In 2003, following a first-time playthrough of the legendary Kingdom Hearts game, I scrounged every penny I could and saved for a copy of Final Fantasy VII for the original Playstation. Playing through Kingdom Hearts proved an amazing experience and it made me want to look into all the characters included in the game. In particular, I was drawn to the mysterious badassery that was Cloud and Sephiroth, and it made me want to look into their original game that much more.

What I got was something I can't properly express. Final Fantasy VII was a game that I feel changed my life. Experiencing that game for the first time was mind blowing, even several years and a whole console generation after its initial release. From there, I picked up just about every Final Fantasy game I could get my hands on - including the MMORPG of the time Final Fantasy XI: Online - and tore through them. I was hooked, and quickly became a Final Fantasy mega fan.

At the same time, I was getting deeper and deeper into Magic: The Gathering and I used to daydream about what a collaboration between the two franchises might look like. Back in the early 2000s, this seemed like little more than a pipe dream. But now in 2025, it's finally a reality. Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy is here at last. With our first look at the set coming through yesterday, I wanted to help catch up with those who might not be as in the know when it comes to the series.

Today, I'm going to break down every card and piece of artwork shown for the set thus far and talk about the characters, the story, and their relevance to the franchise as a whole. If you're like my friends who wondered why there was a big cactus with a weird mustache on it, don't worry, I'm here to walk you through it all!

One small warning with this article: spoilers abound in this because of some major story points some of the cards represent. If you're looking to play any Final Fantasy games and don't want to be spoiled, now's your last chance to turn away and come back later.

Final Fantasy I: Garland, Knight of Cornelia // Chaos, the Endless

Garland is the very first boss you face in the original Final Fantasy title. The game begins with the four Warriors of Light entering the town and castle of Cornelia where they meet the king who tells them the princess, Sarah, was kidnapped by Garland. Garland was once a former knight of Cornelia, hence the card title, but became corrupt and stole her away to the Chaos Shrine. There the Warriors of Light defeat Garland and save the princess.

As the game progresses, the party is then charged with defeating the four fiends who are ravaging the land. Once all of them are defeated, however, the party is flung through a time warp to face the grand master behind the four fiends: Chaos. Chaos is an ancient demon who sent the fiends into the present with the primary purpose of sending Garland back into the past where he can then become Chaos. This creates a time loop, which the party must break by defeating Chaos once and for all.

This card's design harkens to this aspect, as Garland searches to find additional copies of himself to resurrect as Chaos. Then Chaos returns to your deck when it dies so the loop can start all over again.

Final Fantasy I: Dragon of Mount Gulg (Ancient Copper Dragon)

The second of the four fiends, Marlith - the Fiend of Fire - is found at the end of your exploration through Mount Gulg, a mighty volcano. Typical of an elemental-focused dungeon theming, most of your enemies are specifically fire-based. One such enemy that you can face is the Red Dragon. The art for this card represents a depiction of the Warriors of Light encountering one of these fearsome beasts as they travel through Mount Gulg. While not a major boss battle or anything of that nature, this epic art depicts what a player might experience along their travels, making it a fitting piece to showcase what playing a Final Fantasy title feels like.

Final Fantasy IV: Cecil, Dark Knight // Cecil, Redeemed Paladin

Cecil Harvey is the main character of Final Fantasy IV. As the card's title suggests, he starts the game out as a dark knight, acting in service to the kingdom of Baron. Following certain actions the king forces him to undergo, such as robbing the town of Mysidia and then unknowingly setting off a bomb on the village of Mist, Cecil undergoes a crisis of conscience. This eventually leads to him facing himself and changing not just metaphorically but literally, turning from a dark knight into a bright and shining paladin. This is perhaps one of the most famous moments in the Final Fantasy series as a whole, and is a great way to represent such a fantastic character in card form.

Final Fantasy V: Tonberry

The Tonberry has become one of the most iconic enemies throughout the entire Final Fantasy series. While it may not be terribly obvious from the card's artwork, tonberries are famously small compared to most other monsters in the games. Despite their stature, however, they are some of the most dangerous foes you can encounter.

