MTG Dropped the Ball on This Popular Final Fantasy Series
Before we dive in…
No — this isn’t about Final Fantasy VIII (although, honestly, that one probably deserves its own ranty love letter sometime).
If you’re new here, let me make something clear: I think Wizards of the Coast actually did an amazing job overall with the Final Fantasy crossover. The sheer scope of the series is massive, and I understand the design and practical limitations they were juggling. That said… even the best projects have casualties.
And in this case? The victim is Final Fantasy XIII.
Love it or hate it… it matters.
You can dunk on FFXIII all you want, and yes it’s one of the most divisive entries in North America, but its popularity is undeniable; especially in Japan.
So it’s not some niche pick. It deserved a solid showing in this crossover.
The high point: Lightning strikes first.
They actually started strong! Lightning’s card? Great flavor, good mechanics. Vanille and Fang? Not as powerful as I’d like, but at least they have unique mechanics that fit their characters.
For a moment, I thought, “Okay, they’re doing XIII justice.”
Then… it falls apart.
Sazh – Good card on its own, but it’s not synergistic with the rest of the XIII crew.
Snow – This one hurts. He’s not just weak in constructed formats… he’s bad in limited too. This is Snow, the guy who literally tanked his way through battles. His card should’ve felt strong and resilient, at least in limited, not like draft chaff.
Hope – Mechanically? Very cool. But let’s be honest — Hope is probably the least popular main cast member. Yet somehow, he gets the best “build-around” design in the set. This screams “bottom-up” design to me — build the mechanic first, slap on the most convenient character later.
Seat of Sanctum – The land card for XIII’s world? Flat-out bad. Feels like a throwaway and could have been pushed a little more.
Why this stings.
I get that they couldn’t go all-in on making the XIII cast a cohesive, synergistic deck, that’s a big ask with so many games to represent. But what we got feels scattered, mismatched, and in Snow’s case, disrespectful-adjacent to the character.
For a series that’s visually striking, narratively unique, and mechanically rich in its own way, this was a missed opportunity.
If they ever revisit the Final Fantasy universe, here’s hoping XIII gets the second chance it deserves, because this time, MTG didn’t just fail Cocoon… they failed us.
If you love Final Fantasy or Magic: The Gathering like we do, then we’d love to have you in our community to discuss these games and the ones we’ve designed!
Stay awesome!
