This Is So Peak: A Final Fantasy X Retrospective Through the Lens of Magic: The Gathering
I saw a tweet by a cohort the other day along the lines of, “How are we supposed to build hype but still be mindful of these prices?” Listen to my story… This may be our only chance.
Before we get into this article, I need to address the Shoopuf in the room. The price on this product is insane! We have seen a lot of increases over the time and—while some people like to boil like frogs—I think it’s worth making a bit of a noise every time it starts to get this much, although the frustrating thing is this will still likely sell like hotcakes and that will turn the crank just one more notch to the right. “It’s only $100.” Well firstly, thank you for identifying yourself as an American. Secondly, for the rest of us in the world, these Commander decks are going to be coming in at around $200 a pop. While prices will stabilize after release, I can’t in good conscience encourage anyone to preorder this product at these prices.
The developers really put a lot of effort into this product. It truly feels like a love letter to Final Fantasy. Daniel Holt was the lead designer for the Final Fantasy Commander decks and he’s on record saying that Final Fantasy X is his favorite game in the series. Don’t worry, Daniel. I can tell.
One more thing: This article contains story spoilers for Final Fantasy X! Do not continue if you don’t want to read them. You’ve been warned.
What is Final Fantasy X?
Final Fantasy X is widely considered one of the best games in the Final Fantasy series. It released in 2001 on the PlayStation 2 and sported amazing graphics for its time, as well as being the first Final Fantasy game to include voice acting. (Have you ever heard of foreshadowing?)
I bought this game with one of my first paychecks when I was 15 years old. I took it home, plugged my console in, and didn’t leave my basement until it was done. This game’s story hit me like a freight train. It’s a wonderful love story about fighting against the odds and finding a reason to exist together. Cue “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” by Barenaked Ladies.
The story is hard to summarize—owing in part to its use of time travel—but our story begins with our protagonist being yeeted into another world. The story progresses from meeting new characters and friends and then eventually facing a calamity known as Sin. They also play a lot of underwater polo along the way. If this all sounds confusing, that’s because it is.
This is very much your standard anime-style story progression where you start out playing a ball game on the beach and you’re then told to kill a god and tear down everything it represents. With that out of the way, let’s move into something a lot more simple to understand: the main characters.
Tidus is a character with a heart of gold. He’s essentially the David Beckham of his time in a sport called Blitzball. He lives in the shadow of his abusive father Jecht, who isn’t featured in this deck although he does appear on Pull from Tomorrow. He’s on his way to play a Blitzball game when he encounters Sin and then he winds up on a journey through Spira to eventually overcome Sin and save the world. Tidus’s mechanics of passing counters around is a reference to the sphere grid and I believe the card draw is a representation of scoring points in Blitzball.
Yuna is a summoner that Tidus encounters during his journey. She’s essentially as much of a main character in this game as Tidus (if not arguably the main character?). She’s on a journey to collect these summons known as Aeons in order to defeat Sin. Yuna’s gifts as a summoner allow her to both summon creatures, make them stronger, and send Spirits to their rest in the Farplane, all of which is reflected in the mechanics of her card. With summons being represented by Sagas and getting counters each turn, she has interesting mechanics that translate her abilities into the game of Magic.
Sin is also one of the main characters in this story. Pretty much everything in this narrative hinges upon its existence. The calamity of Sin is endless and the cycle keeps repeating, because when Sin is defeated by the summoner, the summoner’s guardian becomes the new Sin. This is why Sin puts counters on another creature and then shuffles itself into the library, representing the Calm before its eventual return.
We first see Auron when he sends Tidus into another reality. His mechanics feature a fun nod to blinking people out of existence. He’s basically a professional aura farmer, so he always looks cool no matter what he’s doing. He’s the father figure and mentor of the party and he rallies them and acts as a pillow of support during the game. Auron is looked up to as a hero by many people, but he doesn’t believe that he deserves their praise.
I’m not even going to try to defend Wakka in 2025. Wakka is a Yevonite, which is captured in his Trygon Predator effect. Yevonites believe that machina and other technology attract Sin. Wakka begins the game as a bigoted anti-technology zealot because he blames machina for his brother’s death at the hands of Sin, but he grows a lot during the game when he has a crisis of faith. Reach is a fun nod to the fact that he throws the Blitzball and is excellent against aerial enemies.
