This past weekend Wizards of the Coast actually lifted the lid on its upcoming Final Fantasy crossover set for Magic: The Gathering, however the oodles of playing cards revealed there have been apparently not sufficient. In the present day the Magic crew revealed even extra playing cards to gamers, they usually’re stuffed with unbelievable nods to Closing Fantasy historical past… together with an absolute gem from Closing Fantasy X.
In the present day Wizards revealed the full card lists for every of the 4 Closing Fantasy preconstructed Commander Decks that can launch alongside the enlargement subsequent month. The 4 decks are constructed round 4 iconic entries from the mainline Closing Fantasy collection: Revival Trance, based mostly on Closing Fantasy VI; Restrict Break, based mostly on Closing Fantasy VII; Counter Blitz, based mostly round Closing Fantasy X; and Scions and Spellcraft, based mostly round Closing Fantasy XIV. Every deck of 100 playing cards is totally themed for the Closing Fantasy set, from wholly new playing cards to re-flavored takes on already-existent Magic playing cards with new thematically applicable artwork.
One such re-flavor within the Counter Blitz deck is Inspiring Name, a inexperienced mana prompt that has been round in varied Magic units because it first appeared in 2015’s Dragons of Tarkir. It’s a easy sufficient card, granting any creatures you management that you just’ve given +1/+1 counters to non permanent safety whereas additionally drawing just a few playing cards. However in Counter Blitz, it turns into, properly, extra of an inspiring snigger:
Sure, proper right down to the flavour textual content, we’re getting Yuna and Tidus’ notorious snigger scene from Closing Fantasy X in card kind. An early second within the recreation, the scene sees Yuna attempt to cheer Tidus up because the duo and the remainder of the social gathering put together to hold on their pilgrimage to defeat the monstrous entity often called Sin, who Tidus has simply realized (spoilers for a 24-year-old PS2 recreation) is definitely seemingly a remodeled corruption of his long-missing father, Jecht. Yuna, realizing her quest will ultimately declare her life, tries to get Tidus to learn to conceal his feelings and placed on a contented face, first actually after which by means of comically pressured laughter. The remaining is Closing Fantasy meme historical past:
Though the aim of the scene is that Tidus and Yuna’s laughter is supposed to be pressured and awkward sounding (as you possibly can see above, they escape into real laughter instantly after), the clip of their barked laughs has spent the previous two and a half a long time taking up a lifetime of its personal as a viral meme, from goofy music edits to dunks on cringy online game voice performing (X was the primary Closing Fantasy to function intensive voice performing). And now, its legacy is reclaimed in Magic.
It’s simply certainly one of many nice little nods and references all through what we’ve seen of the Closing Fantasy set up to now. The Commander Decks have revealed a ton of latest playing cards in an identical vein which have nice mechanical nods to their respective video games—a few of my favorites embrace Zack Fair in FFVII‘s, which helps you to primarily replicate Cloud swiping Zack’s identification after his loss of life, or Champions from Beyond in FFXIV‘s, a really nifty nod to the MMORPG’s social gathering finder mechanic (and one of the coolest moments in its enlargement Shadowbringers). Many of the nods are reverentially severe, befitting the fervour that’s on show for this assembly of fantastical titans. But it surely’s good that in playing cards like Inspiring Name’s remixing, the Closing Fantasy set is aware of when to have a little bit of pressured laughter at itself too.
Magic: The Gathering – Closing Fantasy hits cabinets subsequent month on June 13. Head on over to Wizards’ card image gallery for the set to see much more playing cards from the crossover!
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