<p>Today is Thursday, May 29th, fifteen days before the official release of the <em>Final Fantasy</em> set for <a href="http://dailymtg.com"><em>Magic: The Gathering</em></a>. We are compiling a list of the best cards from each game in the series! Following up from yesterday's article, <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/final-fantasy-16-day-count-up-day-one-ffi">which covered <em>FFI</em></a>, today we're covering <em>Final Fantasy II</em>'s coolest cards.</p>
<p>To reiterate, we are judging this based on a few types of criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li>Honorable Mention - These usually will be a cycle or group of cards that are great but don't quite measure up to the "best" in the categories we have chosen to cover.</li>
<li>Best As A Commander - This category covers, as advertised, the best commander to lead a deck in Commander, but may also look briefly at other Command Zone-driven formats.</li>
<li>Best in the 99 - This section discusses my choice for the best card in a given 99 of a deck. It may be a ubiquitous card, but it might also just be a card with a fair amount of utility.</li>
<li>Most Flavorful - The most fun to play card in a storytelling context will be deemed Most Flavorful. For example, we covered <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Town Greeter" href="#" target="_blank">Town Greeter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in our <em>FFI</em> list for its fun lore synergies with Towns, especially those with specific <em>Final Fantasy</em> town names.</li>
<li>Best In Show - The very best of these cards in a balance of the above categories.</li>
</ul>
<p>Oh, and, in case you're wondering for <em>FFVI, FFVII, FFX, </em>and <em>FFXIV</em>, the Commander precon cards, <em>Through the Ages</em>, and any promotional or <em>Secret Lair</em> cards won't be included for consideration here. Basically, if it doesn't have the <em>MTGFIN</em> set symbol, it's not eligible.</p>
<p>With that, let's begin!</p>
<h2>Honorable Mention</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cid, Timeless Artificer|FIN|0407"></div></div>
<p>So, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cid, Timeless Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Cid, Timeless Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a tricky consideration here. For one, I frankly contemplated putting him in Best Of Show, and I almost did (and I almost swapped it with the real Best In Show as a result). He's just that good, from both mechanical and lore perspectives. However, because his card is spread <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">across so many iterations among the other games in the <em>Final Fantasy</em> series, I couldn't justify it for any other superlative but </span>Honorable Mention.</p>
<p>He could also count as Best as a Commander, but we have a more fitting choice for that one as well.</p>
<h2>Best as a Commander</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Firion, Wild Rose Warrior"></div></div>
<p>I chose <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Firion, Wild Rose Warrior" href="#" target="_blank">Firion, Wild Rose Warrior</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for Best As A Commander over Cid or <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Emperor of Palamecia" href="#" target="_blank">The Emperor of Palamecia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. There was some competition this time, even taking Cid out of the equation. Why Firion, then? Well, Firion's ability is pretty novel, making temporary copies of Equipment and cheapening their equip costs. This also synergizes really well with For Mirrodin! and job select abilities, making a token. Unlike the Equipment, that token actually sticks around after the turn ends. It's most assured to be a Limited build-around bomb, but also a very strong commander in that format. Probably also Tiny Leaders, if that format was still supported. No shade!</p>
<h2>Best in the 99</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swallowed by Leviathan"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swallowed by Leviathan" href="#" target="_blank">Swallowed by Leviathan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> isn't the flashiest card, but it outclasses many other cards in the <em>FFII</em> subset of the set in its utility. It potentially fills your graveyard and then uses that to counter a spell. All of this for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. It also provides a bit of relevant card selection, as surveil 2 is a surprisingly relevant amount of digging compared to surveil/scry 1.</p>
<p>And, if your opponent is going to pay mana to offset the counter, you're making their turn that much more difficult to enact. They're surely paying a ton of mana in this process, if you've timed this counterspell correctly!</p>
<h2>Most Flavorful</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Random Encounter"></div></div>
<p>There's something oddly satisfying about cards that care about the metanarrative of <em>Final Fantasy</em> in a way. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Battle Menu" href="#" target="_blank">Battle Menu</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Combat Tutorial" href="#" target="_blank">Combat Tutorial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and of course <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Random Encounter" href="#" target="_blank">Random Encounter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, are all examples of the set noting <em>Final Fantasy</em>'s existence as a video game series. All are witty, and all are welcome. As for Random Encounter specifically, I love the idea of bringing in a creature like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hecteyes" href="#" target="_blank">Hecteyes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tonberry" href="#" target="_blank">Tonberry</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cactuar" href="#" target="_blank">Cactuar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> onto the battlefield, like it was an actual video game. I think the only thing I'd suggest about this card is that I'd've liked it to be at instant-speed. But the sorcery speed also makes sense for balancing purposes.</p>
<p>With that, we come to our <em>FFII</em> Best In Show. What card could it be? It's none other than...</p>
<h2><em>Final Fantasy II</em> Best In Show</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Commune with Beavers"></div></div>
<p>...<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Commune with Beavers" href="#" target="_blank">Commune with Beavers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<p>This card really encapsulates a lot of what it means to be Best In Show for this subset of cards. Flavorfully, it's a great dig spell that can get you a number of things that, frankly, make sense for a beaver to grant you. It can get you a creature (perhaps even a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Giant Beaver" href="#" target="_blank">Giant Beaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!), an artifact (like its dam), or a land (like the river it builds the dam upon). Plus, we can't deny that the "Guy speak beaver" memetic moment absolutely hits on all sevens.</p>
<p>Mechanically, you're doing all of the above for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. That's a strong amount of dig, even if it's a little less dig than something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Commune with Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Commune with Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancient Stirrings" href="#" target="_blank">Ancient Stirrings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. To understate for a second, those other options are pretty good in the formats they're legal in. So it's a fair assessment to presume that Commune with Beavers will at least be a decent source of card selection in Limited. All of this comingling together is why Commune with Beavers is Best In Show for <em>FFII</em>!</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Like <em>FFI</em>, <em>Final Fantasy II</em> had only a small handful of options in-class for this list. Technically, <em>FFIII</em> will have even fewer, but nevertheless, we'll have a list from that game for you tomorrow!</p>
<p>But for now, let's hear from you. Do you agree with this list? Are there some superlatives we should add to this? Did we miss an important point when selecting these over other options? Let me know in the comments!</p>


