As we speak one of many largest units in Magic: The Gathering‘s current historical past makes its grand arrival eventually: Closing Fantasy, the primary of Magic‘s at-times-controversial “Universes Past” crossovers with different franchises to be given the complete standard-legal remedy. It’s a wedding of two of gaming’s most beloved fantasy realms, and with absolute legions of followers of each Magic and Closing Fantasy to please, it has to hit the highlights and mechanical flavoring of 16 mainline recreation’s value of viable playing cards. From the whole lot we’ve seen of the set within the run as much as at this time’s launch, it seems like Wizards of the Coast and Sq. Enix helped construct a match made in (seventh) heaven—however right here’s a few of our favourite nods to Closing Fantasy‘s huge legacy that we love most from the set.
Naturally, a few of these references are about key main story factors of their respective Closing Fantasy titles. In the event you’re not caught up with the 16 mainline video games which have launched over the previous 4 many years, effectively, think about your self very frivolously spoiler warned right here.
Tiered Spells Are a Good Mix of Closing Fantasy and Magic
One of many new mechanical additions the Closing Fantasy set brings to Magic is the “Tiered” rule: if a participant pays a further value to the cardboard’s preliminary mana value, they’ll choose from one in every of three tiers of energy. Extra mana means extra results—similar to how in Closing Fantasy loads of magic spells have three evolutionary steps: their base kind, a stronger model of that kind with the suffix -ara, after which its strongest kind with the suffix -aga.
The tiered spells within the set are unfold throughout two totally different types: some are given to symbolize numerous restrict break assaults from Closing Fantasy VII, reflecting the get together’s means to develop stronger particular assaults over the course of the sport. However the ones that symbolize a few of Closing Fantasy‘s elemental and restorative magics are every well attuned to the colour identities they’re assigned to in Magic. Aggressive fireplace and thunder magics are assigned to crimson; ice, which as an alternative of doing injury bounces playing cards again into an opponents palms or libraries, is assigned to blue, which displays that coloration’s archetypal deal with interruption and management mechanics. It’s a really neat strategy to mechanically marry a Closing Fantasy participant’s understanding of the sequence’ base magic system to a Magic participant’s understanding of its personal colours’ archetypes and escalatory results.
Suplex the Practice, Dammit
Suplex, renamed to Meteor Strike in later variations of Closing Fantasy VI, is without doubt one of the many martial talents of Sabin the Monk, letting him… effectively, decide an enemy up and flip them within the air to slam them straight again down. However whereas Sabin can use the transfer on a large number of VI‘s massive creatures, essentially the most notorious sufferer of the assault—spurring years of web meme historical past—is the truth that he can use it when the get together encounters the Phantom Practice after Sabin, Cyan, and Shadow flee the Empire’s invasion of Doma. The Phantom Practice is, in fact, a spectral haunted steam prepare, so it’s very absurd that Sabin can simply decide it up and suplex it prefer it’s no massive deal.
Suplex will get its personal card as a sorcery in Magic, which helps you to do three injury to a creature—fairly fundamental. Besides, a participant who performs Suplex may as an alternative use its second means, which permits it to particularly exile an artifact card. You already know what’s an artifact within the Closing Fantasy set? The Phantom Practice.
Lightning’s Stagger
FF XIII‘s protagonist has a number of playing cards to her title within the set, however Lightning, Military of One has a number of cool mechanical nods to XIII‘s battle system. The primary is that “Military of One” suffix, a reference to Lightning’s highly effective combo assault of that title within the recreation—an aggression that’s symbolically matched within the card by giving her a number of offensive key phrases like Trample (which lets her deal extra injury from fight on to a participant) and First Strike (which lets her deal injury earlier than anybody else resolves injury in fight).
However it’s Lightning, Military of One’s different rule that’s the neater reference: she has Stagger, a nod to the mechanic of the identical title in XIII that lets the get together deal bonus injury to an opponent as soon as they’ve maxed out its stagger gauge via regular, repeated assaults for a short time period. In Magic, it lets some other creature that assaults Lightning’s goal, whether or not it’s one other creature or a participant, take double injury for the remainder of the flip. Similar hat!
