The Crystal's ChosenThe Crystal's Chosen| Art by Kotetsu Kinoshita

From scowling soldiers like CloudCloud to lovable rogues like ZidaneZidane, Final Fantasy has had a wide variety of main characters over the years.

Now that the unfathomably popular RPG series has crossed over with Magic: the Gathering, how do they all stack up? Were Final Fantasy's main protagonists all created roughly equal, or do some of them just have better cards than others?

Let's rank which Final Fantasy protagonists got the best cards. "Best" will be defined here as a combination of both the card's power level, and how interesting they are to build around.

Here are the ground rules that determine which cards make this list.

1. This list will only assess cards depicting the main protagonists of each Final Fantasy game. While Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier is undoubtedly one of the most powerful commanders in the set, he's not the main character of Final Fantasy IX. That would be Zidane, Tantalus ThiefZidane, Tantalus Thief.
2. Every eligible card depicting a Final Fantasy main protagonist will be ranked here. So there will be multiple printings of Terra, Cloud, Tidus, and Yuna listed.
3. This article will only deal with new cards, so none of the reprints on the Through the Ages bonus sheet will be showing up here.
4. There are no eligible cards depicting the protagonists of Final Fantasies I, III, XI, and XIV. In the case of I and III it's because those games had unnamed silent protagonists, while XI and XIV are MMOs where users design their own player characters. XIV's heroes are represented with the job select Equipment cards, but unfortunately, those cards can't be slotted into the command zone.

Now that the explanation has been taken care of, let's get going...

19. Bartz and BokoBartz and Boko

There are only 25 Birds available in monogreen that are legal in Commander. You can expand this slightly by adding in the additional 17 Changelings that can go in green decks, but still the pool of viable Birds is very shallow.

Bartz'sBartz's enter the battlefield ability is undeniably powerful, but it's hard to take advantage of it given the absence of Birds and blink effects in green. Bartz works great in Choco, Seeker of ParadiseChoco, Seeker of Paradise decks, but is an underwhelming commander in his own right.

18. Lightning, Security SergeantLightning, Security Sergeant

If you're looking to gain value by exiling your library, there are all sorts of commanders to build around. Prosper, Tome-BoundProsper, Tome-Bound, Faldorn, Dread Wolf HeraldFaldorn, Dread Wolf Herald, and Laelia, the Blade ReforgedLaelia, the Blade Reforged offer a wide variety of different game plans based around self-exiling.

Lightning, Security SergeantLightning, Security Sergeant makes a useful addition to any of these decks but she simply isn't impactful enough to make an effective commander. Like Bartz, you're better off running this version of Lightning in the 99.

17. Zidane, Tantalus ThiefZidane, Tantalus Thief

This card is incredibly evocative but, unfortunately, it simply isn't very powerful. In the opening act of Final Fantasy IX, ZidaneZidane kidnaps Garnet, Princess of AlexandriaGarnet, Princess of Alexandria in exchange for a payment offered by that game's version of CidCid. This card's ThreatenThreaten effect acts out Final Fantasy IX's kidnapping plot and encourages you to build a deck full of other effects that can steal your opponent's creatures.

Unfortunately, gaining a single Treasure isn't enough of a reward to push you into this strategy. Furthermore, since Zidane doesn't have black in his color identity, and you only get Treasure when the creature returns to your opponent's control, sacrificing the creatures you steal to deprive your opponents of resources isn't rewarded as much as it could be.

16. Cecil, Dark KnightCecil, Dark Knight

The two halves of this card pull you in competing directions. Cecil, Dark KnightCecil, Dark Knight encourages you to run a self-damaging build, depleting your life total to power up cards like Death's ShadowDeath's Shadow and Archfiend of DespairArchfiend of Despair. Meanwhile, Cecil, Redeemed Paladin protects your creatures and restores your life.

There are definitely ways of making these two seemingly contradictory effects work together. Maybe you drop your life, transform Cecil, and then use a card like Axis of MortalityAxis of Mortality or Magus of the MirrorMagus of the Mirror to swap life totals with an opponent?

Cecil certainly has the potential to be an interesting commander, but probably not a very powerful one.

15. Firion, Wild Rose WarriorFirion, Wild Rose Warrior

This card drops the equip cost of SkullclampSkullclampdown to . That alone will undoubtedly enable a cavalcade of crazy combos.

Being mono-red hurts FirionFirion, since he loses out on a huge selection of Equipment support cards in white, like Sigarda's AidSigarda's Aid and Stoneforge MysticStoneforge Mystic.

