Rebuilding Atraxa, Praetors' Voice With Final Fantasy Cards

Building a Mono-Red Reanimator Deck with Clive, Ifrit's Dominant

The Best Lands and Artifacts in Final Fantasy

Ultimecia, Temporal Threat Deck Tech

Building a Tidus, Yuna's Guardian Commander Deck

Thriving in Purgatory With an Aerith, Last Ancient Commander Deck

Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness: Oops All Orzhov

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><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> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/chukov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hristo D. Chukov</a></em></p>
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<p>May has come and gone, which means it's time for a brand new round of the Archidekt deckbuilding contest.</p>
<p>This is a monthly contest with a different theme each month. Your goal is to build a Commander-legal deck that fulfills the prompt in a creative or unique fashion. At the end of each month, three finalists will be selected for you to vote on.</p>
<p>Whoever gets the most votes will be crowned the winner, although all three finalists receive a prize.</p>
<p>Even before its upcoming release on June 13, <em>Final Fantasy</em> is the best selling <em>Magic</em> set of all time. We're embracing the hype and trying to find the best Final Fantasy brew for this month's deckbuilding contest.</p>
<p></div>
<div></p>
<h2>What’s the Contest All About?</h2>
<p>Working within the parameters of the prompt provided below, construct a decklist with your own creative spin. Three chosen finalists will be awarded <a href="https://www.cardsphere.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">store credit to use on Cardsphere</a>.</p>
<p><strong>For June's deckbuilding contest, build a Commander-legal list around a new card, or set of cards, from <em>Final Fantasy</em>. This could be building a deck with a new commander from the set, or using any card from the set as a central part of your strategy. If you choose not to use a <em>Final Fantasy</em> commander, be sure that your <em>Final Fantasy</em> card(s) are a key part of your deck's game plan. As always, submissions will be judged on creativity and originality.<br />
</strong></p>
<p></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Choco, Seeker of Paradise"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloud, Midgar Mercenary"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Wandering Minstrel"></div></div>
<p><em>Final Fantasy</em> adds a whopping 162 brand new commanders to <em>Magic</em>. From new commanders for familiar archetypes, to commanders that enable brand new strategies, there are plenty of options to choose from. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Choco, Seeker of Paradise" href="#" target="_blank">Choco, Seeker of Paradise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a fresh option for the burgeoning Bird decks, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Freya Crescent" href="#" target="_blank">Freya Crescent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might breath new life into an old Equipment deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Wandering Minstrel" href="#" target="_blank">The Wandering Minstrel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works with a new land sub-type, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zidane, Tantalus Thief" href="#" target="_blank">Zidane, Tantalus Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an effect we've never really seen before.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Summon: Bahamut"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Buster Sword"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ishgard, the Holy See"></div></div>
