is that 55% of all creatures included in these decks are legends. Using the same comparison, the Lord of the Rings IP brought us 36% legendary creatures. I find this number quite high as it detracts from the game's immersion. This is probably more of a preference on my part, but I could see this sentiment shared among other players.
Regarding cards that have piqued my interest, I chose one reprint and one new addition.
The new card that caught my interest is
Fears and Premonitions
That wraps up the set and what might interest you between the three different card selections. Overall, in terms of flavor, this set will be a success and will bring more people to the game in the same manner as previous Universes Beyond products. On the other hand, fundamentally changing how competitive Magic plays by including other IPs is something that will turn more veteran players away from the game.
I’ve already purchased what I wanted for speculation and potential deck building further down the line. Now, more than ever before, the sentiment I followed with these purchases was the fear of missing out on the cards at a lower price rather than a genuine desire to purchase. A part of me wonders how many other people share that sentiment with this product.
Join me again next time as we explore more of the unknown.
Further Reading
Matt Grzechnik
Matt Grzechnik started playing Magic with the release of Dragon's Maze. Since then he has tried and experimented with all of the formats before discovering his love for EDH and Pauper. Piloting the same Jund deck for the last 10 years, he now tries to both understand and break Sealed as a format.