Final Fantasy 16-Day Count-Up, Day Two: FFII

<h6 style="text-align: right;">Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix</h6>
<p>It seems that <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news"><em>Magic: The Gathering</em></a> previews are starting to finally slow down for <em>Final Fantasy</em>. That means our time recapping those spoilers daily is drawing to a close. However, let's make the very most of it, live for the moment, and look at some spoilers from today, Wednesday, May 28th!</p>
<h2>May 27th Recaps, Today</h2>
<p>But first, let's talk about a few cards that flew under our radar from Tuesday, May 27th. Tuesday was a pretty hefty day for previews; we had an extended weekend in the United States, so there were plenty of previews to catch up on, and it stood to reason that a few would be missed. Not taking the <em>Through the Ages</em> copy of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stroke of Midnight" href="#" target="_blank">Stroke of Midnight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from last Friday into account, there were three previews in the main set that we will now cover. These were rendered originally in a non-English language but now that we have the renders in English, it's easier for us to cover them:</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Graha-Tia.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154466" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Graha-Tia.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Graha-Tia.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Graha-Tia-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Il-Mheg-Pixie.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154467" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Il-Mheg-Pixie.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Il-Mheg-Pixie.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Il-Mheg-Pixie-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154468" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Travel-the-Overworld.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Travel-the-Overworld.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Travel-the-Overworld-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /><br />
These are just a few of your standard-issue common and uncommon cards, but they're still pretty neat. Moving on, let's look at May 28th's previews!</p>
<h2><em>Final Fantasy</em> Spoilers For Wednesday, May 28th</h2>
<p>The previews from May 28th are pretty impactful. There are quite a few rare cards among those revealed in today's previews. We even got Sephiroth's primary weapon, and no, I'm not talking about his Meteor. Let's check them out!</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-The-Masamune.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154470" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-The-Masamune.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-The-Masamune.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-The-Masamune-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Relentless-X-ATM092.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154471" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Relentless-X-ATM092.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Relentless-X-ATM092.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Relentless-X-ATM092-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Summon-GF-Cerberus.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154472" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Summon-GF-Cerberus.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Summon-GF-Cerberus.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Summon-GF-Cerberus-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Magic-Pot.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154473" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Magic-Pot.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Magic-Pot.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Magic-Pot-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Golbez-Crystal-Collector.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154474" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Golbez-Crystal-Collector.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Golbez-Crystal-Collector.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Golbez-Crystal-Collector-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Summon-Choco-Mog.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154475" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Summon-Choco-Mog.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Summon-Choco-Mog.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Summon-Choco-Mog-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Summon-Fat-Chocobo.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154476" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Summon-Fat-Chocobo.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Summon-Fat-Chocobo.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Summon-Fat-Chocobo-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Summon-Brynhildr.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154477" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Summon-Brynhildr.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Summon-Brynhildr.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Summon-Brynhildr-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a></p>
<p>There <em>was</em> one other preview for today, but as it is still officially rendered in Japanese only, we don't have its name or any additional flavor. As such, we will save it for inclusion among tomorrow's reveals during our recap.</p>
<h2>Two Days To Go</h2>
<p>With that, there are only two days of previews left to go. Have you been enjoying these <em>Final Fantasy</em> preview recaps? Did any of the cards recapped inspire you to build anything new? Sound off below!</p>