<p>But new commanders aren't the only thing to be excited about. Powerful new Equipment like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Buster Sword" href="#" target="_blank">Buster Sword</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <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> can easily form the centerpiece of a deck. The new Summons lend a lot of support to Historic and Saga decks, especially powerful finishers like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Summon: Primal Odin" href="#" target="_blank">Summon: Primal Odin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <em>Final Fantasy</em> has also introduced lands with Adventure spells, which means you can now recur actual spells with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Life from the Loam" href="#" target="_blank">Life from the Loam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hope Estheim"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Estinien Varlineau"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jumbo Cactuar"></div></div>
<p>There are also plenty of opportunities to get a little weird. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hope Estheim" href="#" target="_blank">Hope Estheim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> brings mill and lifegain together, the combination we didn't know we needed. Dragons also got a new commander, in a new color combination, thanks to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Estinien Varlineau" href="#" target="_blank">Estinien Varlineau</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Or you could focus on his other effect, and build an Orzhov spellslinger deck. Finally, there's no shortage of uses for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jumbo Cactuar" href="#" target="_blank">Jumbo Cactuar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. What can you do with 10,000 power?</p>
<h2>How to Participate</h2>
<ul>
<li>Brew an EDH/Commander legal deck on <a href="https://archidekt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archidekt</a> that satisfies the prompt.</li>
<li>Any unreleased cards spoiled during the contest’s duration are allowed.</li>
<li>Silver-bordered and acorn cards, while cool, are not allowed.</li>
<li>Digital-only cards (such as those designed for the Alchemy format on Arena) are not allowed.</li>
<li>Strictly one deck submitted per user.</li>
</ul>
<p>Reply to the Archidekt news post, or submission post on the <a href="https://discord.gg/sctEc9Ru36" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archidekt Discord</a> with a link to your deck before <strong>9:00 pm EST</strong> (UTC -4, currently) on <strong>Wednesday, June 11, 2025</strong> (do not submit the same deck in multiple places).</p>
<p>Only one submission per user! From the eligible submissions, we'll select three finalists with lists that we believe best embody the spirit of the prompt. Deck descriptions are not required but certainly may provide valuable context!</p>
<div></p>
<p>On <strong>Wednesday, June 18, 2025</strong>, we’ll announce three finalists via the Archidekt Discord and a brief article on EDHREC highlighting each deck.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cardsphere.com/sets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Each finalist will be awarded credit to use on Cardsphere</a>. The value of the credit is in US dollars and depends on the finalist's placement in deck upvotes at the end of the week-long polling period:</p>
<ul>
<li>1st Place Prize - $250</li>
<li>2nd Place Prize - $150</li>
<li>3rd Place Prize - $100</li>
</ul>
<p></div>
<p>Finalists will be contacted via email or Discord (depending on where they submitted) regarding their winnings within roughly 24 hours following the conclusion of voting on <strong>Wednesday, June 25, 2025</strong>.</p>
<p>Please note, you must have a Cardsphere account in order to receive your winnings. It's quick and free - <a href="https://www.cardsphere.com/signup?referrer=archidekt_contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">register here</a> if you don't have an account already!</p>
<p>Here are the <a href="https://archidekt.com/contestRules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official contest rules</a>. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here, or join the Archidekt <a href="https://discord.gg/sctEc9Ru36" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public Discord server</a>. We look forward to seeing what you all come up with!</p>


Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest - June 2025

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Illustrated by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CD.+Alexander+Gregory%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D. Alexander Gregory</a></em></p>
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<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 - here's a pic of me!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goobbue Gardener"></div></div>
<p><i>I LOVE MY SMILE!</i></p>
<p>This week, oh jeez where do I even begin?</p>
<p>(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)</p>
<hr />
<h2>HELLO, MIKE</h2>
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<p><em>I have been playing Commander with my group for a while now and we have slowly made our decks quite powerful. I play a mono green Elves deck with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezuri, Renegade Leader" href="#" target="_blank">Ezuri, Renegade Leader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as the commander. In my most recent set of upgrades to the deck, I added an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> because it goes well with my deck. In our group, there is only one player who has green in their deck other than me but I did not think about this when adding <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</em></p>
<p><em>The past few times that we have played, I have used one of the many tutors in my deck to find <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and due to the large number of cards with similar function to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Archdruid" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Archdruid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and lots of untapping cards, I would be able to knock the other green player out very quickly in all of these games. This made them upset because nobody else had Forests in their decks and they felt that it was unfair to put <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in my deck since they were the only other green player. I told them that it was part of my deck and that I would not remove it, and now they don't want to play with me anymore.</em></p>
<p><em><strong>Am I the Bolas for putting the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in my deck and then not wanting to remove it after making the only other green player upset?</strong></em></p>
<p><em>Sincerely,</em><br />
<em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wirewood Symbiote" href="#" target="_blank">Wirewood Symbiote</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></em></p>
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<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elvish Champion"></div></div>
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<h2>HOWDY, WIREWOOD SYMBIOTE!</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>Let's examine the facts we have from your submission. You're part of a playgroup. You play regularly. The group has begun to slowly power creep. You're playing notorious commander <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezuri, Renegade Leader" href="#" target="_blank">Ezuri, Renegade Leader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> which is an Elfball legend that should raise some alarms for anybody who is familiar with it. You mention you've got several tutors and you opted to get the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Okay. I have no idea what to say about this one besides I don't think I have enough information to give a full-on verdict, but I'll try.</p>
<p>If you're all slowly powering up your decks, it should be fair for you to pack some head like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Everybody should be running creature removal too, so hopefully that's part of the creeping, but clearly in this story, that doesn't come up. I have to hope you've also included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to tutor for if you're playing the Champion because otherwise this <em>is </em>just a silver bullet for that one other player in the pod.</p>
<p>Here are the issues I have about this story. I never like tutors beyond land ramp tutors, like fetch lands. I play Commander because I like variability. But I understand why you'd want to play them and it's a rule for myself, not the format, so live and let live.</p>
<p>If you're tutoring <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> at this table, it seems like there's only one reason, and that's to kill this one green player at the table. Pretty brutal way to go about it, but if that's the nature of the group, I guess it's okay.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the protests from that one player tell me it's likely not the vibe. To become defensive about it is not my favorite response to this, but it's fair. This is your decklist and if you were to take this deck to an LGS and you could use it against unknown players, you'll probably be able to take out some more players and it'd be fair game. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great card for Elf decks, for sure.</p>
<p>But this being a playgroup of friends means that you have some considerations if you want to keep playing. The way you describe this player is "there is only one player who has green in their deck other than me.<em>" </em>You know that much. It will feel targeted if nobody else in your group plays green.</p>
<p>Anyway, I want you to consider allowing for some special rules for playing the card against your playgroup, especially when it's only that player also playing green. Rules like "I can't tutor for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>" in those games. Let there be some tension about it! You'll both know the card is in the deck. If it's not out yet, it's on its way! Maybe it's in your hand and you're trying to find your moment! That's interesting.</p>
<p>If I'm playing in my playgroup and someone who knows I play graveyard decks 90% of the time and all my removal is on ETB abilities, I would hate playing against them if their first moves are tutoring for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Torpor Orb" href="#" target="_blank">Torpor Orb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rest in Peace" href="#" target="_blank">Rest in Peace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. That would straight up tick me off enough to need to take a walk. I'd begin building my decks with this in mind to kill those cards, but I'd have a conversation about it first.</p>
<p>If the whole group is building stronger and stronger decks and this is something you've all agreed on, that's awesome. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect and it doesn't seem like a conversation was very fruitful. I would recommend trying again and being open to some compromise.</p>
<p>My instinct says Bolas here. Maybe my green bias is showing, but you're already playing Ezuri and there was no mention of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to spread the love on the combat. Feels like this actually <em>might</em> be pointed.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ezuri, Renegade Leader"></div></div>


