No Rebirth required.
We usually rank every single Commander in any given set, but doing that for Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY would leave us bereft of life and into the Lifestream, as there are well over a hundred of them in the set! Instead, we’ll cover the legendary creatures from specific games — and today, that means we’re all about the magnificent Final Fantasy 7 (VII).
Ranking the Best MTG Commanders from Final Fantasy 7 (VII)
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There are fourteen new legendary creatures in the main MTG—FINAL FANTASY set, even with this specific Final Fantasy 7 (VII) focus. We’re going to make them fight to the death against each other for the fun of it, with only the winner coming out on top. That’s right, we’ll finally settle the Tifa Vs. Aerith debate once and for all.
#14 Rufus Shinra
Rufus Shinra
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
First, we’ll begin with Rufus Shinra, who creates a legendary 2/2 Dog token called Darkstar whenever he attacks (if you don’t already have one). This means you’re getting 4/6 of stats for just three mana, which is really good when it comes to Limited or Constructed. However, Darkstar doesn’t come in attacking (nor does it have haste), meaning you need to attack with Rufus in the first place to create the token. This card might be fine in Limited, but it’s underwhelming in Commander.
#13 Diamond Weapon
Diamond Weapon
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
Diamond Weapon was daunting in Final Fantasy VII, and the MTG card shares a similar sentiment as the card costs one less mana for each permanent card in your graveyard, reducing the Weapon to be as low as two mana. Diamond Weapon comes with reach and can’t take any combat damage either. There’s no denying that this thing can absolutely throw down favorably in a fight and also stick around most of the time. However, it’s not doing a whole lot as a Commander without some ways to push through damage (such as Rancor), though.
#12 Zack Fair
Zack Fair
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
Zack Fair is one of the more flavorful cards from MTG—FINAL FANTASY as Zack enters play with a +1/+1 counter along with the ability to throw those counters (and any equipment attached to Zack) to another creature you control. Zack does need to be sacrificed for this to resolve, but this is very in line with the character in Final Fantasy: Crisis Core. As a Commander, Zack Fair looks genuinely fun and allows for some instant-speed plays that could make this a tricky Commander to play against.
#11 Reno and Rude
Reno and Rude
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
Reno and Rude is ideal if you’re in the market to yoink as many cards as possible from your opponents, but you do need to jump through a few hoops to get this going — especially within the first few turns of a Commander game.
#10 Barret Wallace
Barret Wallace
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
Barret Wallace comes with an interesting ability where whenever he attacks, you’ll deal damage equal to the number of equipped creatures you control to the defending player. Depending on your board state, Barret can command an impressive amount of damage if you build your Commander deck correctly. Since Barret triggers upon attacking, this makes the dealing damage effect relatively consistent.
#9 Cloud, Midgar Mercenary
Cloud, Midgar Mercenary
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Cloud, Midgar Mercenary is one of the hottest cards from MTG—FINAL FANTASY, and it’s easy to see why. Cloud allows you search for an equipment card from your library and then put that card into your hand when he enters play. When equipped, Cloud can double any abilities that he or any of the equipment attached to Cloud could trigger. Sharing a resemblance to the evergreen and iconic Stoneforge Mystic, Cloud is incredibly strong — but we feel it serves best within the ninety-nine rather than leading a Commander strategy.
#8 Vincent Valentine
Vincent Valentine
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Everyone’s favorite brooding Vincent Valentine comes with a selection of exciting abilities. When a creature an opponent controls dies, you add that many +1/+1 counters to Vincent equal to that creature’s power — this is already quite strong, but you can also choose to transform Vincent into Galian Beast whenever he attacks. Better still, if the Galian Beast dies, you’ll flip the card back into Vincent Valentine — meaning you can throw more +1/+1 counters onto the Vincent! Add a suite of removal spells and The Ozolith, and you’ve got a seriously potent Commander here.
