The energy in the Boston Exposition and Convention Center ballroom was palpable even before the Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering panel at PAX East 2025 began. Since the previous card reveals in February, and since the set is due to come out next month, there has been a significant amount of interest and even positive buzz around this release. The Venn diagram of Magic enthusiasts and Final Fantasy fans is not exactly a single circle, but there is some vast overlap, as the Wizards of the Coast design team demonstrated with their heartfelt descriptions of each entry in the franchise as they presented and previewed new cards and mechanics.
Based on what Wizards of the Coast revealed at PAX East, this set also offers a lot for those who love Final Fantasy but are less familiar with Magic. Because this is the first full Standard release for Universes Beyond, there were even hints that this could be a good entry point for Final Fantasy fluent new players to start playing. This means you can combine FF cards with other sets from the previous two years and that the cards are Standard tournament accepted. This also means there are a variety of pre-generated decks to choose from, and even a Cloud vs. Sephiroth starter deck to help teach newcomers how to play. The Magic design team is on record as saying this is the most extensive crossover set they’ve undertaken, far outscaling other franchises within our coverage, like Fallout or Assassin’s Creed.
One of the main takeaways from the two-hour panel was how closely Wizards of the Coast worked with Square Enix and how early on they were involved in the process. The MTG team described playing the games themselves (especially if they hadn’t played that particular entry), then creating three categories for the Final Fantasy elements, from the “need to haves” (category 1) to “that would be nice, but we probably won’t have room” (category 3) and discussing with Square Enix even at this conceptual phase as well as consistently showing them specific cards and getting feedback. For example, the panel specifically addressed feedback they got from the FFXIV team on making sure equipment from the MMO looks consistent with its in-game renditions.
Focusing on the mainline releases appeared to be a natural way to structure the Magic set, so the panel was formatted as a journey through all of the mainline games, with occasional stops to describe mechanics and card types as they fit with specific titles. It was a mix of some cards from the previous February preview, some new cards with details, and a few teasers with illustrations and no card text.
The panel showcased a series of short interviews about the artwork, including Yoshitaka Amano himself, showing how they approached creating new art of beloved characters for this release. Many of the series’ luminary visual artists got to pick which characters they illustrated, with new Terra and Kefka art from Amano and an extensive and impressive Sephiroth piece from Tetsuya Nomura. I find it best to let this art and the cards speak for themselves, so let’s move forward to some details!
One note before we do that: The Magic team has revealed dozens more cards between the time this article was written and published. So the intent here is not to showcase every single card, but to give an overview based on the PAX East panel and touch on several novel mechanics and unique ways several characters, creatures, and locales are represented and how they will play.
Final Fantasy
There’s no way to have a Final Fantasy set without the game that started it all, and it’s fascinating to see how the team used a graveyard return mechanic to show Garland’s defeat at the hands of the Warriors of Light and return as Chaos. Also, his flavor text is *chef’s kiss*.
Another staple in the FF series is tiered spells, which you can use in your Magic game by adding more mana. Those more powerful spells will still cost you, but it may be worth it for extra damage. Magic has always had an elemental theme with the different mana/lands, so this is a natural fit.
And where would the series be without equipment? These examples are from Final Fantasy I, but expect to see iconic equipment from throughout the series, and perhaps some characters whose abilities center around it. The panel described this as a “job select” mechanic, with certain equipment granting specific abilities.
Final Fantasy II
Firion from FFII is an example of one of those characters! He’s got a rebellion to supply! Like many heroes I will showcase below, you can also see that his card has multiple versions with different art!
Final Fantasy III
We have some Final Fantasy III representation here with the Darkness Crystal. You can practically feel its insidious presence, especially in that beautifully illustrated borderless version. Fortunately, the other crystals will also appear and have similarly large-scale effects.
Final Fantasy IV
For the love of all the Crystals, Kain! Not again. This card is another great example of the dual artwork and careful attention to the abilities of beloved series characters. [Editor’s Note: This is probably the funniest and most fitting card I’ve seen yet.]
Character transformations and growth have become a deeply ingrained part of the FF series, and no one embodies that better than Cecil, protagonist of Final Fantasy IV. You can see him above in both Dark Knight and Paladin form, with fitting abilities for each. You suffer damage as he attacks as a Dark Knight until you reach half your life total, then he transforms and makes your characters invincible. And look at the beautiful full-art version!
Final Fantasy V & Chocobos
Here’s a look at FFV with traveling pals Bartz and Boko! You’ll notice that Boko and Bartz have an ability called Affinity for Birds, which means they pair well with these Traveling Chocobos. The ones pictured here are the Black variant (in honor of Nomura’s favorite chocobo from FFVII) and the serialized Golden Chocobo (the only serialized card in the set). There’s enough of a colorful flock to avoid serious regret from not gathering Collector’s packs and trying to get one of the 77 Goldens. It would be shocking not to have chocobos make an appearance, and their designation as Birds shows how the MTG team has allowed opportunities for Final Fantasy cards to complement and combine with each other and cards from other sets.
