I have just started to work on a Final Fantasy IX--one of my all time favorite games--inspired set and wanted to share my designs, process, and eventual final product with you. I welcome constructive feedback, particularly from those familiar with the flavor and lore of FF9. I've wanted to create this set for an extremely long time, but I had been lacking some of the card types and/or conventions needed to make certain ideas work (e.g. no vehicles or legendary uncommons). I have some around 100 different weapons, places, vehicles, characters, and creatures accounted for in my planned designs so far, but would like to get this up to the size of a set.
Here are some of my designs focused around the earliest sections of Disc 1 of FF9 (and a couple Eidolons because why not).
Plant SpiderG
Creature - Plant Spider (C)
1/2
Notes: I know, I know, vanilla 1 drop. Wooooo. Every set needs them though!
Sealion1UU
Creature - Fish Beast (C)
If you control a creature name Black Waltz 1 it gains “U: This creature can’t be blocked until end of turn.”
3/2
Notes: Foreshadowing! I bet you know what other design is coming later in this preview! Sealion and Black Waltz 1 are BFF's.
Zaghnol2GG
Creature - Beast (C)
Trample
4/3
Notes: This one is a must include as it plays such a prominent role in the Festival of the Hunt!
Black Waltz IB
Creature - Robot Wizard (U)
If you control a creature names Sealion it gains “B:Regenerate Sealion” (The next time this creature would be destroyed this turn, it isn’t. Instead tap it, remove all damage from it, and remove it from combat.)
2/1
Notes: And there it is! Thought regenerate would really capture the flavor of how Black Waltz 1 heals the Sealion in the game. Common and uncommon for the two creatures help ensure they can both be drafted with ease.
Black Waltz II2B
Creature - Robot Wizard (U)
Flying, Deathtouch
2/3
Notes: Similarly to the game, not a whole lot of differnce between 1 and 2 besides the addition of flying and a little more lethal.
Black Waltz III4B
Creature - Robot Wizard (U)
Flying 5B: Return Black Waltz III from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
4/3
Notes: The whole Black Waltz series is uncommon as there are just too many better choices for rares/mythics from FF9. This one recurs to invoke its return appearance in Disc 2!
Ifrit1R
Legendary Creature - Eidolon (U)
Trample, Haste
When Ifrit is summoned it deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Sacrifice Ifrit at the beginning of the next end step.
3/1
Notes: Eidolons are uncommon and 2 mana! What?! Yes! Well the more basic ones at least...Ifrit can be a more expensive Spark Elemental when played normally, but if he is summoned first (NOTE: This is not the same as casting or entering the battlefield! You will see how summon works with the mythic reveal!) then you get added value!
Shiva1U
Legendary Creature - Eidolon (U)
When Shiva is summoned target tapped permanent an opponent controls does not untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Whenever Shiva blocks a creature, that creature does not untap during its controller’s next untap step.
1/3
Notes: The second revealed eidolon! Summon mechanic is coming!
Regent CidR
Legendary Creature - Oglop (U)
Menace
Vehicles cost 1 less to cast.
1/1
Notes: Aw, poor Cid. At least he got a vehicle cost reduction mechanic to go with his engineering brilliance.
Prison CageBG
Creature - Treefolk Horror (U)
When Prison Cage enters the battlefield put a sap counter on target creature. 2: Target creature with a sap counter gets -1/-1 and Prison Cage gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
2/2
Notes: Remember these from the Evil Forest? They are back to drain your characters!
Theatre Ship Tantalus3
Artifact - Vehicle (R)
Flying
Crew 2
When Theatre Ship Tantalus deals combat damage to a player you may take control of target legendary creature that player controls with a converted mana cost of 3 or less.
3/4
Notes: Get all that flavor! The theatre ship is here to kidnap your princess. Oh, you want to see the princess? Fine.
Princess DaggerWU
Creature - Human Shaman (M)
Lifelink
Princess Dagger enters the battlefield with two mute counters.
At the beginning of your upkeep remove a mute counter from Princess Dagger, then if there are no mute counters on Princess Dagger you may summon an Eidolon(Search your library for an Eidolon type card and pay its converted mana cost to put it into your hand, shuffle your library afterwards).
2/2
Notes: Here's your summoner! There will be a few. Summon is a tutor effect that requires you to pay the cost of the eidolon you are tutoring. When you do so however you are rewarded with that Eidolon's summon affect and you get to put it into your hand! Also, all the flavor! "Dagger can't concentrate!" Dagger needs two discs to clear her head and those two discs are represented by mute counters! After they are gone she summons each one of your upkeeps! She's also a healer, so lifelink works well here.
Places
Qu's Marsh
Land (U)
Qu’s Marsh enters the battlefield tapped.
: Add B 3, : Create a 0/1 Green frog token.
Note: All the frogs!
Chocobo's Forest
Land (U)
: Add 1
: Add R or G. Activate this ability only if you control Chocobo’s Lagoon and Chocobo’s Air Garden.
Notes: A chocobo land inspired by the tron lands.
Treno, City of Nobles
Land (R)
: Flip a coin. If heads, add one mana of any color to your mana pool, if tails, lose 2 life.
