Final Fantasy Commander Decks Revealed, Feature Cloud, Tidus, and More

Even if you're not a Magic: The Gathering player, you've likely noticed its recent surge of video game crossovers, including Fallout, Tomb Raider, and Assassin's Creed. But get ready for something truly epic: a first look at the exciting new Final Fantasy crossover! This isn't just one Final Fantasy game either; from Terra to Y'shtola, four mainline games are represented in the preconstructed Commander decks.

Browse the image gallery below for a sneak peek at the key card and packaging for each deck. Then, dive into our conversation with Wizards of the Coast to uncover what awaits inside, learn why these four games were chosen, and much more.

Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering - Commander Decks Revealed

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Launching this June, Magic's Final Fantasy crossover includes a fully draftable, Standard-legal set and four preconstructed decks (shown above). Each deck boasts 100 cards—a blend of reprints with new Final Fantasy art and brand-new cards designed for Commander. While Commander precons usually revolve around characters, colors, or strategies, these decks uniquely center around individual Final Fantasy games: 6, 7, 10, and 14.

"The richness of Final Fantasy—its flavor, beloved characters, and unique settings—meant that choosing a single game provided ample material for a full deck," explains Senior Game Designer Daniel Holt, Commander Lead for the set. "Focusing on individual games allowed us to delve deep into their lore, capturing beloved moments we might have otherwise missed."

"...we have so many passionate Final Fantasy fans in the building.”"The team selected these four games based on gameplay desires and overall story recognition," Holt continues. While Final Fantasy VII and XIV were easy choices, 6 and 10 required more deliberation, driven partly by team favorites. "Everyone was invested in every stage, as we have so many passionate Final Fantasy fans in the building."

Even with the games chosen, key decisions remained. Final Fantasy VII's remake trilogy developed alongside this Magic set, raising the question: which storyline would the Commander precon follow? Dillon Deveney, Principal Narrative Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast and Narrative Lead, clarifies that the deck's art blends both the original and remake, but the story adheres to the 1997 classic.

"Our approach to Final Fantasy VII was to capture the original's narrative, using the remake's modern aesthetics to enhance character design, story moments, and locations," Deveney explains. "Where scenes existed in both, we chose between the original, the modern interpretation, or a unique fusion. The deck should feel nostalgic to players of both versions!"

Nostalgia plays a significant role, especially with Final Fantasy VI, which lacks the modern art references of the other games. Deveney explains their approach: staying true to fan expectations of the pixel art while expanding upon it. "The character designs should feel familiar, a hybridization of references and new ideas." WOTC even consulted the Final Fantasy VI team to update the characters for Magic's art style.

“We developed a workflow combining elements from Yoshitaka Amano's concept art, original sprites, and FFVI Pixel Remaster portraits. Our artists added details and explored textures, then we’d get feedback from the Final Fantasy VI review team on what to preserve and what new elements they liked.”

"It's our hope that the [FF6] character designs should feel like how you ‘remember’ them..."

The game choices were made, but Commander requires more than just games—character selection is crucial. Cloud was an obvious choice for VII, but the others needed more thought. Celes was considered for VI (due to its focus on the World of Ruin), and Yuna for X. Ultimately, they stuck with the lead characters, but Final Fantasy XIV, being an MMO, presented unique challenges.

"For Y'shtola, it was a mix of popularity and her spellcasting abilities; her story offered a wide range of abilities to draw from," Holt explains, noting the deck represents her Shadowbringers arc. While a "Warrior of Light" commander was explored, the execution proved complex, but the deck still features many moments from that storyline.

Integrating a game's story, characters, and themes into a Magic deck, while adhering to color restrictions, was a significant challenge. "We determined color identity for each game, along with desired gameplay," Holt says, noting the inclusion of White in all four decks for both theming and hero representation.

Deck VI centers on the game's latter half, focusing on rebuilding your party from the graveyard. VII's Cloud and his greatsword align with white-red equipment strategies, but green's addition ties in "power matters" cards and references to the Planet and lifestream. X's Sphere Grid system inspired the white-blue-green strategy, while XIV's white-blue-black identity allowed for a noncreature spellcasting theme, incorporating desired characters.

"...fans can expect to see some of their favorite characters in the 99 of each deck..."

While Commander focuses on the leader, RPGs feature entire parties. "Getting beloved characters into these decks was crucial," Holt emphasizes. "While I can't reveal specifics, fans can expect to see many favorite characters as legendary creatures and on spells."

The Final Fantasy set releases June 13th. If your favorite game or character isn't featured (or even if it is!), don't worry—Holt assures us all sixteen mainline games will have their moment. Similar to the 2022 Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks, these decks will be available in regular ($69.99 MSRP) and Collector's Edition ($149.99 MSRP) versions, with the latter featuring Surge foil treatment.

Read the full, unedited interview with Wizards of the Coast's Daniel Holt and Dillon Deveney below: