The 30 Best White Cards in Final Fantasy Ranked

Bahamut, Warden of Light | Illustration by Kevin Glint

Final Fantasy is here, and we now know all of the cards in it. These games are known for their selfless heroes, strong-knit teams, and the forces of good, so I expect there to be a whole bunch of good cards in Magic’s most selfless color.

What are the best of the best here, though? And what formats do we expect them to excel in? Let’s dive in, shall we?

What Are White Cards in Final Fantasy?

Aerith Gainsborough | Illustration by Nakamura8

When talking about white cards, I’m looking at cards with a color identity of white. This means I’ll include anything that you can play with a mono-white commander. I’m not looking at multi-colored cards with white in their casting costs, or any cards that have a different color on their back side or a mana symbol in their text box. I’m also not looking at artifacts or lands unless they have white in their identity, even though you could play them with a mono-white commander, too.

I’m considering anything that you can find in a booster of Final Fantasy, so including the main set, Standard legal set (FIN), as well as the Final Fantasy Commander decks (FIC) and Final Fantasy: Through the Ages (FCA), the reprint sheet included in boosters.

#30. Angel of the Ruins

Let’s start off with a lowly uncommon, but one that’s probably better than you expect. Angel of the Ruins is expensive, but it has a pretty good ETB. It’s also an angel, which are always popular, and it can chuck itself into your bin. If you manage to blink this a couple of times, you’re going to get your mana’s worth, and although a 5/7 for 7 isn’t much these days, it’s still not nothing.

#29. Ashe, Princess of Dalmasca

Ashe, Princess of Dalmasca is the first of many legends we’re going to see today. A 3/2 for 3 that can draw a card is not to be sniffed at, although you do want to play a good number of artifacts to make sure you get that extra card. If you’re really lucky, you also get some selection in there, but you also run the risk of wiffing if you have my luck….

#28. Path to Exile

Path to Exile is a solid removal spell that seems to be printed just about everywhere these days. It’s always been popular, and seeing it with some art from Final Fantasy isn’t a bad thing. It may have fallen out of favor in Constructed formats in recent years, but it’s still solid removal in Commander.

#27. Zack Fair

Zack Fair might slip under some peoples’ radar, but don’t underestimate this one. There’s a chance it can do some silly things by passing equipment around, although I’m slightly skeptical of that myself. Even if it doesn’t do that, it’s a good rate in either a counter deck or an equipment deck, and notable for an uncommon.

#26. Cid, Freeflier Pilot

Cid, Freeflier Pilot is a lot of value, and a cost reducer is always worth a look. The benefit here is that equipment and vehicle cards generally have generic casting costs rather than colored, so you can do some really silly things. If you manage to clone Cid, you can go around things in a completely different way. Watch out for this old pilot; it’s got some tricks about it!

#25. Chocobo Knights

Giving your whole team double strike is always fun, or scary if your opponents are doing it. Chocobo Knights doesn’t quite do that, but it does give the stuff with counters that ability, and buffing your already buffed creatures has to be a good time. Bonus points here because the bird doesn’t need to attack itself. Kweh!

#24. Moogles’ Valor

I love seeing different takes on a Fog. If you have a bunch of creatures and your opponent is attacking, swarming them with a pack of Moogles sounds pretty funny to me, kupo! I’d probably play Moogles' Valor in any lifegain EDH deck, but honestly, it could probably find a home in any white deck that makes creatures.

#23. Ultimate Magic: Holy

Ultimate Magic: Holy feels like it should be higher on the list from the perspective of Final Fantasy, but, honestly, I’m kinda disappointed. We’ve seen these kinds of effects for similar mana costs in the past, and nothing about it really feels ultimate to me. It’ll still see play and it’s a good enough card, but it’s more tier 2 than I feel it should have been.

#22. Aerith Gainsborough

Wow, haven’t Ajani's Pridemates come a long way? Aerith Gainsborough has lifelink itself, which is obviously a powerful ability to give a card like this. Porting over the counters on it to potentially multiple creatures when it dies is great, too, especially if you’re playing with legendary typal.

#21. Cleansing Nova

Cleansing Nova is a classic, and it provides some good flexibility. It’s seen a lot of play in Commander, obviously, and another reprint isn’t a bad thing. Staples like this need regular reprints to keep them affordable.

#20. Dion, Bahamut’s Dominant / Bahamut, Warden of Light

Even before you look at the back side, Dion, Bahamut's Dominant is a good rate. Four mana for a 3/3 and a 2/2, both of which have flying when they attack, isn’t bad. Not great for a rare in Constructed, but powerful enough. Clearly if you’re playing this, you want to transform it into Bahamut, Warden of Light. The back side isn’t bad, although it’s not game breaking-either. I really like the card as a whole, though.

#19. Swords to Plowshares

Swords to Plowshares is an oldie but a goodie. It seems to be reprinted everywhere, but that’s fine for such a powerful card. It’s a classic for a reason, and seeing it with new art and flavor text is great.

#18. Clever Concealment

Clever Concealment is a good card that I didn’t even really know about until this reprint, if I’m being honest. It’s a good, potentially free way to save your team from a wipe while not being overpowered. I like the design, and I’m happy to see it again (or for the first time, even!).

#17. Battle Menu

Modality is always great on a Magic card. Battle Menu provides a lot of that, as well as being a very flavorful meta reference. Sometimes people see these types of effects as boring, but they’re the bread and butter of a solid shell, and this one gets a tick from me.

