Final Fantasy MTG is officially releasing in less than two weeks. As we await the new goodies, we wanted to highlight what we believe to be the strongest cards in the set for Constructed.
This set certainly gives off Commander vibes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t cards with potential to impact Standard, Pioneer, Modern, and beyond. For those interested in the best Commander cards, you can check out our picks here.
Honorable Mention | Commune with Beavers
Starting off this list, we have Commune with Beavers. Commune with Beavers is far from the flashiest card out there, similar to past cards like Commune with Nature. Given that Commune with Nature sees virtually no competitive play in Standard, why is Commune with Beavers different?
Well, the upgrade of being able to find Lands or Artifacts gives you a lot of flexibility. In decks like Gruul Prowess, Commune with Beavers serves as a fine “cantrip” to pair with Cori-Steel Cutter. Cantrips are naturally strong alongside Cori-Steel Cutter as they help prevent you from running out of spells, and Commune with Beavers even digs for Cutter in the process.
Commune with Beavers also has the potential to show up in Pauper. There’s a lot of competition there with cards like Malevolent Rumble in the mix, but the card’s efficiency still makes it worth consideration. Commune with Beavers is garnering a decent amount of hype even among brewers, so we felt it deserved an honorable mention.
#6 | Town Greeter
Town Greeter is a strictly better Satyr Wayfinder, though in most cases, it will function identically. Nonetheless, Satyr Wayfinder has been a constructed staple in past formats and continues to see play in Pauper.
Satyr Wayfinder most commonly sees play in Pauper Dredge, a deck reliant on filling the graveyard and setting up a kill with Dread Return and Lotleth Giant. There’s a very good chance this deck will want more of this effect and play both Town Greeter and Satyr Wayfinder, even without any Towns in the mix.
As for Standard, Satyr Wayfinder isn’t legal. Golgari self-mill and Insidious Roots shells alike seem like perfect homes for Town Greeter, though Greeter is unable to trigger Insidious Roots. The Town clause has the potential to be relevant, too, thanks to one particular Land that will appear later on this list…
#5 | Stolen Uniform
Stolen Uniform is a bit of an interesting inclusion on this list. All things considered, Town Greeter has a higher likelihood of actually making a dent in Constructed. The main reason Stolen Uniform earns the number five slot is because of the card’s upside.
While Town Greeter is at best a piece of filler for graveyard-focused strategies, Stolen Uniform could end up singlehandedly giving Colossus Hammer decks a shot to compete in Pioneer. Stolen Uniform functions very similarly to Magnetic Theft, an effect Pioneer has not had access to.
Colossus Hammer has popped up from time to time in Pioneer decks alongside Resolute Strike and Kemba, Kha Enduring. Stolen Uniform offers similar upside to Resolute Strike as a one-mana Instant while requiring less deckbuilding restrictions.
It wouldn’t be unreasonable for Stolen Uniform to make a splash in Modern as well. Splashing blue instead of red opens the door for you to abuse various pieces of counter magic, which can be very valuable in a combo-heavy metagame. Stolen Uniform may ultimately end up being a dud, but its high ceiling warrants a spot on the list.
#4 | The Wandering Minstrel
The Wandering Minstrel is up next, and it’s on this list for one reason in particular: “Lands you control enter untapped.” The rest of the card bodes well for Commander but is mostly irrelevant in a Constructed setting.
As a two-mana green Creature with the same effect as Spelunking, this card has a lot of appeal for Amulet Titan players. In a deck with Summoner’s Pact and Green Sun’s Zenith, it’s easy to shove one copy in the deck to tutor for when you don’t have Amulet of Vigor rolled up. This way, even as a one-of, The Wandering Minstrel makes an already elite deck more consistent.
Perhaps there’s space for this card alongside Aftermath Analyst and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods in a Standard or Pioneer brew in addition to Modern. We’ll just have to wait and see.
#3 | Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER
We’ve now reached the top three, with Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER at the third spot. Sephiroth as an elite Commander option, there’s no denying that. Building a sacrifice shell in EDH isn’t too difficult, and the reward for transforming Sephiroth is huge.
In Standard or Pioneer, Sephiroth could be the missing piece to an Aristocrats deck. Amalia Benavides Aguirre and Raise the Past have made some noise in Standard in the past. Sephiroth generates card advantage and gains life to trigger Amalia. With enough sacrifice fodder, Sephiroth is an elite win condition.
Meanwhile, for Modern, playing one copy in Golgari Yawgmoth isn’t outrageous. Young Wolf gives you a great piece of sacrifice fodder. Blood Artist used to see play as a Chord of Calling target that allowed you to go infinite with Yawgmoth, Thran Physician and multiple Undying Creatures. Sephiroth could fill a similar role while being a much better card on its own that doesn’t die to Orcish Bowmasters or Lava Dart.
Sephiroth is a big, bad villain in the Final Fantasy universe. We look forward to seeing if it lives up to the hype in the world of MTG.
#2 | Vivi Ornitier
Coming in at number two, we have Vivi Ornitier. Much like Stolen Uniform, Vivi Ornitier may fall short of expectations. The difference, though, is that Vivi Ornitier has promise in a variety of different formats.
The fact that you can play Vivi and immediately play any number of free spells to grow Vivi and deal damage to the opponent makes it a very scary card. In a format like Legacy with Lotus Petal, Lion’s Eye Diamond, and a variety of Rituals, it doesn’t take much before Vivi is huge.
You don’t even need to tap Vivi to generate mana. So, after casting a bunch of free spells, Vivi will sometimes net you mana the turn you play it.
In Pioneer, Vivi has potential in the Mox Amber/ Retraction Helix combo decks as a mana engine and reliable kill condition. In a Standard setting without access to free spells, your opponent is still put to the test of whether they can kill it on sight. If not, Vivi snowballs extremely quickly.
We haven’t scratched the surface of Agatha’s Soul Cauldron decks that can exile Vivi and use their other Creatures to generate lots of mana. Vivi is an extremely scary Commander to boot! However, it just falls short of our top slot.
#1 | Starting Town
At the top of the list, we have Starting Town. Unlike the other Towns in Final Fantasy MTG, Starting Town is very strong. You get the upside of Mana Confluence, except you have the luxury of tapping Starting Town for colorless to avoid losing life.
This is a massive deal for assertive, multicolor archetypes that don’t want to play tapped Lands. You’ll gladly give up the opportunity for Starting Town to enter untapped late in the game so you can avoid the life loss piling up in the red matchups.
In Standard, Starting Town looks poised to be a format staple. Decks like Jeskai Oculus that want access to three different colors of mana early can make great use of Starting Town’s color fixing. Once you’re at the stage where you’re casting three-drops such as Steamcore Scholar, there’s a good chance you’ll just tap Starting Town for colorless mana with no consequences.
As for Pioneer, multicolor Greasefang, Okiba Boss shells sometimes play Mana Confluence already. Starting Town should be a decent upgrade. Starting Town should be a great option for fast combo decks in Modern and Legacy, like Dredge, that require heavy color requirements and don’t plan to play long games at all.
Starting Town is very versatile, so we believe it deserves the title of best MTG Final Fantasy Constructed card.
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