Now here's something I never thought would ever happen.
I have been a fan of Magic: The Gathering for a long time. I've been a fan of Final Fantasy for just as long. Yet I never thought I would ever see a full-on MTG set based on Final Fantasy. When it was first announced, I thought this set was a joke. Honestly, it sounded like something I dreamed up when I was a kid, not an actual product that Wizards of the Coast was actually going to release. But here we are, two weeks away from the release of MTG - Final Fantasy. So now, it's time to rank some of the cards.
I've talked a little bit about MTG before, but I think now is as good a time to talk about it again. Hey, I did a ranking for the Street Fighter cards, why not Final Fantasy? Well, I am going to do the same exercise once again. I am going to keep it to my most played format, commander/EDH, and rank all the new legendary creatures/potential commanders. The difference is this time, instead of eight new commanders, we have a total of *checks notes* 161 commanders across the main and commander sets. Yes, I am going to rank all 161 of these cards, worst to best, over the next three posts.
A few things here before we start. First, we are ranking these strictly on how I think they will perform as commanders. Not just in the format, but out of the command zone. We are looking at general power level, potential, color identity and consistency. There are a lot of very good cards that will rank fairly low on this list because while they are strong, they just aren't good commanders. I'm going to keep the analysis brief, otherwise it would take me all year. Just a sentence or two for each card, especially those lower on the list. I'm not going to include scores like I did on the SF cards or include pics of every single one, but I will include a link to the full card gallery here for reference. Overall, there are a lot of really powerful cards in this set and many of them will make at least decent commanders. There are probably only about 20 or so that are just straight out not commander material. Well, that's enough stage setting, let's get started with the bottom third:
161) Snow Villers
If I was drafting, and I was in white, and it was pack two, pick 10, I still probably wouldn't take this card.
If I was drafting, and I was in white, and it was pack two, pick 10, I still probably wouldn't take this card.
160) The Warring Triad
Colorless creatures need to do a lot to be good commanders. A glorified mana dork that transforms into a decent creature with eight cards in the graveyard isn't enough.
159) Fang, Fearless l'Cie
Since we are looking at how they perform as a commander, Fang is clearly one of the weakest in the set. Simply put, she needs Vanille (more on her later) to get her full value and Vanille isn't in her color identity.
158) Zack Fair
157) Rufus Shinra
You can only ever get one token out of it and it has to attack, no thanks.
156) Freya Crescent
Not a bad card and can at least wear the equipment it pays for, but nowhere close to commander material.
155) Prompto Argentum
I guess it's a fine effect on an easy to cast creature, but creating one treasure token off an expensive spell isn't really something that can be built around easily.
154) Quina, Qu Gourmet
If it replaced all of your tokens with frogs, or went one to one with them, we might be having a different conversation. It's not a bad effect, but definitely not strong enough as a commander.
153) Reno and Rude
It's a halfway decent sacrifice outlet and an interesting trigger, but not really enough on a mono-colored commander. At least it's efficient. Also, major flavor miss not being able to partner with Elena, who we will see soon.
152) Gaius van Baelsar
Would you play Plaguecrafter or Fleshbag Marauder in the command zone if you could? Probably not (unless you are playing pauper EDH). It's a good, time tested effect but Gaius is here to be played in drafts, not in the command zone.
151) Cloud of Darkness
A disappointing card for an underrated character, at least it does something useful. But a 3/3 for five that may remove a creature isn't commander material. She goes a spot above Gaius for having green as part of her color identity instead of just black. But both are really draft cards.
150) Ambrosia Whiteheart
White commanders with relevant ETBs are going to rank higher than those in other colors because at least they are easy to blink. Even with that, Ambrosia doesn't do enough to warrant building around and landfall is going to be mostly useless in mono white.
149) Ultros, Obnoxious Octopus
Okay, this is just funny. The abilities are useful, but it's going to take a while for the last one to trigger. It almost doesn't matter that he costs two because you aren't going to want to play him until much later. At least he's a flavor win.
148) Ignis Scientia
It's not guaranteed ramp, but the first ability is going to hit more often than not. I guess having some graveyard hate is nice too. Honestly, the best thing about this commander is that it's blue and green. The effects aren't bad by any means but underwhelming on a commander.
147) Locke Cole
A good card with no downside. It's a high draft pick, it's playable in constructed, it fits nicely into the 99 of blue black decks that want to attack, but it's not a commander.
