Tetsuya Nomura Shares His Top Picks for Final Fantasy Magic Cards
Just weeks before the launch of the Magic: The Gathering and Final Fantasy crossover last June, which raked in an impressive $200 million in sales on its first day, Wizards of the Coast had a chat with Tetsuya Nomura, the creative director of Final Fantasy. This interview, published on March 10, revealed Nomura’s insights into the development of the set, including his experience reviewing hundreds of artworks over three to four years and the cards that left a lasting impression on him.
Nomura collaborated with Wizards to review cards inspired by Final Fantasy titles 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, and 15. When asked by principal narrative designer Dillon Deveney about the standout art pieces, Nomura pointed to two distinct versions of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. As the main character designer for the iconic 1997 game, he expressed fondness for the cards Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER and Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir. “These were ones that I approved instantly, no feedback or revisions at all,” he noted.
The Planet’s Heir version of FF7’s infamous antagonist is featured in one of the Starter Kit decks, illustrated by Magali Villeneuve. Set against a dark, stormy backdrop, Sephiroth is poised to unleash his formidable sword, Masamune, with his flowing silver hair caught in the wind. While it’s a solid card capable of taking out multiple weaker creatures and gaining strength with each enemy creature that falls, it doesn’t quite reach the level of a top-tier commander.
On the other hand, the ultra-rare borderless art variant of Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, illustrated by MAJI, showcases a unique style. Many characters from the Final Fantasy universe received this treatment, featuring a solid color background and the Roman numeral of their respective game behind them. Aside from the various Traveling Chocobos fetching high prices, this Sephiroth card is the most valuable in the set, currently priced at $484.
In this artwork, Sephiroth takes a defensive stance, his hair swirling as he grips Masamune in a backhanded position, the sword extending behind him. The background is a deep blood red, enhancing the card’s dramatic flair. Despite being mono black, Fabled SOLDIER has gained significant popularity in commander formats, ranking as the 36th most popular commander according to EDHREC. If enough creatures perish in a single turn, it transforms into Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel, the final boss of FF7. The base version zooms out from Sephiroth’s mutated final form, while the borderless variant offers an up-close view of his eight-pack.
Nomura also created his own version of Fabled SOLDIER. When asked about this, he mentioned his ongoing work on the FF7 remake series, where he transitioned from game director for the first title to creative director for Rebirth. “I work on so many projects and games, and everyone comes to me asking ‘Hey, can you make me a character like Sephiroth?’” he shared. “It makes me think that everyone must really love him! In that sense, he’s a character that is approachable to both old and new fans, and the fact that so many people keep coming to me asking for ‘Sephiroth! Sephiroth!’ must mean people love him.”
While MAJI’s artwork leans into Magic’s typical Western fantasy realism with its sharp details, Nomura’s rendition feels more like a stylized character study, reflecting the anime-inspired design that defined Final Fantasy 7. Sephiroth’s eyes convey menace, and he appears ready to strike. His One-Winged Angel form resembles a devastating anime deity.
“In game development, I draw artwork so that the entire team can imagine how the characters move in-game and what their backstories are from the art piece,” he explained. “With cards, people already know the characters to some extent, and they have personal feelings and attachments from playing the games, so you have to make sure there’s no disconnect between the pieces and people’s expectations. So, for this piece, I drew with that awareness. I used the fans’ existing understanding as a base and added other elements on top, layer by layer, to stir their imaginations.”
Nomura also praised the artwork for Locke Cole, created by artist akagi. This card depicts the Final Fantasy 6 thief stealthily descending stairs in a dungeon or castle, knives drawn. “This card here is based off a classic pixel-art game, and it’s probably the first time in history where that pixel art has been reimagined as 3D fantasy art, so the card plays to people’s nostalgia and their imaginations,” he remarked. “It gets them thinking ‘Ah, this must be that dungeon in the game …’ It’s simply wonderful.”
Several cards from the Final Fantasy set also incorporated some of Nomura’s previous artwork from the video games, including Sephiroth, the Savior; Lightning, Lone Commando; and Cloud Strife.
However, the cards Nomura highlighted demonstrate how Wizards’ artists often took a different approach. They don’t merely replicate original designs but instead reinterpret them through Magic’s unique fantasy lens. For a crossover that draws on nearly four decades of RPG history, striking the right balance between nostalgia and fresh reinterpretation was essential.