1, : Create a colorless artifact token named Gil. It has “Sacrifice this artifact: Add 1.”
Notes: The first ability is meant to capture the class divide, and the second ability is a fun reference to Gil the currency of FF9.
Hope you enjoyed these as much as I enjoyed making them. Here are a few of my upcoming ideas still in the works.
- Zidane, Kuja, and Garland as the PW's of the set. My rationale here is that they are the only two who have gone between two "planes" and they're all rather different in color allignment and the types of effects I would assign to them.
- Right now I'm working on executing a design that makes sense for Mog and Gizamaluke. Also going to try to incorporate some spells or events as instants/sorceries/enchantments.
- Also working on a flip-land for Village of Dali/Underground Factory
Thanks for looking! Check in over the next few weeks for further updates!
Village of Dali
Land (R)
1, : Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Tap an untapped human you control, : Put a production counter on Village of Dali.
During your end step if Village of Dali has two or more productions counters, transform it. "Kwehhhh!" Underground Factory
Land (R)
At the beginning of each upkeep you may pay 2, If you do create a 1/1 Black robot wizard token with “ :This creature deals 1 damage to any target.”
"Killll!"
Notes: The front side Village of Dali represents a farming community that is losing its manpower to the production of black mage soldiers. The mana fixing ability is how I'm representing farming and having to tap humans to get the counters exemplifies the manpower shifting from the farms to producing the soldiers. The each upkeep trigger is supposed to invoke a factory like production and the pinging ability represents a black mage's fireball. The flavor texts mirror one another to contrast life and death much like this segment of the game.
- Sealion: I get that it's the name of the creature in the game, but this card could still use a better name.
- The Black Mages aren't robots in-game, so why would they be Robots (more like Constructs) here? My suggestion would be to make them either Elementals, Horrors, or just typeless Wizards.
- The Waltzes are specific entities in the game, so why are they nonlegendary?
- Eidolons only working when they're put on the field with a specific ability 1) isn't reflective of the game mechanics you seem to want to evoke and 2) is just unfun in terms of gameplay. In Limited, Ifrit's going to be just a bad Ball Lightning that makes you feel bad because you didn't get one of (I assume from your current seeming design plan to make summoning only be done by specific summoners) three specific cards; in Constructed, why would I not just play Ball Lightning if this more expensive variation only pops with (so far) one specific mythic?
- Black Waltz 1's power level (a nonlegendary 2/1 for one black mana with upside) grossly exceeds the power level of creatures B has access to.
- Making Regent Cid of all people legendary and not the second main protagonist is... weird.
- Speaking of said protagonist, the card design is not only inaccurate to the game itself, which I assume is against your goals (Garnet could summon eidolons way before Alexandria was destroyed) and just kind of... dull. Reducing one of the most important people in the narrative to one moment of it design-wise strikes me as an odd choice.
- The whole set so far has an issue I have with a lot of third-party fansets: they just feel like copy-pastes of the original game, wanting to fit in every single aspect as a representation and thus creating something that feels less like an M:TG set and more like a round peg in a square hole. The kind of third-party reference set that works, in my opinion, is the kind that adopts a sort of broad-strokes approach; not making direct one-to-one references of every single aspect and character, but treating the original source material more like the way WoTC treats their own planes in a set like, say, Theros. Not every individual figure or place gets a representation, and many cards are just representations of species, or conflicts, or locations and their weather, or the kind of magic and society the world has, etc. It's kind of hard to explain with words, but I believe Magic Set Editor user HonchkrowDavid's Skyrim Remastered: Nine Divines Edition is a good example of this "plane-ifying" approach. Of course, I'm not saying you should adopt this style uncritically -- it's ultimately important that you can make something that you yourself are also satisfied with -- but I'd recommend giving that a look and doing some compare-and-contrast, if only to improve your own style more.
All that critique aside, it's legitimately cool to see someone make a project like this. FFIX is my favourite game of the series, and I'm glad to see people care about it in such a way.
Sorry for the necro. I haven't had a chance to spend time on this project for a long while. So much has changed in Magic since I first got underway with this project! I'm starting fresh with a lot of it trying to incorporate the feedback above and continue to search the game for some card inspiration. I'm currently working from the beginning of the game through the end to get a very top-down feel that will likely need a fair amount of adjusting towards the end, but here are a few of the early cards I have created beginning in Alexandria.
Imitator's Ticket2
Artifact (R)
As Imitator’s Ticket enters the battlefield, look at target opponents hand and name any creature or planeswalker card.
Creatures or planeswalkers with the chosen name lose all abilities. “What’s this? There’s something odd about this ticket.”
- Ticketmaster
Note - This is a callback to to Vivi's fake ticket. I chose to make it a sort of Sorcerer's Spyglass type card that only hits Creatures and walkers. Notably creatures still have their power/toughness and PW's can still be cast, just not used until this is dealt with. I thought the ability would resonate with the idea of not being able to use something as intended.
Tetra MasterWUBRG
Sorcery (R)
Take turns revealing the top 10 cards of target opponent's library with that opponent beginning with you. Whenever a player reveals a creature card they get two points, a noncreature, nonland card gets 1 point. The player with more total points may cast any of the revealed cards without paying their mana cost. If tied, both players cast any one of the revealed cards beginning with you. Put all cards revealed this way on the bottom of their owner's library in a random order.
