Magic: The Gathering and Final Fantasy: A Crossover of Epic Proportions
The realm of Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has been undergoing a significant transformation in recent years, sparking passionate debates within its dedicated player base. While original expansions continue to enrich the game’s lore, the introduction of "Universes Beyond," Wizards of the Coast’s initiative for licensed crossovers, has undeniably taken center stage. This initiative has brought a diverse range of franchises into the MTG universe, from the whimsical SpongeBob SquarePants to the epic Lord of the Rings. However, this influx of external worlds has generated concerns among some fans who fear that Wizards is sacrificing its own unique worldbuilding in favor of fleeting, franchise-driven content reminiscent of a Fortnite-style mashup.
This ongoing tension between traditional MTG enthusiasts and curious newcomers is poised to reach a critical point with the upcoming release of Magic’s 105th expansion: Final Fantasy. This collaboration is arguably Wizards’ most ambitious undertaking yet, uniting two fantasy worlds of immense scale, rich history, and fiercely loyal fanbases. As the first Universes Beyond set to be legal in the game’s standard constructed format, the lines between licensed crossover and "normal" Magic are effectively erased, torn asunder by a metaphorical Buster Sword. Early indications suggest that the set is highly anticipated, with pre-orders proving difficult to secure, as Hasbro, the parent company of Wizards, anticipates Final Fantasy to be one of the game’s most commercially successful sets.
However, the pressure extends beyond the MTG community. Final Fantasy stands as one of the most iconic video game franchises of all time, boasting 16 mainline games, along with countless spin-offs, sequels, remakes, and reimaginings that have shaped the role-playing game genre for nearly four decades. This legacy includes its own established card game, making the MTG crossover a meeting of tabletop royalty. The scope of the collaboration, the inclusion or exclusion of specific elements, and the overall balance of Final Fantasy representation within the set have been subjects of intense discussion since the project was initially teased in 2023.
The story behind the set’s development stretches back even further, with Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix having contemplated a Magic/Final Fantasy crossover for five years – nearly as long as the Universes Beyond concept has been public knowledge.
According to Zakeel Gordon, Magic Tabletop Product Architect at Wizards of the Coast, several factors contributed to the extensive development timeline. Speaking at a recent briefing ahead of the set’s first major public preview at PAX East, Gordon highlighted the collaborative nature of the project. "One is that we built this set simultaneously in English and Japanese for our partners at Square Enix—that included multiple trips over to them for play tests, worldbuilding workshops, Final Fantasy mini-schools to figure out what was important to them. We would come up with design iterations, fly over, and they would say ‘we really like these things, we would prefer if you tweak this like this."
Gordon emphasized the importance of ensuring the final product met the expectations of both Wizards and Square Enix, and that it would resonate with players. "But this is also the second ever Universes Beyond tentpole release [after Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth]. We wanted to make sure we were doing everything correctly. We wanted to make sure that the final product met our expectation, and was done in a way that we really think would excite players… in order to do all of that right, it just takes some time."
The shared passion for the project is evident across both Wizards and Square Enix. “It’s so fun, any time we get to work with another game studio, many of them are also really passionate about Magic,” Gordon continued. “Our main producers [at Square] are also lifelong Magic players. We would finish up our meetings, and then we’d go play Commander, or they’d talk to us about Legacy and show us their collections.”
Despite the enthusiasm, the set faces the formidable challenge of encapsulating 16 mainline games within hundreds of cards, each brimming with iconic story beats, locations, characters, spells, and creatures.
Dillon Deveney, Magic’s principle narrative designer, elaborated on the challenges of balancing the set’s content. "One of the challenges of balancing the slots in the set—what do we need to fill, what is the mechanical need for a card, what is the flavor reason that we need a card—was that we wanted to get a certain amount of cards per game in the set," Deveney explained. "We started there, and then we decided ‘well, how much do we expect to see from this game? How many fans of this game, that are going to want to see X, Y, Z? How big is this game, right?"
To address this challenge, Wizards adopted a tiered system, consulting internally with Final Fantasy fans within their own offices and collaborating with Square Enix developers. The potential inclusions were divided into three tiers based on their importance and recognizability.
“Tier one was ‘we have to include this, it’s evergreen, it’s the baseline expectation,’ like Chocobos and Moogles,” Deveney said. “Tier two is for a fan of a specific game that would go ‘Oh yeah, I totally remember that’… these could be iconic minigames, sidequests and powerful weapons, or a super boss you remember struggling against. Tier three is the superfan, diehard Easter egg moment that’s like ‘no way, they got this in the game, that’s crazy!’ We wanted to use that as a system to make decisions and choices to figure out what from all the games would fit into our game.”
Beyond representing Final Fantasy, the set must also function as a compelling MTG expansion. As the first Universes Beyond set legal in standard play, it needs to push the game mechanically and offer a diverse range of card archetypes to appeal to regular players.
Based on previews, the Final Fantasy set appears poised to deliver on this front. The set introduces evolutions of existing Magic mechanics, such as Job Select, inspired by For Mirrodin or Living Weapon, which creates hero tokens that players equip with cards based on Final Fantasy jobs. There’s also Tiered, a new mechanic reflecting Final Fantasy’s magic system, where spells grow in power across three levels.
The set cleverly uses Magic mechanics to retell memorable plot points from the games. For example, Kain, Traitorous Dragoon swaps player control on damage and creates treasure tokens, reflecting his mind control in Final Fantasy IV. Aerith Gainsborough’s card gains counters as her player gains life, only to pass them to other legendary creatures upon her death, alluding to the iconic moment in Final Fantasy VII.
Transform mechanics are used to depict villainous transformations, such as Kefka, Kuja, and Emet-Selch, and to represent character arcs, like Cecil’s transformation from Dark Knight to Paladin. Saga cards represent Summons, such as Bahamut and Valigarmanda.
The set also includes reprints of favorite MTG cards with Final Fantasy artwork, bridging the connection between the two universes. Zidane from Final Fantasy IX reflavers Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Firion from Final Fantasy II reflavers Sram, Senior Edificer, and Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII takes on the role of Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow.
There are also lighter touches, like multicolored versions of the Traveling Chocobo card, and 15 variants of the Cid, Timeless Artificer card, each with different artwork representing the various Cids from across the Final Fantasy series.
The passion of the Magic team for the source material is evident in the set’s design. Gavin Verhey, Magic’s principle game designer, expressed his enthusiasm for the project. “If there was something awesome we wanted to do [in the set], we got to do it,” Verhey said. “You’ll see all kinds of fun surprises as you go through the set, it’s really special.”
“We recently got the first booster boxes in the offices, and we got to get the team together to do a draft, and after years of working on it, just sitting around a table the way all our players are going to do… every single card in this set is like a carefully handcrafted gift,” Verhey concluded. “We’ve put so much time, and energy, and research into it, and I just really hope that as you see the cards you see some of that come through.”
Deveney emphasized the set’s intended appeal. “When it comes to Universes Beyond, there’s a lot of different sentiments among the player base about how they feel about certain cards, and certain sets,” Deveney added. “This one was made for you: if you’re a fan, you want to get into the franchise, if you just really like Magic sets… this was made for you, by people who really just want you to have a great Friday night with your friends… that’s kind of the ultimate goal, just to reconnect and have a great time.”
Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy releases June 13.