Best Final Fantasy Spoilers For Wednesday, May 28th

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Master of Keys" href="#" target="_blank">The Master of Keys</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Illustrated by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CWisnu+Tan%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wisnu Tan</a></em></p>
<hr />
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Am I the Bolas</em>?</p>
<p>This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some <em>Magic </em>and wondered if you were the bad guy. I'm here to take in your story with all of its nuances so I can bring some clarity to all those asking, "Am I the Bolas?"</p>
<p>I'm ready to hear you out and offer advice. All you have to do is email amithebolas@gmail.com with your story, a pseudonym you want to use, and of course, only include details you don't mind in the column! You might see your story below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25893" src="https://commandersherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/bolcast_logo430x430-300x300.png" alt="" width="249" height="249" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AmITheBolcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">THIS PODCAST!</a></p>
<p>I'm Mike Carrozza and a lot of music I like came out recently.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kefka, Dancing Mad"></div></div>
<p><i>Here's what I look like listening to the new The Callous Daoboys record!</i></p>
<p>This week, teaching and tanking.</p>
<p>(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)</p>
<hr />
<h2>HELLO, MIKE</h2>
<div dir="auto">
<p><em>First off, I have been enjoying your articles for the better part of a year. I love reading about navigating difficult situations. Hope you get to continue writing these articles for a long time to come.</em></p>
<p><em>I was in a situation at my LGS the other day that although I felt fine about how I navigated the situation, I was left asking myself was there a better way to go about it. The crux of the situation was I was playing a game with two players just learning the game and a third player that is an established player, but wanted to test a new deck. I was able to build up a commanding position which I used to take out the established player and proceeded to purposely take myself out of the game in order to let a newer player have a chance to win.</em></p>
<p><em>To give the full picture of the story, I have been playing Magic since 2011 and Commander since 2018. The established player happens to be one of the store owners' children so I have played against him a few times and I would say we are friendly to each other each time. I will refer to him as J.</em></p>
<p><em>Prior to starting this game, I was actually helping J find some cards for the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zur the Enchanter" href="#" target="_blank">Zur the Enchanter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck he had just put together, particularly a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Prison" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Prison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from a stack of </em>Champions of Kamigawa<em> they had just gotten in. I love anything to do with Kamigawa so I was more than happy to look through cards. Shortly after we finished failing to find a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Prison" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Prison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, some people came into the store asking to play a game and if we would be up for helping some of their friends learn to play. We both said sure.</em></p>
<p><em>One thing I really love about my LGS is that they keep about a dozen or so precons that they will let people freely play with. The two new players grabbed from these the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bello, Bard of the Brambles" href="#" target="_blank">Bello, Bard of the Brambles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yuma, Proud Protector" href="#" target="_blank">Yuma, Proud Protector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck. I followed suit to keep it fair picking up the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aminatou, Veil Piercer" href="#" target="_blank">Aminatou, Veil Piercer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. J was excited to try his new Zur deck.</em></p>
<p><em>Once we got started, I expressed that if the new players wanted help, all they had to do was ask. The new players also had a friend sitting out the game to help them along. The early game went on at a typical pace. We all had a few creatures in play and I had <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aminatou, Veil Piercer" href="#" target="_blank">Aminatou, Veil Piercer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> out and J removed. her. I joked about coming for him also since he certainly seemed to have the strongest deck at the table. J tutored a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> out from a Zur trigger which kinda validated my feelings about his deck's power. The new player with the Bello deck had removal and I convinced him to take care of the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I pointed out to J "hey, that's a game changer, a card so strong that it puts his deck at minimum in bracket three." I could tell J wanted to see his deck really do its thing, but that I was trying to keep him from going off. I told myself this was to let new players get to have some fun, but hey it is also a good strategy.</em></p>
<p><em>The next phase of the game is where I created a crazy dominating board state. I achieved this with the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demon of Fate&#039;s Design" href="#" target="_blank">Demon of Fate&#039;s Design</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> I had on board, the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Redress Fate" href="#" target="_blank">Redress Fate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> I had from my opening hand and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Master of Keys" href="#" target="_blank">The Master of Keys</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which I had just top decked. After thinking about how the Demon of Fate lets me pay life into the X value of The Master of Keys I thought you know what let's show some new players a crazy play. I paid 23 life to cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Master of Keys" href="#" target="_blank">The Master of Keys</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and milled 40 cards. Then I cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Redress Fate" href="#" target="_blank">Redress Fate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, bringing back all the enchantments and artifacts from the graveyard to play. Needless to say this was a board state where cards are fighting for space on the playmat and there is almost no hope to catch every trigger. I passed the turn and once it got back to me, I took out J and brought the new players life totals low.</em></p>
<p><em>In order to let the new players have fun, I used the several effects that let me pay life to cast spells to bring my own life total down to one. The Yuma player had been bringing a Desert that pings for one damage in and out of his graveyard the last couple turns so like I was hoping he took me out and won the game. I was able to talk to J after and told him I was so close, but lost to a land coming in.</em></p>
<p><em>Afterwards, I thought it is hard to make a nice game for new players, but also let someone with a deck they are excited to try out when it is a bit stronger than the other decks. Having known J for a while, I knew he wouldn't hold back any big plays even against new players, but then I went and did a really big play and justified that it was to protect the game experience for new players. Then I hoped the new players wouldn't see/feel that I kind of threw the game in hopes they could win.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>So was I the Bolas for targeting J and popping off hard against new players? Or was I the </em><em>Bolas for purposely losing the game?</em></strong></p>
<p><em>Best,</em><br />
<em>Pop-Off Precon</em></p>
</div>
<div dir="auto">
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zur the Enchanter"></div></div>
</div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
<h2>HOWDY, POP-OFF PRECON!</h2>
<p>Thank you for writing and asking me to weigh in on your story. As I mention every week, if folks don't write to me, there's no column, so if you, the reader, want to send me a story, whether it's your own or one from Reddit or a friend's, please send it to amithebolas@gmail.com and I'll get to it here.</p>
<p>Readers of the column will recognize elements of this submission from previous entries. Lots of folks have disagreed with me before when I said I think it's fine to sandbag some plays to make sure new players get to experience the fun of <em>Magic</em> by letting them have moments. We've all fallen in love with this game at some point and, while some people contend that it's possible to love the game by losing to something really impressive and cool, I think if people get the chance to actually pull off the cool thing, they'll be hooked. Appreciating the cool stuff that happens when you lose can still be true and can come with time. That's coming from me, the guy who loves to lose to a bunch of stuff he's never seen before.</p>
<p>This story has the added wrinkle of a precon game having an outlier in a newly tuned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zur the Enchanter" href="#" target="_blank">Zur the Enchanter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck. Immediately at Bracket 3 thanks to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, Zur is a big bad of old times. I remember getting into Commander and Zur being one of the biggest groaners that a player could flip up in the command zone. Add to that the fact that J doesn't pull punches and OP wants to make sure the newbies enjoy the game, we've got a story!</p>
<p>I think that keeping all of this to yourself was the move. If you're hoping to pull something like this off, you don't want the new players to feel like you're a lioness playing with their cub pretending to be scared. Conversely, you don't want the experienced player to feel like you're only taking them out because of the new players. By focusing on J, objectively playing the most powerful of the decks, the rationale holds water.</p>
<p>The big play with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Master of Keys" href="#" target="_blank">The Master of Keys</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was cool as heck, especially since you're showing off how even an entry level product can go off in this awesome game. Bringing yourself to low enough to be killed is fine and playing up being overwhelmed by your board to miss the Desert play might have solidified a fun memory for the new players. I don't think you did anything wrong. Could you have not gone so hard and still shown off how cool things are? Absolutely.</p>
<p>I think the real issue is that the pregame discussion didn't seem to be much beyond picking your decks and offering to help. I understand that J was eager to try out his new deck, but personally, I'd have shelved that plan in favor of grabbing a precon of my own for this game. You're telling me that your family owns the LGS and you play a bunch, but you can't just wait for an appropriate pod to throw down Zur? Come on, buddy! You'll play it soon!</p>
<p>Anyway, lots of people have already expressed that they disagree with me about letting new players win or have their moments by sandbagging plays. Lots of people have also agreed with me on it. Either way, while that's what's being asked about here, I think the bigger deal is the decision to pick Zur for this match.</p>
<p>Not the Bolas for Pop-Off Precon, but J, buddy, come on!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Demon of Fate&#039;s Design"></div></div>