Note - It's a minigame card! (Groans everywhere). Tetra Master is a minigame in FF9 and so it is here as well! I chose 10 cards to mimic the minigame itself.
Bomb Elemental1R
Creature - Elemental (U)
At the beginning of your upkeep put a +1/+1 counter on Bomb Elemental then if it has three or more +1/+1 counters, sacrifice it, and deal damage equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on it to any target.
1/1
Note - Just like the bomb in FFIX it grows thrice and then it blows up.
I'm also going to have a gold/treasure type token but it will be called "Gil".
I'm still working on the following cards from the beginning:
Garnet Til Alexandros - Legendary Creature - Human Summoner
Captain Adelbert Steiner - Legendary Creature - Human Knight
Zidane Tribal - Legendary Planeswalker
Vivi Ornitier Legendary Creature - Wizard
Sky Ship Tantalus - Artifact Vehicle
The Tantalus Crew - Legendary Creature
Kidnap the Princess - Instant/Sorcery
Mock Battle - Instant/Sorcery including the following quote... "Of 100 nobles watching, 99 were impressed. Queen Brahne was not impressed."
Alexandria - Land (DFC)
Captian Adelbert Steiner1WW
Legendary Creature - Human Knight (R)
First strike
If you control a Wizard, Captain Adelbert Steiner gets +2/+0 when attacking. “RR…RUSTY!!!? I am Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto, and I will never work with you conniving thieves!”
- Captain Adelbert Steiner
2/4
Notes - Just as in the game Steiner is stronger when accompanied by a wizard (Sword Magic).
Theatre Ship Tantalus2
Artifact - Vehicle (R)
Flying
Crew 2 (Tap any number of untapped creatures you control with total power 2 or greater: This permanent becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
When Theatre Ship Tantalus deals damage to a player you may cast an instant from your hand with a converted mana cost of 2 or less without paying its mana cost.
2/3
Kidnap the Princess1R
Instant (U)
Gain control of target legendary creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.
Mock BattleG
Instant (C)
Target creature you control and target creature an opponent controls both get +0/+2 and then fight. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.) Of 100 nobles watching, 99 were impressed. Queen Brahne was not impressed.
Vivi Ornitier1BR
Legendary Creature - Wizard (R)
: Vivi Ornitier deals 1 damage to any target.
Pay 1 Life: Untap Vivi Ornitier You may only activate this ability up to X times where X is the number of Trance counters on Vivi Ornitier. 4: Add a trance counter to Vivi Ornitier
2/1
-vivi black dont make sense...he is pure red IMHO
-kuja/garland are pure black characters
-zidane is green? or green /red?
-mog could be a white flip creature/summon
Vivi does use "Black Magic" I think Black/Red makes sense.
Garland is certainly black (maybe blue as well?) Kuja will probably be Black and 1 or 2 other colors. Probably will share a color with Zidane and have the opposite other color.
Don't know how I'm incorporating Mog yet...
I'm kind of working from the beginning of the story to the end. I'm not terribly focused on this being playable so much as thematic and fun. Ideally this will have some fun gameplay to it as well, but I'm not an MTG design team so I'm not going to really fret over every detail that would prove problematic in an actual set. This is just a casual side project.
I think color wise you may want to rethink Vivi. Even though it is "Black" magic, It incorporates damage dealing magic like lightning, fire, blizzard, etc. Now the color wheel in MTG has a fair amount of magic use in blue (draw for extra spells, heavy on instant/sorcery spells) and red (damage, also heavy on instant/sorcery use). These two seem to fit his ability more appropriately. Now temper-wise red is usually hot-headed characters, quick to fight, and blue seem more calm and collected, black is more about bringing fear or being oppressive, white is noble and lawful, green is more about natural development.
Steiner absolutely fits white, while an oaf, he is about loyalty and lawful decisions. Zidane fits blue being calm, sly, and sneaky. Vivi I feel fits best in blue as well, being a strong magic user, but he is also a bit afraid and wants things to be peaceful (which can be interpreted as white or green). Though I admit absolutely his trance ability is red in nature as you have it. Perhaps 1WU or 1GU casting cost, 2R cost for trance counters? I am also working on converting Final Fantasy into mtg format. I would like to use some of what you have in my designs if you didn't mind.
Zidane is Green and I would argue White given his very selfless streak.
Kuja is Black/Red. Self-cemtered and highly emotional.
Garland is pure black, and probably a Warlock.
I can see the argument to make Vivi black... In fact I would probably make all Black Mage, given they were created due to Garlands influence and are powered by black mana. Artifact Creature - Construct Wizard
I could see Vivi as a white/black character given that he was made from black magic, but actively ties to do good and fit into society.
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Hands to the sky
Give a round of applause
For the great Miss Y!
Thanks for the feedback. I'm always amazed by how this project continues to attract new people -- its a testament to Final Fantasy IX's lasting appeal.
@Sovereign Please feel free to incorporate some of my designs in your own project. I may add to this at some point, just haven't had the time for a while.
I spent a couple hours today retweaking the Black Waltz cycle and related cards. There are several goals I tried to accomplish here:
A) Make the cards abilities reflective of their character within the game.
