Genji GloveGenji Glove | Art by Elizabeth Peiró

You'd think that a set where half the cards are legendary creatures wouldn't have a whole lot to talk about for other card types. That is very much not the case with this Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy, however. Even among the artifacts and lands there's almost too many good cards to cover, but the burden to cover them has fallen to me.

Luckily, like Atlas before me, my shoulders are broad.

The Best Artifacts In Final Fantasy

Let's start by taking a look at the artifacts from the set. Bear in mind that I already covered the five cards in the Crystal cycle over in my monocolored set review, so this list could have been even longer.

Aettir and PriwenAettir and Priwen

Six mana is a lot for an Equipment, even if you get to cheat the equip cost through various means. If you don't, you're looking to spend another five mana to equip it. That's a huge investment for an Equipment that doesn't even grant any keywords. So why am I talking about Aettir and Priwen? Because out of the gate it can buff your creature an astronomical amount.

You don't even need to have your life total be the full 40 for Aettir and Priwen to put the equipped creature into one-shot kill range, and it's almost going to always be there when attached to a commander. There's also fling effects, or cards like Chandra's IgnitionChandra's Ignition that will use it to kill the entire table. Expect Captain America, First AvengerCaptain America, First Avenger to throw this at a lot of people as well.

Black Mage's RodBlack Mage's Rod

Black Mage's Rod is sneakily a rather excellent little tool in spellslinger-esque decks. It drops early and is already attached to a creature thanks to the job select ability, and can immediately begin dealing damage to everyone as you cast spells. Then when the inevitable board wipe happens, it sticks around and attaches itself for three colorless mana to any creature you control to begin doing it again.

Black Waltz No. 3Black Waltz No. 3 is the natural, obvious home for this Equipment, but really any black deck looking to turn spells to table-wide damage can find room for a card this efficient and resilient.

Buster SwordBuster Sword

The ten members of the Sword of X and Y cycle (technically 11 if you count Sword of Wealth and PowerSword of Wealth and Power) have always been the bar most Equipment had to clear to be good enough to run in an Equipment deck. Their efficient cost, protection, and powerful combat damage triggers have often rendered most other Equipment insufficient in comparison.

Final Fantasy's Buster Sword costing exactly the same to cast and equip as the Swords of X and Y seems a clear nod from design to that ubiquitous cycle. They know that since that's the comparison that will be made they might as well make the comparison easy. While Buster Sword lacks the protection from that cycle, it also grants +3/+2 instead of +2/+2. The damage trigger is what really matters though, and the Buster Sword damage trigger is excellent, letting you both draw a card and cast a spell for free if the mana value is less than the damage dealt.

It's an all-around excellent addition to any Equipment deck, and will eventually see more play than some of the weaker Swords.

Cargo ShipCargo Ship

While Cargo Ship seems fairly benign as a Vehicle, that's not the right lens through which to view it. It's not a Vehicle; it's a two-mana mana rock with a minor restriction on what the mana can be used for that can become a Vehicle late game for a bit of extra utility. Now, there are certainly a lot of decks where the mana being restricted to artifacts is a problem. If you're playing any kind of artifact-centric list - including an Equipment deck - that restriction will almost be irrelevant.

In Vehicle decks like Shorikai, Genesis EngineShorikai, Genesis Engine it's all upside, but any artifact heavy deck might prefer the ability to make it an emergency blocker or use it to save a goaded commander over the upside provided by something like Thought VesselThought Vessel.

Genji GloveGenji Glove

FireshriekerFireshrieker is in just under 100,000 decks on EDHREC. Yes, it's more efficient to cast () and equip (), but it just grants double strike. Genji Glove functionally grants double strike twice while also letting all your other creatures swing a second time.

Is that worth the added cost? Well it's already showing up in 500 decks on EDHREC and the card hasn't even been released yet. Captain America, First AvengerCaptain America, First Avenger and Tetsuo, Imperial ChampionTetsuo, Imperial Champion pilots are already including it in their lists, and nobody even has the card in hand. Double strike and an extra combat is a potent combination.

Machinist's ArsenalMachinist's Arsenal

Five mana is a lot for this effect, especially when compared to things like NettlecystNettlecyst, Adaptive OmnitoolAdaptive Omnitool, and Thran Power SuitThran Power Suit. Still, it comes into play already attached to a 1/1 Hero creature token, so in most Equipment decks it'll be a formidable blocker right away. That's very useful.

It also scales better than the three similar Equipment already mentioned, getting +2/+2 per artifact you control. Expect to see it in any Equipment deck with access to white, which is most of them.

Summoner's GrimoireSummoner's Grimoire

The job select Equipment cycle is hit or miss, but the ones that hit tend to hit hard, and Summoner's Grimoire is one of the ones that hits hard. For four mana it comes into play attached to a 1/1 Hero token, and on attack it lets you put a creature from your hand into play. Given that green is the color of huge, expensive, stompy monsters, the amount of free value you can generate from this is absurd. And that's before we get into the second clause that says if that creature is an enchantment it comes into play tapped and attacking. It isn't even a combat damage trigger; it happens on attack.

There's a whole lot of green decks that want the ability to play free beaters, but if you're playing a commander like Anikthea, Hand of ErebosAnikthea, Hand of Erebos built specifically around enchantment creatures then this is the card you've always wanted. Anyone looking to brew around the new Saga enchantment creatures from this set is also going to be delighted. But even if you aren't, free is good. Always has been, always will be.