Am I The Bolas? - Tanking for New Players

Terra, Herald of Hope's Module Is: Aggro

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tibalt&#039;s Trickery" href="#" target="_blank">Tibalt&#039;s Trickery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/akreon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anna Podedworna</a></em></p>
<p>Each color in <em>Magic</em> has its own strengths and weaknesses. This is one of the first things you learn about the game when you start and is what keeps most people playing for years.</p>
<p>When playing against a white deck, you can expect that they’ll focus on protecting their permanents. The color lends itself to gaining life, exiling threats from your board, and creating far too many tokens for their own good.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heliod, Sun-Crowned"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Giada, Font of Hope"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swords to Plowshares"></div></div>
<p>Except, of course, if you’re following this series and are looking to do something a little different. Then you might encounter a white deck who is more inclined to sacrifice their own life and permanents than damage yours!</p>
<h2>What Is Playing “Out Of Type?”</h2>
<p>Despite the fact each color has certain playstyles it doesn’t support, it’s not common for a mechanic to be absent entirely. Green decks aren’t known for their creature removal spells, but there are options available to you. Not to mention alternate methods of accomplishing the same thing.</p>
<p>Playing Out Of Type or “Off-Color” is an exercise finding those technicalities and exceptions in the color pie and making a deck out of them. It isn’t always easy and oftentimes involves cobbling together mismatched mana curves with an odd distribution of cards.</p>
<p>But no one expects it.</p>
<h2>A Quick Disclaimer</h2>
<p>This (probably) won’t win you any games.</p>
<p>As a part of the <em>Commander Unoptimized</em> series, this is explicitly intended for lower-bracket games where the table is willing to explore flexible deckbuilding. The goal isn’t to make the best engine or unlock the potential of super rare sleeper hits.</p>
<p>That being said, the goal doesn’t preclude you from winning. Just because you’re taking the scenic route to victory doesn’t mean you won’t arrive. It just won’t involve staple cards of the color and your mechanics will feel unorthodox even to the most adventurous of players.</p>
<p>When you see a red deck burning through your life through a string of mana-cheating and impulse-drawing, you might want to change things. Or maybe you want to play the long game, patiently building a web of interconnected pieces that finally come down like an avalanche.</p>
<p>That’s where off-red shines.</p>
<h2>What Red Does Well</h2>
<h3>Gotta Go Fast</h3>
<p>Mono-red aggro is a dominant playstyle for a reason. Whether Goblins, Dinosaurs, or Werewolves, there are many different ways for red players to have significant board presence early. Red’s creatures are strong but cheap and often have haste, allowing them to achieve immediate value.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krenko, Mob Boss"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Muxus, Goblin Grandee"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin"></div></div>
<p>This doesn’t simply involve creating a ridiculous amount of creature tokens, though it certainly can. It also means high-value, low-costed juggernauts. Mana producers. And lots of haste.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Runaway Steam-Kin"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faithless Looting"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Viashino Pyromancer"></div></div>
<h3>No, Seriously, It Goes <em>Fast</em></h3>
<p>Red specializes in generating floating mana, where you have to capitalize on it immediately or lose it. And often, red mana-cheating trails into other spells that continue to mana-cheat, meaning you effectively are playing that turn at a discount.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urabrask"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Neheb, the Eternal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Geyser"></div></div>
<p>Combine this with the fact that red is known for impulse draw, exiling the top card of your deck and being able to play it that turn. And not always your own, sometimes you can even impulse draw from other players’ decks!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wrenn&#039;s Resolve"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Act on Impulse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reckless Impulse"></div></div>
<h3>Direct Damage</h3>
<p>When it comes to direct damage, red is second to none. It has a range of effects that damage one, all, or multiple targets. This can affect players to deal enough burn damage it’s reasonable to win by dealing direct damage alone. Alternatively, it can involve discount boardwipes for anything that isn’t indestructible or unreasonably tough.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Red Sun&#039;s Zenith"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Solphim, Mayhem Dominus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blasphemous Act"></div></div>
<p>Sometimes, it even manages to combine damage with other, non-damaging effects. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Syr Carah, the Bold" href="#" target="_blank">Syr Carah, the Bold</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> comes to mind.</p>
<p>But red doesn’t stop there. It also has quite the streak of punishing its opponents for removing its permanents. And sometimes, it doesn’t even matter if your opponent is the one removing them! Primarily for Devils, so long as the blood flows they are happy to deal damage for you.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vengeful Devil"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Havoc Jester"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forge Devil"></div></div>
<h3>Artifacts</h3>
<p>Red has some of the highest artifact synergy in the game. Aside from strong artifacts that are red-colored, it has abilities to make artifacts cheaper, equip them for free, or otherwise get them onto the board faster and easier than any other color.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bladegraft Aspirant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber"></div></div>
<p>This even extends to trashing your artifacts to gain additional value out of them. Generally this manifests by gaining mana, which is always nice. And cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trash for Treasure" href="#" target="_blank">Trash for Treasure</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> give you multiple uses for them! But there's always more than one use for a tool if you're thinking creatively.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scrap Welder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slobad, Iron Goblin"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bosh, Iron Golem"></div></div>
<p>Then there’s the many different artifacts you can properly utilize in order to gain value from the above mentioned cards. Some scale off of themselves while others rely on an expanding network of artifacts to bolster themselves.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dragonspark Reactor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urabrask’s Forge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reinforced Ronin"></div></div>
