Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

This past week was full of previews from Final Fantasy, the newest Universes Beyond set for Magic: The Gathering. Because of the longevity of the beloved Square Enix video game series, the set is extremely expansive. In fact, this set is so comprehensive that its spoiler season will last about three weeks altogether! With that, here are some of the most interesting and impactful cards to grace the set, released this past week.

May 12th Final Fantasy Previews

The scarcity of new content on May 11th made the following day's previews feel extremely refreshing. Plus, we got a handful of cool cards, both new and reprinted alike. However, let's choose just one really good one from the set proper as well as the Through the Ages bonus sheet.

Matoya, Archon Elder

Our nomination for the coolest new preview from the main set goes to Matoya, Archon ElderMatoya, Archon Elder. While not an Archon nor an Elder in creature type, Matoya is still a very strong Human Warlock. It exceeds the power of cards like Eligeth, Crossroads AugurEligeth, Crossroads Augur not by sheer force or effectiveness of ability, but by costing far less mana for an ability that is above rate in comparison. It's quite good in decks that want to scry or surveil to your heart's delight.

Beyond this, there weren't a ton of extremely impactful new cards revealed this past Monday. However, we did get a cool card from Through the Ages.

Syr Konrad, the Grim as "Golbez, Clad in Darkness"

According to Scryfall, Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim is getting a reskin in Through the Ages as Golbez, the big bad from Final Fantasy IV. While the card's render isn't available in English so far, the stunning art by legendary concept artist Yoshitaka Amano is worth mentioning here.

Syr Konrad, the Grim as FFIV antagonist Golbez, with a classic piece of art by famed Final Fantasy illustrator Yoshitaka Amano. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

With that, let's go forth to Tuesday, May 13th!

May 13th Final Fantasy Previews

The previews from May 12th were fun, but Tuesday, May 13th, is where the previews for the week really started to pick up. The WeeklyMTG live stream on Twitch showcased quite a few cool things in an "Ultima" theme. This included the 2-player Starter Set for the expansion as well as many, many promo cards. However, one card from that stream stood out above the rest:

Ultima, Origin of Oblivion

To round out the awesome theme that the stream showed off, Blake Rasmussen and Gavin Verhey showed the public Ultima, Origin of OblivionUltima, Origin of Oblivion.

Ultima is a fantastic colorless creature that likely qualifies as "mass land denial" for those keeping track of the Brackets for their Commander decks. It'll find a home in many decks run by Eldrazi or other colorless commanders. It might even be good enough to take over as the commander of those decks. Time will tell if players will be responsible about using Ultima respectfully at their tables!

Moving on, there was only one Through the Ages reprint for May 13th (not counting promo cards), but it was pretty cool:

Brainstorm as "Endwalker"

Endwalker, a reskin of BrainstormBrainstorm, shows a scene of the party from Final Fantasy XIV. Having Brainstorm as a reprint in the bonus sheet of this expansion is honestly really fun. Many players haven't gotten to experience the sheer power of Brainstorm in a Limited environment; now, provided they can afford it, many will!

Endwalker, a reskin of Brainstorm from the Through the Ages bonus sheet from Final Fantasy. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

May 14th Final Fantasy Previews

Wednesday, May 14th had even more previews than the previous day. When we say that spoiler season really started ramping up, we aren't kidding. Therefore, it started getting difficult to choose just one great new card and reprint from the day. However, we (probably) nailed it.

Choco, Seeker of Paradise

When they revealed Bartz and BokoBartz and Boko during the debut of preview season, players speculated as to the best possible commander for the duo. Choco, Seeker of ParadiseChoco, Seeker of Paradise, it seems, is that commander.

This bird synergizes with many of the other Chocobo-themed cards shown so far. It facilitates landfall triggers in an influential way to the game. Plus, it even has a minor payoff for achieving landfall. Not to mention, Traveling ChocoboTraveling Chocobo elevates Choco to an absurd degree. Hands down, Choco is the Bird commander that people wanted in Final Fantasy.

Yawgmoth, Thran Physician as "The Emperor, Hell Tyrant"

The Emperor is one of the scariest antagonists in Final Fantasy, originally from FFII. Yawgmoth, Thran PhysicianYawgmoth, Thran Physician is one of the scariest (if not the scariest) big-bads of Magic. Therefore, this merging of properties makes a ton of sense for the Through the Ages sheet. Behold!

Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, as The Emperor, Hell Tyrant. Originally illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano for FFII. Image credits: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

May 15th Final Fantasy Previews

On Thursday, May 15th, we got fewer big-deal previews from within the set proper, but we got a bunch of cool Through the Ages reveals. While there's much potential for debate over the coolest TTA card from May 15th, there is no contest about that within the new cards from the Final Fantasy set at large:

Triple Triad

According to Morgan Sanchez, our Content Operations Manager here at EDHREC, "[They] put a card game into your card game so you can card game while you card game." Truer words could not have been spoken, Chief. Here's Triple TriadTriple Triad, revealed by Amazonian:

Thinking more about this riff on Sunbird's InvocationSunbird's Invocation, it feels somehow sacred to have the layers that Triple Triad does, in a flavor sense. In the Final Fantasy video game series, Triple Triad is a collectible card game minigame. This card is now in a set based on that video game. And to make matters even more funny, it causes a really cool minigame-style scenario! The layers are deep, dear reader!

Rhystic Study as "Stay with Me"

Rhystic StudyRhystic Study is a card that basically always needs a reprint from a standpoint of card accessibility. However, for reasons of Constructed destabilization, it's remarkably difficult to insert into a set. Fortunately, Final Fantasy has a great bonus sheet opportunity with Through the Ages.

Stay with Me, a reskin of Rhystic Study with art from FFX. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

Rhystic Study is as oppressive as ever, but its inclusion on the Game Changer list may cause it to see a bit less play. However, with more players opening the card than they have been previously, some players might want to use their shiny new card. Time will tell!

May 16th Final Fantasy Previews

That brings us to Friday, May 16th. While the day isn't quite over yet, the cards previewed so far are plentiful. We have seen a fair few cards from the set proper and even more Through the Ages cards. These are the two cards that might be the coolest spoilers for the day.

Summon: Knights of Round

Many players across social media had highly anticipated Summon: Knights of Round. While it's slow for a creature card, as a Saga card, it's quite competent. This is especially true in formats like Commander where Sagas have more value to them due to increased synergies.

Summon: Knights of Round, a new card from Final Fantasy. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

Also, that last ability is extremely powerful. It could even lead to the end of games with a big enough board state!

Tymna the Weaver as "Cecil Harvey"

The last Through the Ages card we will go over in this recap is Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver, here reskinned in Final Fantasy IV regalia as Cecil Harvey. Tymna is a fantastic and potent cEDH commander due to its colors, its Partner ability, and the way it accrues card advantage.

Tymna the Weaver, here reskinned as Cecil Harvey from FFIV. Illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

Speaking of cEDH and partners, Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero, Tymna's most notorious partner in the competitive scene, is also in this bonus sheet, as Tidus, Zanarkand Fayth. Wizards of the Coast has pulled no punches with this bonus sheet, so far!

What Will Next Week Bring?

The previews were so cool this week that it's hard to believe that the Final Fantasy set's spoiler season has two more weeks to go! Still, Wizards of the Coast probably has a bunch of cool things left in store for us.

While we wait for the next week of previews, let's open the floor to you, dear readers. Are you excited for more previews in the coming weeks? Is there anything that hasn't been represented in the set or bonus sheet yet that you'd like to see? Sound off below!