Final Fantasy Mechanics explained - Call the Judge!

Hello, everyone!

Next week, the long-awaited Final Fantasy set will arrive in our beloved Magic: the Gathering, and we'll have our first events with it!

As usual, the set brings some new designs, and so it's important to be aware of how some mechanics work, in preparation for your pre-release events.

Let's go!

Most of the returning mechanics should be familiar to more experienced Magic players, and the new mechanics in this set will actually be a few twists on mechanics that already existed.

We also have a rules change, specifically for Sagas, which will certainly affect cards beyond the Final Fantasy set, so we'll also address this at the end.

Let's start by talking about the ones that already existed in Magic, and then the new ones!

Landcycling

Landcycling is an ability that works when the card is in your hand. It's a variation of Cycling, but instead of just drawing a new card, you search your deck for a land that has the specified characteristic - for example, in the case of Hill Gigas above, you search for a land that has the Mountain type.

It doesn't have to be a basic land! You could search, for example, a Sacred Foundry or an Elegant Parlor in your Boros deck.

Adventure

Adventure is an ability that is closely tied to the plane of Eldraine, and it's cool to see it being used in other planes as well. In Final Fantasy, we'll have a cycle of lands that also have an Adventure side, and since it's never been used on lands before, let's clear up some possible confusions.

First, the land side has no color, despite the coloring used on the card. You can't, for example, use a Hydroblast on the Lindblum, Industrial Regency that your opponent played as a land. However, if your opponent uses the adventure side, then they're casting a red spell, and your Hydroblast can counter it.

It's also worth remembering that the land side is the main card, so if you use something like Solve the Equation, you won't be able to find the adventure side. However, an Expedition Map can find these lands, and then you can choose to use the adventure side.

Finally, remember that if you use the adventure side and exile the land, you can still play it normally! Of course, following the time restrictions for lands, and assuming you still have a possible land drop for the turn.

Transform

Several cards in the set have the ability to transform - they are double-faced cards, and when you meet certain conditions, you turn the other side of the card to indicate it's new characteristics.

Some cards exile themselves and then return transformed, like Terra, Magical Adept. The other side is a Saga, so it will also receive its first Lore counter. Remember that if a permanent is exiled and then returns to the battlefield, it is again under summoning sickness! This means that, if it is a creature, it will not be able to attack or use abilities with .

This is not the case, however, with cards like Kefka, Court Mage! It is important to be aware of this. Kefka only transforms, without exiling itself and returning to the battlefield, so if it was already under your control since the beginning of the turn, you will be able to attack with the transformed card!

Job Select

Job Select is one of the new abilities. It’s actually a slight variation of Living Weapon, an older ability seen on cards like Batterskull.

Job Select is an ability that triggers when the equipment enters the battlefield. It indicates that you create a colorless 1/1 Hero token and attach the equipment to the token - this is one ability, so the opponent can’t kill the token in response to the attachment, since everything resolves at once: the token is created and the equipment is attached.

It’s important to remember that the token is colorless, even if the equipment on it isn’t! The card we highlighted above, Black Mage’s Rod, is a black artifact, but the token will remain colorless, even when equipped!

Tiered

Another new ability, Tiered, indicates a choice of additional costs when casting the card. Depending on which mode you choose, some extra mana will be required to cast it.

Remember that when casting a card, you first determine its costs, and only then calculate and pay the required mana. In the highlighted card, Fire Magic, if you choose the first mode, you will only need to pay , since the additional for the first mode is . If you choose the second mode, then you will need to pay 2 more mana, and the cost on the stack will be .

If you have effects that reduce the cost of spells, you will apply them after determining the mode and the cost to pay! So, for example, if you control The Fire Crystal and want to use the second mode of Fire Magic, the cost of is reduced by , and in the end you will only have to pay .

Saga Creatures

Another cool design innovation in the set, we now have Sagas - which are an enchantment subtype - being used in conjunction with the Creature type. In Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, we had Sagas that transformed into Creatures, but now we have both types together, simultaneously, on the same card.

In practice, it is as if the creature has an expiration date, since when it enters you will place a Lore counter - also triggering the first chapter of the Saga - and, once you place the counter that triggers the last chapter, after the ability resolves, the creature-saga must be sacrificed.

The Rules change for Sagas

With the new set available next week, Wizards of the Coast, as usual, released some notes and rules updates. One of the updates is precisely for Sagas - specifically, how they interact with cards that make them lose abilities, such as Tishana’s Tidebinder or Dress Down.

The change is as follows: when a Saga loses its abilities, it will no longer be sacrificed due to having no chapters. Likewise, the Saga will also no longer receive Lore counters at the beginning of the controller’s first main phase.

Let’s understand in practice how this works:

Saga Creatures

When a Creature-Saga loses its abilities, for example to a Tishana’s Tidebinder, it stays on the board with the number of Lore counters it previously had, and will no longer receive a Lore counter each turn. In practice, the creature will now stay on the board until it is removed by other means - combat, removal, etc.

If the Tishana’s Tidebinder is removed, the Creature-Saga regains its abilities. At the beginning of the controller’s first main phase, it will receive a Lore counter and advance through its chapters normally.

Urza's Saga and Blood Moon

This interaction deserves special attention - especially since we are in a Modern Qualifier season, and it can easily happen in these events.

When a Blood Moon - or similar effects, such as Magus of the Moon, Spreading Seas, etc. - enters the battlefield, Urza's Saga will no longer be sacrificed. The Saga-Land will remain on the battlefield, with the any Lore counters it already had, and will not gain new Lore counters. So far, this is exactly like the Creature-Saga, which we explained previously.

What makes the interaction a little different is that, due to how the layer system works, the abilities gained by Urza's Saga with its chapters will not be removed. So, if it had already resolved the first chapter, with a Blood Moon on the field your Urza's Saga will be able to generate or . And if it had already resolved the second chapter, the Saga will be able to generate , , or even continue making constructs for the cost of !

Final Fantasy has been all the talk even before the spoiler season, and the set really seems to bring all the flavor of the games and the franchise to the world of Magic. Besides, the rules change for Sagas is quite relevant and will affect a lot of constructed formats.

I hope everyone has an excellent pre-release event and a lot of fun! We'll all be enjoying the two best things: both Magic and the Gathering!

Hugs, and see you next time!