Final Fantasy (FIN) Limited Review — FCA

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

FINAL FANTASY (FIN) holds its Prerelease events on June 6, 2025. Want to know more about how each card rates in Limited, along with some recommendations? Then check out this series of FIN Limited reviews!

• For the mechanics, see this article: FINAL FANTASY Mechanics Explained

Grading Scale

5.0: Unconditional first pick, gives you a nearly game-winning advantage
4.5: Unconditional first pick if you are in the right colors, gives you a huge advantage
4.0: Worth a first pick, synergizes extremely well with a color pair’s theme, and can be the deciding card for splashing/switching colors or settling into a color pair
3.5: Top uncommons and commons of the set and other sufficiently strong cards, synergize well with a color pair’s theme, and can be key cards for settling into a color pair
3.0: Important cards for a color pair’s theme, plus other above-average cards that you want in your final deck
2.5: Average, usually a decent curve filler
2.0 to 1.0: Below average, generally not played, can be used as filler if necessary but not too many
0.5 to 0.0: Unplayable, basically never play it, doing so only helps you lose

Introduction to Final Fantasy: Through the Ages (FCA)

For this bonus set, 4 pieces of original art were specially picked from each installment, from the original Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy XVI (the 16th), as alternate-art reprint cards. The non-foil FCA cards appear in Play Boosters with a 33% chance, that is, 1 FCA card per 3 packs. If you open an FCA card in Limited, you can put it in your deck to boost its power, the same concept as the Special Guests (SPG) opened in previous sets.

The image resolution is a bit blurry, so let us move on to the ratings to see the details!

Ratings

Score: 5.0
Comment: Adeline is strong in every format.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A passable body, with the search as an extra bonus; when you need to do something big, you can turn it on as protection against counterspells.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Quite good as a card-draw source in this set.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Magic’s best hard counterspell, no doubt.

Score: 4.0
Comment: It brings a little robot when it enters, and this set has quite a few artifacts, so all your artifacts can help produce mana; leeching extra resources through the capsule machine ability makes it great in Limited.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Flash bounce can be used as a tempo play at a critical moment; remember it can bounce even spells.

Score: 3.5
Comment: If you have no steady lifegain source, it can serve as a resource that lets you play an extra land from the top of your library, and when you have enough resources and want to finish, just activate it and send ten life down to your opponent.

Score: 2.0
Comment: A way to ramp in black.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Extremely strong removal.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Whenever a creature dies, or a creature card enters or leaves the graveyard, you can drain your opponent’s life, and this set also has some graveyard-hate options to pair with it.

Score: 4.0
Comment: Its anti-human protection is an excellent way to push damage through. The card-draw ability needs a large number of creatures to support it, and above all do not forget to use its Proliferate ability. For example, it can speed up the growth of lore counters, either triggering your own chapter abilities early or, at the opponent’s end step, adding lore counters to their Saga up to the final chapter so it blows up right away.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A Treasure dragon: one hit earns a big pile.

Score: 3.5
Comment: It finds an Equipment to put onto the battlefield when it enters. If you can find Aettir and Priwen or Genji Glove, the next turn can bring a considerable wave of damage.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A powerful god that puts plenty of life pressure on just by being on the battlefield.

Score: 2.0
Comment: You can play two extra lands each turn, but usually you will not have that many lands in hand to support it, so the benefit is low.

Score: 3.0
Comment: If it enters successfully you basically will not lack mana and can find something big to do, like firing off a Choco-Comet, which is great.

Score: 3.0/1.0
Comment: This set has lots of legendary creature support, so if it can enter smoothly it brings a big payoff, but because of its five colors, I suggest playing it only in decks with green-based ramp or Treasure support for color fixing; otherwise it will be very hard to cast.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A very powerful king for a commander; in Limited, if you can reliably connect with your opponent, it is lose 1 and draw 1 each turn.

Score: 4.5
Comment: A very powerful triggered ability; if your creatures are arranged properly it brings a huge payoff, and you can make good use of the Heroes made by Equipment to trigger it.

Score: 4.0
Comment: This set is full of legendary creatures, artifacts, and Sagas, so you basically do not need to worry about it not being able to stand up. Just attack.

Score: 3.5
Comment: The first mode is for an all-out attack, and the second can be used for defense, or to open the way for trample or to earn a life swing; a trick that is very strong on both sides.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Its own ability is very powerful, and this set also has quite a few Equipment that can support it.

Score: 4.0
Comment: The king has many powerful activated abilities, worth using dual lands or simply basic lands to reach each color and earn resources.

Score: 4.0
Comment: It can destroy both an Equipment and a Saga creature on entering; in this set it is a creature with a very powerful enters-the-battlefield ability.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A 2/4 body is not easy to remove. As long as it stands, it not only blocks small creatures, but your opponent may need to spend a removal spell on it before a mass attack or before casting spells in a row, otherwise their resources will soon fall behind yours. Even if you do not draw any cards, you buy time and ease the pressure of your opponent snowballing.

