Jumbo CactuarJumbo Cactuar | Art by Jason Kiantoro

The monocolored review for Final Fantasy is going to be a little lighter than most sets, in large part because we do a legendary creature standalone review, and literally half of this set is legendary creatures. So the bar that needs clearing to make the best dozen or so cards worth talking about is a bit lower.

Still, this is a really deep set, so even with a smaller card pool there's a lot of absolute bangers to discuss. So let's jump (target creature gains flying on your turn) right into it.

Summon: BahamutSummon: Bahamut

The easiest comparison here is to Ulamog, the Ceaseless HungerUlamog, the Ceaseless Hunger or maybe TerastodonTerastodon, both of which are in excess of 80,000 decks on EDHREC thanks to the first chapter. Then four turns later if a 9/9 flyer hasn't killed everyone, the Saga chapter kills the table. Though, to be fair, if Ulamog and Terastodon stick around four turns the table is probably already dying, too. It's an over-the-top splashy beater that will be fighting for a deck slot with other over-the-top flashy beaters, or it'll show up as a discard reanimation target or in Saga builds.

What's especially spicy about Summon: Bahamut is that it's a Dragon spell. This means newly-minted most popular commander on EDHREC The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon gets to play it for free if it's in the pilot's hand on attack, and then when it attacks it lets you play other big beaters for free. It also makes a copy of itself when it comes into play in a Miirym, Sentinel WyrmMiirym, Sentinel Wyrm, and it can be tutored up with TiamatTiamat.

Outside of Dragon decks the enchantment type is relevant as well, making for a formidable target to fetch when someone kills your Academy RectorAcademy Rector, played from the top with Tom BombadilTom Bombadil, and as a colorless spell triggers double cascade off Zhulodok, Void GorgerZhulodok, Void Gorger.

There's a ton of wildly different decks where Bahamut is useful, and it's going to show up in a lot of them in the coming months.

Summon: Knights of RoundSummon: Knights of Round

I swear this review isn't going to be exclusively high-cost Summon Sagas. But how can I not talk about a card that drops drop four 2/2 Knights, one of which is indestructible, and another three every turn for three more turns? Then to top it off it puts an indestructible counter on all creatures you control, buffs them +2/+2 until end of turn, then shuffles off the mortal coil to your graveyard in case you want to reanimate it to do it again. That's a disgusting amount of value.

That said, it's a bit narrower than Bahamut as far as thematic uses; token decks, Saga brews, and Knight kindred lists will be the ones primarily looking at it, though there's some synergy in any build that cares about enchantments, like Narci, Fable SingerNarci, Fable Singer. It also feels like a pretty busted recursion target for Sidar Jabari of ZhalfirSidar Jabari of Zhalfir.

The Wind CrystalThe Wind Crystal

First off, like all the crystals in this cycle it reduces the mana cost of the respective crystal's color, in this case white. That's really good; after all Pearl MedallionPearl Medallion is in over 130,000. The Wind Crystal costs twice as much as Pearl Medallion, however, so it needs to do more. And do more it does; it passively doubles the amount of life you would gain from spells and abilities. Boon ReflectionBoon Reflection is in more than 20,000 decks in the database, and it costs one more mana. So we've got a cheaper Boon Reflection that's also a Pearl Medallion. That seems really good if you're in a deck that cares about gaining life.

It doesn't end there, though. Maybe most importantly, for six mana you can tap The Wind Crystal and give all your creatures flying and lifelink. True ConvictionTrue Conviction also costs six to cast, and while the double strike is often backbreaking when you stick a True Conviction, granting evasion is very useful.

It's probably not good enough in a deck filled with flyers, but if you've got a deck heavy on white that gains life and wants creatures to swing that aren't naturally evasive, The Wind Crystal does all the things.

The Water CrystalThe Water Crystal

This is either the best or worst crystal, depending on your deck. If you're not doing mill things, it's probably pretty worthless to you even with the cost reduction on blue spells. Matter of fact, accidentally milling more cards might well just aid an opponent doing graveyard stuff.

On the other hand, if mill is part of your deck strat this card is crazy powerful. Adding four to every mill trigger adds up in a hurry, especially when you're looking at how it interacts with cards like Mesmeric OrbMesmeric Orb. The activated ability to mill every opponent for an amount equal to the cards in your hand is a touch less terrifying, but given you're in blue you can easily get a lot of cards in hand.

In short, you either want this in your list and on the battlefield as soon as possible if you're playing a mill commander like Captain N'ghathrodCaptain N'ghathrod or The Wise MothmanThe Wise Mothman, or you don't want it near your deck.

The Darkness CrystalThe Darkness Crystal

What a disgusting card. Do you have a mono-black or black-heavy deck? Then it reduces the cost of all your spells. Do you want to make your opponents' creatures go away forever when they die while also gaining you life? Then it does just that. And do you want to put one of those creatures you exiled into play, buffed with counters? For six mana it can do that, too. Unlike the white and blue crystals, The Darkness Crystal just generically works in almost any list as the things it does are things almost all black decks do.

The Fire CrystalThe Fire Crystal

isn't much above cost to give your creatures haste, and the fact that it reduces your red spells by just by existing is excellent. After all, three mana is roughly the going rate for mass haste; FervorFervor and Hammer of PurphorosHammer of Purphoros are each in over 30,000 decks, and AngerAnger is in a whopping 176,369. Mass haste for your team is popular, and spending one more mana for a mass haste effect that is also a Ruby MedallionRuby Medallion is a perfectly playable rate.

