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Final Fantasy x MTG Arena guide: the best standard Brawl decks from Universes Beyond
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Aidan Moher
As a longtime Final Fantasy fan, what really makes the experience of seeing all your favorite characters, items, summons, and equipment on these new cards are the memories of those key moments in the series's history. So, let's have some fun as we build some decks around iconic scenes that blew our minds and helped Final Fantasy become the beloved series that inspired this new Magic expansion set.
Final Fantasy V Brawl deck guide: Galuf’s sacrifice and the power of Neo Exdeath
When it comes to dramatic deaths, everybody thinks about that scene in Final Fantasy VII, but the series is no stranger to self-sacrifice. Old man Galuf plays a vital role in Final Fantasy V's early game as he takes on villain Exdeath, leading the way to his granddaughter Krile to eventually join protagonist Bartz and crew in their quest to defeat the Void Warlock.
With Exdeath, Void Warlock at the head of your deck, you're going to want to be filling your graveyard with lots of permanents, so you'll want to stock your deck with Aristocrat-style sacrifice effects or self-mill. And, if you mill or sacrifice something important, you can rely on Evil Reawakened to get back your biggest, baddest creature from the graveyard with a few +1/+1 counters on it.
After you've flipped Exdeath into Neo Exdeath, Dimension's End, you've got a game-ending threat putting pressure on your opponent thanks to potentially sky-high power (increasing based on the number of permanents in your graveyard) and trample to deal with those pesky chump blockers.
With Neo Exdeath powered up, the heroes will need everything they've got to stop the intergalactic tree from taking over the world. Fortunately, Bartz and Boko (and any other birds you control) can deal four damage to any creature an opponent controls when they enter the battlefield, taking care of Neo Exdeath's three toughness and saving the day. Still need that extra boost? Galuf's Final Act allows any creature to power up your team after death. Equip a Genji Glove for extra turns in combat, then tap, sac, and go!
Final Fantasy VI Brawl deck strategy: Terra, Moogles, and more
After trekking through Narshe in Search for the Frozen Esper, sorceress Terra Branford and her two handlers Biggs and Wedge are defeated by a mysterious Esper called Valigarmanda. Terra awakens in a stranger's home, who quickly reveals the Empire is on her trail. Without her memories or powerful Magitek Armor, Terra flees into the Narshe mines with a thief—err, treasure hunter named Locke and runs into some serious trouble.
No ordinary soldier, your Brawl commander is Terra, Herald of Hope, a half-Esper imbued with a control of magic unheard of in humans (she starts with Fire Magic, which can be a good sweeper if your opponent's board is getting out of hand). This is not enough, however, to save her and Locke when they fall through a collapsing floor, leaving them sitting ducks for the imperial soldiers on the lookout for the deserter. Fortunately, a group of local moogles arrives to save the day, and, thanks to Moogles' Valor, where there's one moogle, there's usually more. Doubling the number of creatures you control by creating 1/2 white moogle creatures with lifelink, this powerful instant speed spell can turn the tide of battle quickly.
(And, if you're playing paper Magic the Gathering, you could add Mog, Moogle Warrior from the Commander precon deck, which lets you use Dance at the end of every turn, and gives you all sorts of goodies if your opponents decide to discard a card to draw a card—including more moogles!)
And, of course, every good combat system needs a Battle Menu. This card can help juice up your ranks before the moogles arrive, serves as a nasty combat trick to help you win a clash, and can even destroy your opponent's biggest bombs before they can untap.
Final Fantasy VII Brawl decks: Cloud equipment and Sephiroth strategies
Here it is. The scene. The moment that changed the trajectory of Final Fantasy and the RPG genre worldwide. For this moment, we're going big by building two different decks on opposing sides of the field.
For our first Commander, we're going to the Boros version of Final Fantasy VII's hero, Cloud, Planet's Champion, which gives us access to all the necessary white and red spells and creatures we'll need. In his hands, of course, is the trusty Buster Sword, one of the strongest equipment cards in the set, which allows you to draw a card and cast a free spell every time the equipped creature deals combat damage. Even with Haste Magic, though, it's not enough to save Aerith Gainsborough, who's the only one who can stop the planet's destruction due to the incoming Ultimate Magic: Meteor, which can do serious damage to all creatures on board, and even take out an opponent's artifacts and lands.
(If you're building this in Commander for your tabletop Magic night and can add green to your deck via a different commander, Harmonize draws you three cards and captures the moment right before Sephiroth strikes.)
Heading up the second deck is an incredibly powerful commander, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER. Drawing cards and sacrificing a creature every time you attack helps find the cards you need and drains your opponent. Kill four creatures in a turn and he flips into Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel, which is even more powerful. Equipping him with the ludicrously long Masamune, which doubles up Sephiroth's triggers, makes the legendary SOLDIER even more intimidating.
And then comes Sephiroth's Intervention, which can destroy any target creature at instant speed (and gain you a couple of life in the process), representing the fatal strike that reshaped the trajectory of Final Fantasy's VII's plot and skyrocketed the series to a global phenomenon. But, hey, where's Zack Fair when you need him? His ability to protect another creature on the board sure would've helped.
Final Fantasy IX deck guide: Zidane’s theft and more
Final Fantasy IX's opening hours are among the best narrative introductions in the entire series (and maybe all of video games?). As our commander Zidane, Tantalus Thief first infiltrates then flees the royal city of Alexandria, he finds an unlikely ally.
Looking to escape the increasingly tyrannical reign of her evil mother Queen Brahne and her army of black mages (like her, the mage tokens she creates by attacking all get more powerful whenever you cast a noncreature spell), Princess Garnet Til Alexandros 17th literally bumps into Zidane. She's a reskin of Loran of the Third Path, which means she's a versatile white all star that draws cards and destroys pesky equipment and enchantments. The princess then reunites with Zidane on his theatre ship (The Prima Vista, which unfortunately can't go in this deck due to being a blue card) and she makes an Unexpected Request to kidnap her, cutely captured by the card temporarily stealing a creature from your opponent.
Brahne's guards Beatrix, Loyal General and knight Adelbert Steiner are on their trail, and you know they're touting powerful equipment like the legendary Excalibur II, beefing up the two combat powerhouses so they can face down pretty much everything. Putting Alexandria behind them, the ragtag crew of unlikely allies escapes with the city of Lindblum, Industrial Regency in their sights, but the best-laid plans rarely work out.
Final Fantasy? No. The fun's just beginning
With over 500 new Final Fantasy cards coming to Arena covering all 16 mainline games, it's impossible to cover all the series's dramatic twists, shocking reversals, and iconic moments, but the tools are all there to build a deck around the scenes explored above. You can also choose from other classics like Sin, Spira's Punishment's emergence in Final Fantasy X, Emet-Selch, Unsundered's unforgettable reveal in Final Fantasy XIV, or the Clash of the Eikons in Final Fantasy XVI. The story is yours to tell, and this story? It's never final.
Magic the Gathering: Arena is available on Epic Games Store.