So. Many. Legends.
Welcome to the Constructed Set Review for Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY! We don’t write a Constructed Review for every set, but MTG—FINAL FANTASY looks to be so deep in exciting, high-quality cards that we decided it would be a good idea! As usual, Reid Duke and I will be splitting up the job to get things out to you as quickly and effectively as possible.
We’ll cover every rare, every mythic, plus the commons and uncommons that have realistic Constructed applications from the MTG—FINAL FANTASY set. If you want to read our recent Limited coverage of MTG—FINAL FANTASY, you can start your journey here!
MTG—FINAL FANTASY Constructed Grading System
Market Price: $44.67
Market Price: $110.50
Since MTG—FINAL FANTASY will be legal in Standard, most ratings will be with an eye toward competitive Standard. However, if something stands out for Modern, Legacy, or Vintage play, we’ll try to mention that as well. As for card grading, here’s how we’ll grade the cards for Constructed:
- 5: Multiformat all-star or one of the best cards in a format (such as Stock Up or Cori-Steel Cutter)
- 4: Format staple (such as Monstrous Rage or Stormchaser’s Talent)
- 3: Role-player (such as Spell Pierce or Torch the Tower)
- 2: Niche playable (such as Ral, Crackling Wit or Drake Hatcher)
- SB: Sideboard card (such as Ghost Vacuum or Lithomantic Barrage)
Where to Find MTG—FINAL FANTASY Constructed Set Reviews
- White
- Blue
- Black
- Green
- Red
MTG—FINAL FANTASY Constructed Set Review: Multicolor
Hope Estheim
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
While I hope you can do better, a 2/2 lifelink for two is a nice start. The mill/lifegain combo seems hard to assemble with Hope Estheim, but at least this doesn’t cost any extra mana to have it work.
Absolute Virtue
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 1.0
Absolutely not. There are better things to reanimate or cast, and as cool as Absolute Virtue is, it doesn’t really fit anywhere.
Golbez, Crystal Collector
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
Decent stats and free surveils is a nice place to start, with Golbez, Crystal Collector becoming fairly threatening if you can stack up some good trinkets. This looks like a cool card to build around, even if the support may not be there.
Emet-Selch, Unsundered
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 2.0
Emet-Selch, Unsundered may be a little too hard to get to work, but hey, at least it isn’t sundered!
Kuja, Genome Sorcerer
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
I’ve really been enjoying playing with Kuja, Genome Sorcerer in Draft, and the ability to make a Wizard each turn is an appealing one. The key is to have this survive two turns in play — at that point, you’ve gotten ample value. That won’t be easy, but with enough hand disruption, it could happen.
Balthier and Fran
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
Vehicles are a tough sell to begin with, so a card that mostly just enhances them isn’t something I’m too interested in.
Terra, Magical Adept
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 2.0
Kicking things off by drawing a card is a great deal, and Terra, Magical Adept definitely packs a punch. At three mana, if you can reliably get your card back, you have a real contender here. They have to answer Terra before it flips, and even just attacking for four will prompt some action. You do have to play a critical mass of enchantments, and if you do, this is a strong engine.
Serah Farron
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
There is a bit of a conflict here, as Serah Farron wants you to play as many cheap legends as possible to take advantage of the flip aspect, but the ability asks you to play expensive ones to use the cost reduction. Either way, the flip artifact is a potent one, and this could really push a low-curve green/white deck full of legends.
Yuna, Hope of Spira
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 3.0
Yuna, Hope of Spira puts two threats into play at once and does so at a fairly reasonable cost. Ward 2 means that this will almost always survive until your end of turn, and once you get an enchantment into play, you are getting a two-for-one at the very minimum. Yuna takes some serious deckbuilding effort, but well worth it.
Squall, SeeD Mercenary
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
They did Squall, SeeD Mercenary dirty — needing to hit with this to get cards back means it won’t make waves in Constructed despite granting double strike right away.
Vivi Ornitier
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 4.0
Vivi Ornitier is quite the card — I even keep forgetting this deals one damage to each opponent, seeing as it already does so much. This is great in Cube and Standard, with real outs for other formats. Vivi grows quickly, provides you with a ton of mana to keep casting spells, and blasts them while doing so. This is certainly the most exciting card in the set and could be a staple across multiple formats soon.
Tellah, Great Sage
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
If this is so great, why does it cost five? I’d avoid this in Constructed — the cost of Tellah, Great Sage is (unfortunately) just too high.
