The spoiler season for Final Fantasy is now in full swing, and the set looks like an absolute blast. Unsurprisingly, many iconic characters are getting brought to life as MTG cards in this Universes Beyond set. There are even some familiar MTG mechanics that are being given a new lick of paint with the release of Final Fantasy.
While the mechanics in Final Fantasy may feel rather familiar, there’s still a whole lot of new content to enjoy. For example, this set introduces a new type of land to the game. Known as Towns, these Lands appear to form a major part of the set, with new support cards dedicated to them. Beyond just being useful in Final Fantasy Limited, some of these cards have real competitive applications.
Starting Town
So far, the Town that is receiving the most hype by a big margin is Starting Town. Starting Town gives off major City of Brass vibes. City of Brass, as well as Mana Confluence, typically show up in decks with intense color requirements. Fringe archetypes like four-color legends in Pioneer rely on Mana Confluence to be able to cast their spells on curve.
The problem with City of Brass and Mana Confluence, however, is the continuous life loss associated with it. Playing these Lands early is a problem, and drawing multiples is a disaster. Given the popularity of mono-red aggro in Pioneer and Boros Energy in Modern, using your life total as a resource is extremely risky.
Starting Town helps alleviate this problem by giving you the option of tapping it for colorless mana without paying life. Having the flexibility of being a five-color Land when necessary, that becomes less painful whenever you’re casting a spell with a more generic cost, is a huge deal.
The main downside is that Starting Town will enter tapped later in the game. For many proactive strategies, though, the tradeoff is worth it. Take a strategy like Jeskai Oculus in Standard, for example. This deck wants to reliably cast Marauding Mako, Helping Hand, and Spell Pierce early. Starting Town makes this game plan even more consistent.
Later on, when you wish to cast three-drops with simple casting costs such as Tersa Lightshatter, you can simply tap Starting Town for colorless mana and tap a different Land for red so you don’t have to pay life.
Starting Town should serve as a big Standard and Pioneer upgrade at minimum, especially when the Fast Lands like Seachrome Coast from Phyrexia: All Will be One rotate out of Standard later this year. It could easily make a splash in Modern or cEDH, too.
Starting Town even comes in handy when trying to cast Eldrazi with colorless requirements and colored spells such as Ancient Stirrings in the same deck! We’re excited to see where this new Land ends up making its biggest impact.
Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital
Next, we have a Town that also comes with an Adventure attached. This is a really neat idea. You can either choose to play Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital as a tapped Land or pay six mana to cast Overture. If you choose the latter option, you can then play the Land from exile.
As a tapped Land that only produces one color, you won’t realistically play these cards unless the Adventure is also appealing. This Adventure comes at a hefty cost, and most decks won’t want it. Nonetheless, dedicated mill decks can make great use of the effect.
In Standard, Overture pairs perfectly with Riverchurn Monument. After milling half of your opponent’s deck, you can use Riverchurn Monument’s Exhaust ability to mill your opponent out. Throw in some copies of Jace, the Perfected Mind, and you’ve got a (janky, but fun) deck!
Overall, Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital seems mostly suited for Commander. Nonetheless, it’s a neat card and an amusing build-around.
Town Greeter
Lastly, we wanted to discuss Town Greeter. Town Greeter functions as a Satyr Wayfinder with a small upside. Still, this effect is a welcome addition to Standard.
Town Greeter works well in an Insidious Roots shell, helping you hit your Land drops and fuel your graveyard. We’ve seen Golgari self-mill Standard decks built around maximizing Hollow Marauder and Huskburster Swarm pop up occasionally, and Town Greeter should be a solid inclusion in those decks.
While the upside of picking up a Town and gaining two life isn’t huge, in a format dominated by Prowess, any life buffer is nice. Between Starting Town and Adventure Lands, this minor boost may happen more than you think.
Outside of Standard, some archetypes may look to use both Satyr Wayfinder and Town Greeter. Pauper Dredge, for instance, wants all the self-mill effects it can get.
Overall, it’s nice to see Towns and Town-matters cards that are quite strong make an appearance in the main set. There are still tons of spoilers that have yet to be revealed, so keep your eyes peeled for any other cards that could make these designs even stronger.
