This is the crossover nobody expected, yet everyone secretly wanted. Magic: The Gathering sets out full steam ahead for Final Fantasy VII with none other than Sephiroth looking his best.
Art comes first. Tetsuya Nomura, the man who has created some of the most titular Final Fantasy characters (the same one who engineered the never-ever-gonna-fall-down Cloud hairdos), just came out of nowhere with a new piece of Sephiroth. And let me just say, chef’s kiss. How does one even add menace to a silver-haired villain like that?
The illustrate art belongs to the Magic: The Gathering — Final Fantasy crossover, which officially launches on June 13. Yes, you could really say that. We are going to have MTG cards featuring Final Fantasy. Have fun summoning Sephiroth to dismantle your opponent’s life points down to zero. Or prepare to cast Meteor as an instant. It’s as terrifying as it is brilliant.
So yes, you might have wondered, just why this should matter—beyond the surface of two mega franchises colliding. This is the first official time Final Fantasy goes full MTG. We’ve seen the Universe Beyond crossovers with Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who. But Final Fantasy? That’s just off the charts.
Nomura didn’t just drag some old art out of retirement. This is a new rendition of Sephiroth portraying the early-stage iterations of his journey in the game—which probably means we’re going to see multiple versions of him. Base Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel Sephiroth, “I Just Set Fire to Your Hometown” Sephiroth… you get the drift.
Just in case you were about to ask—the rest of the card list is still under wraps. But, based on the precedent of previous crossovers, there will be insane mechanics involved. Maybe Materia will be artifacts? Limit Breaks could be sorceries? The fan theory alone is driving everyone crazy already.
The timing itself is something else. June 13 is close to E3 time (or whatever is left of it), which suggests we could be treated with even more reveals before launch. Maybe a gameplay demo? Or if I were to dare, a surprise Final Fantasy VII Rebirth tie-in? No way, but a man can dream.
Other than that gorgeous Sephiroth art and the release date, that is all we have. But really? That alone is enough to keep the hype train rolling. Mark those calenders, start saving for those boxes, and say a prayer to the MTG gods that you’ll pull foil Sephiroth. Because for real, no one wants to be the guy stuck with a common Shinra grunt while the other guy lays down the One-Winged Angel.
So yeah, June 13 can hardly come soon enough for us. Until then, we just stare into the distance and calculate how many kidneys we’d have to sell for just a playset.
