A new spoiler for Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy set is a perfect example of how Magic can capture the flavor of the properties it adapts. Magic's Universes Beyond sets have been a mixed bag so far, but Final Fantasy looks to be one of the better sets when it comes to capturing the source material and translating it to MTG mechanics. The recent reveal of a card for Celes from Final Fantasy 6 is another example of how well MTG's designers seems to understand Final Fantasy.
Some recent disappointments in the realm of Universes Beyond, like Cactuar card's somewhat controversial ability to deal 10,000 damage. This shows that Magic is dedicated to capturing the essence of the source material for its Final Fantasy set, which is also apparent on Celes' card.
Celes Takes Over For Terra In FF6 And Magic: The Gathering
Celes Is The Alternate Commander For Terra's Commander Deck
In the latter half of Final Fantasy 6, Celes takes over as the party leader and is tasked with reassembling her lost crew. Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy Commander Decks will now mirror this story beat, since Celes was announced as the alternate commander for Terra's deck. This mirrors how Celes takes over for her as the defacto protagonist during the World of Ruin section.
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Alternate commanders are always present in Magic's pre-made Commander decks. These are Legendary creatures with the same color identity as the deck's face card, allowing you to play them instead of the deck's original commander. Seeing as Celes is such a flavorful choice to replace Terra as a commander, I'll be interested to see who else we get as Final Fantasy alternates. For instance, Yuna seems like an easy choice for the FF10 deck, as she replaced Tidus as the main character in the game's sequel.
I Prefer Celes To Terra In Both MTG And Final Fantasy
Celes' Magic Card Has A Lot Of Potential For Deck Building
While this may be a bit more of a subjective flavor win, I think it is appropriate that I prefer Celes' Magic: The Gathering card to Terra's. Terra is by no means a bad card, but I just see more potential in Celes' card. Celes' hand-sculpting ability interacts well with flicker effects, allowing you to consistently rework your hand. This is a powerful effect, and I see it as a fun representation of how you can shift around party , equipment, and magicite in FF6. It also reflects Celes searching for her lost friends.
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Celes also has the potential to create infinite combos with other Magic cards. Creatures with the Persist ability come back from the graveyard after they are destroyed if they have no counters on them, and then receive a -1/-1 counter upon their return. However, Celes' ability will cancel out this debuff with the +1/+1 couter she gives the creature. With no counters on it, the Persist creature can respawn each time it's destroyed, so long as Celes is on the field. Pair this with Goblin Bombardment or a similar card and it becomes a game-winning combo.
Celes, Rune Knight being my preferred Magic: The Gathering card is a perfect reflection of how I felt about her as Final Fantasy 6's second protagonist. It's not that I didn't like Terra, but she was so frequently absent from the party, that I found myself struggling to connect with her as deeply. Celes ended up becoming my preferred party leader in FF6, and she will also most likely be running my Final Fantasy Commander deck when it comes out.