Jenova, Ancient Calamity
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 3.0
Jenova, Ancient Calamity does some cool stuff — putting a +1/+1 counter on Demon Wall is cute, as is targeting Rot-Curse Rakshasa. You also get a solid amount of stats and a trigger right away, making this one of the more intriguing cards in the set. To really maximize this, you want cards like the Rakshasa and sacrifice effects to trigger some card draw immediately.
Joshua, Phoenix’s Dominant
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 3.0
The combination of a 3/4 for three and a Faithless Looting is a nice one, with Joshua, Phoenix’s Dominant threatening to flip at just five mana. I like this as a midrange threat in a red/white deck that wants to go long, as it does a great job of ensuring you rarely run out of gas. Joshua is priced to move, so keep an eye on this one.
Lightning, Army of One
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 4.0
Joshua isn’t even the best red/white card for that cost, with Lightning, Army of One bringing plenty of thunder to the table. This enables some easy turn three or four kills in Modern (thanks to Arena of Glory) and is a hugely powerful card. You get to deal first strike, then your next creature deals double damage, and it even works with Lightning Bolt in a pinch. Lightning is a great one and pushed to the max.
The Wandering Minstrel
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
The Town deck is a neat idea, but I don’t think it will be easy to play a Constructed deck with so many taplands and so few payoffs. Sorry, The Wandering Minstrel.
Noctis, Prince of Lucis
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
Noctis, Prince of Lucis into Mishra’s Bauble? Did I just break it? (No, but that is the sort of thing Noctis is good at taking advantage of). Emry, Lurker of the Loch at home is tricky to cast, but the payoff is there.
Kefka, Court Mage
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 1.0
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager is back, and it’s more expensive and doesn’t fly. I like this, but even my fan of Kefka, Court Mage-esque things doesn’t make me want to put it in a deck.
Choco, Seeker of Paradise
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
The Bird isn’t the word this time — having to attack to trigger Choco, Seeker of Paradise is too much, even if another Bird can do the dirty work for you.
Sin, Spira’s Punishment
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
I like the idea here, but Atraxa, Grand Unifier this is not, and even Atraxa has been tricky to get to work in Standard. Sin, Spira’s Punishment is easier to cast but has a much weaker trigger, and that I suspect is a deadly sin.
MTG—FINAL FANTASY Constructed Set Review: Colorless
Excalibur II
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
Excalibur II is a cute way to kill them, given you’ve gained a ton of life, but not exactly the payoff I’m looking for.
Buster Sword
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 1.0
The Swords have long since faded in constructed playability, and Buster Sword doesn’t even offer protection. It’s a bust, I’m afraid.
The Masamune
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
Surely, the third piece of equipment is the good one! No? Anyone? (This is too clunky to use, though I do like that The Masamune doubles death triggers).
The Regalia
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
Needing a creature is a real cost, but getting four points of damage and a land right away is worth taking a ride for. The Regalia is a cute value engine, even if a bit tricky to use.
Genji Glove
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
So much expensive equipment!
Ultima, Origin of Oblivion
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
There are some neat things to do with Ultima, Origin of Oblivion, as the attack trigger is a powerful one. That said, it’s still a five-mana 4/4 flier, and those don’t tend to see a lot of Constructed play.
Aettir and Priwen
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 1.0
Hey, at least Aettir and Priwen is worth the effort — using a cheap way to equip could pay off here, unlike the other equipment.
Summon: Bahamut
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Constructed: 2.0
Nine is a hefty number, but the power level is at least here. Summon: Bahamut dominates if you can get it down, though it’s not trivial to get it into play. Reanimating with Yuna sounds like the most likely way, though there are others.
MTG—FINAL FANTASY Constructed Set Review: Lands
Constructed: 2.0
Lands that do things (in this case, have an Adventure side) are always nice options to have, with the red one being the most promising here.
Starting Town
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 3.0
I really like Starting Town, and I think it’s a great fit into any deck that has intense color requirements. An untapped five-color land is a big game, and this even lets you tap it for colorless instead of always damaging you.
Balamb Garden, SeeD Academy
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 2.0
Balamb Garden, SeeD Academy is a strong card, with the rest of the deck being the issue. If there is a Towns deck, this is an awesome addition, but I’m not so sure about that deck existing.
Clive’s Hideaway
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Constructed: 1.0
Keep hiding, Clive.