It’s no wonder that the Final Fantasy MTG set is already record-breaking, as this set has it all. For starters, the main set appears to be chock-full of exciting new cards that’ll be great in Standard and beyond. On top of this, there’s also the Starter Kit, four Commander decks, and an entire Bonus Sheet.
While it’s still early days, as spoiler season has a couple of weeks left, the Through the Ages Bonus Sheet is shaping up nicely. We’ve already seen a range of impressive reprints get spoiled, and it seems that trend isn’t slowing down. Today, we’ve seen a new $57 reprint revealed, which is great news for everyone. Sadly, however, not all of the new spoilers are winners.
Rhystic Study
To kick things off with the big ticket item, Rhystic Study is a fantastic reprint for the Through the Ages Bonus Sheet. Currently, the cheapest variant of this card sells for a staggering $57, so it’s safe to say this reprint is long overdue. That being said, it’s only been a year since Rhystic Study was last reprinted in Wilds of Eldraine.
This recent reprint similarly came from a Bonus Sheet, however, this isn’t the cheapest variant. Currently, Enchanting Tales copies of Rhystic Study are selling for $67 at the moment. The cheapest variants are those from The List and Jumpstart, which both feature the classic art.
As far as reprints go, this new printing of Rhystic Study is very much needed, however, it may not knock the price much. While this is bad news for anyone looking to pick up a cheap copy, it should keep the value of cracking packs high.
In terms of the actual card itself, Rhystic Study is a true staple in Commander. It may be a Game Changer now, but if anything, that’s just made this card even more iconic. There’s a reason that the question of “Do you pay the 1?” is so hated, after all. The vast majority of the time, if you’re in color and building a deck with Game Changers, Rhystic Study will be in the 99.
Notably, like all the Through the Ages reprints, this version of Rhystic Study has been given a Final Fantasy skin. While the new art does showcase a very impactful moment from Final Fantasy X, the flavor seems off. That said, some MTG players like Brief-Artist-2772 have been jumping to its defense rather comically.
“People are crazy saying this isn’t good art for Rhystic Study.
Brief-Artist-2772
On the left is a player being asked to pay the 1.
On the right is the Rhystic Study player. Content, happy.”
Brainstorm
Sadly, the value of the new Through the Ages Bonus Sheet reprints takes a nosedive after Rhystic Study. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the trend of utterly bizarre flavor continues here as Brainstorm has been reskinned as Endwalker. To put it bluntly, this is a weird choice from Wizards of the Coast.
Technically, Endwalker could refer to either the quest or the entire expansion from Final Fantasy XIV. From the art, it appears to be highlighting the latter, but being a reskin of Brainstorm makes no sense here. Endwalker is about preventing a despair-driven apocalypse, not thinking real smart. Even the art has nothing to do with Brainstorm, outside of it being vaguely blue.
Thankfully, even if the flavor makes no sense, the art on this card is very pretty at least. This could make it a fairly popular choice when playing Brainstorm in Commander and beyond. Right now, Brainstorm sees a great deal of play in Legacy, Pauper, and even Vintage thanks to providing excellent cheap card selection.
While Brainstorm is a fantastic card, this reprint is a bit of a dud in terms of value. Copies of Brainstorm can easily be picked up for $1.25, and there’s little demand for fancy foil variants. Secret Lair copies of Brainstorm only typically sell for $2, which is hardly too exciting. Technically, there is an ultra-expensive Secret Lair Showdown variant; however, only four copies of this variant exist, so prices aren’t comparable.
Ultimately, while Brainstorm might not be the best reprint, it’ll be worth looking out for this card during Draft. There’s no denying that Brainstorm is a powerful card, and it could well give your deck a major boost if it’s in color.
Dovin’s Veto
Last up for today, we have another very strange reprint from a flavor perspective. Like Brainstorm above, this Dovin’s Veto reprint shows off an entire Final Fantasy XIV expansion, Shadowbringers. Once again, it’s great to see this entire expansion and the characters from it, but it’s nonetheless a flavor fail.
If you really try, you could maybe say that Shadowbringers is about countering the end of the world, but that’s really a stretch. More realistically, this is just a very weird choice for a counterspell’s name and art. MTG players were quick to point this out on social media. To make matters worse, the text on this card even covers up the twins’ faces, making it look even more mismatched.
Unfortunately, even if we ignore the weird art and card name, Dovin’s Veto isn’t an exciting reprint. This card typically sells for just $2.50, and this reprint will surely push this price point lower. While Dovin’s Veto does see some Pioneer and Commander play, it’s hardly a true competitive staple.
As if the value prospects of this reprint weren’t bad enough, there’s a chance this mismatched art could bring it down further. Whether or not this will happen, however, remains to be seen. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens come June 13th, when the Final Fantasy set launches. Until then, we can at least take solace in the fact that Through the Ages reprints should make for an exciting limited environment.
