Last updated on May 13, 2025
Tidus and Yuna | Final Fantasy X
Wizards threw everyone a bit of a curveball yesterday by revealing the entire Final Fantasy Commander set all at once. All four decks were revealed simultaneously, whereas for most sets, they would be spoiled individually by different content creators over the course of a few days. Maybe WotC was nervous about potential leaks, since they'd have to present those Final Fantasy cards to different parties ahead of time, but whatever the reason, the whole Commander set has been revealed weeks before the main set's full spoiler.
And one of those decks, the Counter Blitz precon, is pulling at players' heartstrings in a way they might not have been ready for. Everyone knew the deck was going to tell the story of Final Fantasy X, but no one was prepared for just how well Magic was going to capture some of that story's most tragic and beautiful moments.
This post will contain spoilers for Final Fantasy X, though it's been almost 24 years, so….
The Party Members
Final Fantasy X is ostensibly a tale of the “Summoner's Journey,” where powerful mages called summoners must take a pilgrimage every 10 years to defeat Sin, a powerful force that returns every decade to wreak havoc on their world. These summoners have guardians, who protect them and fight with them on their pilgrimage. Yuna (summoner) and Tidus (guardian) are the focal point of FF X, and they develop a tragic romance throughout the game, knowing that the end of the pilgrimage spells certain death for at least one of them.
Oh, and the commander cards play pretty damn well together, too.
The heaviest moments come at the end of the game, where Tidus reveals to Yuna that he's going to disappear after their final fight (Final Fantasy games can get a little weird). It's a tearjerker for sure, and they captured that moment perfectly on a Farewell reprint in the precon. Now you can relive that classic moment in MTG while making an entire group of Commander players miserable, too! It might not be a Game Changer in Magic, but it certainly was for Final Fantasy.
Everything In Between
Of course, there's a whole 30-40 hour game before that final sequence, and plenty of charming moments that Final Fantasy fans are sure to recognize on these Magic cards. Of course, there is that one infamous scene everyone talks about….
The “laughter scene” from Final Fantasy X is one of the cringiest things to happen to video games, and it's got a sort of reputation behind it. Though it's also a very important scene in the context of the game. It's a moment in which protagonist Tidus helps Yuna relieve some of the stress of her journey, not yet knowing that her pilgrimage means certain death. There's a naivety to it all, and even though it comes off as a bit goofy (2000's motion capture was still pretty flimsy), it's touching all the same.
Of course, the MTG designers understood the assignment. The flavor text says it best: “Hahahahaha!”
Together Forever was a perfect reprint for this Commander precon, both in story and function, even if it is a boldface lie. But given this deck's emphasis on counters, it fits mechanically while also emphasizing one of the biggest story beats from the game.
Yuna's Decision is basically that same moment, pre-smooching, and also happens to be an absolute new banger of a card. It's certainly worse that Natural Order, but the fact that you can even compare it to Natural Order at all is pretty impressive. It has some explosive potential, and having an alternative double-Regrowth option is some nice modality. Find Another Way, indeed!
And of course, there's the famous whistle reference. At some point during the game, Tidus tells Yuna that if she's ever in need of something, she just has to whistle, and he'll be there to help. Of course, Tidus sort of “peaces out” at the end of the game, leaving Yuna all alone. This all culminates in an ending where Yuna's whistling to try and desperately reach out to a Tidus who's not there, which in turn results in a post-credits scene where, well, play the game for yourself!
Functionally, Yuna's Whistle is a pseudo-cantrip that always replaces itself with a creature, and finding the creature gives you some +1/+1 counters too, so there's combat trick potential as well. Again, it's another nice blend of flavor and function, really driving home how well this Commander deck was designed.
X Out of X
Summoner's Sending | Illustration by Yumi Yaoshida
Counter Blitz is an excellently-designed Commander precon. It's a fresh take on a +1/+1 counter themed deck, with more open-ended designs allowing people to brew with all sorts of counters. Thematically, it's a quick snapshot at one of Final Fantasy‘s most beloved stories, with all the right story beats in place. You can tell a lot of care went into the design of the deck, and that's just one of four Commander precons, let alone everything that'll appear in the main set.
Final Fantasy is making a name for itself as a Universes Beyond product, and it seems to be hitting all the right chords, even if some of those are in the heart itself. Check out all the Commander decklists here, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
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