In case you’ve been living under the collapsed Sector 7 plate (too soon?), you’re probably aware that Magic: The Gathering’s latest Universes Beyond is almost here, putting the peanut butter of Final Fantasy into the jelly (or jam for the Brits) of the long-running card game.
Anticipation is high, but as expected, prices are getting a little wild ahead of the prerelease weekend and then full launch next week (June 13).
In the first of a new series for MTG, we’re looking at the cards rising (and dropping) in cost across Final Fantasy and beyond, helping you know when to buy low and sell high, using card data from the lovely folks at TCGPlayer.
Magic: The Gathering – Crashers
With Final Fantasy x MTG out so soon (or even already if you're reading this next week), prices on singles are finally starting to settle down into a comfortable market price after the highs of pre-release predictions. We won't be able to judge everything properly just yet, but it's a good start at least.
Popular single cards like Cloud, Midgar Mercenary, for example, have dropped from about $85 a couple of weeks ago to just $17.80. This is fairly common for new releases, but still worth noting going into launch week, especially for what is already the best selling MTG set of all-time.
Another popular single buy right now, Tidus, Yuna’s Guardian, works with a counter-based theme that involves a lot of moving around buffs via proliferate.
Is it supposed to be the Sphere Grid? Is it supposed to be a Blitzball? We’re not entirely sure either way, but the man himself was meant to set you back $40-$50, but can currently be picked up for $5.89 in the final build-up to launch day. It's a similar story for a lot of FF single cards, but not everything is getting the price drop treatment this week.
Magic: The Gathering – Climbers
Final Fantasy counter decks are seemingly popular enough to help raise the price of other counter-focused cards this week, including Lord of the Rings’ own Arwen Mortal Queen. This Mythic Rare can be found anywhere between $6-$27 right now, when she was just a couple of bucks a week or two ago.
Sticking with those counters, Sage of Hours is seeing some love, too. Its foil variant is approaching $20, but as TCGPlayer points out, it’s only been printed once, so it could jump significantly. The adorable Generous Pup, found in Foundations Jumpstart, is also cresting $10 after a few weeks of rising in value.
If you’ve been keeping hold of Contractual Safeguard from the New Capenna Commander decks, it’s gone from a 50 cent card to being worth around $5.
Away from counters, Keeper of the Nine Gales has been, well, flying in 2025. The normal version is still just $9.99, but it’s now up to around $25-35 in Foil, or reaching $200 if you want a Near Mint condition.
Secret Lair's Deadpool has also been up his usual shenanigans, causing a handful of creature copying cards to also spike this week (such as Heat Shimmer and Twinflame)
Finally, Tarkir Dragonstorm’s new Defender-focused Commander deck has made Doran, the Siege Tower viable again, and it’s been climbing week-on-week. It’ll set you back around $5, but was less than a dollar just a couple of months ago. That’s… profit?
MTG Sealed Sets
Remember Tidus, Yuna’s Guardian. Well, the MSRP of the precon he heads up is $69.99 for the standard version, so it’s naturally going for much, much more than that, currently fetching north of $110.
Everything else Final Fantasy is pretty hot right now, so if you manage to find anything in stock, it might be worse picking up ASAP to avoid disapointment.
Note, buying single cards as pre-sale might not prove profitable, and you could be better off waiting to see how prices climb and crash next week instead! We'll be back with all the latest.
Looking for more TCG discussion and market watch? Check out the full MTG release schedule for 2025, or, on the Pokemon side of things, our latest Crasher's and Climbers for Pokemon TCG and the best cards to pick from new expansion Destined Rivals.
Lloyd Coombes is Gaming Editor @ Daily Star. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay. He's also a tech, gaming, and fitness freelancer seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, IGN, and more.