#7 Cid, Timeless Artificer
Cid, Timeless Artificer
FINAL FANTASY, Uncommon
Technically, Cid, Timeless Artificer is in every Final Fantasy rundown we’ll cover, but here we are anyway. Cid, Timeless Artificer grants all artifact creatures and Heroes you control +1/+1 for each Artificer you control and for each one in your graveyard. You can play as many copies of Cid in a deck as you wish, and you can pay two mana to cycle it away for a fresh card. There are a lot of exciting decks to build around Cid, Timeless Artificer, whether you’re filling a deck with the card or just having it as the Commander.
#6 Cloud, Planet’s Champion
Cloud, Planet’s Champion
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Cloud, Planet’s Champion is from the MTG—FINAL FANTASY Starter Kit, and comes with indestructible for as long as he’s equipped (and this only happens during your turn). Furthermore, Cloud reduces equipment costs by two generic mana if they target Cloud. So, this means Buster Sword will cost zero mana to equip to Cloud, Planet’s Champion, which is remarkably strong (and flavorful) for Commander play.
#5 Aerith Gainsborough
Aerith Gainsborough
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Aerith Gainsborough is one of Final Fantasy 7’s (VII) most iconic characters and her abilities in MTG—FINAL FANTASY are pretty memorable, too. Aerith comes with lifelink and gains a +1/+1 counter each time you gain any life. Then, when Aerith dies, you may move those +1/+1 counters onto each legendary creature you control. Even though she dies, the ability is quite powerful and does a little bit of everything.
#4 Jenova, Ancient Calamity
Jenova, Ancient Calamity
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Jenova, Ancient Calamity is another curious Commander option if you’re looking for something that utilizes +1/+1 counters. At the beginning of combat on your turn, Jenova puts +1/+1 counters on one other target creature equal to Jenova’s power and as a result, the creature in question becomes a Mutant in addition to any other creature types. Then, whenever a Mutant you control dies during your turn, you’ll draw cards equal to that Mutant creature’s power. There are already some pretty strong Mutant cards in MTG (thanks to Universes Beyond: Fallout), so Jenova already comes with plenty of potential for Commander play.
#3 Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir
Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir is the other notable option from the MTG—FINAL FANTASY Starter Kit, and when entering the battlefield, Sephiroth gives all creatures you don’t control -2/-2 until end of turn and a +1/+1 counter for whenever a creature an opponent control dies. Sephiroth being a mini-board wipe (from the command zone) when it enters and potentially becoming much stronger in the same swing makes this an excellent choice — especially for anyone who prefers playing with removal spells.
#2 Tifa Lockhart
Tifa Lockhart
FINAL FANTASY, Rare
Tifa Lockheart comes with trample and a devastating Landfall trigger, doubling her power until the end of turn. Given how easy it is to play land cards in Commander and how green is the best color for it, this could easily be one of the most dangerous Commanders in the whole MTG—FINAL FANTASY set.
#1 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER
FINAL FANTASY, Mythic
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is gnarly as a Commander, who lets you sacrifice a creature whenever he attacks, and if you do — you’ll draw a card. Also, the card comes with a powerful ability of whenever another creature dies on the battlefield, target opponent loses one life, and you’ll gain one life. If this effect triggers the fourth time in a single turn, Sephiroth becomes the One-Winged Angel, where you’ll supercharge on those effects and create an emblem that forces an opponent to lose one life (and you’ll gain one life) whenever a creature on the battlefield dies. And if that wasn’t enough, you can also sacrifice any number of creatures when the One-Winged Angel attacks to draw that many cards.
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Sephiroth creating an emblem means it’ll stick around permanently, and you can actually have multiple copies of them if you bring Sephiroth back into play by recasting it as a Commander or anything else. Mono-Black is already incredibly strong in Commander, which just puts this version of Sephiroth at the top spot for us when it comes to ranking Final Fantasy VII (7) cards from MTG—FINAL FANTASY. Plus, you’re obligated to play the One Winged Angel by Nobou Uematsu each time Sephiroth transforms.