At long last, the wait is almost over. Magic’s take on Final Fantasy has passed its official release date. This means Final Fantasy cards are now legal to play in all formats. Due to this, we’re bound to see a ton of MTG players looking to pick up new cards and staples en masse.
Despite Prerelease highs starting to touch back down to earth, the most expensive cards in MTG Final Fantasy are still surprisingly expensive. So much so that, after touching a quick low, many cards did an about-face and are spiking once again.
So you know what to look out for, we’ve assembled a list of the most expensive Final Fantasy MTG cards. Before we get to the cards themselves, however, there are a few things to go over first.
Prices are Still Expensive
Notably, for this list, we’ll only be looking at normal non-foil black-bordered card variants, since that’s what you’ll find most in Play Boosters. Now that prerelease has passed and the Final Fantasy set has experienced its full release, we will be using TCGplayer market averages for this list.
Despite prerelease premiums coming down, a surprising number of Final Fantasy chase cards have remained expensive. Many of the cards on this list have actually increased in price from our previous numbers in prerelease season, though we didn’t use market average to assess these cards back then. This isn’t the case for a majority of singles in MTG Final Fantasy, but these are certainly the exceptions.
6 | Traveling Chocobo
Price: $27.87
Traveling Chocobo manages to look deceptively good and bad at the same time, which is quite a feat. At first glance, getting to play two different types of cards from the top of your library and double their triggers seems amazing. That said, even though it’s getting a bunch of new support in Final Fantasy, Bird Typal is hardly a powerhouse archetype.
Thankfully, even if we ignore the Bird support elements of Traveling Chocobo, this card is still fantastic. For three mana, you get to double up on Landfall triggers, at the very least, which is obscenely powerful. Not only is Landfall a fairly popular archetype in general, but tons of other decks use these effects, too.
Ultimately, while Traveling Chocobo definitely seems strong in Commander, it’s unclear if it’ll have multiformat appeal. There’s a slim chance birds could break out in Standard, especially after rotation, but this is hardly guaranteed. With this in mind, it feels somewhat likely that Traveling Chocobo may fall in value somewhat, but that remains to be seen.
Notably, Traveling Chocobo is the one and only serialized card in the Final Fantasy MTG set. Wizards has printed 77 unique gold copies of this card for fans to hunt in Collector Boosters. Thanks to this, Traveling Chocobo will likely be the most expensive Final Fantasy MTG card when looking at all variants.
5 | Summon: Bahamut
$28.86
Summon: Bahamut is a newer addition to our most expensive Final Fantasy list. After falling down to $20, this card has cemented a surprisingly expensive price tag. Bahamut is not only a ubiquitous Commander threat that can see play in any deck, but it’s also seeing a lot of play across constructed formats.
Appearing in enchantment reanimator decks in Standard and Modern, Summon: Bahamut has a lot more competitive demand than players expected. The card is a fantastic reanimation target for Yuna, Hope of Spira when Omniscience isn’t lying around, and can double as a win condition if you do manage to resolve the infamous blue enchantment.
All in all, Summon: Bahamut has been a more competitive card than players expected, rocketing the card to fifth on our list.
4 | Cloud, Midgar Mercenary
Price: $29.58
As one of the most iconic characters in all of Final Fantasy, it makes sense that Cloud, Midgar Mercenary is a pretty powerful card. If you’re building an equipment-themed deck in Standard or Commander, this Cloud will likely have a place in it. Not only can he tutor up Equipment from your deck, but he’s got a nifty trigger-doubling ability, too.
In Standard, this could theoretically work well alongside Cori-Steel Cutter, and cards like Sword of Wealth and Power. While both of these cards are very powerful, Boros Enchantments isn’t really a thing right now. Looking at early results, this doesn’t look to be changing, either, but Pro Tour Final Fantasy is just a few days away.
Thankfully, even if Cloud flops in Standard, there will be tons of demand for him from Commander. In Commander, Equipment is a massively popular archetype that routinely receives new support. Since these decks almost always have access to white, Cloud certainly shouldn’t struggle to find a home.
3 | Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER
Price: $40.24
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER has been a lot more competitively viable than anyone expected. From the beginning, this card had Commander staple written all over it, so the initial demand is understandable. Beyond just being a staple, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is perhaps the best Aristocrats card we’ve ever seen in MTG.
Costing just three mana, this Sephiroth is barely more expensive than staples like Zulaport Cutthroat and Blood Artist. For this added cost, you get a ton more value, as Sephiroth can easily draw you a card upon entry. As if this wasn’t enough, you can easily make them flip with just a few dies triggers.
Once flipped, you’ll get an emblem with the classic Aristocrats ability. This gives the card incredible long-term value and staying power, which is incredibly rare in the archetype. As if that wasn’t enough, attacking with Sephiroth lets you sacrifice a bunch of creatures to draw cards.
In terms of competitive appeal, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is doing a ton of work in Modern Mardu Energy. It started as an experiment, but Sephiroth is now becoming a core part of the deck.
Mardu Energy excels at flipping Sephiroth in mildly impressive boards, turning into an easy win condition that can double as card generation. Arguably even more important than that, however, is Sephiroth’s ability to counter the Broodscale combo matchup. As long as Sephiroth is in play, Broodscale cannot win by comboing and, should he flip, they can never combo to win the game. This has made Sephiroth somehow even more desirable than before.
2 | Vivi Ornitier
Price: $48.24
It’s no surprise that Vivi Ornitier is currently the most expensive Final Fantasy MTG card. Even once prices settle in a couple of weeks, this is likely still going to be the case. From the moment they were spoiled, MTG and Final Fantasy fans alike have been practically rabid for Vivi. Not only are they a fan-favorite Final Fantasy IX character, but their abilities are seriously strong too.
Offering devastating combos with a variety of cards in multiple different formats, Vivi Ornitier is a true soon-to-be staple threat. There’s a good chance this card will see play in Legacy, Pioneer, and Commander at least. Depending on the metagame post-rotation and Edge of Eternities, Vivi may even become a Standard staple, too.
Currently, as if their price didn’t make it obvious enough, it seems Vivi Ornitier is easily the most popular Final Fantasy MTG card. To date, this adorable Wizard has caused some of the biggest price spikes we’ve seen in recent weeks. Due to this, it seems highly likely that Vivi will keep being expensive for a long time to come.
1 | Buster Sword
Price: $49.25
Despite our feeling that Buster Sword is probably the card least deserving to be on this list, this is currently the most expensive Final Fantasy card under our criteria. The Buster Sword can be very powerful, especially when played alongside Cloud, Midgar Mercenary. Should you give Cloud Double Strike too, then you could be drawing and cheating out four cards at once, which is obscene.
Obviously, Buster Sword definitely has potential for shenanigans and value within any Equipment-based deck. This card also represents one of the most iconic weapons in Final Fantasy, or even all of gaming, so it gets extra points there. Despite these strengths, however, it seems unlikely that Buster Sword will see much competitive play.
As much as Buster Sword can fill the board, it doesn’t provide much immediate value. Due to this, it may end up being confined to Commander. Even in that format, however, it seems to slowly be becoming in auto-include in a variety of different strategies. Drawing a card and cheating out a spell, after all, is far more powerful than what many of the Swords of X and Y cycles are capable of.
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