B) Have a mixture of parasitism and non-parasitism -- that is, have the Waltzes interact with one another, but still be viable without this synergy. I also wanted to create synergies with other non-waltz black mages.
C) Adjust types and names per the feedback received.
Black Waltz I1B
Legendary Creature - Wizard Construct (U)
When Black Waltz I enters the battlefield you may search your library for a card named Waltzing Wavecrasher and put it into your hand. Shuffle your library afterwards.
1/1
Notes: At first I contemplated making the Black Waltzes into a vertical cycle (common, uncommon, and rare) but I ultimately decided that both 1 and 2 should be uncommon instead -- especially because I wanted them all to be legendary and legendary commons isn't something I wanted to introduce. I have the Waltzes scaling in power and cost with respect to their names (BW1 is a 1/1 for 1B, BW2 is a 2/2 for 2B, BW3, is a 3/3 for 3B). I also agree with the feedback that Wizard Construct is way better typing than Wizard Robot. Waltzing Wavecrasher is the new name for our friend, Sealion from FF9.
Waltzing Wavecrasher1UU
Creature - Cat Fish (C)
If you control a Wizard Construct, creatures blocking or blocked by Waltzing Wavecrasher get -2/-0.
3/2
Notes: Waltzing Wavecrasher (Sealion)is a cat fish....get it? This is a decent stand-alone creature, but when paired with a Black Waltz or any other Wizard construct, it becomes a combat nightmare. I chose the power reduction mechanic as a blue-friendly way to represent the healing/protection provided by Black Waltz I.
Black Waltz II2B
Legendary Creature - Wizard Construct (U)
Flying
As long as you control another Wizard construct Black Waltz II gains deathtouch. If you control another legendary wizard construct Black Waltz II can’t be blocked.
2/2
Notes: Black Waltz II is simultaneously narrowly parasitic with the other Black Waltzes and also more broadly parasitic with other wizard constructs. It is improved by the latter, but greatly improved by the former.
Black Waltz III3B
Legendary Creature - Wizard Construct (R)
Flying
Sacrifice a creature: Black Waltz III gets: +1/+1 until end of turn. If the sacrificed creature was a legendary wizard construct Black Waltz III gains deathtouch and indestructible until end of turn. 5B: Return Black Waltz III from your graveyard to the battlefield. You lose 3 life.
3/3
Notes: Lots of things packed into this card. It's rare as the most powerful of the trio. It has a Fallen Angel mechanic that works with any creature, but is best in combination with the other Waltz's which can make BW III into an indestructible, creature killing machine. Lastly, it recurs later in the game, but a little bit damaged hence the life loss.
Also wanted to make a couple non-legendary common black mages to support this theme. I named them Dalian ~ to indicate their origins in the factory under Dali.
Dalian PrototypeB
Creature - Wizard Construct (C)
When Dalian Prototype attacks, defending player loses 1 life.
1/1
Dalian Deathmage2BB
Creature - Wizard Construct (C)
When Dalian Deathmage attacks defending player loses 2 life.
Sacrifice a creature: Dalian Deathmage gains indestructible until end of turn.
Notes: Both are at common for story and gameplay reasons. I thought the direct lifeloss mechanic was a good way to represent the destruction the mages wrought. The sacrifice mechanic for Deathmage shows parallels with Black Waltz 3.
Lastly I retooled Zaghnol into the following.
Huntsman's Bane2RG
Creature - Beast (C)
Trample 1R: Huntsman’s Bane deals 1 damage to itself and gains +1/+0 until end of turn.
4/3
Notes: Per the feedback here and in the vein of what WOTC did with the Godzilla crossover, I wanted more evocative fantasy names that still allow players to easily catch the reference. Similar to what I did with Sealion I made Zaghnol into Huntsman's Bane, a reference to the Festival of the Hunt. I also wanted to incorporate the electrocute ability used by the Zaghnol in FF9 to power itself up. The activated ability is my MTG translation of this ability.
Below are a few additional cards I've created since the last update.
The Lifa Tree
Legendary Land (R)
: Add R or G. The Lifa Tree deals 1 damage to you.
: Goad target creature. During that creature’s controllers turn they may goad target creature another player controls. (Until your next turn, that creature attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.)
The Lifa Tree's primary role is to facilitate war (and by extension death) through the mist it creates. Giving the Lifa Tree the ability to cause a goad chain effect was a really fun way to translate this idea into MTG.
Zorn1U
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (U) 1, : Draw a card, then discard a card.
(Melds with Thorn)
1/2
Thorn1R
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (U) 1, : Discard a card: Draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you both own and control Thorn and a creature named Zorn, exile them, then meld them into Meltigemini.
2/1
Meltigemini (Blue/Red color identity)
Legendary Creature - Demon (U)
Double strike
When Meltigemini enters the battlefield look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand. Exile the other card. You may play the exiled card this turn.
3/3
Zorn and Thorn's defining feature is their antimetabole speaking patterns. I chose to represent this, by giving them mirrored abilities which utilize this pattern. Meld was the perfect mechanic to capture their transformation into Meltigemini. Meltigemini combined their power and toughness and rewards the player with both double strike and a mini expressive iteration for jumping through the hoops required to obtain Meltigemini.
