As the long-awaited release date approaches for Magic: The Gathering—Final Fantasy, this year’s biggest event and crossover in trading card games, I’ve been marvelling at how well two of my favourite games of all time have meshed together.
Final Fantasy VIII was the first FF I played on its release date. My family had gone from having an NES to Windows 95 before finally picking up a modern console with the PlayStation, at Christmas 1998—just in time for me to discover that there were multiple sequels to one of my favourite NES games, a little epic called Final Fantasy. My brother and I sought out Final Fantasy VII just in time to follow previews for the upcoming 8th installment. After months of anticipation, it was everything I hoped for, and it’s been my favourite game ever since.
Flash forward many years later, I was freshly graduated from university and about to get married when some friends and I casually struck up the idea of playing Magic: The Gathering. What started as some loose get-togethers with premade decks became a long-honoured ritual that persisted many years, and though our circle expanded into Dungeons & Dragons, countless other board games, and even an annual video game charity stream, none of that would’ve happened with MTG.
In the present day, I likely wouldn’t be where I am now without either of these franchises, so I couldn’t be happier seeing them collide in such a mutually respectful collaboration. All the heroes and villains and chocobos and crystals (and oh yes, the moogles) of my favourite series are translating so well into my favourite trading card game’s format, with sublime new art from the best both companies can offer.
But one thing I’ve been dying to see throughout this preview season… is more Final Fantasy VIII cards.
We’re going to put that straight here today, however, with the reveal of a very special landmark in MTG form, and if you’re anything like me, the sight of it will probably get its theme playing in your mind immediately.
Hide, Hideaway
Before we dive into the FFVIII preview, however, CGMagazine also has a card from Final Fantasy XVI to reveal! This location is something of a spiritual successor to our main event: Clive’s Hideaway, our hero’s homebase for the back half of FFXVI‘s sprawling tale.
Clive’s Hideaway is a Land card with the subtype Town, one of the set’s unique keywords to convey the “flavour” of the games. It can be tapped for a single colourless mana, perhaps as an homage to the fairly lifeless region in which Cid and Clive established their bases.
And what better mechanic to give this locale than the one that bears its name? Hideaway is a somewhat niche mechanic that goes all the way back to Lorwyn, appearing more recently in Streets of New Capenna and Bloomburrow‘s Commander decks. When Clive’s Hideaway hits the board, its owner looks at the top 4 cards of their library, picks a legendary creature from those cards, and tucks it away for safekeeping.
Later, if the owner has 4 or more other legendary creatures in play, they can pay only 2 mana and tap Clive’s Hideaway to sneak that creature onto the field. It will pair very nicely with its namesake, “Clive, Ifrit’s Dominant,” which would normally cost 6 total mana to play.
Balamb Garden, SeeD Academy
The opening location of Final Fantasy VIII, Balamb Garden, arrives in Magic: The Gathering as a Land — Town that generates blue or green mana (after arriving tapped). This beautiful new art by Jonas De Ro is a fresh take on the common areas outside the academy itself, evoking those familiar perspectives that players see so often in the first hours of the game.
But, it does much more than just fueling Simic decks. For a considerable 7 mana, Balamb Garden can transform into Balamb Garden, Airborne, a legendary artifact.
Specifically, the town becomes a vehicle, as anyone who got to disc 2 of the game might’ve guessed. After the assassination attempt on Sorceress Edea fails, Galbadia retaliates by launching missiles at Balamb Garden and Trabia Garden. While the latter falls, Squall’s team gets home in time to deploy its secret emergency measures, transforming the school into a mobile base. It functions as the game’s boat, essentially, until the airship Ragnarok renders it moot.
In MTG, Balamb Garden, Airborne is no longer a source of mana, but a vehicle. It acts like a creature, but only temporarily; each turn, you have to be able to tap a creature with at least 1 power to use it like a creature. Once you do, it becomes a 5/4 artifact creature with flying. At the end of the turn it reverts to a regular artifact. However, vehicles can use this ability (Crew) at instant speed, and on their opponents’ turn, so long as they have untapped creatures that fit the bill.)
The beauty is, when you attack with Balamb Garden you get to draw a card. Even when SeeD mercenaries are fighting for their lives from the decks of the massive-houseboat/school where they live, education is still a priority.
With a little creative deckbuilding, players could run a green-blue-red deck that also utilizes Balthier and Fran’s card, which not only grants your vehicles +1/+1, vigilance, and reach, but might also give you an additional combat phase after attacking with a Vehicle they crewed. Or, splash white instead and summon Cid, Timeless Artificer to buff all your Artifact creatures and Heroes; just be sure to use the Final Fantasy VIII version with the Robin Williams-esque visage of Headmaster Cid.
I hope all my fellow FFVIII enjoyers had their hearts warmed by this new art and the intriguing way Balamb Garden has been reimagined in MTG form. I’m looking forward to seeing it on the table, along with all the other FFVIII cards and more, when Magic: The Gathering—Final Fantasy releases on June 13. If you can’t wait quite that long to play the set, check out the prerelease events a week prior at your local friendly game stores!