However, you can also tap it to make a token copy of a creature you control until end of turn for . That's expensive, but depending on what you're copying it's well worth it, especially if the creature has an ETB trigger, etc. It's just an excellent bonus on an already playable card.

The Earth CrystalThe Earth Crystal

Emerald MedallionEmerald Medallion is in over 100,000 decks on EDHREC, and Branching EvolutionBranching Evolution is in just short of 170,000 decks. If The Earth Crystal were just an Emerald Medallion smooshed together with a Branching Evolution like some kind of delicious fluffernutter sandwich, that would be good enough to see play in almost every +1/+1 counter deck.

As with the other Crystals however, you can tap it with six mana, and in this case put up to two +1/+1 counters on up to two creatures. Bear in mind those counters you add will be doubled by the Earth Crystal's passive ability as well, meaning you're really putting up to four counters on creatures.

Al Bhed SalvagersAl Bhed Salvagers

Aristocrat cards are always popular. Most of the good mono-black aristocrat cards that do something similar, like Mirkwood BatsMirkwood Bats, Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat, and Blood ArtistBlood Artist are in 100,000+ decks. The fact that Al Bhed Salvagers also triggers off artifacts dying/being destroyed (Treasures!) is huge. This card will show up on a ton of decks as it's the seventh most popular theme in the EDHREC database, and that's really all there is to say.

It will find a home immediately in decks like Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov and Meren of Clan Nel TothMeren of Clan Nel Toth, as well as any legal deck with a strong Treasure subtheme.

Tifa's Limit BreakTifa's Limit Break

The word "double" on a Magic card almost always makes that card playable, and the word "triple" even more so. Tifa's Limit Break is a worse Giant GrowthGiant Growth at , which is admittedly underwhelming, but being able to double a creature's power and toughness at instant speed for is an excellent rate, and while tripling it for is expensive, is there really too much to pay to one-shot someone from out of nowhere?

A Realm RebornA Realm Reborn

What if all your Auras, enchantments, and Equipment tapped for mana? That would be absurd. And that's why this card is kind of absurd. Yes, six mana is a decent investment, but in the decks that will run this card it's often going to be mana positive from the jump. There's also a significant bit of hidden utility here, allowing you to tap creatures that would otherwise be goaded into unfavorable attack situations, or letting you tap to avoid a forced block.

Ellivere of the Wild CourtEllivere of the Wild Court and Uril, the MiststalkerUril, the Miststalker are the most popular Aura commanders running green, and it will see plenty of play in those and other lists where it's legal that have plenty of permanents in play that otherwise don't tap.

Jumbo CactuarJumbo Cactuar

Jumbo Cactuar is as hilarious as it is effective, which is saying something for a card that is this hilarious. The obvious homes here are in a fling deck like we commonly see headed up by commanders such as Ziatora, the IncineratorZiatora, the Incinerator or a fight deck like Maarika, Brutal GladiatorMaarika, Brutal Gladiator or Neyith of the Dire HuntNeyith of the Dire Hunt. In those situations, Jumbo Cactaur is almost an auto-include.

Even if you aren't devoting your list to a specific theme, Jumbo Cactaur is a one-shot machine in decks where the commander grants trample, like Nylea, God of the HuntNylea, God of the Hunt. Beyond that, the huge power number the card will reach on attack is attractive to any green deck. It's just a card people will want to run, even if it doesn't perfectly mesh with their theme, because it is so eye-catching.

Ancient AdamantoiseAncient Adamantoise

In a general sense a creature that can soak up 20 damage dealt to you before dying is going to be impressive, especially when tacked onto a body that has ward and vigilance. The fact that it drops ten Treasure tokens into play if it dies feels egregious. Egregious or not, however, that's what it does, making this Turtle nothing but value all the way down.

It's going to be an especially attractive card in decks where toughness matters, like Arcades, the StrategistArcades, the Strategist and Doran, the Siege TowerDoran, the Siege Tower, but it's just going to be a desirable card in general to casuals who like big, splashy bodies.

Buster SwordBuster Sword

Cloud's famed sword gets a card, and it will be excellent in almost all Equipment decks. It does all you would want in a sword: it buffs your creature, it draws you a card, and it lets you play something from your hand for free. I'm not sure every Equipment deck will find a home for it, but a whole lot will, including Captain America, First AvengerCaptain America, First Avenger and Syr Gwyn, Hero of AshvaleSyr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale. It will probably also see play outside Equipment lists just as a general value piece in situations like mono-white decks that can struggle to get card advantage.

Really, the biggest obstacle Buster Sword will have to overcome to find a slot in a deck is the fact that there's already so many good pieces of gear to use.

Final Fantasy Finale

That's going to wrap up the monocolored cards for this set, though given how deep it is I could have easily picked another dozen worth examining. When all is said and done, this is going to go down as one of the greatest sets ever printed for EDH, both in terms of flavor and performance, and the cards in this list will be in decks for years to come.

I'd love to hear any feedback or thoughts on these cards, or cards that I may have missed, so sound off in the comments below. And remember, EDHREC your deck before you wreck your deck.