<p>On top of that, there are mechanics such as For Mirrodin! Bringing an Equipment onto the battlefield immediately equipped is certainly useful, but then you can start playing with them. Alter the stats of your Rebels and suddenly you have a flash-mob armed to the teeth.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Barbed Batterfist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hexgold Halberd"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hexplate Wallbreaker"></div></div>
<h3>Pumping Creatures</h3>
<p>Red quite enjoys mid-combat instants that juice its creatures power. Though while white grants indestructibility and green hexproof or reach, red focuses on first strike and raw power.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Titan&#039;s Strength"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blazing Crescendo"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Storm Strike"></div></div>
<h2>But What If…<br />
… You Play a Red Deck Where You’re a Scheming Mastermind?</h2>
<p>It isn’t sustainable to fuel your deck off of rage and passion, see? You need sustainable mana production. Creatures that stick around. Forget that “direct damage” nonsense, that’s what your creatures are for!</p>
<h3>Scaling</h3>
<p>The one thing red struggles most with is sustainability. Planning. Setting something up on one turn and capitalizing off of it on another.</p>
<p>You know, core parts of the game integral to formats like Commander?</p>
<p>Whether oil or power counters, red actually doesn’t struggle to find scaling cards. Particularly on artifacts! However, the greatest support red finds is for disposable, flash-value permanents.</p>
<p>Red has enough artifacts and support for them that it’s too close to trad-red for my taste. Enchantments, however, are rare by comparison and therefore fair game. And it actually has a few powerful ones.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="All Will Be One"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Roiling Vortex"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Raid Bombardment"></div></div>
<p>Even if most of these revolve around dealing damage, it isn’t as if they’re staples for red. And if you want an alternate means of scaling, try your creatures with cards such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="First Day of Class" href="#" target="_blank">First Day of Class</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<h3>Removal</h3>
<p>By this, of course, I’m excluding “removal via damage.” Red’s strength is its ability to beat things into submission and burn its opponents down. But sometimes you just need to remove a threat without all the song and dance of damage.</p>
<p>Luckily, red can do this fantastically against artifacts. While that might veer a bit too close to trad-red for the taste of some, given how tied into red’s identity artifacts are, I see destroying them as well-enough out of type to be worth including. Plus, green loves its artifact removal just as well, meaning it’s not only red’s domain.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vandalblast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abrade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="By Force"></div></div>
<h3>Copying</h3>
<p>This is a feature I honestly wasn’t sure how off-red it truly is. Red has a large amount of cards and mechanics that copy other spells, primarily instants and sorceries. But at the same time, that’s almost never the domain of mono-red, it quite often finds itself the backbone of Izzet decks.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dualcaster Mage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zada, Hedron Grinder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rionya, Fire Dancer"></div></div>
<p>In fact, I would go so far as to say the copying of spells is more Izzet than red, though your mileage may vary. I feel it’s off-red “enough” to include in such a deck. Not to mention, it gives you more flexibility and responsiveness than "slap together some enchantments and buff your creatures."</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reverberate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reiterate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Twinferno"></div></div>
<h3>Chaos</h3>
<p>Now, you might be wondering why chaos would ever be in off-red. After all, red is the color of chaos and spontaneity!</p>
<p>But have you ever built a red deck entirely around chaos?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gamble"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tibalt’s Trickery"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chaos Warp"></div></div>
<p>Not only does this delve into a playstyle that isn't seen very commonly, at least not focused on, it also gives your opponents pause. You can't control what's going to happen. Do they negotiate with you? Take you out early? Or do they ignore you?</p>
<p>How big of a risk are you, really, if you're <em>random?</em></p>
<p>As integral as it is to red from a thematic sense, mechanically it doesn’t show up very often. Which makes sense, as adding randomness decreases the skill required to pilot a deck. But what’s life without chaos?</p>
<p>What’s a game without chance?</p>
<h3>Work Smart, Not Hard</h3>
<p>On the tails of chaos, red also has quite a few more options to directly interface with your opponents' plans than I expected. This is most obvious in the blue-red dichotomy through cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pyroblast" href="#" target="_blank">Pyroblast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, with them having cards to specifically target one another.</p>
<p>But there are other ways to alter your opponents’ plans. If you use them at key moments during the game, you can turn your opponents' plans against them. Instead of overcoming them with strength, subtly orchestrate their defeat and then capitalize on it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Red Elemental Blast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flare of Duplication"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Untimely Malfunction"></div></div>
<h2>Red Is Great</h2>
<p>It was actually surprisingly difficult to find things that aren't solidly covered by red. Which, for the color of passion and spontaneity, is actually quite thematic! I always think mono-red aggro or a splash of direct damage in a multicolor deck, but it has hidden depths I wasn’t expecting.</p>
<p>Certainly, it struggles with counterspells and permanent exiling is rare, if at all present in red. But it can handle early game with cheap spells it can draw consistently. Mid-game it has enough heft to continue its momentum assuming it pruned threats.</p>
<p>Even late in the game, a patient red player will be able to light the powder keg they set up earlier in the game. Whether this manifests as a massive scaled Dinosaur or a board of near-infinite artifacts, timing is the key to off-red’s success.</p>
<p>Though I suppose it’s much more fun to rush down the first person to deal damage to you, so the choice is yours.</p>
<h3>Other Colors:</h3>
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How To Play Red Differently In EDH

