Commander Staples From Final Fantasy
Final Countdown
Welcome back for another History, Restapled, a Commander-focused column that attempts to validate a newer card’s status as a staple by looking at how cards that are similar, synergistic, or competing have fared in the past financially.
The recently released Final Fantasy set contains a plethora of playable Commander cards and staples-in-the-making. Here are a few cheap cards to keep an eye on as the set starts being purchased and prices begin to fluctuate; these are also great pick-ups for the moment.
Ishgard, the Holy See and Midgar, City of Mako - $1.50 and $3
Despite entering the battlefield tapped, the five new Adventure lands should all find homes in Commander decks in the foreseeable future. The white and black ones, however, are relatively cheap and attached to spells that have somewhat broader playability as 2-for-1 card advantage sources. Ishgard accomplishes this by returning things from the graveyard while Midgar does so more directly by allowing you to draw cards.
Both effects are a bit overcosted, but who cares when they’re attached to a land, albeit a slow one? The opportunity cost of running these cards remains quite low, especially when you consider that
I’d expect these Adventure lands to begin their price journey by continuing a descent, followed by a slow-and-steady ascent. They may never reach the high level of staple as
Pick some up a week or two after release.
STATUS: New near-staples
| Ishgard, the Holy See | ||
| Ishgard, the Holy See (Borderless) | ||
| Midgar, City of Mako | ||
| Midgar, City of Mako (Borderless) |
Champions from Beyond - $3
Attacking with four creatures in a token deck isn’t too much of an ask. Not only does Champions From Beyond reward you with a healthy scry and draw, it also provides you with tokens when it enters to beef your numbers. And, if your army is truly massive, it can pump your creatures to potentially lethal range.
This is a versatile white card that can function as a token generator, a card draw engine and a finisher all in one.
Meanwhile, other white finishers hover around the same price.
This has the makings of a new white staple, albeit a second-tier one for now.
STATUS: New white near-staple
| Champions from Beyond | ||
| Champions from Beyond (Extended Art) |
Matoya, Archon Elder - $2
Speaking of scrying, both scry and surveil are very popular Commander mechanics, and Matoya rewards you for doing either, or both, with free cards, with the draw happening after the mechanic goes into effect.
I can’t imagine this card will slot into every deck, but the ones whose commanders scry or surveil, or something like
Expect a modest increase in price over time.
STATUS: New niche staple, but staple nonetheless
| Matoya, Archon Elder | ||
| Matoya, Archon Elder (Extended Art) |
Clive's Hideaway - $0.75
The Hideaway cycle of lands, like
Its condition is challenging but not impossible to meet, so it can be triggered at least a fair amount of time. Or, just tap it for mana.
Clive’s Hideaway only really fits into decks that can afford to have colorless lands, meaning four- or five-color decks are probably not in contention, as well as most three-color decks.
Still, the fact that you can cast something for free off of a land mints this card as an instant staple in a deck running roughly seven or more legendary creatures in the 99 — not a big ask considering Wizards keeps printing great ones. I’m willing to bet that most of your decks are already doing this, incidentally.
STATUS: Staple in 0-2 color decks, possibly three color
| Clive's Hideaway |
Lifestream's Blessing - $2
Here we have a card that resembles plenty of others already in existence, notably
First of all, it tracks the largest power of a creature you control as you cast the spell so your opponents can’t blow you out by destroying your beefy boy before it resolves. It’s also an instant that can fire off when your opponents’ shields are down and can be foretold to save a bit of mana, increase the surprise factor, and net a whole mess of life.
This may not overtake Rishkar’s as a staple just yet, but it’s not far off.
STATUS: Close to a green staple
| Lifestream's Blessing | ||
| Lifestream's Blessing (Extended Art) |
Give In to the Fantasy
Are there cheap cards from Final Fantasy you’re dying to pick up or speculating on? Any you want to pick up right away for your decks? I’d love to know!
Further Reading
Steve Heisler
Steve Heisler is a writer and pop culture journalist covering comedy, games, television, film and the tech industry. His work has been published in Rolling Stone, GQ, Variety, The AV Club, Fast Company and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began collecting Magic cards during Fourth Edition and plays Commander and Modern primarily. He also enjoys tennis, the Dark Souls family of video games and supporting live comedy. He lives in Chicago with his cat, Rosie.