146) Bugenhagen, Wise Elder
At the end of the day, he's just a mana dork in the command zone. A really good mana dork that can provide you with some cards later in the game, but still just a mana dork. Definitely awesome in the 99 or in other constructed formats though.
145) Siegfried, Famed Swordsman
A lot of these pre-con deck cards are clearly designed more to help their face commanders than to excel as commanders themselves. Siegfried can get beefy, but he does too little to really excel out of the zone. Actually kind of wish he sucked more, it would have fit with his character.
144) Gatta and Luzzu
They could make for some interesting interactions but still don't do enough to really work as a commander.
143) Ashe, Princess of Dalmasca
Goes a little higher than the rest of the mono color commanders with basic ETBs because digging for artifacts is always solid. Still, it's not something you want in the command zone.
142) G'raha Tia
"This ability triggers only once each turn" absolutely nukes this commander's power level. Without it, this would instantly be one of the most built mono-white commanders. With it, it's just meh.
141) Interceptor, Shadow's Hound
A really good creature and repeatable threat, but not a super strong commander.
140) Exdeath, Void Warlock/Neo-Exdeath, Dimension's End
This is a hugely disappointing card fora character as canonically powerful as Exdeath. It's not bad by any means, it's affordable, easy to flip and will probably hit pretty hard. I just feel like it should have done more. It's color identity pushes it above some cards that might be a little more objectively strong.
139) Umaro, Raging Yeti
Remove the random clause and this would be way higher. They are all good effects, but not when you can't choose them. Also, a little too expensive.
138) Rinoa Heartily
Rinoa's abilities don't synergize all that well and it feels like creating the Angelo token was an afterthought to quickly try and add some level of flavor to the card. Also, 5 mana 4/4s that need to attack to be useful tend to not be good as commanders.
137) Barret Wallace
I usually find equipment decks want to stack their resources on one or two creatures rather than spread them out. This could deal some damage if built around, but I don't know if the effect is truly worth it.
136) Rosa, Resolute White Mage
Lifelink and triggering on combat help, but one counter per turn isn't a good enough rate for a white 2/3 for four.
135) Shelinda, Yevon Acolyte
I guess these counters could build pretty fast, but Shelinda is very fragile and she seems like she would be playing lots of small creatures. Viable in standard, but not always great for commander.
134) Quistis Treppe
A sorcery speed Snapcaster Mage certainly has its uses and could do some things if built around. Still, it's a bit awkward as a commander and being one color doesn't help.
133) Torgal, A Fine Hound
This was headed to the bottom of the list until I noticed it said "each." It's still a mono color commander that requires a serious build around. But it's going to lead to some big human creatures, and it can ramp as a nice bonus.
132) Red XIII, Proud Warrior
These are all good effects, but they are just a bit underwhelming in this day and age.
131) Heidegger, Shinra Executive
Soldiers are plentiful, both in the FF set and Magic in general, so the first ability can make a creature pretty big. The second is a nice little bonus. Still, a 4CMC mono-white commander needs to do a bit more than this.
130) General Leo Cristophe
Kind of in the same boat as Heidegger, it's a good effect but not enough to warrant a 5CMC mono white commander. He goes a little higher because his ability is abusable with blinks, something white is very good at.
129) Auron, Venerated Guardian
Again, too narrow, for too much mana and too mono-white. At least it exiles creatures while growing itself, making its attacks safer.
128) Gogo, Mysterious Mime
Another fairly powerful effect that isn't quite powerful enough for four mana and limiting yourself to Red.
127) Rikku, Resourceful Guardian
Starting to notice a theme here? Rikku's effect is decent, but not worth building around in mono-blue.
126) Lord Jyscal Guado
Is this the closest white can come to card draw? Remember, it's each turn, so pack plenty of instants that add counters. Solid value at two mana but still brought down by being mono-white.
125) Cyan, Vengeful Samurai
Thou wouldst be lower on the list without cost reduction, Cyan. Load up on creatures and ways to bring back and sacrifice small guys and watch our samurai friend hit harder and harder. Still not quite powerful enough to really warrant playing as a commander but can definitely pack a punch.
124) Seymour Flux
It's expensive and mono-colored, while also being uninteresting. Still, extra cards are extra cards.