Freya CrescentGW
Legendary Creature - Rat Knight (R)
Reach
You may exert Freya Crescent as it attacks. When you do, Freya Crescent deals combat damage equal to her toughness and may assign its combat damage as though it weren’t blocked. (An exerted creature won’t untap during your next untap step.)
2/3
My goal with Freya was to capture her signature dragoon "jump" ability in a way that is compatible with Magic and with the color pie. I decided upon this unique combination of reach, exert, and toughness matters to accomplish this.
Subvert the Soul CycleXXB
Sorcery (R)
Each opponent sacrifices X creatures they control. For each creature sacrificed this way, you create a 1/1 black Genome creature token.
This card is meant to represent Garland's plan to steal souls from Gaia to regenerate Terra. It's a scaling one sided edict affect that also gives you a token for each creature sacrificed this way.
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Here are some of my designs focused around the earliest sections of Disc 1 of FF9 (and a couple Eidolons because why not).
Plant Spider G
Creature - Plant Spider (C)
1/2
Notes: I know, I know, vanilla 1 drop. Wooooo. Every set needs them though!
Sealion 1UU
Creature - Fish Beast (C)
If you control a creature name Black Waltz 1 it gains “U: This creature can’t be blocked until end of turn.”
3/2
Notes: Foreshadowing! I bet you know what other design is coming later in this preview! Sealion and Black Waltz 1 are BFF's.
Zaghnol 2GG
Creature - Beast (C)
Trample
4/3
Notes: This one is a must include as it plays such a prominent role in the Festival of the Hunt!
Black Waltz I B
Creature - Robot Wizard (U)
If you control a creature names Sealion it gains “B:Regenerate Sealion” (The next time this creature would be destroyed this turn, it isn’t. Instead tap it, remove all damage from it, and remove it from combat.)
2/1
Notes: And there it is! Thought regenerate would really capture the flavor of how Black Waltz 1 heals the Sealion in the game. Common and uncommon for the two creatures help ensure they can both be drafted with ease.
Black Waltz II 2B
Creature - Robot Wizard (U)
Flying, Deathtouch
2/3
Notes: Similarly to the game, not a whole lot of differnce between 1 and 2 besides the addition of flying and a little more lethal.
Black Waltz III 4B
Creature - Robot Wizard (U)
Flying
5B: Return Black Waltz III from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
4/3
Notes: The whole Black Waltz series is uncommon as there are just too many better choices for rares/mythics from FF9. This one recurs to invoke its return appearance in Disc 2!
Ifrit 1R
Legendary Creature - Eidolon (U)
Trample, Haste
When Ifrit is summoned it deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Sacrifice Ifrit at the beginning of the next end step.
3/1
Notes: Eidolons are uncommon and 2 mana! What?! Yes! Well the more basic ones at least...Ifrit can be a more expensive Spark Elemental when played normally, but if he is summoned first (NOTE: This is not the same as casting or entering the battlefield! You will see how summon works with the mythic reveal!) then you get added value!
Shiva 1U
Legendary Creature - Eidolon (U)
When Shiva is summoned target tapped permanent an opponent controls does not untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Whenever Shiva blocks a creature, that creature does not untap during its controller’s next untap step.
1/3
Notes: The second revealed eidolon! Summon mechanic is coming!
Regent Cid R
Legendary Creature - Oglop (U)
Menace
Vehicles cost 1 less to cast.
1/1
Notes: Aw, poor Cid. At least he got a vehicle cost reduction mechanic to go with his engineering brilliance.
Prison Cage BG
Creature - Treefolk Horror (U)
When Prison Cage enters the battlefield put a sap counter on target creature.
2: Target creature with a sap counter gets -1/-1 and Prison Cage gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
2/2
Notes: Remember these from the Evil Forest? They are back to drain your characters!
Theatre Ship Tantalus 3
Artifact - Vehicle (R)
Flying
Crew 2
When Theatre Ship Tantalus deals combat damage to a player you may take control of target legendary creature that player controls with a converted mana cost of 3 or less.
3/4
Notes: Get all that flavor! The theatre ship is here to kidnap your princess. Oh, you want to see the princess? Fine.
Princess Dagger WU
Creature - Human Shaman (M)
Lifelink
Princess Dagger enters the battlefield with two mute counters.
At the beginning of your upkeep remove a mute counter from Princess Dagger, then if there are no mute counters on Princess Dagger you may summon an Eidolon(Search your library for an Eidolon type card and pay its converted mana cost to put it into your hand, shuffle your library afterwards).
2/2
Notes: Here's your summoner! There will be a few. Summon is a tutor effect that requires you to pay the cost of the eidolon you are tutoring. When you do so however you are rewarded with that Eidolon's summon affect and you get to put it into your hand! Also, all the flavor! "Dagger can't concentrate!" Dagger needs two discs to clear her head and those two discs are represented by mute counters! After they are gone she summons each one of your upkeeps! She's also a healer, so lifelink works well here.
Places
Qu's Marsh
Land (U)
Qu’s Marsh enters the battlefield tapped.
: Add B
3, : Create a 0/1 Green frog token.
