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The most-played Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy card in Modern is Sephiroth, of course

Surprising no one, the Final Fantasy card that Magic: The Gathering players are leaning on most in Modern is Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER

The Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER borderless surge variant from the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set — Image credit: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

News by Jules Chin Greene, Staff Writer

Published on Mon Jul 07 2025

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Everyone has their favorite Final Fantasy game, and everyone has their favorite Final Fantasy villain. Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy crossover set put an immense amount of care and attention in bringing the game's most iconic villains to life within the rules and standards of MTG, while also giving them a flavor evocative of their original Final Fantasy game. And luckily for all of us, Sephiroth, the villain of Final Fantasy VII, has gotten his due in Modern with Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER.

On Magic: The Gathering's official website, Frank Karsten published a detailed breakdown of how the Final Fantasy crossover set has impacted the current state of Modern. Analyzing the current Modern metagame from Magic Online decklists used in Modern Challenge events from June 11-19, Karsten found that Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER was the most played new card in the Final Fantasy set - for Modern, at least. 56 total copies of Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER were used in the Modern Challenge on Magic Online event.

Images of the Sephiroth cards from the Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy crossover — Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

There's a good reason why Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is such a popular card within Modern. Karsten deemed it "as one of the best Blood Artist variants ever printed," thanks to the devastating double whammy of draining your opponent when creatures die while also giving you a chance to draw a card. This worked especially well in a Mardu Energy deck played by Klien7, who placed fourth in the event. And, of course, it wouldn't be Sephiroth if he didn't have the chance to transform into the One-Winged Angel, which you do by flipping the card over.

Thus far, the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set has proven itself to be immensely profitable for Wizards of the Coast. It is already the best-selling Magic: The Gathering set of all time. I was even consumed with greed like a certain bald, bug-eyed Hobbit upon seeing the Sephiroth and Cloud tote bags at this year's PAX East. Clearly, the game designers behind the Final Fantasy set understood the assignment when it came to giving Sephiroth his due.

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Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.