Wizards of the Coast has announced a new Magic: The Gathering Commander deck crossover. Joining similar crossovers with Fallout and Doctor Who are official Final Fantasy Commander decks, bringing iconic characters from the RPG series to the acclaimed card game.
The Final Fantasy Commander Decks Announcement
In an official report from IGN, Wizards of the Coast have announced several Final Fantasy Commander decks coming to Magic: The Gathering. The release will include a draftable, Standard-legal set alongside four premade decks made of 100 cards. Those cards will include reprints of certain cards featuring Final Fantasy art as well as brand new Commander-format cards.
In a slight change in model, the Final Fantasy Commander decks aren't based around certain characters or themes, but on iconic entries of the Final Fantasy franchise.
The first deck, Revival Trance (Red, White, Black), is based on Final Fantasy VI and showcases Terra, the herald of hope. The second, Limit Break (Red, Green, White), is Final Fantasy VII-themed featuring the iconic Cloud Strife. Deck number three, Counter Blitz (Green, White, Blue) is based on Final Fantasy X and the underwater football star, Tidus. The final deck, Scions & Soulcraft (White, Blue, Black) revolves around Final Fantasy XIV and Y'shtola from the Shadowbringers expansion.
The report includes an interview with Wizards of the Coast about how they chose to adapt the world of Final Fantasy. Each deck came with its own set of challenges.
How do you translate the expressive but minimal pixel art of Final Fantasy VI into the more expressive painterly style of Magic. When adapting Final Fantasy VII, do you prioritize the PS1 original or the retelling/reimagining/remixing of Final Fantasy VII Remake? What storyline or character do you focus on from the sprawling MMO world of Final Fantasy XIV?
Principal Narrative Designer Dillon Deveney had some answers to these questions. For Final Fantasy VII, they ultimately decided to capture the spirit of the 1997 original release while taking some aesthetic inspiration from the Remake games. Alternatively, the artwork for Final Fantasy VI was a combination of Yoshitaka Amano's original character concept art and the original sprite artwork.
The Final Fantasy Commander decks will be available June 13.
