Final Fantasy Universes Beyond Face Commanders Revealed

Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy is almost upon us! Even with Tarkir: Dragonstorm coming up in April, the excitement for the first Standard-legal Universes Beyond expansion set for Magic is mounting. According to IGN, who got the first look, the four face commanders for the Commander precons are now public! Let's take a look at these legendary figures and what they mean for both franchises!

Terra, Herald of Hope (Final Fantasy VI)

Terra, Herald of Hope is the face commander for the "Revival Trance" Commander precon deck. She is the protagonist of Final Fantasy VI, the last mainline entry to debut with 2D graphics. Let's take a look at her card!

Terra is a white-black-red commander who thrives on self-mill and recursion strategies. In many ways, Terra is reminiscent of Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER (Final Fantasy VII)

Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is the face of Final Fantasy VII, a much beloved entry into the series. He is also the face commander of the "Limit Break" precon, a white-red-green deck. "Limit Break" seems to have a focus on equipment and making creatures exceed 3 power - this may seem minor, but based on precedent, there will most assuredly be cards to support this strategy. Anyway, here's Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER!

Cloud himself would probably do excellently equipping a Colossus Hammer

Tidus, Yuna's Guardian (Final Fantasy X)

Tidus is the protagonist of Final Fantasy X. Yuna's Guardian is also the face of "Counter Blitz", a white-blue-green Commander deck from this set.  "Counter Blitz" relies on generating counters on permanents and then spreading them out for accrued value. This deck seems like it might go well alongside the "Bedecked Brokers" Commander precon from Streets of New Capenna, based on its description.

As for Tidus's card, it can create a slowly expanding counter-based growth each turn. However, much like with Terra, Tidus needs intense support to do this; Tidus himself has no way to add counters to permanents on an initial basis. Having said this, we can already see a scenario where detrimental counters (such a finality) can be mitigated in impact through Tidus's first ability.

Y'shtola, Night's Blessed (Final Fantasy XIV)

Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is a major character from Final Fantasy XIV, a massively-multiplayer online RPG entry into the series. The character is also the face of "Scions & Spellcraft" a white-blue-black Commander deck. The given description for "Scions & Spellcraft" is quite vague, but it seems to suggest a Spellslinger-style deck with accrued card advantage as a focus.

Y'shtola, Night's Blessed as a commander is one that seeks to pilot decks utilizing noncreature spells. Those chain into Y'shtola draining opponents for life. What's more, if you do it twice, that chains into you drawing at the end step. This commander seems the need the least amount of dedicated support of the four face commanders in the reveals.

Insert Chocobo Theme Here

Are you excited for Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy? We sure are! The set and decks all release on June 13th, 2025. Are you looking forward to using any of these commanders in the future? Which one is your favorite of these four? Sound off below!