Sephiroth Yearns to Kill Aerith
One of many most notorious moments within the authentic Closing Fantasy VII is Sephiroth’s homicide of Aerith as she prays within the Metropolis of Ancients. Just like the synergy between Suplex and Phantom Practice earlier than it, Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier and Aerith have a synergy that grimly displays his fated killing: Aerith’s guidelines let her achieve +1/+1 counters each time you achieve life, and Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier offers you life each time one other creature dies. The fourth time that impact occurs, you’ll be able to flip Sephiroth over, reworking him into his highly effective One Winged Angel kind.
However he may also sacrifice any card, together with one in every of your individual, each time he assaults. Which, as a rule, triggers “dies” as a mechanic, advancing Sephiroth nearer to his transformation… and Aerith herself has a particular rule that, when she dies, her accrued +1/+1 tokens may be given to all Legendary Creatures you’ve gotten in play. So, when you have them each in play, Sephiroth can sacrifice Aerith for his fourth set off, reworking, and then reap the advantages of all of the +1/+1 tokens Aerith had constructed up from his attacking. It’s imply! And really flavorful.
Or you possibly can simply play Sephiroth’s Intervention, a black Prompt that destroys any goal creature, in case you simply wish to kill an Aerith for funsies.
Closing Fantasy XIV‘s Closing Days
One of many largest items of background lore within the critically acclaimed MMORPG Closing Fantasy XIV is the “Closing Days,” a cataclysmic apocalypse that occurred 1000’s of years prior to now that noticed the world of Etheirys, the realm of a precursor race referred to as the Ancients, break into 14 shards throughout a battle between the gods Zodiark and Hydaelyn in an try and stall the Closing Days’ arrival. A lot of Closing Fantasy XIV takes place on the first of these reflective shards, the Supply, whereas a few of its expansions have seen gamers journey to the worlds of different shards, like Shadowbringers.
This occasion comes up in a number of poignantly thematic playing cards within the Magic set. Zodiark, Umbral God sees a participant sacrifice half of the creatures they management, as a reference to the sacrifice the Ancients made to summon Zodiark and delay the Closing Days within the first place. In the meantime, Emet-Selch, Unsundered—one of many few surviving Ancients, haunted by his want to revive the world to what it was in his lifetime—can remodel into his godlike type of Hades as soon as 14 playing cards enter your graveyard, and may play playing cards out of your graveyard as soon as he’s achieved so.
Phoenix Down Can Heal… and Hurt
Phoenix Down is an iconic merchandise from throughout Closing Fantasy, the straightforward revival medication that allows you to convey again a useless get together member in battle. In Magic, it could possibly solely convey again playing cards out of your graveyard with a mana worth of 4 or much less, reflective of its comparatively fundamental type of restorative magic. However even higher is the truth that it has a second means: you need to use it to exile undead creatures, a nod to the truth that therapeutic objects in Closing Fantasy can be utilized on undead enemies to do injury as an alternative.
Worry the Tonberry
Tonberries might look oddly cute with the dainty little knife and their massive yellow eyes, however each Closing Fantasy participant is aware of that these inexperienced critters imply enterprise as soon as they get near you. In most of their appearances, Tonberries take a number of turns of fight to slowly inch in the direction of your get together—and as soon as they do, they immediately kill you in a single assault with their chef’s knife. That is splendidly translated into Magic with a mixture of two mechanics: a Tonberry enters play tapped and with a stun counter on it, which implies it takes two participant turns to be able to assault. As soon as it does assault although, it has First Strike and Deathtouch, which means irrespective of how a lot injury it does to a creature, it’ll all the time do deadly injury.
Galuf’s Sacrifice
Galuf’s loss of life combating Exdeath in Closing Fantasy V is without doubt one of the recreation’s most iconic moments, made all of the extra bittersweet by the actual fact his talents are handed onto his granddaughter Krile, who joins the get together in his stead. That inheritance is of course mirrored in Galuf’s Closing Act, which not solely briefly boosts a creature’s energy (a nod to Galuf going all out as he takes on Exdeath 1v1), however lets it cross on +1/+1 tokens equal to its energy when it dies.