As you battle against a tonberry, it stands around and slowly approaches your characters, wielding its trademark lantern and knife. Once close enough, it stabs your characters and kills them. In later games, it also counterattacks by dishing out tons of damage, usually relating to the number of enemies that particular character has killed over the course of the game or other similar conditions. This makes them notoriously difficult to kill as well as being very memorable experiences the first time you run into one.

This makes the card shown off all the more fitting. It comes in tapped with a stun counter, representing how it takes multiple turns to reach the enemy. Then once it's at the enemy, it stabs them dead unless the opponent is willing to just take the hit instead.

Final Fantasy VI: Terra, Herald of Hope

Terra Branford is generally seen as the true main character of Final Fantasy VI, which is a strong reason to include her here heading the deck based around the game. While this aspect is debatable, as she's not the main focus of the game for large portions of the story, it's undeniable that she's central to the core plot of the title. Terra starts the game enslaved by the Gestahlian Empire, controlled with a slave crown so the Empire could make use of her powerful magic skills. When the crown is removed, she becomes amnesiac, kicking off her story of self-discovery in learning who she is.

Partway through the game, a meeting with an esper - a powerful magical being - leads to Terra's true power being unlocked as she turns into an esper herself. She flies away and is then tended to by another esper, Ramuh, while she struggles with the inner turmoil caused by the incident. Soon after, it's revealed that the reason she's this way is because she's half human and half esper, having been stolen by the Empire as an infant.

Later, in the second half of the game when the world is thrown into ruin, the party discovers Terra in the decrepit town of Mobilz. There, she refuses to rejoin the party, as she's found meaning in her life by way of taking care of the town's orphaned children. Eventually, she rejoins the party to stand against the monstrous Kefka and fight for a better future for the children.

Her card here represents all of this well. Milling is usually represented in Magic lore as losing your thoughts/mind, so this represents her amnesia. Trance is the ability where she turns into an esper, where she can fly in that form. Finally, resurrecting small creatures represents her protecting the children, making for a deeply flavorful card.

Final Fantasy VI: Unknown Card (Art featuring Kefka)

While we've yet to see the cards, there are a handful of art pieces that we've been shown off for the set. This is one of them, and it's a doozy. Kefka at this point isn't the divine force of chaos he becomes by the end, but is only a general of the Gestahlian Empire. At one point, he's charged with assisting in the capture of the kingdom of Doma. Rather than taking the honorable approach of meeting them in combat, Kefka commits a despicable atrocity by poisoning Doma's water supply, thereby killing the kingdom's entire population. This is often cited as one of the darkest moments in this outstanding title, and showed Wizards meant business when this became the first art piece shown to represent the set.

Final Fantasy VII: Sephiroth, Planet's Heir; Cloud, Planet's Champion; and Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER

Cloud Strife is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, being taken in as a mercenary by the eco terrorist group known as AVALANCHE. He's brought in by them thanks to his childhood friend Tifa, based on his prior experiences in the military branch of the mega corporation Shinra. Following a series of wild events, the team finds themselves on the hunt for the mighty Sephiroth, the former number one member of SOLDIER who Cloud formerly idolized.

Following an event known as the Nibelheim Incident, Sephiroth went crazy and burned Nibelheim - Cloud's hometown - to the ground. He's defeated by Cloud and sent into the Lifestream, where he rests and slowly absorbs the lifeforce of the world. Following this incident, Cloud is experimented on by the demented scientist Hojo, and these experiments allow the dormant Sephiroth to control Cloud like a puppet.

This leads to an intense rivalry and battle between the two, leading to some truly epic battles, as well as one of the most harrowing scenes in all of video games (seen below). The battles between the two characters, be they physical or merely battles of wits, are legendarily iconic, and it's hardly a surprise that they're heading some of the set's products as a result.

