Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy Series' Mechanics And Keywords Explained

Magic: The Gathering is diving deep into the world of Final Fantasy for its next collaboration, and in addition to some truly gorgeous artwork, it brings with it a handful of exciting mechanics. Following Wizard of the Coast's PAX East panel, we now have a good look at what some of these mechanics are and how certain cards will synergize with one another.

Though some of these mechanics--such as Job Select--occur more frequently, a defining feature of this Universes Beyond expansion is that certain cards have mechanics that are unique to that card only. Generally, these seem to be found on some of the Final Fantasy series' biggest hitters, both literally and figuratively. It's also worth noting that some of these mechanics, such as Tifa's Landfall and Melee, aren't new to this series. However, I've chosen to go through and include some of these that are not quite as common as your standard Haste, Flying, Lifelink, Deathtouch, Trample, Vigilance, and the like.

Though the team behind the collaboration has assured players that even more cards will be revealed in the coming weeks, below is a list of all the keywords that have been revealed so far. We'll be sure to update this article as more cards--and mechanics--are unveiled.

Summon

Summons are best thought of as a cross between your standard Enchantment Creature and Magic: The Gathering's relatively new card type, Sagas. After playing a Summon, you'll go through a sequence of events corresponding to the number of turns they've been out on the field for, following which the card must be sacrificed, similar to Sagas. However, Summons give these cards an extra edge, as they can also attack and defend as if they were a standard Creature.

In addition to standard Summon cards, certain characters--such as Final Fantasy XVI protagonist Clive--can transform into summons, in a clever nod to in-game events.

Job Select

Job Select is a mechanic that seems to be unique to Equipment cards. Where most Equipment cards require you to already have a creature on the field if you want to actually equip them, Job Select cards see you create a 1/1 colorless Hero creature token who immediately has the played Equipment attached to them. Additionally, cards with Job Select add an additional creature type to the equipped creature--Cleric for White Mage's Staff, Wizard for Black Mage's Rod, etc.--as well as an accompanying buff.

Tiered

Tiered spells are a staple in many JRPG series, Final Fantasy very much included. To emulate the way the series slowly evolves its black magic, Magic: The Gathering is introducing the Tiered mechanic. When playing a Tiered spell, players can choose how much mana they want to spend to do varying amounts of damage. The more you spend, the more powerful the spell will be, perfectly replicating how battle works in Final Fantasy.

Jump

So far, Kain is the only dragoon we've seen in the Final Fantasy collaboration--but I would be absolutely shocked if more aren't revealed in the coming weeks. While I patiently wait for Final Fantasy IX's Freya to make her appearance, let's go over what Jump does: Creatures with jump have Flying during your turn. Pretty straight-forward.

Darkness // Protect

Both Darkness and Protect appear to be unique to Cecil, Dark Knight and Cecil, Redeemed Paladin, respectively. With Darkness, whenever Cecil deals damage, you lose that much life. Once your life total is less than or equal to half of your starting life total, Cecil is untapped and transformed.

After Cecil, Dark Knight transforms into Cecil, Redeemed Paladin, he gains the ability Protect, which grants all creatures attacking with Cecil Indestructible until the end of your turn. Considering it takes quite a bit of sacrifice to attain his Redeemed Paladin form, it makes sense that Protect is a pretty powerful ability.

Super Nova

Once Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier has transformed into Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel, he gains the ability Super Nova. This keyword activates as soon as the transformation begins, and grants Sephiroth's new form an emblem that reads "Whenever a creature dies, target opponent loses one life and you gain one life." Considering Lifelink is an extremely popular mechanic among Angel creature types, it's unsurprising yet delightful that the Magic team decided to give it to this fallen angel as well.

Trance

As of right now, Terra, Herald of Hope is the only card with the Trance ability--however, it wouldn't surprise me if we see this mechanic pop up again later on. Once the Trance ability is in play, players must mill two cards at the beginning of the combat phase of their turn. Afterwards, the character with Trance gains Flying.

Stagger

Final Fantasy XIII's Stagger system is frequently referred to as one of the greatest things about the game, and has been both emulated and evolved upon in a number of JRPGs going forward. As such, giving Lightning, Army of One her own Stagger ability is both apt and iconic. With Stagger, after Lightning deals combat damage to a player, all sources of damage to that player or a permanent that player controls are doubled until your next turn. To be honest, this is a pretty wild card. Although Lightning is not one of the Final Fantasy collection's four promoted commanders, this ability--and her low mana cost--make her a fantastic choice.

Rough Divide

Squall is not just "the best-looking guy here," he also has a nice unique ability: Rough Divide. With Rough Divide, whenever a creature you control attacks alone, they gain Double Strike until the end of your turn. Considering this broody protagonist is notorious for being a bit of a lone wolf, this is a very clever ability.

Flame Star

After Kuja, Genome Sorcerer transforms into Trance Kuja, Fate Defied, he gains the unique ability Flame Star. With it, Wizards you control that would deal damage to a permanent or player deal double damage instead. It's a simple ability, sure, but makes him fantastic in Wizard-heavy decks.

Meld

During Magic: The Gathering's PAX East Final Fantasy showcase, the team confirmed that Fang and Vanille are the only two cards in this set with the Meld ability. In order to Meld these cards together, a player must have both Fang, Fearless l'Cie and Vanille, Cheerful l'Cie on the field. If they do, they can choose to play five mana (three colorless, one black, and one green) to Meld them into Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance, in an ultra-powerful nod to Final Fantasy XIII.

Cheer

The ever-sunny Tidus seems to be the only card with the Cheer ability, which makes sense considering his general disposition and role as Yuna's guardian and Golden Retriever boyfriend. With Cheer, whenever one or more creatures you control with counters on them deal combat damage to a player, you may draw a card and Proliferate--which essentially means you can increase the counters on your existing cards with counters on them. Although you can only do this once per turn, Proliferate does impact any number of permanents you control, making this an extremely powerful way to buff up your team.

Angelo Cannon

Of course, who needs a Golden Retriever boyfriend when you have an actual furry companion to cuddle with. Final Fantasy VIII's Rinoa Heartilly brings with her her lovable companion Angelo, as well as a special ability: Angelo Cannon. Whenever Rinoa Heartilly attacks, another target creature you control gets +1/+1 for each creature you control until the end of turn. This, plus her ETB (Enters the Battlefield) ability, make her a great choice to put in decks focused on token generation.

Adventure (Land)

Although Adventures are not a new mechanic, this does mark the first time that we've seen an Adventure Land card--previously, Adventures were only on Creatures, Enchantments, or Artifacts. After playing this Land card, you may choose to pay the mana cost to activate the Adventure on the lower, left-hand side of the card. After the action described is resolved, you must place the card in Exile.

Landfall

Landfall is not a new mechanic to Magic: The Gathering, but it is uncommon enough to merit mention here. Thanks to Tifa Lockharts's Landfall ability, whenever a land you control enters, you may double Tifa Lockhart's power until the end of your turn. Although this card doesn't contribute to Land/mana ramping and isn't particularly powerful on its own, if you play your cards right (literally), this low-mana cost card could pack a punch.

Melee

Melee is also not a new ability, but it can be pretty powerful. With the Melee ability, whenever Tifa, Martial Artist attacks she gets +1/+1 until the end of turn for each opponent you attacked this combat. Considering this card is primed to be used in Commander--a Magic format most commonly utilized in groups--you could utilize this ability to give Tifa a nice little boost.