We’re right on the eve of MTG Final Fantasy Prerelease now, and excitement for the set is at an all-time high. Players are enjoying watching the Arena early access event, and some are even playing the cards themselves via a sneaky Alchemy interaction. That said, not everything is quite so peachy. Just yesterday, Wizards revealed in an interview that there will be no FNM Promo Packs for Final Fantasy.
While this won’t be an issue for everyone, it’s a blow to those planning to play in store regularly once Final Fantasy hits shelves. It’s also not the first time this has come up, as we saw the same issue arise with The Lord of the Rings. Wizards haven’t given any official explanation with regards to this problem. That said, it’s undoubtedly one of the many compromises that come with a Universes Beyond set.
No Promo Packs For MTG Final Fantasy
This news came via Wizards Play Network Community Manager Nelson Brown. Speaking to MagicUntapped, he confirmed that there would be no Promo Packs at all for MTG Final Fantasy.
“Magic: The Gathering—Final Fantasy specific promo packs were not produced or distributed.”
Nelson Brown, via MagicUntapped
For those wondering what exactly a Promo Pack is, it’s a small, four-card Booster given out to players at in-store events. They contain two rares/mythics from the set in question, complete with a foil planeswalker symbol on the artwork to denote them as Promo Pack cards. They also contain a special “Dark Frame” variant of a card in the set. The final card in a Promo Pack is an MTG Arena code card. This can be redeemed for a digital Booster Pack on the client.
These Promo Packs have been a staple feature of each new set for around six years now. Core Set 2020 was the first set to include them. Throne of Eldraine, one set later, was the first to finalize the contents and add the Arena code card. These packs are distributed to WPN stores, which then have free rein on how they distribute them. Generally, they’re handed out as prizes for FNM, Draft nights, etc.
Thankfully, this Final Fantasy flavored omission doesn’t mean there won’t be any promo packs at your LGS for the next few months. Elsewhere in the article, Brown noted that “the number seasonal promo packs that were provided to WPN stores along with the previous set, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, was calculated based upon the total number of weeks between that set’s season and that of Final Fantasy‘s.” This means you’ll still be able to get a Promo Pack at FNM. It’ll just be from Tarkir: Dragonstorm rather than Final Fantasy.
A Universes Beyond Problem
This development isn’t exactly new news, at least not for those who run and manage game stores. As ssomers55 notes in the Reddit thread discussing the news, they’ve known about it since Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s release.
There’s also precedent for Promo Packs being an issue with regard to Universes Beyond sets. Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, released in 2023, didn’t have any either. While you could write this off as a coincidence, Brown confirms it’s an overall policy for Universes Beyond later in the MagicUntapped article.
“No set-themed promo packs are being produced or distributed for Magic: The Gathering—Marvel’s Spider-Man or Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender. The quantity of promo packs being sent for Edge of Eternities was calculated based on the full run of weeks for the EOE, SPM, and TLA seasons.””
Nelson Brown, via MagicUntapped
Final Fantasy isn’t unique in its lack of Promo Packs, then, but is just playing by the normal rules. The question of why exactly Universes Beyond sets aren’t getting Promo Packs is more interesting to explore. At the time of writing, Wizards hasn’t released any kind of official explanation for this, either for Lord of the Rings or Final Fantasy.
The most likely explanation is that it comes down to a cross-IP contractual issue. IP holders are likely particular about when and where their cards get distributed. Promo Packs, which are fairly open-ended in this regard, clash with this. The fact that Promo Pack cards add the MTG-specific planeswalker icon to cards is probably a breach of contract in some way too. Mark Rosewater has spoken often about the restrictions of working on Universes Beyond sets. This is just another instance of that coming into play.
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