Last updated on June 17, 2025
Vivi Ornitier – Illustrated by Toshiyuki Itahana
Final Fantasy x MTG has been out globally for four days, and that short span has been enough for Vivi Ornitier to prove to the whole world that the hype was real.
And not just in the Commander format, where players instantly noticed his potential. During the weekend, the Izzet wizard has proven it can punch up in more than one Magic format – and, in the MTG market, is repeating the same trick we saw a month ago: Kicking the price of old, obscure cards into the stratosphere.
This Is What Peak Multi-Format Stardom Looks Like
Vivi Ornitier – Illustration by Toni Infante
Vivi Ornitier was noticed as a strong Commander card as soon as it was revealed a month ago. Well… turns out that such impression may have been incorrect: This thing is strong everywhere!
Source: MTGTop8
Pioneer players are not yet sure if Vivi really has a place in Arclight Phoenix , but it looks like Lotus Field may be very happy with the lil' Izzet wizard. Vivi Ornitier has also shown it can earn a place in Izzet Prowess in Standard; it has cEDH punch both in the Command Zone, or in the 99 of Kraum + Tymna or Krark + Thrasios decks; it's also making inroads in Duel Commander.
In short: Vivi Ornitier is both a powerful card in a vacuum, and it also happens to fit like a glove in preexisting strong archetypes.
In particular, it's true that Izzet Prowess doesn't need much help to take down a Standard tournament. But the results of the MTGO RC Super Qualifier are pretty telling: Bullwinkkle6705 took it down with 3 copies of Vivi in their main deck, while RespectTheCat ended in the Top 4 with a very similar build.
Source: MTGTop8
Like in Standard, part of Vivi's allure in Commander is how easily it fits into existing, powerful shells. But he's also a bona fide powerhouse all by himself – and when you tally the Commander decks he shows up, either in the command zone (7441 decks currently per EDHREC) and in the 99 (4820 decks at the time of writing), Vivi Ornitier is the most popular Final Fantasy card, bar none.
“It's one of the best, if not the best commander in this set,” notes u/CatPeachy in a thread gauging Vivi's power level in Commander.
“He'll make a commander so good,” says u/camsteh, “that the rest of the table will likely not let you play with him much at all!”
A Vivid Market
As it will come to no surprise to you, a multi-format staple that happens to be the strongest commander from the best-selling MTG set ever is pushing a lot of older cards up, as players rush to flesh out their Vivi Ornitier EDH decks.
Quicksilver Elemental
I wouldn't fault you for glancing at Quicksilver Elemental and groaning, “Hey, tell us something we don't already know.” After all, we wrote about it a month ago, when Vivi Ornitier spiked this long-forgotten blue creature from Mirrodin by a crazy 3000%.
Thing is, after its price plateaued, now Vivi Ornitier is spiking Quicksilver Elemental… again!
Source: MTGStocks
Back in May, it went from draft chaff to around $15-$17. Now it has seen a more “modest” spike of just around 120%, pushing it to the $35-$40 range.
In case it's not obvious, Quicksilver Elemental‘s shtick is that it can copy Vivi Ornitier‘s activated ability any number of times (read: infinitely), and each copy of the ability can be activated independently so you get around that pesky “once per turn” limit, effectively looping it for infinite mana.
Harmonic Prodigy
It took the market a bit more to remember that Harmonic Prodigy is a thing; in particular, a thing that can double triggers from another Wizard like, say, Vivi Ornitier.
Source: MTGStocks
What do you know: Vivi Ornitier happened to have another triggered ability that read, “Double Harmonic Prodigy‘s price, from around $7 last week to about $14 now,” as more than 67% of Vivi EDH decks rush to add a copy.
Ophidian Eye
Not as dramatic as in ‘s case, but this Curiosity at flash speed shows a very similar curve: huge early spike as soon as Vivi Ornitier was revealed…
Source: MTGStocks
… and another bump right about now, as late adopters realize that the Vivi hype is real and add Ophidian Eye to their Vivi Ornitier decks.
Or their Y'shtola, Night's Blessed deck, because that seems to be the core rule of anything blue that goes up right now: If it's blue and the Wizard wants it, the Esper Cat Warlock wants to play with it too!
Savor the Moment
Savor the Moment is an extra-turn piece that about 15% of Vivi Ornitier decks are toying with. And, in particular, it looks like a card that cEDH Vivi decks may be very happy with:
Source: MTGTop8
Unsurprisingly, Savor the Moment‘s starting to trend upwards.
Not by much just yet (a 30% increase since last week), but like many other cards that Final Fantasy has sent sky-high, this is a fairly old card with a single print – which suggests it may also go through the stratosphere soon.
Source: MTGTop8
Geralf the Fleshwright & Agatha’s Soul Cauldron
As Tim reported yesterday, “More ambitious players have brewed up Standard decks looking to combine Vivi with Agatha's Soul Cauldron as a means to distribute the black mage's mana ability to other creatures.” And Geralf, the Fleshwright has also shown up, his zombies becoming big Sol Rings when you throw Vivi into the Cauldron.
The Cauldron's price has been fairly stable thus far, but Geralf is starting to show upward pressure.
Wrap Up
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed – Illustration by Magali Villeneuve
Four days in, Vivi Ornitier is running the MTG secondary market like he owns it. He’s already a top-200 commander on EDHREC, is starting to fulfill his cEDH promise, and feels right at home in Standard's most popular deck. All while pushing combo pieces like Quicksilver Elemental, Harmonic Prodigy, and Ophidian Eye into double-digit gains.
Hype season is over: This is what Magic stardom looks like!
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