<p>Today is Wednesday, May 28th, sixteen days before the upcoming <em>Final Fantasy</em> set formally releases! As such, we are going to begin something special. Every day up through June 12th, we will provide you with a superlative list of some of the best cards from the set, sorted by each video game in the series. We want to start with <em>Final Fantasy I</em> and end on <em>FFXVI</em>. If that sounds good, let's begin at the very beginning!</p>
<h2>But First, Criteria!</h2>
<p>Each day, we will gauge between one and three cards from the game in question by the following criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Honorable Mention</strong>: This superlative will generally either be a cycle, a grouping of cards from a given game, or a card that otherwise didn't quite make the cut for the other superlatives.</li>
<li><strong>Best As A Commander</strong>: This superlative denotes the best legendary creature(s) from the game in question.</li>
<li><strong>Best In The 99</strong>: In Best in the 99, we will choose the best cards for the 99 of a given Commander deck.</li>
<li><strong>Most Flavorful</strong>: As described, this card (or cards) will be the most flavorful card and most analogous to the game if possible.</li>
<li><strong>Best In Show</strong>: This one card will be the best overall (at least, in this author's opinion).</li>
</ul>
<p>With that in mind, let's discuss <em>Final Fantasy I</em>!</p>
<h2>Honorable Mentions</h2>
<p>The Honorable Mention for this game is a set of three common cards that work to create a very flavorful environment relative to what they do. Three cards fit the criteria for this in a big way, which is why this has to be an Honorable Mention; if it were just one, it would be Most Flavorful. The Honorable Mentions are:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Black Mage&#039;s Rod"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Warrior&#039;s Sword"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="White Mage&#039;s Staff"></div></div>
<p>These three Equipment with job select are amazing at providing story beats within the context of a given match. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Mage&#039;s Rod" href="#" target="_blank">Black Mage&#039;s Rod</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes the creature it's equipped to a Black Mage (a la the Wizard tokens from the set), <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Warrior&#039;s Sword" href="#" target="_blank">Warrior&#039;s Sword</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes the creature a Warrior (as expected), and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="White Mage&#039;s Staff" href="#" target="_blank">White Mage&#039;s Staff</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> turns your creature into a White Mage. The concept is simple and intuitive, and for what it's worth, it rocks.</p>
<h2>Best As A Commander</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Garland, Knight of Cornelia"></div></div>
<p>Unfortunately, at this time, <span class="edhrecp__link side-by-side"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Garland, Knight of Cornelia" href="#" target="_blank">Garland, Knight of Cornelia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is Best As A Commander by default. This isn't shade for Garland, as the card is fine, especially in Pauper Commander. I just wish there were more competition in this category.</p>
<p>Being able to surveil off casting a noncreature spell is nice, especially when built around. Getting a 5/5 flying Demon later on is also nice. And, a 3/2 body for two mana is also pretty sweet. So, Garland gets this one largely by default, but certainly deserves it in some contexts.</p>
<h2>Best In The 99</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Starting Town"></div></div>
<p>From the moment it was revealed, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Starting Town" href="#" target="_blank">Starting Town</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has turned heads as an additional copy of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Confluence" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Confluence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="City of Brass" href="#" target="_blank">City of Brass</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. While it's decidedly not either of those cards, its power as a versatile land can't be overstated. It's a <em>really</em> good land, but it's undoubtedly better in the early game. Furthermore, because there are only eight cards revealed from <em>Final Fantasy I</em> (at the time of writing), this is the pick of the litter, so to speak.</p>
<h2>Most Flavorful</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Town Greeter"></div></div>
<p>A card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Town Greeter" href="#" target="_blank">Town Greeter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is pretty fun when we consider the implications of, for instance, revealing and putting a Starting Town or better onto the battlefield. This is even better when it's a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Midgar, City of Mako" href="#" target="_blank">Midgar, City of Mako</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gohn, Town of Ruin" href="#" target="_blank">Gohn, Town of Ruin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It may generally be a <em>weaker</em> play, but at least you can tell your opponents, "Welcome to Midgar, City of Mako", or whatever other Town you chose.</p>
<p>That brings us to our Best In Show. What <em>FFI</em> card achieved this? Well, it could be none other than...</p>
<h2><em>Final Fantasy I</em> Best In Show</h2>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fin-252-adventurer-s-airship.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154329" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fin-252-adventurer-s-airship.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fin-252-adventurer-s-airship.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fin-252-adventurer-s-airship-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a></p>
<p>...Adventurer's Airship!</p>
<p>Every <em>Final Fantasy</em> game in the series has some kind of want for an airship, just as every game after <em>FFI</em> has some version of Cid. It's natural to the series at this point, and from here till <em>FFXVI</em>, and probably even beyond, the idea of the airship will remain ubiquitous to the series. As such, this card has the flavor chops to hold its own with the rest of them.</p>
<p>As for mechanics, as a common card, Aventurer's Airship is quite stacked. Sure, the mana value is one higher than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smuggler&#039;s Copter" href="#" target="_blank">Smuggler&#039;s Copter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as is the crew cost, and for one less toughness, but this card does a great job imitating it. Copter was <a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Banned_and_restricted_cards/Timeline">banned in Standard</a> in January 2017, in Pioneer for a span, and in Brawl from the beginning. Therefore, this card theoretically could make some waves in a great many formats upon release. And that, dear reader, is why this card is Best In Show among the cards from <em>Final Fantasy I</em>.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>I wish there were more options to choose from at the time of writing, but the options I had to choose from weren't too shabby. Tomorrow we will seek to look at <em>Final Fantasy II</em> and the similarly small pool it provides. But for now, let's open the floor to you. Do you think these options are correct? Were there some discrepancies I've missed? What superlatives would you give to other games, and what makes the cut,in your eyes? Sound off below!</p>