Battle or Flight
An notorious gag second in Closing Fantasy VII comes when the get together goes to rescue Aerith from Shinra’s HQ forward of the climactic escape from Midgar. You’re given a easy selection, in each the unique recreation and in Remake: take the elevator as much as the sixtieth ground, which stops a number of instances for a sequence of fights, or the “quiet” route… having to manage Cloud as he runs up 59 flights of stairs.
The Magic card Aerith Rescue Mission encapsulates that selection completely: you’ll be able to both take the elevator, providing you with three 1/1 Hero Tokens (representing Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett being able to struggle), or you’ll be able to take the steps, which helps you to faucet and stun as much as three creatures (representing their cardio-induced duress).
The Cycle of Sin
Closing Fantasy X is constructed across the cycle of Sin, a large creature that rises to cull civilizations that develop too massive or too superior—however whose slaughter may be paused for a interval of “Calm” years when a Summoner sacrifices themselves in a last battle in opposition to Sin to summon a last aeon able to defeating Sin… albeit solely briefly, locking the world in a cycle of destruction.
That will get a reasonably spot-on mirror within the card Sin, Endless Cataclysm; it not solely removes counters from any variety of creatures on the battlefield (to symbolize Sin’s limitation of technological development), but additionally returns to your library when it dies reasonably than dying, which means it could possibly’t be conventionally defeated. Its personal bonus counters created from eradicating counters may be given to one in every of your different creatures… you already know, so Sin can inherit them twice over when it returns.
Champions From Past the Rift, Heed My Name!
Champions From Past is a multilayered reference for Closing Fantasy XIV gamers: the title and the artwork represents the climactic moments of the Shadowbringers growth, when the participant is aided by Iconic Catboy G’raha Tia, who summons heroes (aka, different gamers) from throughout the 14 shards of the world to battle Emet-Selch. That group-content focus is mirrored in its guidelines, which helps you to create any variety of Hero tokens whereas additionally providing bonuses for attacking in both teams of 4 or eight creatures. These are references to the 2 customary group sizes for FF XIV‘s multiplayer content material: Gentle Events, teams of 4 for traditional dungeon content material; and Full Events, teams of eight sometimes utilized in tougher boss fights or endgame raids.
Quistis’ Blue Magic
Closing Fantasy has all kinds of various magical archetypes throughout the sequence, however Blue Magic is one in every of its most arcane logos within the numerous faculties of color-themed magics. Black Magic is primarily damaging elemental spells, White Magic is therapeutic and help, Crimson Magic blends the 2, whereas Blue represents a capability to soak up and be taught the abilities of an enemy opponent. Blue Mages exist throughout a number of Closing Fantasy video games, however FF VIII‘s Quistis it maybe one of the well-known. It’s becoming then that not solely is she slotted into Magic‘s blue coloration archetype, however that her Blue Magic means lets her solid spells from any participant’s graveyard, be it yours or your opponent: and that she solid them with any mana, no matter their authentic value.
Kain’s Thoughts Management
Kain Highwind is an interesting foil in Closing Fantasy IV, his lingering jealousy in the direction of FF IV‘s foremost character Cecil making him a straightforward goal for the sport’s antagonist, Golbez, to deprave him and brainwash him a number of instances over the course of the story. Kain’s almost-comical means to be compelled into betraying you is delightfully woven into Magic together with his card, Kain, Traitorous Dragoon—each time Kain does injury to a different participant, they’ll select to take management of him and he does mirrored injury to his authentic proprietor, which means that Kain can bounce forwards and backwards between possession over the course of the sport!
Ashe’s Temptation
A significant turning level in Closing Fantasy XII comes when Ashe, the exiled princess of the dominion of Dalmasca, finds herself confronted with a harmful temptation: fulfill her future as Ivalice’s generational ruler and use the facility of the almighty crystal referred to as the Solar-Cryst to destroy the Archadian Empire that attacked Dalmasca in the beginning of the sport, or destroy the Solar-Cryst and free Ivalice from the machinations of its creators.
