The Final Fantasy MTG set has a little something for everyone, but Commander players have it best. As much as we’ve seen some exciting new staples, there are tons of flavorful and powerful legends to enjoy. The latest batch of spoilers is clear evidence of this, as they each reward you for building your deck around them.
Hope Estheim
Hope Estheim is a very strange card. There are a multitude of different Commanders available for Mill decks as well as life gain decks, but combining these ideas into one shell is pretty abnormal.
What’s nice about Hope Estheim, though, is that this efficient creature gives you a rather easy way to convert all the life you gained into a fun win condition. If you’re able to gain roughly 80 life or so over the course of the game, chances are you’ll win via decking each opponent.
As such, cards like Beacon of Immortality, which can gain you a ton of life at once, should be automatic inclusions in a Hope Estheim Commander deck. Of course, elite Mill engines like Mesmeric Orb can advance your game plan as well. You’re also incentivized to include cards that reward you for milling each opponent, such as Zellix, Sanity Flayer.
Hope Estheim gets a lot of its appeal from being such a spicy Commander option. It doesn’t look poised to break out in any meaningful way in Constructed, but there’s always a place for unusual legends in EDH.
Raubahn, Bull of Ala Mhigo
Raubahn, Bull of Ala Mhigo synergizes particularly well with Aettir and Priwen. As long as you get to attack with Raubahn, you can attach Aettir and Priwen for free, and thanks to Raubahn’s Ward ability, your opponents will have to pay a boatload of life to use targeted removal.
The main issue with Raubhan is getting to the attack stage since it doesn’t have Haste. Your opponents have a full turn cycle to prepare and kill Raubahn before he becomes a problem.
Therefore, it’s in your best interest to play Haste enablers if you’re looking to maximize Raubahn. Simple additions like Arena of Glory can make Raubahn a scary Commander.
There’s a possibility Raubahn will encourage some Colossus Hammer shenanigans in Pioneer, but this seems unlikely. The 2/2 body is just so easy to kill before you get an attack in. Stolen Uniform seems like a much better new addition to Colossus Hammer shells in the format.
Balamb Garden, SeeD Academy
Early on, Balamb Garden, SeeD Academy functions just like Simic Guildgate. However, this Land comes with built-in flood protection. Later in the game, you can pay mana to Transform it into a 5/4 Flying Vehicle that draws you a card when it attacks.
Notably, unlike many recent designs, you can Transform Balamb Garden at Instant speed. This ensures that you’re Vehicle reward is immune to sorcery speed Artifact removal, making it more likely you’ll get at least one attack in, so you can draw your extra card.
Paying seven mana and tapping Balamb Garden to transform it is, unfortunately, a big cost. You ideally want to be playing a deck with other Towns to reduce the cost. What’s awkward is that almost every Town spoiled thus far, including the cycle of Dual Lands and Adventure cards, enter the battlefield tapped. Accelerating Balamb Garden’s transformation requires you to play a slow manabase as a result, which is far from ideal.
Nonetheless, Balamb Garden gives you a reasonable mana sink in a more casual EDH setting. The opportunity cost there is low, and Vehicle-themed Commander decks want all the Vehicles they can get.
Clive’s Hideaway
Clive’s Hideaway is another Town with rather narrow applications. Hideaway 4 is exciting, and you only need to spend two mana and tap this Land to play the exiled card for free.
Most decks won’t be able to get to the four-legend threshold, however. In a Constructed setting, this is an extremely difficult task, and the downside of putting a Land that only produces colorless mana in your legend-themed deck is too high.
Even in an EDH deck with Jodah, the Unifier at the helm, playing a colorless Land in a deck with tough color requirements isn’t ideal. The good news is that Jodah, the Unifier helps accelerate you to the requisite four legendary creatures to get full value out of Clive’s Hideaway.
In some situations, you may even be able to use effects like Vampiric Tutor to guarantee that Clive’s Hideaway exiles something really juicy when you play it. As long as you have a ton of legendary creatures in your deck, it’s only a matter of time before you get your free spell.
All in all, these four cards are all pretty niche and mostly built for Commander. The Final Fantasy MTG set is a great set for Commander enthusiasts, and we’re only a few weeks away from the set’s official release.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!