Note: All the frogs!
Chocobo's Forest
Land (U)
: Add 1
: Add R or G. Activate this ability only if you control Chocobo’s Lagoon and Chocobo’s Air Garden.
Notes: A chocobo land inspired by the tron lands.
Treno, City of Nobles
Land (R)
: Flip a coin. If heads, add one mana of any color to your mana pool, if tails, lose 2 life.
1, : Create a colorless artifact token named Gil. It has “Sacrifice this artifact: Add 1.”
Notes: The first ability is meant to capture the class divide, and the second ability is a fun reference to Gil the currency of FF9.
Hope you enjoyed these as much as I enjoyed making them. Here are a few of my upcoming ideas still in the works.
- Zidane, Kuja, and Garland as the PW's of the set. My rationale here is that they are the only two who have gone between two "planes" and they're all rather different in color allignment and the types of effects I would assign to them.
- Right now I'm working on executing a design that makes sense for Mog and Gizamaluke. Also going to try to incorporate some spells or events as instants/sorceries/enchantments.
- Also working on a flip-land for Village of Dali/Underground Factory
Thanks for looking! Check in over the next few weeks for further updates!
Village of Dali
Land (R)
1, : Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Tap an untapped human you control, : Put a production counter on Village of Dali.
During your end step if Village of Dali has two or more productions counters, transform it.
"Kwehhhh!"
Underground Factory
Land (R)
At the beginning of each upkeep you may pay 2, If you do create a 1/1 Black robot wizard token with “ :This creature deals 1 damage to any target.”
"Killll!"
Notes: The front side Village of Dali represents a farming community that is losing its manpower to the production of black mage soldiers. The mana fixing ability is how I'm representing farming and having to tap humans to get the counters exemplifies the manpower shifting from the farms to producing the soldiers. The each upkeep trigger is supposed to invoke a factory like production and the pinging ability represents a black mage's fireball. The flavor texts mirror one another to contrast life and death much like this segment of the game.
- The Black Mages aren't robots in-game, so why would they be Robots (more like Constructs) here? My suggestion would be to make them either Elementals, Horrors, or just typeless Wizards.
- The Waltzes are specific entities in the game, so why are they nonlegendary?
- Eidolons only working when they're put on the field with a specific ability 1) isn't reflective of the game mechanics you seem to want to evoke and 2) is just unfun in terms of gameplay. In Limited, Ifrit's going to be just a bad Ball Lightning that makes you feel bad because you didn't get one of (I assume from your current seeming design plan to make summoning only be done by specific summoners) three specific cards; in Constructed, why would I not just play Ball Lightning if this more expensive variation only pops with (so far) one specific mythic?
- Black Waltz 1's power level (a nonlegendary 2/1 for one black mana with upside) grossly exceeds the power level of creatures B has access to.
- Making Regent Cid of all people legendary and not the second main protagonist is... weird.
- Speaking of said protagonist, the card design is not only inaccurate to the game itself, which I assume is against your goals (Garnet could summon eidolons way before Alexandria was destroyed) and just kind of... dull. Reducing one of the most important people in the narrative to one moment of it design-wise strikes me as an odd choice.
- The whole set so far has an issue I have with a lot of third-party fansets: they just feel like copy-pastes of the original game, wanting to fit in every single aspect as a representation and thus creating something that feels less like an M:TG set and more like a round peg in a square hole. The kind of third-party reference set that works, in my opinion, is the kind that adopts a sort of broad-strokes approach; not making direct one-to-one references of every single aspect and character, but treating the original source material more like the way WoTC treats their own planes in a set like, say, Theros. Not every individual figure or place gets a representation, and many cards are just representations of species, or conflicts, or locations and their weather, or the kind of magic and society the world has, etc. It's kind of hard to explain with words, but I believe Magic Set Editor user HonchkrowDavid's Skyrim Remastered: Nine Divines Edition is a good example of this "plane-ifying" approach. Of course, I'm not saying you should adopt this style uncritically -- it's ultimately important that you can make something that you yourself are also satisfied with -- but I'd recommend giving that a look and doing some compare-and-contrast, if only to improve your own style more.
All that critique aside, it's legitimately cool to see someone make a project like this. FFIX is my favourite game of the series, and I'm glad to see people care about it in such a way.
Imitator's Ticket 2
Artifact (R)
As Imitator’s Ticket enters the battlefield, look at target opponents hand and name any creature or planeswalker card.
Creatures or planeswalkers with the chosen name lose all abilities.
“What’s this? There’s something odd about this ticket.”
- Ticketmaster
Note - This is a callback to to Vivi's fake ticket. I chose to make it a sort of Sorcerer's Spyglass type card that only hits Creatures and walkers. Notably creatures still have their power/toughness and PW's can still be cast, just not used until this is dealt with. I thought the ability would resonate with the idea of not being able to use something as intended.
Tetra Master WUBRG
Sorcery (R)
Take turns revealing the top 10 cards of target opponent's library with that opponent beginning with you. Whenever a player reveals a creature card they get two points, a noncreature, nonland card gets 1 point. The player with more total points may cast any of the revealed cards without paying their mana cost. If tied, both players cast any one of the revealed cards beginning with you. Put all cards revealed this way on the bottom of their owner's library in a random order.