Nevertheless, if you're looking for an aggressive, and easy to build mono-red Equipment commander, you could do a lot worse than this Wild Rose Warrior.

14. Tidus, Blitzball StarTidus, Blitzball Star

This version of Tidus is a very simple card. Tidus, Blitzball StarTidus, Blitzball Star gains a +1/+1 counter whenever you drop an artifact, and taps an opponent's creature whenever he attacks.

There are plenty of ways to take advantage of this, like using Cloudstone CurioCloudstone Curio to loop MemniteMemnite and OrnithopterOrnithopter into and out of play to grant Tidus an infinite number of +1/+1 counters.

With that said, there's not enough here to build anything too exciting.

13. Cloud, Planet's ChampionCloud, Planet's Champion

Even though Cloud, Planet's ChampionCloud, Planet's Champion is the weakest iteration of Final Fantasy VII's chocobo-haired protagonist, he's more than capable of threatening the table.

Go Voltron, and staple Equipment to him at a discounted cost. Cloud can protect himself, at least during your turn, and double up his damage output, making him the ideal bearer for all manner of blades.

There are plenty of Equipment commanders out there, from Bruenor BattlehammerBruenor Battlehammer to Nahiri, Forged in FuryNahiri, Forged in Fury. Cloud, Planet's Champion is certainly usable, but doesn't do enough to break out of the pack.

12. Vaan, Street ThiefVaan, Street Thief

There are 164 Scouts, Rogues, and Pirates in mono-red. While they aren't all winners, Vaan can still draw upon a deep pool of cards to put his crew together. From Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble Pilferer, to Agate InstigatorAgate Instigator, to Coercive RecruiterCoercive Recruiter, there are plenty of scheming scoundrels to choose from.

You'll also want plenty of Treasure generators to help you cast all the cards that you'll be nicking from other players.

Vaan presents a novel new deckbuilding challenge for players looking to pilfer their opponents.

11. Clive, Ifrit's DominantClive, Ifrit's Dominant

Games with Clive are sure to be chaotic. You'll be chucking your hand, drawing a new one, and generating unspeakable amounts of red mana.

This commander is very open-ended. Other than incentivizing you to load up on cards with plenty of red pips, and encouraging you to run cards that can be recast from the graveyard to get the most from his discard effect, Clive doesn't point in a specific direction. Feel it out and experiment.

Since this card doesn't impose any firm guidelines, you can build a Clive deck that's truly unique.

10. Squall, SeeD MercenarySquall, SeeD Mercenary

Squall, SeeD MercenarySquall, SeeD Mercenary mixes a game plan that cares about attacking alone with a sacrifice-based strategy. Since Squall has double strike when he attacks alone, his ability goes off twice whenever he hits the opponent.

Squall works wonders with cheap self-sacrificing creatures like Accursed MarauderAccursed Marauder and PlaguecrafterPlaguecrafter. He can also help you ramp by recuring artifacts that sacrifice themselves to fetch lands, like Wayfarer's BaubleWayfarer's Bauble and Burnished HartBurnished Hart.

f you're in the mood to weld together two previously disconnected strategies, then Squall offers some food for thought.

9. Noctis, Prince of LucisNoctis, Prince of Lucis

There's no shortage of Esper artifact commanders, but NoctisNoctis stands out even amongst very heated competition.

For a small payment of life, Noctis grants unrestricted access to any of the artifacts in your graveyard. Given that blue and black have an amazing selection of self-mill tools, it'll be no issue to load up your graveyard with all sorts of gadgets for Noctis to tinker with.

8. Yuna, Hope of SpiraYuna, Hope of Spira

The new Sagas based on the Summons from the Final Fantasy series are great fun. They're under-costed and provide immensely powerful effects, but they vanish from play after only a handful of turns.

Yuna, Hope of SpiraYuna, Hope of Spira acts as a pretty great commander for a deck built around these new cards. There are 30 Saga Summon creatures, and, with a Selesnya color identity, Yuna can play almost half of them. The buff that she provides is just as useful on any of the other enchantment creatures from Magic's history.

Yuna is a character worth sending into your command zone.

7. Tidus, Yuna's GuardianTidus, Yuna's Guardian

As the face-commander of the Counter Blitz precon, Tidus, Yuna's GuardianTidus, Yuna's Guardian has a very clear game plan. Tidus shuffles your counters around, getting them where they're most needed, and helps to draw cards and proliferate. He's the glue that can hold a counter-based deck together.

