Hello and welcome back. In my last article I suggested cards to take out of the preconstructed FInal Fantasy decks and some cards to replace them with. In today’s article, I will suggest the top non-legendary* cards you might want to add to a deck you already are playing.
A disclaimer before we begin. Spoilers for Final Fantasy are still ongoing, so these Top Twelve are a snapshot of the cards spoiled at time of writing.
The other disclaimer is the usual one. I won’t be suggesting creatures that are legendary, but other card types are completely valid.
THE CRYSTALS
For starters and for instance, the honorable mention of the Crystal artifact cycle is an example of a bunch of legendary cards that I can put on the list. Each of these is decent to good in a more casual setting and they could find their way into a lot of decks.
That said, they can be a little specific but offer opportunities for decks and enough support that they are worth the mention.
MOOGLE’S VALOR
It’s an expensive answer to save your board, true. However it also doubles the amount of creatures you have on your board. Either your opponents have to answer your board again or you are probably going to win in short order. Token decks in particular are going to love this.
BATTLE MENU
Flexibility is always good in a card, and this is no exception. Looking at this, I thought a lot about the most recent set excluding Final Fantasy, Tarkir Dragonstorm, and how this card fits in so well with those recently released decks and strategies. Outside of those however, many decks will enjoy this card, probably for the removal with others options if nothing else.
SWALLOWED BY LEVIATHAN
I am a big, big fan of countermagic the counters anything, even if the opponent can pay a cost to not have their thing countered. It creates an interesting decision for them to either save what they’re casting or play an additional spell that turn. That said, if they have a bajillion mana, it doesn’t matter.
However, most of the time these counters spells are worth it in the casual pods I play in, and so this counterspell makes the list. The best part is that it scales with what you might be doing anyway, or just with the game itself. While three mana is a lot for counter magic, having a solid NO can make a difference. At worst, it’s counter something unless they pay two and the choosing of the spell might get around a few corner cases.
LOUISOIX’S SACRIFICE
Another counterspell to the list, this one specifically more for countering activated and triggered abilities. It also hits noncreature spells as well. It also costs three mana if you don’t sacrifice a legendary creature, but again we’re going for flexibility.
In the set itself, there are an absolute ton of legends, so playing from the set won't be an issue. Otherwise legends have become so abundant that sacrificing one for a clutch counter won’t be difficult, especially if they want to die or can come back on their own.
AL BHED SCAVENGERS
Nothing like another outlet for infinite sacrifice combos, amiright?
While not as novel as I’d like, there is something to be said for effectiveness. This one also happens to cover when artifacts go to your ‘yard and there is a treasure subtheme to the set. Outside of the set, treasure has taken up residence in many a deck, along with other artifacts you might want to sacrifice. It’s also just some good old board wipe insurance.
BLACK MAGE’S ROD
Where my last pick was pretty run of the mill, this one wants to focus less on creatures and more on non-creature spells, ala Professor Onyx style. Definitely something different, and it allows a Black/X deck to burn opponents down.
What it brings to the hegemony of the regular Black/X decks is just a little more oomph and another creature to sacrifice. It also allows some lifelink shenanigans to happen as well, giving Black some added reach for those triggers.
NIBELHEIM AFLAME
Chandra’s Ignition lite for one less mana, but with the ability to flashback for some card draw / selection. Not bad considering, and any deck that already runs Chandra Ignition should be considering this in my opinion (as long as they like UB).
TRIPLE TRIAD
Alright, so this card allows you to cast a card you exile off the top of your deck and one from each other players’ top of deck as long as those cost less for free? Sign me up! While the variance can mean whiffing a bit, there are ways and decks capable of doing such things. It also can have the chance to remove cards your opponents want from the game permanently and so acts as a kind of chaos removal.
You could also just make sure your spells are always bigger too. It should be noted you always get your spell regardless of what opponents have revealed.
ANCIENT ADAMANTOISE
Hard to remove, protects you and your board from damage, and drops treasures when it dies. Also has a large power and huge toughness. This is going in a choice few decks for sure, and is just in general a very good Green card. Had it had cost reduction it would have broken as shell. Nothing else to really say about it but it’s very good if fleeting.
It also I think is the first mention of damage wearing off outside of the rules of Magic itself.
SUMMONER’S GRIMOIRE
While not quite the same as Elvish Piper or Oviya Automech Artisan, this card can still drop bombs onto the board as long as the equipped creature attacks. Still costs four mana to drop, but that’s nothing compared to free. It even comes attached to a creature to attack with on cast so you aren’t left looking for your first equip.
Another upside is that it works well with the Summon Saga creatures, hence the name. It has utility for other enchantment creatures as well, like Eerie or Constellation triggers.
BUSTER SWORD
Heard free is a good price for things you want to cast. It does limit what you can cast based on damage so some planning is involved and you have to connect, but free spell is free spell. You can keep attaching the sword to bigger creatures to get bigger results.
Did I mention it also draws you a card and the equip cost is low? You’ll always have something to cast if you can swing with this attached to something (unless you hit a land and no cards in hand, but don’t do that).
ISHGARD, THE HOLY SEE
When it came to seeing if any of the spoiled lands would make the list, I was looking for cards that did something both novel and not well covered. This was the only land I decided to add to the list under those criteria. The other adventure lands are good as well, but this one allows for recursion of card types, enchantment and artifact, without the restriction White usually gets on mana value and nets us up to two cards in the process.
SIDE QUEST: FINISHED
Honestly, there are cards I would’ve added to the list had they been slightly less specific. Magical-land-scenario triggers with Masamune or Ninja’s Blades, and some Traveling Chocobo triggers would be great. Alas, they didn’t quite get there. Don’t let that stop you from trying them out though!
There are a lot of good cards in this set. Most of them just happen to be the legendary characters from Final Fantasy, but other gems await!
Until next time, remember to save.