Note - It's a minigame card! (Groans everywhere). Tetra Master is a minigame in FF9 and so it is here as well! I chose 10 cards to mimic the minigame itself.
Bomb Elemental 1R
Creature - Elemental (U)
At the beginning of your upkeep put a +1/+1 counter on Bomb Elemental then if it has three or more +1/+1 counters, sacrifice it, and deal damage equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on it to any target.
1/1
Note - Just like the bomb in FFIX it grows thrice and then it blows up.
I'm also going to have a gold/treasure type token but it will be called "Gil".
I'm still working on the following cards from the beginning:
Garnet Til Alexandros - Legendary Creature - Human Summoner
Captain Adelbert Steiner - Legendary Creature - Human Knight
Zidane Tribal - Legendary Planeswalker
Vivi Ornitier Legendary Creature - Wizard
Sky Ship Tantalus - Artifact Vehicle
The Tantalus Crew - Legendary Creature
Kidnap the Princess - Instant/Sorcery
Mock Battle - Instant/Sorcery including the following quote... "Of 100 nobles watching, 99 were impressed. Queen Brahne was not impressed."
Alexandria - Land (DFC)
Legendary Creature - Human Knight (R)
First strike
If you control a Wizard, Captain Adelbert Steiner gets +2/+0 when attacking.
“RR…RUSTY!!!? I am Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto, and I will never work with you conniving thieves!”
- Captain Adelbert Steiner
2/4
Notes - Just as in the game Steiner is stronger when accompanied by a wizard (Sword Magic).
Theatre Ship Tantalus 2
Artifact - Vehicle (R)
Flying
Crew 2 (Tap any number of untapped creatures you control with total power 2 or greater: This permanent becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
When Theatre Ship Tantalus deals damage to a player you may cast an instant from your hand with a converted mana cost of 2 or less without paying its mana cost.
2/3
Kidnap the Princess 1R
Instant (U)
Gain control of target legendary creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.
Mock Battle G
Instant (C)
Target creature you control and target creature an opponent controls both get +0/+2 and then fight. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.)
Of 100 nobles watching, 99 were impressed. Queen Brahne was not impressed.
Vivi Ornitier 1BR
Legendary Creature - Wizard (R)
: Vivi Ornitier deals 1 damage to any target.
Pay 1 Life: Untap Vivi Ornitier You may only activate this ability up to X times where X is the number of Trance counters on Vivi Ornitier.
4: Add a trance counter to Vivi Ornitier
2/1
-kuja/garland are pure black characters
-zidane is green? or green /red?
-mog could be a white flip creature/summon
Garland is certainly black (maybe blue as well?) Kuja will probably be Black and 1 or 2 other colors. Probably will share a color with Zidane and have the opposite other color.
Don't know how I'm incorporating Mog yet...
I'm kind of working from the beginning of the story to the end. I'm not terribly focused on this being playable so much as thematic and fun. Ideally this will have some fun gameplay to it as well, but I'm not an MTG design team so I'm not going to really fret over every detail that would prove problematic in an actual set. This is just a casual side project.
Steiner absolutely fits white, while an oaf, he is about loyalty and lawful decisions. Zidane fits blue being calm, sly, and sneaky. Vivi I feel fits best in blue as well, being a strong magic user, but he is also a bit afraid and wants things to be peaceful (which can be interpreted as white or green). Though I admit absolutely his trance ability is red in nature as you have it. Perhaps 1WU or 1GU casting cost, 2R cost for trance counters? I am also working on converting Final Fantasy into mtg format. I would like to use some of what you have in my designs if you didn't mind.
Kuja is Black/Red. Self-cemtered and highly emotional.
Garland is pure black, and probably a Warlock.
I can see the argument to make Vivi black... In fact I would probably make all Black Mage, given they were created due to Garlands influence and are powered by black mana. Artifact Creature - Construct Wizard
I could see Vivi as a white/black character given that he was made from black magic, but actively ties to do good and fit into society.
Hands to the sky
Give a round of applause
For the great Miss Y!
@Sovereign Please feel free to incorporate some of my designs in your own project. I may add to this at some point, just haven't had the time for a while.
I spent a couple hours today retweaking the Black Waltz cycle and related cards. There are several goals I tried to accomplish here:
A) Make the cards abilities reflective of their character within the game.
B) Have a mixture of parasitism and non-parasitism -- that is, have the Waltzes interact with one another, but still be viable without this synergy. I also wanted to create synergies with other non-waltz black mages.
C) Adjust types and names per the feedback received.
Black Waltz I 1B
Legendary Creature - Wizard Construct (U)
When Black Waltz I enters the battlefield you may search your library for a card named Waltzing Wavecrasher and put it into your hand. Shuffle your library afterwards.
1/1
Notes: At first I contemplated making the Black Waltzes into a vertical cycle (common, uncommon, and rare) but I ultimately decided that both 1 and 2 should be uncommon instead -- especially because I wanted them all to be legendary and legendary commons isn't something I wanted to introduce. I have the Waltzes scaling in power and cost with respect to their names (BW1 is a 1/1 for 1B, BW2 is a 2/2 for 2B, BW3, is a 3/3 for 3B). I also agree with the feedback that Wizard Construct is way better typing than Wizard Robot. Waltzing Wavecrasher is the new name for our friend, Sealion from FF9.