The MasamuneThe Masamune

It's always extremely powerful to have both the enabler and the payoff on one card, and that's what The Masamune has in spades. The first portion of the card grants the equipped creature first strike and mandates it must be blocked if able. First strike makes it much easier for the creature wielding the sword to survive, and the LureLure effect means you've got the best chance to get a creature kill every time it swings.

The second part is the payoff, however. It grants the equipped creature the following: If a creature dying causes a triggered ability of this creature or an emblem you own to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.” This isn't quite a Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov effect, but it's in the same ballpark, and pilots of commanders like Teysa are going to be swimming in triggers.

The Best Lands In Final Fantasy

Next up we're looking at the lands of Final Fantasy. We get a new subtype in this set in Town, and as is true with most land subtypes, there are various mechanics built around it and with it in mind. Most are too niche to go into here, however, so instead I'll focus on the lands that just offer general utility and performance.

Ishgard, the Holy SeeIshgard, the Holy See

We get a whole cycle of lands with the Adventure mechanic, letting you choose between playing the land tapped as a mana producer, or casting the spell portion and then using it as a land from exile later on. As we've seen from the popularity of the MDFC lands, people love to have that kind of flexibility in their mana base, and these will all prove to be no exception.

Ishgard, the Holy See can come into play as a tapped white source, or it can be cast as a sorcery for that lets you return two artifact or enchantment cards from your graveyard to your hand. While that bit of recursion might be somewhat over-costed, the flexibility more than offsets it.

The Tom BombadilTom Bombadil decks on EDHREC are already loading up on Ishgard in their list, and most white-aligned artifact, Enchantress, Aura, or Equipment decks would be well served to consider it as well.

Jidoor, Aristocratic CapitalJidoor, Aristocratic Capital

Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital is a bit more specific than Ishgard, mostly because it can only target your opponents. I've seen a lot of copies of TraumatizeTraumatize cast over the years, and most of them have targeted the caster looking to follow it up with something like Living DeathLiving Death. That won't be an option with Jidoor as the spell portion that mills can only hit enemies. Still, if you're doing mill stuff, erasing half a library does a lot of work.

Commanders like Bruvac the GrandiloquentBruvac the Grandiloquent, The MindskinnerThe Mindskinner, and Phenax, God of DeceptionPhenax, God of Deception would love to empty half a library with a spell that can be their land next turn.

Lindblum, Industrial RegencyLindblum, Industrial Regency

Black Waltz No. 3Black Waltz No. 3 decks are going to adore this this spell/land combo. It drops a black Wizard token that deals damage to all opponents when you cast a noncreature spell, and then goes on an Adventure to become your land drop next turn. It's everything that deck wants. What's especially useful though is because it's a red card it will work with Izzet color parings also, something not true of a lot of the black spells that make the Wizard token.

We're already seeing it pop up in decks like Ghyrson Starn, KelermorphGhyrson Starn, Kelermorph and Veyran, Voice of DualityVeyran, Voice of Duality where the damage trigger will shine.

Midgar, City of MakoMidgar, City of Mako

Three mana is over rate for black's sacrifice/draw two effects, especially given it's a sorcery. But having it stapled onto a black mana producing land makes that feel way better. That's really the case with almost all of these; the opportunity cost of basically losing one mana since your land enters tapped is really low to have the option to cast the spell half of the card, and that's doubly true with these Adventure lands where you get to be greedy and choose modes in certain situations.

Expect to see a whole lot of tokens and recurrable creatures like Reassembling SkeletonReassembling Skeleton sacrificed to this card, and then see it played the next turn as a land in decks like Prosper, Tome-BoundProsper, Tome-Bound that get extra gas out of playing the land from exile.

Zanarkand, Ancient MetropolisZanarkand, Ancient Metropolis

The strength of Zanarkand isn't that the spell portion makes a creature, so much as it's the spell portion makes a creature that will enter with an amount of +1/+1 counters equal to the number of lands you control.

Landfall decks and Lands Matters decks will get a lot of utility out of this, as will decks with counter synergy. Commanders like Beluna GrandsquallBeluna Grandsquall that interact with Adventures are also interested in this land with plenty of upside for limited cost.

Starting TownStarting Town

Both City of BrassCity of Brass and Mana ConfluenceMana Confluence are in almost half a million decks each on EDHREC. Starting Town is a Mana Confluence/City of Brass that doesn't have to damage you if tapped for colorless mana at the cost of entering tapped after the first three turns of the game. The fact that it can tap for colorless mana at all is also a useful upside over those two cards.

Basically, if you're playing any of the fast lands like Seachrome CoastSeachrome Coast in your deck, Starting Town is a better version of that cycle as it can make colorless mana or any color mana, and it has a three-turn window vs. a two-turn window to enter untapped. It's an excellent card, and while it might not see City or Confluence level of deck penetration, it's definitely going to see a lot of use.

Final? Fantasy

That's going to wrap up our coverage of the notable lands and artifacts in the Final Fantasy set. What an embarrassment of riches! I don't think I've entirely internalized just how impactful this set is going to be on EDH decks moving forward, but I have a feeling that when I look back down the road I'll see this as a watershed moment in terms of how deep and rich Final Fantasy is from a card quality standpoint.

Thanks for reading, and remember, EDHREC your deck before you wreck your deck!