Magic: The Gatheringcards usually do a good job communicating a story through their mechanics, but after playingFinal Fantasy 6, I’m a bit confused by Terra Branford’s abilities. I was about 90% of the way through my first playthrough ofFF6when Terra’s Magic card got spoiled, and while her first ability made sense to me, I was still waiting for her second one to make sense. I assumed I just hadn’t gotten to that point in the story yet, but after beating the game, I’m still left scratching my head a bit.
Terra will appear inMagic: The Gatheringas one of theFinal FantasyCommander deck leaders. Terra appears alongside otherFinal Fantasyprotagonists, like Cloud Strife fromFF7and Tidus fromFF10.Terra stands out from these other cards as having a slightly weaker thematic tie between one of her abilities inMagicand her mechanics inFinal Fantasy 6.
Terra’s MTG Ability Makes More Sense For Another FF6 Character
Locke’s Story In FF6 Is More Closely Tied With Resurrection
Terra’s first ability inMagic: The Gatheringdoes make a lot of sense. When she enters her Trance form in the game, Terra gains the ability to fly, much like she does on herMagiccard. However, I am slightly more confused with her second ability, which allows her to revive creatures after damaging her opponent. Terra’s focus inFF6tends to be more on offensive fire spells, which would seem to fit more closely withMagic’s burn mechanics than graveyard support.
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Now, based on what Magicite you equip to Terra (or anyFF6character), she can learn resurrection spells. That said,her use of them doesn’t tie into the main story in any significant way. Instead, it is another principal character fromFinal Fantasy 6’s cast for whom these mechanics would map more smoothly onto: Locke Cole.
Because resurrection plays a much more prevalent role in Locke’s story than Terra’s, it’s surprising to see it on Terra’s card.
A major part of Locke’s story inFinal Fantasy 6is his trying to revive a former romantic partner, Rachel. Locke eventually succeeds in doing so with the Phoenix Esper’s Magicite. After Rachel briefly returns, she helps fully resurrect the Phoenix and gives its power to Locke. Because resurrection plays a much more prevalent role in Locke’s story than Terra’s, it’s surprising to see it on Terra’s card.
Now, Locke and/or the Phoenix could appear in the 99 forTerra’s Commander deck inMTG,Revival Trance, as it will partially focus on returning cards from the graveyard. While I understandMagicwanting to include one of the key mechanics for the deck on its face commander,I can’t help but feel that it’s a bit strange to see the ability on Terra. I’m not surprised she got top billing for theFF6deck, but I still can’t help but feel that the Flavor is just slightly off here.
Terra’s MTG Card Mirrors Her Final Fantasy Card Game Appearance
Terra Also Brings Back Cards In The Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Interestingly,Terra’s ability inMagic: The Gatheringsomewhat mirrors her ability in theFinal Fantasy Trading Card Game. On the Terra EX card from the game’sHidden Trialsexpansion, Terra can retrieve a Summon card from the player’s Break Zone to their hand. The Break Zone is similar toMagic’s graveyard, where single-use cards like summons or defeated characters are sent.
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Although this would make it seem like resurrection is part of Terra’s abilities in both games, I think there’s a clear distinction here. A Summon card isn’t a character but instead represents one of the powerful entities that can be summoned byFinal Fantasycharacters. Terra’s ability to retrieve Summons could be a nod to her half-esper side since espers are the Summon entities inFF6. To me,that seems slightly more thematic than Terra reviving creatures inMagic.
Terra Stands Out Among MTG’s Final Fantasy Cards
Other Final Fantasy Protagonists Have Tight Theming In MTG
I don’t think Terra’sMagic: The Gatheringcard would stand out to me so much if theother characters previewed so far weren’t so mechanically sound based on theirFinal Fantasyabilities. Tidus, for example, focuses on buffing your other creatures inMagic, similar to how his Cheer ability works inFinal Fantasy 10. While Cloud’s ability seems slightly more generic - allFinal Fantasycharacters use equipment - this makes sense based on how iconic his weapon is. I recently mentioned Cloud to friends who don’t playFinal Fantasy, and one asked, “Is that the guy with the big sword?”
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OtherFinal Fantasycards inMagicare evenloyal to their source material at the expense of making them seem absurd forMagic. Thenew CactuarMagiccard is controversialthanks to its ability to deal 10,000 damage in a game where starting life totals are typically between 20 and 40. This is a huge Flavor win, as Cactuar’s 10,000 Needles attack always inflicts that much damage inFinal Fantasygames.
Now, I get that not allMagic: The Gatheringcards can nail the narrative elements of their mechanics. Gameplay takes precedence over Flavor, so occasionally, some concessions need to be made. However, I would have thought the protagonist from one of the series’ best games would be a prime candidate for some tight theming. That said, I will reserve my full judgment on the card until I see the rest of theRevival TranceCommander deck, as this theming might make more sense in relation to other cards in the deck.