Maybe he's not the most glamorous or exciting of these new commanders, but he's undeniably remarkably useful.

6. Cloud, Midgar MercenaryCloud, Midgar Mercenary

Slotting Stoneforge MysticStoneforge Mystic into your command zone is an awesome feeling. Cloud, Midgar MercenaryCloud, Midgar Mercenary trades in the mystic's ability to cheat Equipment into play for free for a new ability that doubles the ability triggers of Cloud and his Equipment. This combos fantastically with Cloud's iconic Buster SwordBuster Sword, or Gilgamesh's Genji GloveGenji Glove, but there are all sorts of abilities that Cloud can comfortably copy.

Being mono-white limits this card slightly, as most Equipment commanders are red/white, but Cloud, Midgar Mercenary still has more than enough tools to get the job done.

5. Cloud, Ex-SOLDIERCloud, Ex-SOLDIER

Everyone who sees this card immediately has the same thought: "I'm going to combo this equip cost cheating effect with Colossus HammerColossus Hammer for massive damage!" Evidently, even the card's designers were thinking the same thing since they included the Hammer in the precon that Cloud leads.

Of course, there's a lot more to Cloud than just giving him a giant mallet and calling it a day. He wants you to go wide, handing out Equipment to as many creatures as possible so that you can get in plenty of card draw. Cloud is arguably Final Fantasy's most famous character, and this printing does justice to his reputation as a world-saving warrior.

4. Terra, Herald of HopeTerra, Herald of Hope

Like many of the most powerful cards of today, Terra, Herald of HopeTerra, Herald of Hope is both an enabler and a payoff. Her first ability mills the deck to fill the graveyard, while her second ability draws upon that graveyard to churn out creatures.

Terra's precon contains plenty of high-impact creatures with three power or less for her to cheat into play. Meteor GolemMeteor Golem can remove anything, General Leo CristopheGeneral Leo Cristophe can return another creature alongside himself, and Cyan, Vengeful SamuraiCyan, Vengeful Samurai is just a big double striking beat stick.

Of course, there are plenty of even more impactful lower power creatures from the game's history, just waiting for Terra to breathe new life into them.

3. Yuna, Grand SummonerYuna, Grand Summoner

While Yuna, Grand SummonerYuna, Grand Summoner may not quite be The OzolithThe Ozolith, she does a pretty great impersonation of it. Yuna transforms all of the counters on any creatures you control that die into +1/+1 counters, and then transfers them to someone else.

This skirts around a major weakness of counter-based decks, as now getting your massive Kalonian HydraKalonian Hydra killed won't bring your game plan to a screeching halt, and you can just load up a new threat and keep going.

2. Lightning, Army of OneLightning, Army of One

Lightning, Army of OneLightning, Army of One is one of the best cards out there for bringing problematic players in line. If someone is completely going off, slip Lightning past their defenders using a Rogue's PassageRogue's Passage or a Whispersilk CloakWhispersilk Cloak and watch as their board state collapses.

Lightning doubles the damage that everything deals to that player and permanents they control until your next turn. Not only will all of your non-first striking creatures pile on twice as much pain, but every other player at the table will also have their damage doubled if they target the same person.

You can use Lightning to stagger everyone else at the table, and then keep striking until you're the only player left.

1. Terra, Magical AdeptTerra, Magical Adept

As a five-color commander with the ability to clone your enchantments, Terra, Magical AdeptTerra, Magical Adept can serve as the centerpiece for a huge number of creative strategies.

She can mill your entire deck and produce infinite mana when used alongside Barbara WrightBarbara Wright. She can repeatedly clone BahamutBahamut to dish out, at least, 12 damage to each opponent a turn. Or she can loop The Cruelty of GixThe Cruelty of Gix to continuously tutor for game-ending combo pieces.

Load up a deck with some of your favorite enchantments and watch Terra go off; you won't be disappointed.

Conclusion

So there it is, Terra tops the list. Of course, whatever these rankings may say, most of these cards still make fantastic commanders, and there are some great decks that can be brewed around almost all of them.

Given how subjective card evaluation can be though, especially in regards to what makes a commander the "best" when compared to others, chances are that you may have come to a different conclusion. If you feel like this article has been overly kind to Terra, too cruel to Cloud, or simply beastly to Bartz, share your take down in the comments.

Be sure to come along in a fortnight for the sequel to this piece, exploring the performance of Final Fantasy's Big Bads.