#16. Hero of Light (Adeline, Resplendent Cathar)

Hero of Light is a reskin of Adeline, Resplendent Cathar from the Through the Ages bonus sheet. Adeline was an important card in the Standard format of the time, but it hasn’t seen a huge amount of play since. It’s one of the stronger white beatdown creatures, though, and it deserves this spot on the list.

#15. Auron, Venerated Guardian

Auron, Venerated Guardian is a really interesting take on a Fiend Hunter effect. Getting the chance to remove something every attack is powerful, and I’m pleased this one isn’t going to be in the Limited format as it would be a menace. I’m not sure exactly where this will see play because it’s in the Commander set, but it has a chance.

#14. Sun Titan

Sun Titan is a classic, and it’s great to see a reprint. I’m not completely sure what this art references, as I haven’t played FFVI for some time, but it’s sweet. There’s not much to say about this value engine. It’s a very heavily-played card and one that’s loved by many players.

#13. Blessing of the Oracle (Akroma’s Will)

Blessing of the Oracle is another reskin, this time Akroma's Will. A solid finisher, it’s already had a couple of reprints since its printing in Commander Legends. It’s still worth around $10, so it’s good to see another reprint.

#12. Ishgard, the Holy See

Ishgard, the Holy See is the white adventure land in the main Final Fantasy set, and it’s a pretty nice entry in the cycle. We’ve seen spell lands be powerful with MDFCs, and this works in a similar way. We’ll have to see what the cost of coming in tapped is, but most white decks in Standard will likely want at least one of these.

#11. The Wind Crystal

The crystal cycle is splitting the player base, but I think they all have a place somewhere. The Wind Crystal is a great addition to a white lifegain deck. Is there any other kind of lifegain deck out there? It's a fantastic way to close out the game in EDH, too, jumping your whole team, repeatedly if need be!

#10. Minwu, Rebellion Strategist (Mangara, the Diplomat)

Mangara, the Diplomat was leading the charge of white’s return to the fore after being the butt of color pie jokes for years. It’s reprinted here as Minwu, Rebellion Strategist. Mangara is a sweet design, and it works well in a lot of decks. I don’t know whose idea it was to include it here, but it was a good choice.

#9. Garnet Til Alexandros 17th (Loran of the Third Path)

Loran of the Third Path was a surprise hit when it first came out, and Garnet (or Dagger) feels like a good fit from a flavor perspective. Another good choice of a card that might not be pricey, but this gets on top of any future price rises that would inevitably happen without the reprint.

#8. Luminous Broodmoth

Luminous Broodmoth has been a quietly expensive card since it was printed, so again we’re quite happy to see a reprint. I’ve always enjoyed this design, and I’ve had fun with it in some Pioneer combo deck.

#7. Ultima

Ultima is a super interesting form of a board wipe. Ending the turn takes some unpacking for what it actually means, but when everything goes to the graveyard from the wipe, there’s no time for death triggers to resolve, which can be huge upside. Of course you can’t wipe then play something else right after, but there are times when it’s just the right piece. If you can find a way to skip detrimental end step triggers, you’re looking at a good time.

#6. Damning Verdict

Damning Verdict feels great for a counters matter deck. It may be a little worse than I originally thought as so many cards give counters these days, but I still have high hopes. Of course, 5-mana wipes are a dime a dozen, so this could just fall by the wayside.

#5. Summon: Knights of Round

I love the design of Summon: Knights of Round. For those who don’t know, it’s famous for being an attack/summon whose animation takes around 1 minute and 20 seconds to play out. It makes it very flavorful to be the saga with the most chapters in Final Fantasy.

In gameplay terms, it’s definitely strong. You probably won’t cast this, but it’s worth thinking about how to cheat it out. It’s indestructible and makes bodies every turn, making it somewhat resilient to board wipes. The ultimate “board in a box.”

#4. Knights of San d’Oria (Ranger-Captain of Eos)

Knights of San d'Oria is a reskin of the very sought-after Ranger-Captain of Eos. This has seen a price spike due to its use in Modern recently, so it’s great to see it here. It’s a powerful creature, one of the more sought-after humans in the game, and it sees play in multiple formats. Banger reprint.

#3. Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary is the Cloud from the main set, not the Commander deck or the Starter Kit. An equipment tutor, as well as a Panharmonicon, this is cheap enough to see play in competitive formats. The main question is whether it has the supporting cards around it. If it’s not played immediately, I think it would only need one or two more cards to tip it over the edge. There’s a lot of hype around this Cloud!

#2. Austere Command

Austere Command is one of the more flexible board wipes, and it’s pretty easy to make it work in your favor: You take out your opponents biggest threats while you leave the important parts of your board in place. It's been printed into the ground, so it didn’t need this to bring the price down. Plus, a bit of Shinra art does help make this extra cool.

#1. Farewell

If Austere Command provides a bit of flexibility with your board wipe, Farewell provides it in bucket fulls. Love it or hate it, you know it’s powerful, and what a moment to choose from FFX, too. This is going to be a sought-after version of an already (fairly) sought-after card, and it’s a great inclusion in my opinion.

Wrap Up

Luminous Broodmoth | Illustration Kazto Furuya

So. That’s my take on the best of the best white cards in the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set. Do you agree?

Between the three sub-sets, each with their own legalities and plenty of reprints, the offerings look pretty nice, and I’m intrigued to see how the other colors fare.

What did I miss, though? Come on, I had to have missed something with all the cards on offer. Or gotten something wrong. Go on, sound off down in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord. Or say that I’m a clever cloggs and nailed it. I don’t mind either way.

If you’re interested in cards from another color, check out our ranking of the best cards in Final Fantasy by color: Blue / Black / Red / Green.

Good luck when cracking your boosters. See you ‘round!