This past weekend Wizards of the Coast actually lifted the lid on its upcoming Final Fantasy crossover set for Magic: The Gathering, however the oodles of playing cards revealed there have been apparently not sufficient. Right now the Magic staff revealed even extra playing cards to gamers, and so they’re crammed with unimaginable nods to Ultimate Fantasy historical past… together with an absolute gem from Ultimate Fantasy X.
Right now Wizards revealed the full card lists for every of the 4 Ultimate Fantasy preconstructed Commander Decks that can launch alongside the enlargement subsequent month. The 4 decks are constructed round 4 iconic entries from the mainline Ultimate Fantasy sequence: Revival Trance, based mostly on Ultimate Fantasy VI; Restrict Break, based mostly on Ultimate Fantasy VII; Counter Blitz, based mostly round Ultimate Fantasy X; and Scions and Spellcraft, based mostly round Ultimate Fantasy XIV. Every deck of 100 playing cards is totally themed for the Ultimate Fantasy set, from wholly new playing cards to re-flavored takes on already-existent Magic playing cards with new thematically acceptable artwork.
One such re-flavor within the Counter Blitz deck is Inspiring Name, a inexperienced mana immediate that has been round in varied Magic units because it first appeared in 2015’s Dragons of Tarkir. It’s a easy sufficient card, granting any creatures you management that you simply’ve given +1/+1 counters to momentary safety whereas additionally drawing a couple of playing cards. However in Counter Blitz, it turns into, nicely, extra of an inspiring giggle:
Sure, proper right down to the flavour textual content, we’re getting Yuna and Tidus’ notorious giggle scene from Ultimate Fantasy X in card kind. An early second within the recreation, the scene sees Yuna attempt to cheer Tidus up because the duo and the remainder of the social gathering put together to hold on their pilgrimage to defeat the monstrous entity often called Sin, who Tidus has simply realized (spoilers for a 24-year-old PS2 recreation) is definitely seemingly a reworked corruption of his long-missing father, Jecht. Yuna, figuring out her quest will finally declare her life, tries to get Tidus to learn to disguise his feelings and placed on a cheerful face, first actually after which by comically compelled laughter. The remaining is Ultimate Fantasy meme historical past:
Though the aim of the scene is that Tidus and Yuna’s laughter is supposed to be compelled and awkward sounding (as you possibly can see above, they escape into real laughter instantly after), the clip of their barked laughs has spent the previous two and a half many years taking over a lifetime of its personal as a viral meme, from goofy music edits to dunks on cringy online game voice appearing (X was the primary Ultimate Fantasy to function intensive voice appearing). And now, its legacy is reclaimed in Magic.
It’s simply one among many nice little nods and references all through what we’ve seen of the Ultimate Fantasy set to this point. The Commander Decks have revealed a ton of recent playing cards in the same vein which have nice mechanical nods to their respective video games—a few of my favorites embody Zack Fair in FFVII‘s, which helps you to basically replicate Cloud swiping Zack’s identification after his loss of life, or Champions from Beyond in FFXIV‘s, a really nifty nod to the MMORPG’s social gathering finder mechanic (and one of the coolest moments in its enlargement Shadowbringers). Many of the nods are reverentially critical, befitting the fervour that’s on show for this assembly of fantastical titans. However it’s good that in playing cards like Inspiring Name’s remixing, the Ultimate Fantasy set is aware of when to have a little bit of compelled laughter at itself too.
Magic: The Gathering – Ultimate Fantasy hits cabinets subsequent month on June 13. Head on over to Wizards’ card image gallery for the set to see much more playing cards from the crossover!
Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to anticipate the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and every part it is advisable to find out about the way forward for Doctor Who.
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