Final Fantasy MTG cards have now been tournament legal for roughly three weeks, and it’s impressive just how impactful this set has been. Despite the fact that the set looked heavily geared towards Commander play with its wealth of legends, plenty of powerhouses have cemented themselves as Constructed staples. Even before the recent ban, Final Fantasy cards have shown up in even Modern and beyond.
While it’s natural for flashy mythics like Vivi Ornitier to garner a lot of attention, there are plenty of low rarity cards that have made a name for themselves. This is exactly the case with Fire Magic, a card seeing Modern, and now Standard, play. Fire Magic is perhaps one of the most underrated cards from Final Fantasy. The card is seeing consistent play from Standard down to Modern. If you want to play a deck with small creatures, you’d better be prepared.
Fire Magic Versus the Competition
At first look, Fire Magic may look fairly replaceable. After all, in order to sweep the board of two-toughness creatures, you have to spend three mana. Pyroclasm was already a premium mini board wipe option at two mana. However, two main factors separate Fire Magic from any similar effect we’ve seen printed over the years.
First, the card is extremely flexible. Having the option of casting a one-damage sweeper for just one mana is a huge deal. In Standard, mana efficiency is key against Boros Convoke. Fire Magic successfully cleans up Gleeful Demolition tokens on the cheap. Meanwhile, in Modern, you can answer a turn one Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer or Ocelot Pride on the draw before they hit you, an area where Pyroclasm falls short.
Of course, you always have the luxury of waiting to deal two damage to everything when necessary. Unlike cards like End the Festivities, Fire Magic has the potential to pick off Imodane’s Recruiter or Guide of Souls.
This brings us to the second reason Fire Magic is so strong: it’s an instant. This leads to massive swings, both as a one-mana and three-mana play. Versus Boros Convoke in Standard, you can wait for your opponent to Flash in Resolute Reinforcements on your end step, then cast Fire Magic for one mana before your opponent can untap and Convoke out Knight-Errant of Eos.
At the same time, against Boros Energy in Modern, you can answer a Dashed Ragavan for one mana. With three mana at your disposal, you’re free to wait for your opponent to develop their board even further, then deal two damage to everything on your opponent’s end step. Getting to untap with an empty board is such a good feeling.
Best Homes for Fire Magic
As for the decks that can best utilize Fire Magic, you’ll most commonly find the potent instant in shells without any small creatures of their own. Many Amulet titan players have adopted Fire Magic as a sideboard option versus Boros Energy. Competing with Firespout isn’t easy, but there aren’t many three-toughness creatures that punish the swap.
Naya enchantments in Standard is another common place to find Fire Magic as a sideboard option. Fire Magic doesn’t kill any of the deck’s threats, including Fear of Missing Out in the two-mana slot.
Obviously, many archetypes can’t make use of this elite sideboard card, since it is a symmetrical effect. Those that can, however, get a big edge in the creature matchups. Make sure to keep Fire Magic on your radar, or you may end up on the wrong side of a blowout.
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