Am I The Bolas? - Forestwalking the Only Other Green Player

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Midgar, City of Mako|fin|313" href="#" target="_blank">Midgar, City of Mako</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by <a href="https://josusolanoart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Josu Solano</a></em></p>
<p><em>Final Fantasy</em> depicts grand adventures across different locales, time periods, and plotlines. It therefore makes absolute sense that the main land cycle of the new <em>Final Fantasy</em> set is a series of famous towns you adventure in throughout the series.</p>
<p>And, they’re even mechanically adventures! Or technically speaking “cards that have an Adventure” to use specific terminology.</p>
<h2>But What Is an Adventure?</h2>
<p>In <em>Magic</em>, certain cards have two different ways you can cast them. There’s the core spell, which takes up most of the card, and a subtype Adventure spell, located in the bottom left.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Murderous Rider"></div></div>
<p>In the example above, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murderous Rider" href="#" target="_blank">Murderous Rider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a creature that’s a Zombie Knight, has lifelink, and when it dies it gets put on the bottom of its owner’s library. All for three mana. Nothing out of the ordinary.</p>
<p>However, instead of casting this card as the creature Murderous Rider, you can instead cast the instant Swift End. This destroys a creature or planeswalker and you lose two life, also for three mana.</p>
<p>If you cast a card using its Adventure, you put it into exile. You can then play the non-Adventure portion of the card from exile. Which, aside from meaning you can effectively play two spells with a single card, also means that once you cast an Adventure, its associated creature is “safe” from forced discard effects.</p>
<p>Below are a few more examples of Adventures. Note how the mana costs, spell type, and sometimes even colors change.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kellan, the Fae-Blooded"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Virtue of Persistence"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Monster Manual"></div></div>
<p>Broadly, Adventures are a very nice way to maximize your value per-card. It gives you the flexibility of having a permanent and non-permanent effect, oftentimes where the Adventure supports its associated spell.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gray Slaad"></div></div>
<p>Entropic Decay allows you to mill four cards before casting <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gray Slaad" href="#" target="_blank">Gray Slaad</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, meaning you’re much more likely to have a 4/1 with menace and deathtouch. However, if you already have four creature cards in your graveyard, you can skip casting Entropic Decay.</p>
<p>In this case, it’s an optional cost to mill four cards for two mana. Which for black, is never a bad thing.</p>
<h2>Town Cycle</h2>
<p>There’s a specific cycle in the <em>Final Fantasy</em> set that I call the “Adventure Town” cycle. This is because it’s a series of lands, one of each color, each of which has the Town sub-type as well as an associated Adventure.</p>
<p>Also, they all enter the battlefield tapped, as most non-basic lands do.</p>
<p>I’m not a <em>Final Fantasy</em> fan, though I’ve certainly been interested in seeing what all of the hype is about. Though that does mean I won’t have the full lore implications of how the Adventures tie into their associated games.</p>
<p>That being said, let’s go on an adventure!</p>
<h2>Ranking the <em>Final Fantasy </em>Adventure Lands</h2>
<h3>#5 - Faith &amp; Grief (White)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ishgard, the Holy See"></div></div>
<p>First up is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ishgard, the Holy See" href="#" target="_blank">Ishgard, the Holy See</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which unfortunately is my pick for the least impactful Adventure. A city-state in <em>Final Fantasy XIV</em>, it survives both the harsh snowfalls of winter as well as literal, actual dragons.</p>
<p>Seems to me like one of those is the larger threat, but hey! Snow-land synergy is real. And it’s coming for you.</p>
<p>For five mana, Grief &amp; Return allows you to return up to two artifacts and/or enchantment cards from your graveyard to your hand.</p>
<p>This is nice, but it’s overpriced. When playing a non-basic land, you have to ask yourself “Is this land’s effect worth the inability to access its mana the turn I play it?” Spending five mana to grab up to two artifacts or enchantments and put them in your hand is most certainly not. If it was cheaper? Not constrained to artifacts and enchantments?</p>
<p>Even if it was limited to a single artifact or enchantment but returned directly to the battlefield, it might be worth it. But as it stands, it only half-supports commanders such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloud, Midgar Mercenary" href="#" target="_blank">Cloud, Midgar Mercenary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Therefore, I’d just pass.</p>
<h3>#4 - Lasting Fayth (Green)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zanarkand, Ancient Metropolis"></div></div>