On the floor, the Prompt Destiny of the Solar-Cryst is a reasonably typical Magic card, paying 5 mana to destroy any non-land everlasting. However it has a bonus twist: it solely prices three mana in case you goal a tapped creature, ie… a creature that’s already attacked you. It’s a really flavorful strategy to incorporate Ashe’s temptation in the direction of revenge.
Of Course Ignis Cooks
Ignis’ card simply wouldn’t be Ignis if it didn’t embrace a capability based mostly round cooking. “I’ve Come Up With a New Recipe!” lets a participant faucet Ignis and pay some mana to exile a card out of your graveyard—and if it was a creature, you’ll be able to create a meals token, letting a participant regain well being. It’s named, in fact, for Ignis’ meme-worthy repeated catchphrase from Closing Fantasy XV: the get together’s cook dinner each time they camped, Ignis may be taught numerous recipes all through XV to grant the get together numerous buffs and standing results once they rested. Specifying the bonus for exiling a creature is itself a cute reference to the truth that Ignis can cook dinner numerous meals from the supplies you get from killing creatures throughout XV‘s world, besides.
A Smile Higher Fits a Hero
A number of playing cards all through the Closing Fantasy set give new themed artwork to already established Magic playing cards. Relic of Legends, a easy mana-generating artifact launched in Dominaria United, is one in every of them, however its inclusion within the Closing Fantasy XIV-themed Commander Deck, Scions & Spellcraft, is given a painful twist. The relic of legend within the new artwork refers to a traumatic sacrifice from Heavensward, XIV‘s first growth, when one in every of your allies within the kingdom of Ishgard, Haurchefant Greystone, makes an attempt to deflect a magical assault supposed to strike the hero… just for his defend to buckle and for the strike to run him via as an alternative, killing him. Cue the waterworks!
Ifrit vs. Titan
Conflict of the Eikons refers to one of many standout moments of the newest mainline Closing Fantasy, XVI, during which protagonist Clive Rosfield, remodeled into the almighty summon Ifrit, scraps with rival summon Titan in an epic battle. Apart from trying as cool because the struggle in XVI does, this sorcery permits you to manipulate the quantity of lore counters on a Saga card underneath your management: the cardboard archetype that represents Closing Fantasy‘s numerous summon creatures throughout the video games within the set to mirror their standing as highly effective, however limited-time forces in battle.
It’s not solely flavorful in that sense, it’s notably flavorful to Closing Fantasy XVI. The struggle between Ifrit and Titan is de facto the primary time that Clive actually comes into his personal as Ifrit’s “Dominant”, embracing his transformation and pulling out all of the stops to defeat Titan—so it’s solely becoming that that conflict represents the flexibility to control Sagas on this means!
The Warrior of Gentle Unites All
The Warrior of Gentle is the title of the character created to symbolize the generic get together members of the very first Closing Fantasy, who had no set characters and could possibly be given any of the sequence’ iconic jobs over the course of the sport. Now a quasi-mascot of Closing Fantasy as a complete, oddly sufficient the Warrior of Gentle doesn’t even have a singular card representing him within the Magic set (he seems on some, however none are particularly centered round him as a personality).
He’s represented, nevertheless, on the “By means of The Ages” bonus sheet, a sequence of playing cards that reprints basic Magic playing cards with paintings drawn from throughout Closing Fantasy historical past, from character idea work to promotional imagery from every recreation. The Warrior of Gentle is represented on this set of playing cards with a reprint of Jodah the Unifier, an iconic card that’s fashionable in Magic‘s Commander as a “WURBG” archetype: having a price that makes use of one mana from every of Magic‘s 5 colours, a deck with Jodah as its Commander may be constructed out of playing cards from each coloration in flip.
On prime of that, Jodah the Unifier’s talents are constructed round synergies with Legendary Creatures and spells, buffing the extra of them you’ve gotten in play and getting extra of them in play as shortly as potential. Throughout the Closing Fantasy set most foremost characters are represented as Legendary Creatures, so it’s becoming that the Warrior of Gentle can convey collectively heroes and villains from throughout the entire sequence to face collectively!
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