Gather all of your Cids.
Wizards of the Coast has been on a run with cards that you can play any number of copies in a given deck. We have Slime Against Humanity from Murders at Karlov Manor, Hare Apparent from Magic Foundations, and even Tempest Hawk in Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Well, Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY is the latest release to add this novel ability, and this time, the ability appears on a legendary creature.
Cid, Timeless Artificer
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
Cid, Timeless Artificer grants every artifact creature and Hero you control +1/+1 for each Artificer you control and Artificer card in your graveyard. If you’ve drawn too many Cid cards at one time, you can pay two mana to cycle the card away for a fresh card. And since the card is legendary, you can only play one Cid at a time on the battlefield, but we can definitely change this rule with the correct cards. So, let’s dig in!
The Best Cards for MTG—FINAL FANTASY’s Cid, Timeless Artificer
Market Price: $10.32
There are so many potential cards to complement Cid, Timeless Artificer, but we wanted to make sure we made a list of the most important inclusions. So, these are the cards you should consider playing alongside the recurring Final Fantasy character, along with the many other copies of Cid, Timeless Artificer in your deck.
#5 Oswald Fiddlebender
Oswald Fiddlebender
Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Rare
Oswald Fiddlebender is an Artificer where you can pay one mana and tap to sacrifice an artifact, and then search your library for an artifact card with mana value equal to one plus the sacrificed artifact’s mana value. You then put the card onto the battlefield and then shuffle your library. With Oswald, you essentially can find the most important artifacts in your deck, four of which we’re about to discuss.
#4 Machinist’s Arsenal
Machinist’s Arsenal
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Machinist’s Arsenal from MTG—FINAL FANTASY comes with Job select, meaning it’ll create a 1/1 Hero token and then attach itself to the token. It also turns the equipped creature into an Artificer and receives a +2/+2 boost for each artifact you control. Machinist’s Arsenal is essentially going to be one of the strongest cards in a Cid, Timeless Artificer deck, so we have to include it.
#3 Maskwood Nexus
Maskwood Nexus
Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, Rare
Maskwood Nexus is a really interesting card, as it turns every creature you control into every creature type. This means any creature you play will become a Hero and an Artificer, which means they all gain a nice boost from Cid, Timeless Artificer’s ability. Maskwood Nexus also allows you to create a 2/2 Shapeshifter token that’s every creature type for just three mana as well, making it a must-have here.
#2 Thrumming Stone
Thrumming Stone
Double Masters 2022, Rare
Thrumming Stone is a long-time staple for these styles of decks, as it comes with Ripple 4. Ripple is a fairly old keyword in Magic: The Gathering, where whenever you cast a spell, you may reveal the top four cards of your library, and you may cast spells with the same name as that spell from among the revealed cards. You don’t pay any mana costs to put them into play either, meaning you’ll be able to put as many Cids into play as you want (even if you cast a Cid from the command zone). Even if they all end up in the graveyard (due to legendary rules), they each boost artifact creatures and Heroes that’s are on the battlefield for as long there’s a Cid, Timeless Artificer in play, but we can keep them in play with the right cards.
#1 Mirror Box
Mirror Box
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Rare
Mirror Box from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty prevents the legend rule from applying to your permanents. Mirror Box also grants your legendary creatures +1/+1, and also gives your nontoken creatures +1/+1 for each creature that shares a name with them. So, if you have two copies of Cid, Timeless Artificer in play, they both get +2/+2 in total, and it only improves the more you have in play.
The Best Commanders for MTG—FINAL FANTASY’s Cid, Timeless Artificer
There are several options when it comes to viable Commanders for Cid, Timeless Artificer. We’ve made sure the Commanders we’ve chosen are in different color combinations, as this should enable you to include your favorite cards or concepts for Cid. We’ve got a mix of old and new options here, so let’s jump in.
#5 Noctis, Prince of Lucis
Noctis, Prince of Lucis
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Noctis, Prince of Lucis is an incredibly strong Commander, who lets you cast artifacts from your graveyard if you pay three life as well as their casting cost. These artifacts do enter play with a Finality counter, but being able to easily recur all of your strongest artifact cards is well worth the minor downside.
#4 Brenard, Ginger Sculptor
Brenard, Ginger Sculptor
The List Reprints, Mythic
Brenard, Ginger Sculptor is an interesting option, and one that leans into the Food and Golem typing for Commander play. However, Brenard comes with another exciting ability to turn any nontoken creatures that die into a 1/1 Food Golem (and has the Food token activated ability), meaning you can turn all your Cids into Food Golems. Thematically, it’s a bit silly, but it’s a fun way to be a bit creative while having access to green.
#3 Cayth, Famed Mechanist
Cayth, Famed Mechanist
Commander: Modern Horizons 3, Mythic
Cayth, Famed Mechanist from Commander: Modern Horizons 3, who comes with Fabricate 1. Fabricate means you can either create a 1/1 Servo token as Cayth enters, or put a +1/+1 counter on her instead. But also, Cayth grants Fabricate 1 to every other nontoken creature you control, meaning each creature that enters play can create a 1/1 Servo token (which complements Cid, Timeless Artificer’s passive ability). That isn’t all, as Cayth also comes with an activated ability to either Populate or Proliferate — Populate allows you to copy a token you control, and Proliferate allows you to put another counter on any permanent that has a counter already (including your opponent’s cards, if you so wish). This is an incredibly strong option to lead a Cid Commander deck, and the addition of red allows us to recur a lot of our best artifact creatures as well.
#2 Sakashima of a Thousand Faces & Rebbec, Architect of Ascension
Market Price: $30.64
Sakashima of a Thousand Faces is one of the many powerful cards with Partner in Commander, which prevents the legend rule from applying to your permanents, with Sakashima entering play as a copy of another creature you control. Our Partner option alongside Sakashima is Rebbec, Architect of Ascension, who grants artifacts you control protection from each converted mana cost amongst artifacts you control. While not a common pairing, these two work together to allow you to easily cast a whole army of Cids while also keeping your artifacts safe from opposing spells.
#1 Cid, Timeless Artificer
Cid, Timeless Artificer
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
While Cid, Timeless Artificer might not be the best Commander to use when playing a bunch of same-named cards in your deck, the sheer novelty (and flavor) of being able to do so means that we don’t care too much. Plus, even if all of your other copies are in the graveyard, as long as you can cast the one in your command zone, you can still boost your artifact creatures and Heroes sky high!