<p>Next up is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zanarkand, Ancient Metropolis" href="#" target="_blank">Zanarkand, Ancient Metropolis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which as a green player I was hoping to be able to put higher. Luckily, it isn’t the worst ability, just a bit expensive. This former metropolis is most known for its role in <em>Final Fantasy X</em>, where it occupies an odd double reality of being both a destroyed city as well as a perfect recreation of said city.</p>
<p>For six mana, Lasting Fayth creates a 1/1 colorless Hero creature token. Then you can put a +1/+1 counter on it for every land you have.</p>
<p>This is a lovely effect that absolutely does not work for six mana.</p>
<p>Green doesn’t hurt for mana production, meaning you could reasonably activate this effect earlier than turn six. However… Then you’d be limiting its growth. It needs lands to scale, meaning you need to wait until you can play a fair amount of lands. Which you already want to do, even if you’re not playing a commander like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tifa Lockhart" href="#" target="_blank">Tifa Lockhart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>If you wait with this card dead in your hand or you just don’t draw it until later in the game, there are other things you can spend your mana on at that point.</p>
<p>A 7/7 is nice. For six mana it needs to be justified, which with this Hero’s scaling is certainly justifiable. However, it’s holding back the land it’s attached to. And because of that, I can’t say it’s fantastic.</p>
<h3>#3 - Mage Siege (Red)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lindblum, Industrial Regency"></div></div>
<p>Running in the middle is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lindblum, Industrial Regency" href="#" target="_blank">Lindblum, Industrial Regency</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, though if you were to bump it up or down a spot on your list, I couldn’t blame you. A sprawling city in <em>Final Fantasy IX</em>, it pushes technological, mercantile, and even logistical boundaries as it advances ever forward.</p>
<p>For three mana, Mage Siege creates an 0/1 black Wizard creature token that deals one damage to each opponent each time you cast a noncreature spell. Something to note, this is also the only instant of the Adventures in this cycle, the rest are sorceries. How often that will come up, I’m not sure. But it’s worth noting!</p>
<p>Ping damage is always nice, though I don’t need to harp on how fragile a 0/1 creature is. The fact it’s a Wizard does actually hold some weight, as Wizard typal is an archetype that does encompass red.</p>
<p>It’s three mana, and with the mana cheating red does so efficiently, having this land enter tapped isn’t as bad as in some of the other colors. So I don’t see any reason to avoid bringing this along, particularly if you’re trying to capitalize off of its synergy with some of the <em>Final Fantasy</em> commanders, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloud, Planet&#039;s Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Cloud, Planet&#039;s Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Lots of artifact support in this set!</p>
<h3>#2 - Overture (Blue)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital" href="#" target="_blank">Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is home to the wealthiest man in the world, at least in <em>Final Fantasy VI</em>. It’s an economic hub for players to stock up before setting out.</p>
<p>For six mana, Overture forces target opponent to mill half their library, rounded down.</p>
<p>This is probably the most niche of the Adventures, as six mana in blue isn’t cheap. However, any mill deck would love this. Even control decks might flirt with it, since disrupting an opponent’s deck can be quite powerful. Milling half their deck with Overture before clearing their board with a commander like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Planet&#039;s Heir" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Planet&#039;s Heir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is absolutely devious.</p>
<p>And, of course, no color excels at returning cards to their hand like blue does. Lands are certainly trickier to return, but if you can do it? That’s high value, even if at a high cost. Definitely worth including in the right circumstances.</p>
<h3>#1 - Reactor Raid (Black)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Midgar, City of Mako"></div></div>
<p>My pick for the best Adventure of this cycle is <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>. And based on the popularity of <em>Final Fantasy VII</em>, where it plays a key role as the oppressive and struggling opening area, I shouldn’t be surprised!</p>
<p>For three mana, Reactor Raid allows you to sacrifice an artifact or creature to draw two cards. It's cheap, it draws you cards, and it sacrifices a permanent. All things black loves.</p>
<p>With all the artifact support this set is seeing, you could burn a disposable artifact. But my mind immediately went to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Again, for only three mana, you draw two cards, you gain a life, an opponent loses a life, and you are 25% of the way to transforming Sephiroth.</p>
<p>Reactor Raid gives you value in the early game, the mid game, even the late game. Card draw is invaluable, and sacrificing will contribute towards other triggers.</p>
<p>Far and above, Midgar is supreme.</p>
<h2>What Do You Think of the Adventure Lands?</h2>
<p>Let me know in the comments! I’m confident Faith &amp; Grief is the worst, even with the artifact support of the set. I’m also set on Reactor Raid, given how flexible it is. I could really shuffle the others around any order, so I’d love to hear what you think!</p>
