Few game franchises can match the pedigree of Final Fantasy, but one that arguably comes close is the long-running trading card game Magic: the Gathering. Much like FF, Wizards of the Coast’s TCG has been around for decades, bringing in new players regularly and exciting existing ones continualy.
This June, the card game istrying its most ambitious plan yet: collaborating with Square Enix to release a set of cards starring characters, locations and creatures from Final Fantasy history. However, those new to MTG, or trading card games in general, may be overwhelmed by all the different products available. This guide will help you break down all of the offerings to choose what’s right for you.
These are probably the poster child for the collaboration as these are decks created specifically for Magic’s popular commander format. “Commander” is a spin on the rules of MTG where more than two players at a time have a 100-card deck with no duplicates that includes a leader card to offer special abilities when playing.
Read More: How To Pick The Right Commander Deck For Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy Set
For the Final Fantasy set, there will be four Commander decks available, each for a different game. There is the FFVI deck starring Terra, FFVII starring Cloud, FFX starring Tidus, and FFXIV starring Y’shtola. These decks are pretty expensive going for around $70, but you are getting a wide variety of cards and these builds are fairly competitive. This is a great pickup for those who want to be able to play one of Magic’s most popular game-types, or if you love one of the titles being offered here. There are also Collector’s Editions of these decks that have foils for every card inside at a much higher cost.
These are your normal booster packs. They should be around $7 USD each, or you can pick up a box for a little over $200. Each pack will contain 14 cards but all will be Final Fantasy themed. This is a great option for those who love FF and just want to collect some cards.
Collector’s Boosters are like your standard Play Boosters but have a chance of higher rarity cards. Collector’s Boosters are for those who want to try to get the coolest looking cards. These are for those who want to try to get the most valuable cards from the set; however, Collector’s Boosters will most likely not be reprinted and will be very tough to find, so if you don’t already have some on order, you may be out of luck.
As the name implies, this is basically a bundle of booster packs with some extras. You get nine play boosters, 32 lands, 16 which are full-art and 16 which are foil, a spindown (which is used to track health in a MTG match) and a deck box. This retails for $69.99 and is a good option if you are planning on picking up a handful of boosters and want some extras.
This is basically an improved version of the standard bundle. It includes nine booster packs, a collector booster, 32 full-art lands (16 foil, 16 non-foil), a spindown, and a storage box. This should retail for around $89.99.
Magic: The Gathering holds special events called “Pre-Releases,” which allow fans the opportunity to get their hands on new cards a week early. Unlike the other products on this list, the Pre-Release Pack is available for purchase at these events. Each box contains six booster packs, a special rare or mythic rare card, a deck box and spindown die (Editor’s note: No, you can’t use spindowns for D&D even though they have 20 sides).
Once your packs are opened, you will build a limited, 40-card deck and play in a tournament with other players, with most game shops offering prizes for winners. This is a great way to get involved in the game and see what it’s like to actually play Magic: The Gathering in a competitive space.
Finally, there is a starter deck pack that contains two pre-built decks (Cloud vs Sephiroth). Retailing for $19.99, this is a good option for those who want to try out MTG in a more casual setting.
Final Fantasy and Magic: The Gathering fans have a lot to look forward to summer 2025 when this collaboration releases on June 12th.