Final Fantasy VI
Next is Final Fantasy VI with some fabulous new art, including Esper Terra! You can see that Terra has an ability called Trance, and Esper Terra is classified as an Enchantment Creature—Saga Wizard and has a sequence of abilities including her drastic transformation. This is also where we see that excellent new Yoshitaka Amano artwork!
This second form of Terra you see here—her Herald of Hope card—is her Commander card, the first of four Commander decks created for the Final Fantasy collaboration. Commander is a multiplayer format built around a single legendary figure, and FF has its fair share of those. Fortunately, the official site has a complete deck list for this FFVI deck (as well as the others) that goes through each card by card type. The press conference and panel confirmed that these Commander decks are where the team was able to do more of a deep dive into the associated titles, and each deck has specific mechanics with the commanders that match the games.
Final Fantasy VII
The next Commander set is Final Fantasy VII. This was reportedly the earliest choice to get its own set due to the prominence of FFVII Remake and FFVII Rebirth. During the panel, we got a specific look at Cloud and Tifa.
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII is a known favorite of panel host Ben Starr, and here are Squall, Rinoa, and Ultimecia to represent. Because of her status as a temporal threat, Ultimecia is the first ever Magic Uncommon card to get an extra turn! Let’s also give it up for Angelo; it makes me so happy to see the FF pups represented. Angelo is a token that works specifically with Rinoa’s card, while Shadow’s (FFVI) Interceptor gets his own card.
Final Fantasy IX
This Zidane Final Fantasy IX card looks like a throwback for multiple reasons. It’s a legacy card, which in the Magic parlance means taking a card from a previous set with notable abilities and conferring those abilities to a card in the new set. Zidane here is based on a card called Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. Vivi is also representing his game with some powerful buffs from spellcasting.
Final Fantasy X
There’s also a strong showing for FFX in the set, with “Counter Blitz” as the third Commander deck option, represented by Tidus and Yuna. The panel discussed how they used moving counters from card to card to create a Sphere Grid-like mechanic.
Final Fantasy XI
The Final Fantasy XI offerings created audience responses that ran the gamut from adoration and the need to have the Dragon’s Wyvern as soon as possible to collective groans and laughs as everyone realized that the Absolute Virtue card accurately reflects the absurd difficulty of that battle in FFXI.
Final Fantasy XII
Balthier and Fran from Final Fantasy XII are here to look good and represent the dual-character cards found in the set. As competent sky pirates, it makes sense that these two would affect vehicles such as airships, of which you will find numerous representations throughout the set.
Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning may have missed out on getting her own Commander deck, but she gets plenty of card variants, and the title and reference to her “Army of One” ability isn’t too shabby. The team created a Stagger mechanic for Lightning and the Final Fantasy XIII cards to recreate the feel of those titles.
Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV fan favorite and unofficial representative [Editor’s Note: See her prominence in spin-offs like Theatrhythm, Dissidia, etc.!] Y’shtola heads the last of the FF Commander decks, aptly titled “Scions and Sorcery.” According to the team, this was another early choice for a game to get a dedicated deck. Whether adventuring through Ishgard or Hildibrand creating zombies, the team did an impressive job of condensing many expansions of content into a streamlined deck! Ishgard is also an example of how you’ll see some famous towns throughout the series represented as Adventures. In Ishgard’s case, that involves returning artifacts or enchantments to your hand.
Final Fantasy XV
Ardyn and Noctis represent Final Fantasy XV, and both seem to have mechanics involving playing cards from the graveyard or replacing them with Demons, in Ardyn’s case. I can also confirm that instant noodles and Food tokens are part of the FFXV representation in the set.
Final Fantasy XVI
Of course, the characters from Final Fantasy XVI have a mechanic where they transform into their respective Eikons. Ben Starr gleefully revealed Clive’s card by sporting a shirt with Clive on the front and Ifrit on the back:
FFXVI‘s Eikons provide an interesting spin on the other summons throughout the set, like Fenrir and Valigarmanda, who show up as Saga cards rather than starting as creatures and transforming.
There are a ton of options and information throughout the Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering set, even if the team claims they had several deep-dive moments and ideas they had to throw out. It’s difficult to even summarize that, never mind condensing the entire mainline 16 games into a single, cohesive card game release. From the panel alone, it was evident how much care and love went into this collaboration that has been years in the making. Their desire to provide an authentic Final Fantasy experience is present in every decision, from carefully designing and redesigning Sephiroth’s card abilities to deciding to include illustrations for each and every Cid and FFVII Gold Saucer date scenario on those respective cards.
I hope this journey has convinced you to look deeper at this set; there are several options, including booster packs to collect cards and supplement existing decks, to collector’s versions of each Commander deck. You can see all the cards in the set on the official Wizards of the Coast page. The set releases on June 13th, so there’s not long to wait! We’d like to thank our PAX East contacts for the invitation and opportunity to learn and share about the set!