Score: 3.0
Comment: It can destroy anything that is not a land, at the cost of only giving your opponent a 1/1, which is harmless.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A 0/4 wall that draws a card on entering, plain and unadorned.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Magic’s best filtering spell, bar none. Remember the three cards you put back are chosen from your whole hand, not the three you drew.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Since the blue Command lets you choose two modes, with that flexibility you can always pick the best ones. The floor is basically a heavily colored Eject that can bounce lands, but tapping all of the opponent’s creatures at instant speed + the other three modes can create explosive advantages when used properly. The colored mana requirement is the only reason it loses points.

Score: 1.5
Comment: Usually just a three-mana vanilla creature; if your opponent plays a mill deck you might bring it in to target them.

Score: 3.0
Comment: In Limited it is relatively not so easy to earn a card of resources, and this is a decent card that earns resources with extra tempo play.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Giving all your creatures flash is a frightening presence, and your opponent can only cast spells at sorcery speed so they never get a chance to interact with you.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A powerful black card-draw source.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A powerful tutor; sacrificing a creature token is not hard to achieve in this set.

Score: 4.5
Comment: Early on, each one that connects earns a card, and if it survives to the late game you can swap all the dead cards in your hand for your opponent’s resources.

Score: 3.0
Comment: It can do something like ramp in a black-based deck, but watch out that pushing your life total too low does not make you lose.

Score: 4.0
Comment: Usually when your opponent sees this one they will do their best to block it to death so you do not earn more than a second time. Remember that when it connects you can pay to find a card without waiting for it to resolve.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Attacking gets you a Treasure, and each additional time it connects is value.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A good way to refill resources in an all-out creature aggro deck.

Score: 3.5
Comment: An instant that deals 3 to any target, it is just that strong.

Score: 3.0
Comment: You can discard an expensive sorcery or instant earlier, and then cast it from the graveyard with this card; the overload ability is a bit expensive.

Score: 3.5
Comment: This set + FCA has 16 Warrior creatures, blue has Retrieve the Esper, and red has Warrior’s Sword
, so counting them up there are quite a few Warriors; if you can activate the activated ability once, there is a chance to take everything away in one wave.

Score: 4.5
Comment: A quality one-drop; each time it connects is value, and being able to cast your opponent’s spells is even better.

Score: 1.5
Comment: Sideboard use; just bring it in when you see the opponent is mainly blue.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A steady two-mana ramp.

Score: 2.0
Comment: This set has only nine deathtouch creatures, so the benefit is so-so.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A very good artifact removal; this set has many Equipment that badly deserve to be destroyed, and when short on life you can also destroy your own.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A quality six-drop fatty; on entering it first ramps two lands and thins your library, so you have more lands and a higher chance to draw more resources.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A quality fatty with four abilities, and it earns a large number of cards in hand on entering.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A quality creature for all-out aggro decks; the life gap is easily pulled wide.

Score: 2.5
Comment: In Limited it is mostly a heavily colored Negate, and being uncounterable is a freebie.

Score: 3.0
Comment: There are 25 Wizard creatures, and the activated ability combined with the Wizard tokens this set makes will make your opponent lose a large amount of life.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Entering for four as only a 1/1 is a little small, but adding two counters evens it out, and as long as it lives it becomes an ever larger threat.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Three colored mana requirements make it a bit hard to cast, but it has a chance to earn more resources on entering.

Score: 3.0
Comment: This set also has quite a few nonland permanents that can produce mana, and activating the ability can bring a large number of creatures into play.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A powerful flier, and your opponent will have to slow down since they do not want you to earn cards.

Score: 4.5
Comment: By the mid-to-late game you can rely on it to keep earning resources from the graveyard, and permanents cast this way go back to the graveyard when they leave the battlefield so they can be used continually, giving you nearly endless resources.

Score: 3.5
Comment: With spare mana you can ramp yourself or add a card to your hand.

Score: 4.0
Comment: Each turn the first spell you cast hits your opponent in the face; since there is only one opponent there is no randomness and it always connects. A creature that bothers your opponent just by being on the battlefield.

Score: 3.5
Comment: Most of the time it just lets you sneak in a punch, and if you can pair it with Brainstorm to put expensive cards on top, you can deliver a big hit.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A three-mana rock that also means you never get color-screwed.

Score: 3.5
Comment: The best two-mana Vehicle, no doubt; it can loot on both attack and defense.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A three-mana rock, but just sitting there puts pressure on your opponent; remember that each time it connects you put one down.

Score: 0.0
Comment: There are no commanders in Limited, so it is just an ordinary colorless land.

Conclusion

The legendary creatures that FCA sends out this time are all quality creatures of comparable strength, and the other cards also have real in-game value. With a distribution of about one per three booster packs, it will surely affect Limited to a greater degree than past SPGs.