Final Fantasy 16-Day Count-Up, Day One: FFI

Storming Off With an Emet-Selch, Unsundered Commander Deck

<h6 style="text-align: right;">Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix</h6>
<p>It is the last week of <em>Final Fantasy</em> spoilers, dear reader, but even though it's Tuesday, the week is still young! We are here to bring you the recap for every card previewed from this extended weekend all the way through Tuesday, May 27th. Without further ado, let's check out the reveals!</p>
<h2><em>Final Fantasy</em> Previews For The Weekend</h2>
<p>This past weekend, these cards were previewed for the upcoming <em>Final Fantasy</em> expansion. All image assets shown here are credited to Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix:</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Black-Waltz-No-3.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154282" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Black-Waltz-No-3.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Black-Waltz-No-3.jpg 488w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Black-Waltz-No-3-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Dion-Bahamuts-Dominant.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154283" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Dion-Bahamuts-Dominant.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Dion-Bahamuts-Dominant.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Dion-Bahamuts-Dominant-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01a-Bahamut-Warden-of-Light.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154284" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01a-Bahamut-Warden-of-Light.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01a-Bahamut-Warden-of-Light.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01a-Bahamut-Warden-of-Light-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Eject.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154285" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Eject.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Eject.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Eject-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Midgar-City-of-Mako.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154286" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Midgar-City-of-Mako.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Midgar-City-of-Mako.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Midgar-City-of-Mako-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Battle-Menu.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154287" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Battle-Menu.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Battle-Menu.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Battle-Menu-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Combat-Tutorial.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154288" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Combat-Tutorial.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Combat-Tutorial.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Combat-Tutorial-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Fight-On.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154289" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Fight-On.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Fight-On.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Fight-On-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Restoration-Magic.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154290" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Restoration-Magic.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Restoration-Magic.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Restoration-Magic-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Cactuar.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154291" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Cactuar.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Cactuar.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Cactuar-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Ashe-Princess-of-Dalmasca.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154292" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Ashe-Princess-of-Dalmasca.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Ashe-Princess-of-Dalmasca.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Ashe-Princess-of-Dalmasca-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Light-of-Judgment.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154293" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Light-of-Judgment.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Light-of-Judgment.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Light-of-Judgment-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Elixir.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154294" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Elixir.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Elixir.jpg 488w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Elixir-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11-The-Final-Days.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154295" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11-The-Final-Days.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11-The-Final-Days.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11-The-Final-Days-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/12-Louisoixs-Sacrifice.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154296" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/12-Louisoixs-Sacrifice.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/12-Louisoixs-Sacrifice.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/12-Louisoixs-Sacrifice-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/13-Judge-Magister-Gabranth.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154297" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/13-Judge-Magister-Gabranth.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/13-Judge-Magister-Gabranth.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/13-Judge-Magister-Gabranth-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/14-Magitek-Infantry.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154298" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/14-Magitek-Infantry.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/14-Magitek-Infantry.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/14-Magitek-Infantry-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/15-Sorceresss-Schemes.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154299" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/15-Sorceresss-Schemes.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/15-Sorceresss-Schemes.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/15-Sorceresss-Schemes-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a></p>
<h3><em>Through the Ages</em> Spoilers</h3>
<p>We also got two cards from the <em>Through the Ages</em> bonus sheet over this extended weekend!</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Knights-of-San-dOria-Ranger-Captain-of-Eos.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154301" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Knights-of-San-dOria-Ranger-Captain-of-Eos.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Knights-of-San-dOria-Ranger-Captain-of-Eos.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Knights-of-San-dOria-Ranger-Captain-of-Eos-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154302" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Giant-of-Babil-Traxos-Scourge-of-Kroog.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Giant-of-Babil-Traxos-Scourge-of-Kroog.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Giant-of-Babil-Traxos-Scourge-of-Kroog-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /><br />
Currently, that leaves the game crunch for <em>Through the Ages</em> at this list of games still needing cards (out of four per game):</p>
<ul>
<li><em>FFVII</em>: 1</li>
<li><em>FFVIII</em>: 1</li>
<li><em>FFIX</em>: 2</li>
<li><em>FFX</em>: 1</li>
</ul>
<p>Five more to go altogether!</p>
<h2>Previews For Tuesday, May 27th</h2>
<p>That brings us to Tuesday, May 27th. There were a <em>lot</em> of spoilers this day, especially considering how many common and uncommon cards were revealed during WeeklyMTG's livestream on <a href="http://twitch.tv/magic">Twitch</a>. We <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/weeklymtg-outlines-final-fantasy-limited-archetypes">covered these separately</a>, but we will show you everything else revealed, specifically by the time of writing, below!</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Magic-Damper.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154303" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Magic-Damper.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Magic-Damper.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Magic-Damper-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Gysahl-Greens.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154304" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Gysahl-Greens.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Gysahl-Greens.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Gysahl-Greens-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Diamond-Weapon.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154305" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Diamond-Weapon.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Diamond-Weapon.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Diamond-Weapon-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Minwu-White-Mage.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154306" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Minwu-White-Mage.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Minwu-White-Mage.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Minwu-White-Mage-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Rufus-Shinra.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154307" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Rufus-Shinra.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Rufus-Shinra.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Rufus-Shinra-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Seifer-Almasy.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154308" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Seifer-Almasy.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Seifer-Almasy.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/06-Seifer-Almasy-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Scorpion-Sentinel.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154309" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Scorpion-Sentinel.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Scorpion-Sentinel.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/07-Scorpion-Sentinel-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Swallowed-by-Leviathan.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154310" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Swallowed-by-Leviathan.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Swallowed-by-Leviathan.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/08-Swallowed-by-Leviathan-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Adventurers-Airship.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154311" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Adventurers-Airship.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Adventurers-Airship.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/09-Adventurers-Airship-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a> <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Thiefs-Knife.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-154312" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Thiefs-Knife.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Thiefs-Knife.jpg 672w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Thiefs-Knife-215x300.jpg 215w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px" /></a></p>
<h2>More To Come!</h2>
<p>We still have three more days of <em>Final Fantasy</em> previews to look forward to! So with that, let us open the floor to you, dear reader. Is there anything that is still glaringly absent from the set from a lore or flavor perspective for you? Are you looking forward to opening any of the cards previewed since this past Saturday? And, are you attending a Prerelease event? Do you have any plans to use a specific archetype, if you pull it, during the Sealed event? Sound off below, because we'd love to hear more about that!</p>