Waltzing Wavecrasher 1UU
Creature - Cat Fish (C)
If you control a Wizard Construct, creatures blocking or blocked by Waltzing Wavecrasher get -2/-0.
3/2
Notes: Waltzing Wavecrasher (Sealion)is a cat fish....get it? This is a decent stand-alone creature, but when paired with a Black Waltz or any other Wizard construct, it becomes a combat nightmare. I chose the power reduction mechanic as a blue-friendly way to represent the healing/protection provided by Black Waltz I.
Black Waltz II 2B
Legendary Creature - Wizard Construct (U)
Flying
As long as you control another Wizard construct Black Waltz II gains deathtouch. If you control another legendary wizard construct Black Waltz II can’t be blocked.
2/2
Notes: Black Waltz II is simultaneously narrowly parasitic with the other Black Waltzes and also more broadly parasitic with other wizard constructs. It is improved by the latter, but greatly improved by the former.
Black Waltz III 3B
Legendary Creature - Wizard Construct (R)
Flying
Sacrifice a creature: Black Waltz III gets: +1/+1 until end of turn. If the sacrificed creature was a legendary wizard construct Black Waltz III gains deathtouch and indestructible until end of turn.
5B: Return Black Waltz III from your graveyard to the battlefield. You lose 3 life.
3/3
Notes: Lots of things packed into this card. It's rare as the most powerful of the trio. It has a Fallen Angel mechanic that works with any creature, but is best in combination with the other Waltz's which can make BW III into an indestructible, creature killing machine. Lastly, it recurs later in the game, but a little bit damaged hence the life loss.
Also wanted to make a couple non-legendary common black mages to support this theme. I named them Dalian ~ to indicate their origins in the factory under Dali.
Dalian Prototype B
Creature - Wizard Construct (C)
When Dalian Prototype attacks, defending player loses 1 life.
1/1
Dalian Deathmage 2BB
Creature - Wizard Construct (C)
When Dalian Deathmage attacks defending player loses 2 life.
Sacrifice a creature: Dalian Deathmage gains indestructible until end of turn.
Notes: Both are at common for story and gameplay reasons. I thought the direct lifeloss mechanic was a good way to represent the destruction the mages wrought. The sacrifice mechanic for Deathmage shows parallels with Black Waltz 3.
Lastly I retooled Zaghnol into the following.
Huntsman's Bane 2RG
Creature - Beast (C)
Trample
1R: Huntsman’s Bane deals 1 damage to itself and gains +1/+0 until end of turn.
4/3
Notes: Per the feedback here and in the vein of what WOTC did with the Godzilla crossover, I wanted more evocative fantasy names that still allow players to easily catch the reference. Similar to what I did with Sealion I made Zaghnol into Huntsman's Bane, a reference to the Festival of the Hunt. I also wanted to incorporate the electrocute ability used by the Zaghnol in FF9 to power itself up. The activated ability is my MTG translation of this ability.
The Lifa Tree
Legendary Land (R)
: Add R or G. The Lifa Tree deals 1 damage to you.
: Goad target creature. During that creature’s controllers turn they may goad target creature another player controls. (Until your next turn, that creature attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.)
The Lifa Tree's primary role is to facilitate war (and by extension death) through the mist it creates. Giving the Lifa Tree the ability to cause a goad chain effect was a really fun way to translate this idea into MTG.
Zorn 1U
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (U)
1, : Draw a card, then discard a card.
(Melds with Thorn)
1/2
Thorn 1R
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (U)
1, : Discard a card: Draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you both own and control Thorn and a creature named Zorn, exile them, then meld them into Meltigemini.
2/1
Meltigemini (Blue/Red color identity)
Legendary Creature - Demon (U)
Double strike
When Meltigemini enters the battlefield look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand. Exile the other card. You may play the exiled card this turn.
3/3
Zorn and Thorn's defining feature is their antimetabole speaking patterns. I chose to represent this, by giving them mirrored abilities which utilize this pattern. Meld was the perfect mechanic to capture their transformation into Meltigemini. Meltigemini combined their power and toughness and rewards the player with both double strike and a mini expressive iteration for jumping through the hoops required to obtain Meltigemini.
Freya Crescent GW
Legendary Creature - Rat Knight (R)
Reach
You may exert Freya Crescent as it attacks. When you do, Freya Crescent deals combat damage equal to her toughness and may assign its combat damage as though it weren’t blocked. (An exerted creature won’t untap during your next untap step.)
2/3
My goal with Freya was to capture her signature dragoon "jump" ability in a way that is compatible with Magic and with the color pie. I decided upon this unique combination of reach, exert, and toughness matters to accomplish this.
Subvert the Soul Cycle XXB
Sorcery (R)
Each opponent sacrifices X creatures they control. For each creature sacrificed this way, you create a 1/1 black Genome creature token.
This card is meant to represent Garland's plan to steal souls from Gaia to regenerate Terra. It's a scaling one sided edict affect that also gives you a token for each creature sacrificed this way.