Final Fantasy Card Jumbo Cactuar Set to Shatter Magic: The Gathering

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Summary

  • Final Fantasy UB set introduces Jumbo Cactuar with +9,999 power – breaking MTG’s power limit.
  • Jumbo Cactuar combos can one-shot players across different formats; a potential game-changer.
  • Existing MTG cards offer one-shot mechanics, but Jumbo Cactuar challenges fundamental rules.

Although Magic: The Gathering recently launched its Aetherdrift set and is scheduled to release Tarkir: Dragonstorm next, Wizards of the Coast has begun showcasing cards from its upcoming June Universes Beyond set inspired by Final Fantasy characters and worlds. This year, Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond sets will be Standard-legal, marking a significant shift from WotC’s previous stance. The crossover between Final Fantasy and MTG is eagerly awaited by certain fans, with the initial previews already featuring an intriguing card that might prove to be overpowered.

It’s quite usual for new Magic: The Gathering sets to feature cards that are powerful enough to influence the game strategy significantly, known as overpowered or meta-defining cards, and the upcoming Final Fantasy UB set follows this trend. One potential powerhouse could be Cecil, Dark Knight, which costs just 1 Black mana for a Legendary Creature with 2 power, 3 toughness, and Deathtouch, but there’s a catch: you can only have one of these cards on the battlefield at a time. On the other hand, Jumbo Cactuar seems to disregard many of the game’s rules in concept, making it quite intriguing.

Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy UB Set Introduces 10,000 Power Creature

In the world of Magic: The Gathering, numerous powerful enemies and bosses from Final Fantasy could find a home here, and one intriguing option is the Jumbo Cactuar. This card requires five colorless mana and two Green mana (totaling seven mana) to cast. Initially, it appears as a 1/7 creature without any special abilities. However, its unique trait lies in the ability called “10,000 Needles.” Whenever Jumbo Cactuar attacks, it gains an astonishing +9,999 power until the end of that turn. This is truly remarkable for MTG, as even the largest Green creatures in the game pale in comparison to the potential power that Jumbo Cactuar holds.

In Final Fantasy VIII, the 10,000th power is an entertaining secret feature since players could only inflict more than 9,999 damage on monsters with a single strike through regular gameplay.

In numerous game structures centered around 20 life points, inflicting 10,000 damage is excessively high and appears to serve more for flavor than actual gameplay impact, similar to the Jumbo Cactuar’s 10,000 Needles attack in Final Fantasy. However, it’s important to mention that this card will be eligible for play in Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format and can also find use in formats like Commander, where its potential interactions with other cards can result in some truly chaotic gameplay scenarios. Some of these combinations include:

  • Fling – 2 CMC, Instant, requires the user to sacrifice a creature and then deals damage equal to its power to any target
  • Greater Good – 4 CMC, Enchantment, makes the owner draw cards equal to the power of any creature sacrificed to trigger this effect
  • Goblin Tunneler – 2 CMC, 1/1 Creature, it can be tapped to make target creature with power 2 or less unblockable for the turn, which would apply before combat
  • Escape Tunnel – Land, it can be tapped and sacrificed alongside paying 2 colorless mana to make target creature unblockable for the turn

How Final Fantasy’s Jumbo Cactuar Breaks Magic: The Gathering

There are numerous combinations that could result in a damaged MTG card for Jumbo Cactuar. Moreover, it’s worth noting that this creature in Magic: The Gathering boasts the highest individual power level without relying on infinite combos, which is quite impressive given its longevity in the game spanning over three decades.

It’s possible to contend that Jumbo Cactuar isn’t actually flawed, given the existence of potent cards capable of decisively winning a match without requiring 10,000 power. Take Master of Cruelties for instance; it reduces a player’s life total to 1 whenever it attacks unopposed. In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Lightning Bolt could serve as a finishing blow in such a scenario. Similarly, Phage the Untouchable has an ability that instantly ends the game for any opponent who receives damage from it.

This “Final Fantasy” card within “Magic: The Gathering” isn’t the absolute most overpowered ever, but it does shatter some fundamental principles. For instance, even the notorious B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster) from the satirical Unglued set has only 99 power. However, when combined with certain strategies, Jumbo Cactuar can swiftly defeat players across multiple formats – a situation that is both amusing and alarming, particularly given that UB sets are now Standard-legal.

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2025-02-21 01:07