Best Final Fantasy Spoilers From Tuesday, May 27th

WeeklyMTG Outlines Final Fantasy Limited Archetypes

<h6 style="text-align: right;">Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</h6>
<p>Summer is coming, and with it, a new <em>Secret Lair</em> superdrop! <em>Summer Superdrop 2025</em> is launching on June 9th at 9 AM Pacific Time (or Noon Eastern Time). Let's go over the different drops that this superdrop contains!</p>
<h2><em>Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy</em></h2>
<p>We've already covered these <em>Secret Lair</em> drops in another article, but to recap, these three drops will cost $29.99 for nonfoil and $39.99 in foil. There are three <em>Final Fantasy</em>-themed drops in total: One themed after some of the series' villains, one themed after the heroes' magic, and one themed after famous weapons from the series.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/secret-lair-x-final-fantasy-three-new-drops-revealed">You can find our coverage of these drops here.</a></p>
<h2><em>Artist Series: Phil Foglio</em></h2>
<p>Classic <em>Magic</em> artist <a href="https://www.studiofoglio.com/"><strong>Phil Foglio</strong></a> is a perennial favorite for many players. His oftentimes zany, painterly work draws players to the game and hearkens back to the olden days of the game. And now, he's been commissioned to create a <em>Secret Lair</em>! This drop features multiple red and green cards. The most mechanically notable of these may be a timely reprint of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Constant Mists" href="#" target="_blank">Constant Mists</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. However, his <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orcish Lumberjack" href="#" target="_blank">Orcish Lumberjack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also just so aesthetically Foglio. Take a look!</p>
<h3>Goblin Bombardment</h3>
<div id="attachment_154191" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Goblin-Bombardment.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154191" class="wp-image-154191" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Goblin-Bombardment.jpg" alt="Goblin Bombardment, a Secret Lair reprint. Illustrated by Phil Foglio. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Goblin-Bombardment.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Goblin-Bombardment-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Goblin-Bombardment-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154191" class="wp-caption-text">Goblin Bombardment, a <em>Secret Lair</em> reprint. Illustrated by <strong>Phil Foglio</strong>. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Orcish Lumberjack</h3>
<div id="attachment_154192" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Orcish-Lumberjack.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154192" class="wp-image-154192" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Orcish-Lumberjack.jpg" alt="Orcish Lumberjack, a reprint from Artist Series: Phil Foglio. Illustrated by Phil Foglio. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Orcish-Lumberjack.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Orcish-Lumberjack-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Orcish-Lumberjack-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154192" class="wp-caption-text">Orcish Lumberjack, a reprint from <em>Artist Series: Phil Foglio</em>. Illustrated by Phil Foglio. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Constant Mists</h3>
<div id="attachment_154193" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Constant-Mists.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154193" class="wp-image-154193" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Constant-Mists.jpg" alt="Constant Mists, a reprint from Artist Series: Phil Foglio. Illustrated by Phil Foglio. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Constant-Mists.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Constant-Mists-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Constant-Mists-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154193" class="wp-caption-text">Constant Mists, a reprint from <em>Artist Series: Phil Foglio</em>. Illustrated by Phil Foglio. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Song of the Dryads</h3>
<div id="attachment_154194" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Song-of-the-Dryads.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154194" class="wp-image-154194" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Song-of-the-Dryads.jpg" alt="Song of the Dryads, a Secret Lair reprint. Illustrated by Phil Foglio. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Song-of-the-Dryads.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Song-of-the-Dryads-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Song-of-the-Dryads-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154194" class="wp-caption-text">Song of the Dryads, a <em>Secret Lair</em> reprint. Illustrated by Phil Foglio. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<p><em>Artist Series: Phil Foglio</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> will be available for sale on the <em>Secret Lair</em> webstore for $29.99 in non-foil</span> and $39.99 for its foil iteration.</p>
<h2><em>Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira</em></h2>
<p>Mangaka and illustrator <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/2924716.Imiri_Sakabashira"><strong>Imiri Sakabashira</strong></a> has also got a <em>Secret Lair</em> drop! Wizards of the Coast describes his work as "a dream halfway through a kaiju fight", and "straight out of a movie". We are inclined to agree!</p>
<p>Here are the cards from this drop:</p>
<h3>Consecrated Sphinx</h3>
<div id="attachment_154195" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Consecrated-Sphinx.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154195" class="wp-image-154195" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Consecrated-Sphinx.jpg" alt="Consecrated Sphinx, a reprint from Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira. Illustrated by Imiri Sakabashira. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Consecrated-Sphinx.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Consecrated-Sphinx-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Consecrated-Sphinx-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154195" class="wp-caption-text">Consecrated Sphinx, a reprint from <em>Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira</em>. Illustrated by <strong>Imiri Sakabashira</strong>. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Resculpt</h3>
<div id="attachment_154196" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Resculpt.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154196" class="wp-image-154196" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Resculpt.jpg" alt="Resculpt, a reprint from Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira. Illustrated by Imiri Sakabashira. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Resculpt.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Resculpt-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Resculpt-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154196" class="wp-caption-text">Resculpt, a reprint from <em>Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira</em>. Illustrated by Imiri Sakabashira. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Mirage Mirror</h3>
<div id="attachment_154197" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Mirage-Mirror.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154197" class="wp-image-154197" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Mirage-Mirror.jpg" alt="Mirage Mirror, a reprint from Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira. Illustrated by Imiri Sakabashira. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Mirage-Mirror.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Mirage-Mirror-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Mirage-Mirror-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154197" class="wp-caption-text">Mirage Mirror, a reprint from <em>Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira</em>. Illustrated by Imiri Sakabashira. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Scion of Draco</h3>
<div id="attachment_154198" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Scion-of-Draco.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154198" class="wp-image-154198" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Scion-of-Draco.jpg" alt="Scion of Draco, a reprint from Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira. Illustrated by Imiri Sakabashira. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Scion-of-Draco.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Scion-of-Draco-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Scion-of-Draco-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154198" class="wp-caption-text">Scion of Draco, a reprint from <em>Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira</em>. Illustrated by Imiri Sakabashira. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<p><em>Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira</em> will be available for $29.99 in non-foil and $39.99 for its foil iteration.</p>
<h2><em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em></h2>
<p>The final <em>Secret Lair</em> drop for the Summer 2025 Superdrop is <em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em>. <a href="https://www.frazettamuseum.com/"><strong>Frank Frazetta</strong></a> is a giant name in the world of pulp and fantasy artwork. His drawings are iconic and revered across the world of fantasy art. As such, <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> will now have <a href="https://secretlair.wizards.com/us/en/product/810214/the-art-of-frank-frazetta">a second drop</a> for some of Frazetta's most iconic pieces!</p>
<h3>Deadly Dispute</h3>
<div id="attachment_154199" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Deadly-Dispute.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154199" class="wp-image-154199" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Deadly-Dispute.jpg" alt="Deadly Dispute, a reprint from The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Deadly-Dispute.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Deadly-Dispute-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01-Deadly-Dispute-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154199" class="wp-caption-text">Deadly Dispute, a reprint from <em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em>. Illustrated by <strong>Frank Frazetta</strong>. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Murderous Rider</h3>
<div id="attachment_154200" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Murderous-Rider.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154200" class="wp-image-154200" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Murderous-Rider.jpg" alt="Murderous Rider, a reprint from The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Murderous-Rider.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Murderous-Rider-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/02-Murderous-Rider-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154200" class="wp-caption-text">Murderous Rider, a reprint from <em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em>. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Zulaport Cutthroat</h3>
<div id="attachment_154201" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Zulaport-Cutthroat.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154201" class="wp-image-154201" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Zulaport-Cutthroat.jpg" alt="Zulaport Cutthroat, a reprint from The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Zulaport-Cutthroat.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Zulaport-Cutthroat-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/03-Zulaport-Cutthroat-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154201" class="wp-caption-text">Zulaport Cutthroat, a reprint from <em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em>. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Aggravated Assault</h3>
<div id="attachment_154202" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Aggravated-Assault.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154202" class="wp-image-154202" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Aggravated-Assault.jpg" alt="Aggravated Assault, a reprint from The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Aggravated-Assault.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Aggravated-Assault-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/04-Aggravated-Assault-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154202" class="wp-caption-text">Aggravated Assault, a reprint from <em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em>. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<h3>Desperate Ritual</h3>
<div id="attachment_154203" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Desperate-Ritual.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154203" class="wp-image-154203" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Desperate-Ritual.jpg" alt="Desperate Ritual, a reprint from The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="400" height="559" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Desperate-Ritual.jpg 744w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Desperate-Ritual-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/05-Desperate-Ritual-733x1024.jpg 733w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154203" class="wp-caption-text">Desperate Ritual, a reprint from <em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em>. Illustrated by Frank Frazetta. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast</p></div>
<p><em>The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition</em> will sell on the <em>Secret Lair</em> webstore at $29.99 for non-foil and $39.99 in foil.</p>
<h2>Summertime, And The Weather Is Fine!</h2>
<p>Orders of $100 or more will be eligible for free shipping. Unfortunately, they won't be eligible for <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/secret-lair-the-ultimate-pencil-superdrop-launches-5-12">a free pencil</a> this time.</p>
<p>Are you excited to buy any of these <em>Secret Lair</em>s within the 2025 Summer Superdrop? With the <em>Final Fantasy</em> drops likely to be the big draw for players and collectors alike, will you aim to get any of the other drops? Sound off below!</p>


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