Summary
I bought my firstMagic: The Gatheringdeck in the spring of 1999, at the tender age of 14. As with most things in that period of early adolescence, peer pressure was a driving factor in why I walked into my hometown’s only bookstore and bought a ten dollar package of cardboard. Back then, a crossover with the likes of Final Fantasy or any series was but a distant dream.
All of my friends began playing Magic that year, and as an awkward nerd with a bowl cut, it felt like a chance to connect and fit in. Little did I know that one purchase would start me down a decades-long road of foil rares, poor financial decisions, and competitive heartache. I’ve quit playing MTG more times than I can count, usually for the same reasons as most people do: the sunk-cost fallacy begins to wear you down, and you realize you’re king of a sad, cardboard hill.
The last time I stopped playing was in 2014, after spending weeks buying the cards needed to make my green/white Selesnya token generation deck…
…which lost in the first round of a tournament to a 14 year old running a combo deck with 40 land. I stood up and left, not picking the game back up again until after Covid hit. Call it frustration, or ego, or simply realizing I had allowed myself to hyper-focus on a hobby that couldn’t love me back. It wasn’t until the announcement of a Magic: The Gathering set based on the worlds ofFinal Fantasythat my ears perked up, and I heard a familiar sound on the wind. A single word, echoing through the ages, brought me to that place where I felt like I was back in the shoes of that kid with the bowl-cut.
Wark.Hark, hear the Chocobo call forth.
Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy Unite
I experienced yet another first the following year after my first foray into collectible cardboard. The year 2000 saw the release of Final Fantasy 9, my first game in the series and the one that leaves its biggest mark on my heart. That summer was a blur of late nights,useless PlayOnline physical guide books, and a whole lot of Choco Hot & Cold mini-games. This one RPG would start me down a lifelong path of love for the genre, even when I haven’t touched Final Fantasy in earnest since a 60-day free trial of Final Fantasy 14.
And now we’re 25 years removed from my first taste of Final Fantasy 9. That’s a whole college student. In that time I’ve gotten married, adopted four cats, taken on a mortgage, and lived an entire life. Yet, there’s something about diving back into the games and hobbies of my youth, even now, that gives me a little charge. Even if I’m worried that said hobby has passed me by.
Imagine my excitement and trepidation upon seeing the announcement that Final Fantasy andMagic: The Gatheringwould slam headfirst into one another. I had already become intrigued by how much MTG had expanded its mechanics and modes in the time since I last played the game. In that time, players had gone and returned to Ravnica, saw Urza take the spotlight again (for better and worse), and Commander as a format grew into a financial juggernaut.
But here’s the thing: I’m almost 40 and don’t have a playgroup. Yes, I have friends who play Magic and that’s all well and good, but it felt like my days of Friday Night Magic and digging through boxes of singles should be behind me. It’s one thing to get into a hobby like TCGs when you have a group motivating you to play, collect, and obsess. It’s another thing entirely when you start buying Commander decks on Amazon and realize that teaching your cat how to tap lands for mana is futile at best.
Was that going to stop me? Of course not. I needed to know what Final Fantasy could bring to the literal table. I downloaded Magic Arena during the start of its Final Fantasy release launch event and instantly felt like I had traveled back in time.
And like most longtime FF fans, I fell in love all over again with the series' signature creature: the yellow-feathered friend to one and all, the chocobo.
Landfall, Chocobos, And You
What the Final Fantasy-themed Magic: The Gathering set gets right is the thematic gameplay. From Cloud’s big, dumb sword to Aerith only being useful when she dies, the set is full of bangers. However, the one that calls to my heart most is the landfall mechanics that bring the iconic bird of Final Fantasy to life… right before you pummel your opponent to death with chocobos.
After all, where one or two chocobo are gathered, you are bound to end up with more. I immediately began experimenting with a green/white/blue deck with a mix of landfall and token generation, with one familiar chocobo leading my proverbial charge. Choco, Seeker of Paradise is not only based on my favorite mini-game from my favorite Final Fantasy, but it’s one that perfectly represents what Magic: The Gathering mechanics should look like.
Coming in at a converted mana cost of 4, Choco is an early-turn surprise that allows you to overwhelm an opponent if they haven’t been able to corral your chocobo stampede. Landfall cards build momentum quickly, especially when combined with new favorites from the Final Fantasy MTG set, such asRide The ShoopufandSummon: Fenrir. Suddenly, an 0/1 bitty bird that your opponent didn’t take seriously is part of an upswell of momentum that can end a game by turn 6.
And let me tell you: there’s no greater high on this planet than watching the gears in your opponent’s head start to spin when they realize you’ve completedSidequest: Raise a Chocoboand flooded the field with big, buff birds. Chocobo decks have a wide variety of win states, whether it’s overwhelming your opponent with numbers or getting one gigantic creature out quickly likeMossborn Hydra.
8 Forest (FIN) 306
8 Island (FIN) 297
1 Capital City (FIN) 274
3 Guadosalam, Farplane Gateway (FIN) 281
2 Crossroads Village (FIN) 276
3 Bushwhack (FDN) 215
1 The Earth Crystal (FIN) 184
1 Travel the Overworld (FIN) 82
2 Traveling Chocobo (FIN) 210
2 Prishe’s Wanderings (FIN) 193
1 Reach the Horizon (FIN) 195
3 Sazh’s Chocobo (FIN) 200
2 Ride the Shoopuf (FIN) 197
2 Sidequest: Raise a Chocobo (FIN) 201
1 Bartz and Boko (FIN) 175
2 Mossborn Hydra (FDN) 107
3 Chocobo Kick (FIN) 178
2 You’re Not Alone (FIN) 44
2 Choco, Seeker of Paradise (FIN) 215
2 Summon: Fenrir (FIN) 203
2 Gysahl Greens (FIN) 190
1 Sazh Katzroy (FIN) 199
2 Ambrosia Whiteheart (FIN) 6
This is the most fun I’ve had with a card game in a long time – so much so that I jumped into MTG Arena’s ranked mode and found enough success to place in high gold for the season. Sure, the deck has weaknesses: cheap creature removal cards likeGo For The Throat, bad opening hands, or simply just not getting enough land. Yet, I’ve found that the deck hits far more than it misses.
And when it hits? Oh boy, look out for the dopamine.
More importantly, I am having fun on my own terms with a game that sometimes demands too much of its player base. Between keeping up with each set, the price of secondary market cards, and then the actual players themselves, it can be a lot to manage.
Yet, here I am, happily floating along with my chocobos without a care in the world. Best yet, the arrival of MTG Arena as an honest-to-God alternative to physical Magic: The Gathering is a lifesaver. I found myself playing MTG on the beach during the Fourth of July holiday, smushing opponents without a care in the world. Forget flying cars or robot butlers, playing Magic anywhere I want is truly the future we deserve.
Take note, I’m not saying that I am suddenly the best card game player in the world. Seto Kaiba isn’t going to jump off a bridge to force me into defeat any time soon.
But I am remembering what it was like in that weird, sweaty summer of 2000 when everything still felt far ahead of me. That’s something worth holding onto, even if its as ethereal as the feather of a black chocobo.