Lulu is the Black Mage of the party, despite there being no black mana in the deck. I honestly don’t get this one. It just doesn’t feel like Lulu. In the story, she acts as a stern mother figure and eventually whips Wakka into shape (literally) and they settle down together! Oh, true love! I wish that this card felt more like Lulu, but it does fit the deck’s theme and mechanics pretty well.
Kimahri is a Ronso, a species of anthropomorphic felines that protect Mt. Gazaget. The Ronso are a proud people known for their strength and honor, as well as their long horns. Kimahri was always smaller than his peers and his broken horn was a source of shame, but he proves himself to be a valuable member of the party as one of Yuna’s guardians. He represents a different side of Simic than the usual drawing cards and playing lands.
Rikku is the thief of the party, moving counters around and putting them on your stuff. She plays really well in this deck’s counters theme. She’s one of the Al Bhed, a group of people who plunder ancient machina. Her people are looked down on by the main religion of Spira—including Wakka—because of their use of machina. She has a great hit and run style on this card and might even make a good Ninja commander.
Seymour is another secondary antagonist in this game. He looks like a stereotypical anime antagonist and he’s a real jerk who’s using his powers to manipulate the church in a bid to force Yuna to marry him. While it’s a little simple, the card actually does a decent job of representing this guy because he turns himself into a disgusting monster when the party fights him. If this sounds like an anime trope, that’s because it is.
Okay, this story makes me sad. I can’t go into this whole thing about Sin being created to battle these powerful machina and all of the sacrifice that these kids are forced to make. Here’s a short video essay.
Editor’s note: Nathan apparently considers a video that is over four hours long to be a short video essay. You have been warned.
At the beginning of the game, Sin attacks Zanarkand and Tidus is yeeted into another time by Auron. We see these events represented in the reprints of Inexorable Tide and Path to Exile in this Commander deck. There are a lot of great reprints in this deck that do a great job of translating classic Magic cards into pivotal story moments from the game. Most of the biggest story beats are represented by these reprints.
Promise of Loyalty represents the party’s resolve to continue on after learning the true nature of the world and they pledge to end the cycle of Sin’s Rebirth. At the height of the story, Tidus and Yuna come to terms with the fact that this journey will likely end with both of their deaths. Yuna’s Decision depicts this moment. This represents Yuna sacrificing herself and Tidus—which results in Tidus becoming the new Sin—or trying to find another way. In my eyes, you win the game if you put Sin into play with this card.
Whether you’ve played Final Fantasy X or not, you probably know that one scene shown on Inspiring Call. Tidus and Yuna realize that they will likely have to die in order to complete their mission and they’re doing their best to carry on and steel themselves. This scene looks ridiculous out of context, but it shows two teenagers trying to avoid breaking down in the face of adversity. Together Forever is the moment where Tidus and Yuna choose each other. They’re 17 years old and a bunch of adults are trying to send them into a meat grinder to maintain the status quo.
Every Universes Beyond that brings a new version of Farewell tries to up the ante on sadness and hurt me more. This card represents the moment when Tidus is sent out of existence at the end of the game because he has been existing out of his time. Farewell is one of those cards that people love to hate, but this version of the card is beyond reproach when it comes to capturing the intense sadness of this moment at the end of the game where Yuna is banishing everything including Tidus because that’s the cost to end the cycle.
All Tidus and Yuna share before he’s gone is one final embrace. That’s all they’ve ever gotten this entire time. There is no happy ending but this is their one moment of peace and it had to be enough. Sorry, this card inflicts the same type of psychic damage on me as it does when someone casts it with all modes. I need a moment.
Editor’s note: Nathan appears to have blacked out due to trauma during this part of the transcript. I’m sure he’ll be okay momentarily.
…and I’m back. Don’t worry. Final Fantasy X-2 exists. Yuna decides, “Nah, this is some bull@#$%!” She grabs a gun, the girls, and goes on a Thelma and Louise style adventure to get her man back, but that’s a different story and a different game. After you’ve already fought god for your loved ones, going for round two doesn’t feel impossible at all. Of course, you have to do everything perfectly to get this ending, but it’s worth it!
I have the Fenrir logo from Final Fantasy VII tattooed on my chest. It’s a defining game that is a core part of who I am today. Since 1997, I have always maintained that it was my favorite game in the series. After seeing all of these cards from FFX and feeling the emotions that were brought back as I relived the story, I believe that FF7 may no longer be my favorite based on where I’m at in my life right now. This deck was a work of love. You can tell that from top to bottom, each card is carefully selected to guide the player across the story of Final Fantasy X. Daniel and his team knocked this out of the park.
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