123) Elena, Turk Recruit
A nice, cheap mono-white commander that plays well with artifacts and legends. The first ability provides instant value, and she can get pretty big if unchecked. Still not quite powerful enough.
122) O'aka, Traveling Merchant
Dark Depths fans eat your heart out. The ability is definitely abusable in the right situations and drawing cards will never be bad. It's also nice and cheap at two mana. Still though, it requires a little too much setup for being mono-blue.
This was absolutely the hardest creature on the list to rank. On one hand, its ability seems underwhelming, and I never liked giving my opponents stuff. On the other, its card draw in white and it's incredibly efficient. I feel like it's just going to be a little too weak, though it could lead to some interesting play.
120) Judge Magister Gabranth
We've all seen before how big commanders with this ability can get. Menace will also help to push damage through. He's kind of tied with the next commander on our list but goes a spot lower for not having as strong a color identity and or a way to trigger the pumps on his own.
119) Tidus, Blitzball Star
Blue and white has plenty of artifact synergies, and it won't be hard to make Tidus pretty big. The problem is, he won't ever be much more than just a big creature. The tapping ability is helpful but underwhelming. He could helm some strong decks, but those decks won't be made that much better because of him.
118) Garland, Knight of Cornelia//Chaos, the Endless
One of those reminders that this is a standard-legal set. A 3/2 for two in black and red is a good rate and I could see it carrying some equipment well while also smoothing your draws. Coming out of the graveyard stronger is kind of a non-factor here, as the Chaos side is just a 5/5 flyer for seven with an ability that isn't relevant in commander. I don't know too much about standard these days, but I could see this being a menace in an aggro deck alongside...
117) Cecil, Dark Knight//Redeemed Paladin
This guy right here. A 2/3 with deathtouch on turn one is really good. Sure, you lose life when it connects, but you want to be losing life so you can flip him. Then, you can go ahead and gain all that life back (if you haven't killed your opponent already) while swinging in with a board of indestructible creatures. That's a fool-proof strategy with one opponent at 20 life, but not so great when you have three opponents with 40 life. I could still see some Voltron style builds with him though.
116) Zidane, Tantalus Thief
Again, act of treason effects are strong, but they really need to be built around to get the most out of them. Typically, you want to be finding a way to sacrifice the creature you steal before you give it back, but Zidane incentivizes doing the opposite. Having white in his color identity helps because you have access to blinks, but a mana value of 5 certainly does not.
115) Bartz and Boko
Simply put, there isn't enough bird support in mono-green to make this really function as a commander. A large majority of it will come with this set. If we get more green feathered friends in later sets though, this could definitely move up. Cheating on costs and removal are a powerful combo.
114) Vincent Valentine//Galian Beast
Vincent has the potential to grow very fast, black is great at getting rid of creatures after all. He's also easy to flip and very resilient to non-exile removal. The problem is he's mono colored and lacks evasion, which really hurts his potential.
113) Vanille, Cheerful l'Cie
The other half of our meld pair, you have to put our peppy, pink haired friend here in the command zone if you want to pull it off. She and Fang meld into the very powerful Ragnarok, but I'm not sure he's worth jumping through so many hoops for.
112) Omega the Heartless
You get a big body and a nice effect for your seven mana and being in blue and green is a nice benefit. But Omega is still too expensive, and its ability isn't so good it's going to win you games.
111) Cait Sith, Fortune Teller
Cait Sith looks fun to play and it can definitely do some damage. This is a little closer to what you want your Mono color commanders doing, but I still think he should do a bit more.
110) Beatrix, Loyal General
Cheating equip costs is a powerful ability. Beatrix is still a little expensive and mono white but triggering on combat puts it higher on the list.
109) Kain, Traitorous Dragoon
He's certainly going to be fun to play and absolutely on point theme wise. I feel like he will be easy to keep alive too, as everyone is going to want their chance to draw off him. Kain may be cool, but I'm not sure how powerful he is. It's going to take a serious build around to limit the cards you give to your opponents.
108) Avalanche of Sector 7
One of those weird cases where a card is actually stronger at high power tables than lower ones. As far as I know, cracking a treasure constitutes activating an ability. It would have been interesting to see this and Dockside Extortionist in the format at the same time. The ability is very niche, but man does it really fill that niche.
Well, that's going to do it for us for now. Check back for part two, where we tackle the middle of the list.
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