Final Fantasy VII: Yuffie Kisaragi (Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow)

Yuffie is an optional party member in the original Final Fantasy VII game (she joins your party normally in the remake trilogy) and hails from the land of Wutai. Yuffie is a ninja, seeking materia to increase the wealth of her homeland following a brutal war between Wutai and Shinra years prior. Yuffie is a bit of a klutz and an airhead, partially due to her being one of the younger members of the party, but she remains a lovable free spirit fans have come to adore throughout the series.

Final Fantasy VIII: Jumbo Cactuar

Yesterday when the first look happened, a friend of mine reached out and asked "why does the cactus have a weird mustache?" Welcome to the wonderful world of cactuar, folks! These adorable critters have a super vacant look and quirky way of moving, but when they come after you, they pack one hell of a wallop.

Typically, cactuar are very small, making them incredibly difficult to hit, and when you can't take them down they come at you with their 1000 Needles attack that guarantees you take 1000 damage every time. However, certain special kinds of cactuar - such as Final Fantasy VIII's jumbo cactuar - hit you with even bigger versions of this attack. In this case, it's 10,000 Needles, which will always hit you for a guaranteed 10,000 damage. This makes the card tremendously flavorful, and a perfect card to appeal to Timmys and Tammys everywhere.

Final Fantasy IX: Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant

Much like the aforementioned Tonberry and Jumbo Cactuar, moogles make up yet another of Final Fantasy's iconic and unique creatures. They're known for usually being relatively small with little bat wings, big red noses, and a little puff ball atop their heads. Most importantly, they tend to have a habit of saying "Kupo!" loudly, a term you may have heard in nerd spaces over the years.

Stiltzkin is one of many moogles who make up Final Fantasy IX's Mognet system that allows players to send and view letters throughout the game. These moogles usually also act as save points so that the players can save their progress. In Stiltzkin's case, however, he's a salesman that offers players special bundles of items for low prices. If the player buys everything he offers them over the course of the game, he rewards them for their loyalty with a Ribbon, one of the most powerful accessories in the series that prevents you from suffering a variety of status elements.

Final Fantasy X: Tidus, Yuna's Guardian and Sin, Spira's Punishment

Tidus starts out as a mere blitzball player, the sport of the world of Spira, being the star of the Zanarkand Abes. Following a match in Zanarkand, the city is attacked by Sin, where it sucks up Tidus and delivers him to an unknown world that turns out to be Spira 1000 years after Sin destroyed Zanarkand. A fish out of water in this new world, Tidus comes across as clueless and arrogant, but soon becomes a guardian of the summoner Yuna, who seeks to defeat Sin as her father once did before Sin was reborn anew.

Sin represents a massive calamity and force of nature for the people of Spira. Try as they might, the people cannot stand against it, which leads to numerous locations the party visits being wiped off the map. While arguably not the game's primary antagonist - that would be the maester Seymour in my opinion - Sin is a destructive force that feels almost impossible to contend with and provides an incredible story device for the characters.

Additionally, we've seen new art for the card Together Forever depicting Tidus embracing Yuna as they acknowledge their undying love for one another. Following a tremendous betrayal that leads to them being branded as heretics and traitors, the pair share this incredibly touching moment together as they let go and embrace their emotions.

Final Fantasy X: Summon: Shiva

Summons represent one of the most iconic aspects of the entire Final Fantasy series. These powerful forces act as special, super powerful effects to aid players in their battles throughout the games. In later entries, these summons (or espers, depending on the game) became less of one-time effects and instead turned into short-term allies who aid in battle for a period of time then leave with a powerful finishing attack. Think how planeswalkers flavorfully work in terms of Magic itself. To represent these, Wizards took the brilliant approach of making them creature sagas, showing how their use in battle is fleeting, yet tremendously powerful.

Shiva has been a mainstay of the Final Fantasy series as the ice elemental summon for years, starting with the very first game to feature summons in Final Fantasy III. Her appearance in Final Fantasy X is perhaps her most iconic outing, presenting an incredibly stylish rendition of the classic summon. It's extremely exciting to see what other summons show up from across the series, and it's been noted that they'll appear at every rarity from common all the way to mythic rare.

Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning, Army of One (Art)

Lightning is the main character of Final Fantasy XIII. Admittedly, I recall very little about the game, owing both to my never finishing it and struggling to understand what was going on in the story. What I recall, though, is Lightning being told by her sister, Serah, that she was branded a l'Cie to achieve a task wherein she would be turned to crystal. Her task completed, Lightning watches as her sister turns to crystal following a purge on her town, leading to her and a group of other characters she's with to be branded l'Cie as well in order to battle the epic force of Ragnarok. This leads Lightning and the crew on an epic quest that, despite the game's middling reception, has led to her being remembered fondly as one of the best protagonists of the series as a whole and an absolute fan favorite.

Final Fantasy XIII: Sazh's Chocobo

Chocobos are the last of the famous Final Fantasy mascots shown off thus far in this early look at the set. Chocobos are - usually - big yellow birds that act as rideable mounts for players to traverse long distances safely. In early games, they showed up only once in a while, providing means of traveling from place to place without running into random battles. In later games, their uses would expand to covering different kinds of terrain - thereby allowing players to acquire secret items/locations - as well as chocobo racing.

In this card's case, this is - as the name would suggest - the chocobo chick of the character Szah. Szah is another l'Cie from Cocoon like Lightning, though is primarily motivated by protecting his son Dajh. Early in the game of Final Fantasy XIII, Szah buys this little chocobo for his son, but before he can make it back to his son, he gets caught up in an accident that brands him as a l'Cie. Throughout the series of Final Fantasy XIII titles, the chocobo chick follows Sazh and his son around, nesting in his afro when not out and flying about.

Final Fantasy XIV: Online: Y'shtola, Night's Blessed

Final Fantasy XIV is admittedly one of my blind spots when it comes to the series. Despite picking it up with a collector's edition of the disastrous 1.0 release, I found myself struggling to be able to play when the game was made far better once again. However, I did play enough to meet Y'shtola, one of the members of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. They're an elite group of characters from a variety of locations who aid the player in protecting the world from the dark forces that threaten it. There's far more to her character than this, of course, however I lack the knowledge and understanding to explain it better.

Final Fantasy XIV: Online: Emet-Selch, Unsundered // Hades, Sorcerer of Eld

Emet-Selch is another one that I know very little about. What I do know, however, is that he's the main antagonist of the game's Shadowbringers expansion. As you can likely tell by the card, his true form turns out to be the primal Hades, and given his intense nostalgic living in the past, it makes sense that he'd have a Yawgmoth's Will-like effect. Once again, I lack the knowledge to explain this one better, but I hope this can provide some of the basic gist of what the character entails.

Final Fantasy XIV: Unknown Card (Art featuring Delivery Moogle)

Much like Stiltzkin in Final Fantasy IX, the delivery moogles show up quite a bit in Final Fantasy XIV. In this game, they act as a hub where players can pick up letters and special items that have been delivered to their account. They're visually adorable and provide a very memorable aspect of one of the most popular MMORPGs ever made.

Final Fantasy XV: Sidequest: Catch a Fish // Cooking Campsite

Sidequests are incredibly common in Final Fantasy games, often leading to players going out of their way to seek powerful weapons, intense superbosses, or else just trying out a mini-game. This card represents the latter, providing players with an opportunity to fish and then turn that into a delicious meal. This provides not only a fun experience for the player, but fleshes out the buddy road trip experience that Final Fantasy XV has become known for.

The question now is what other sidequests will appear in this set? Blitzball has already been hinted at, but I know I'm personally hoping for the likes of Triple Triad, Tetra Master, and the Coliseum.

This is merely scratching the surface of what's coming. Final Fantasy is a tremendously expansive series with tons of lore, characters, monsters, equipment, and so on to pull from. So far, we've only gotten but a taste of what's to come, and it's almost certainly going to prove epic. I myself am currently in the process of playing through all the games I missed to make sure I'm caught up ahead of this set's release, but one thing's for sure: as a longtime diehard fan of the series, it's looking amazing and I simply can't wait to get my hands on it.

Paige Smith

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