Magic: The Gathering Unveils Three New ‘Final Fantasy' Cards, Wizards of the Coast Team Breaks Down Collection (EXCLUSIVE)
Magic: the Gathering has unveiled three new cards from its upcoming 'Final Fantasy' set and Variety has the exclusive first look at the preview images from Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast.
The three new cards part of the collection made in collaboration with 'Final Fantasy' game developer Square Enix include: The Strahl (an overlay of Smuggler's Copter), Luka Stadium (Strixhaven Stadium), and Tidus, Zanarkand Fayth (Thrasios, Triton Hero). The will be released with the rest of the set on June 13, which is now available for preorder.
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'The Strahl, a.k.a. Smuggler's Copter. During the previews, we showed you Balthier and Fran, and they care about vehicles, that's kind of their mechanic,' principal designer and set design lead for Magic's 'Final Fantasy' collection Gavin Verhey told Variety. 'And the Strahl is their ship, and we wanted to get the Strahl somewhere in the set. But it wasn't really making sense with what the main set was trying to do, we couldn't quite get it in there. But we thought, let's put it on this bonus sheet, so that way you can have Balthier and Fran and the Strahl side by side with each other, interacting. So that was kind of a fun little nod for us. Smuggler's Copter, of course, is a Magic card with a lot of pedigree. So that's pretty cool.'
'Gavin was so polite when he was like, people were trying to find a place in the main set — that was me,' principal game designer Dillon Deveney said. 'Every day I was like, 'I think we have to have this somewhere. It's so iconic to 'Final Fantasy.' People love these sky pirates in the game, they do this legendary shit. And so eventually, Gavin was like, I think I found the perfect spot on the bonus sheet and then it could be Smuggler's Copter. And honestly, it's even better at this point in time that we found that connection back to Magic. Smuggler's Copter is obviously a very famous card in Magic history, but also just the flavor of Smuggler's Copter being, in the original set, for a pair of sky pirates. I was just like beside myself. You found my dream, Gavin.'
'Thrasios is a really fun example of a card that we really collaborated with Square Enix on,' Verhey said. 'We were working out what cards we might want to use, and we sent Square Enix over an initial list of some ideas to show them. And they were really excited about Thrasios, right? I want to really emphasize, it's not just us going to them, they love Magic tons and tons. And we have weekly calls with them where they play tons of Magic, tells about what they think about Magic. And when we were over there playing with them and hanging out at the Square Enix offices doing work, after hours, we'll play a commander or play Magic together. So they love cards, too. And we mentioned Thrasios, they got really excited. So OK — we love it, they love it, let's put it in the set.'
'So this was just all encompassing passion of, 'Final Fantasy X' is my favorite game of the series, my personal favorite game,' senior game designer Daniel Holt said. 'Everybody asked, 'Is there going to be Blitzball? Is there going to be the laughing scene?' etc. But Blitzball just kept coming up over and over on 'Fantasy 10,' which, you will get some of that in the commander deck. But a lot of fans, once they learned we were doing this collaboration, were like, 'What about Strixhaven Stadium as Blitzball stadium?' People asked for this specifically, and I designed the original Strixhaven Stadium, too. So I designed this card. We got to apply it to my favorite game with this overlay. And it goes in the deck because it uses counters, so like Tidus in the deck and everything, it'll just slot right into the deck. It was just a perfect fit in every way possible.'
Releasing June 13, Magic: The Gathering's 'Final Fantasy' collection will include cards based on the sixteen mainline games in the video game franchise. Per MTG's description for the collection, 'Cast powerful spells, call upon classic summons, and even visit your favorite locations on the back of a chocobo. Countless elements from the games are here for you to weave together your own story!'
'Magic has existed in Japan since 1995,' executive producer Zakeel Gordon said. 'We've had a lot of positive market signals and excitement from our Japanese community for distribution and retailers for this IP. There are a couple of special promotions that we will be doing in Japan as a celebration of this moment. So as a whole, I would say it's obviously very good for Japan, but more than anything, it's just trying to lean into the authenticity of what it represents to that market — what the history is with respect to video gaming culture in that region, and making our players globally excited.'
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ELVIS AT 90: Decade-by-decade milestones in the life — and afterlife — of the King The ballyhoo echoed similar fanfare that heralded the release of the first "Lilo & Stitch" 23 years earlier. In 2002, the movie's arrival coincided with Graceland's yearlong commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death; Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, told The Commercial Appeal that the release of an Elvis-connected "classic G-rated Disney flick" would open "a powerful market" for Graceland. In 2002 as in 2025, Disney and Graceland hosted an invitation-only local premiere for "Lilo & Stitch," but the earlier event was more elaborate. The screening of the film at Downtown's now-vanished multiplex, the Muvico Peabody Place 22, was followed by what The Commercial Appeal called a "lavish luau" in front of the ticket pavilion at Graceland, complete with fire dancers, leis made from actual orchids, bamboo huts and costumed movie characters. Testifying to the event's importance, the guest of honor was the nephew of Walt Disney, longtime Disney executive Roy E. Disney, who at the time was vice chairman of the Disney company and chair of Disney Feature Animation. (Roy Disney died in 2009, at 79.) The Los Angeles premiere of the 2002 movie had occurred about a week earlier. Priscilla Presley attended, and told reporters that "Lilo & Stitch" offered "a great message to bring family back together again because really, that's what it's all about. Elvis was very much a family man, regardless of what you hear. He loved family and he always came home." In 2025 as in 2002, Disney and Elvis Presley Enterprises are banking on the appeal of "Lilo & Stitch." The gift shops at Graceland now are stuffed with items from the grandiloquently labeled "Disney Stitch Inspired by Elvis Collection," created by NECA, a pop culture collectibles company. Ranging from $12.99 to $34.99, these include plush and plastic figures of all sizes, showcasing Stitch in Elvis garb. Stitch-as-Elvis pins and other items also are available. The new merchandise augments a still thriving line of "Lilo & Stitch" merchandise, tied to the original film. Stitch "has become a crucial character in the Walt Disney Company's modern empire, mainly in the form of a dizzying array of licensed merchandise," The New York Times reported this week, in a story that called Stitch "a cash cow for the company." Reported the newspaper: "The company's annual financial reports for 2023 and 2024 included 'Lilo & Stitch' on a short list of nine examples of its 'major' licensed properties, putting it on par with classics titans like Winnie the Pooh and Mickey and Friends, and conglomerates like Star Wars and the collective Disney princesses." 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The Movie," which — perhaps due to budgetary constraints — licensed only one Elvis song, the thematically appropriate but hardly epochal "Slicin' Sand," from 1963's "Blue Hawaii." The lyrics likely did not give Leiber & Stoller sleepless nights. Encourages Elvis, while serenading a bevy of beauties: "Dance, dance, dance/ 'til your toes get tan/ We're gonna have us a ball on the beach/ Slicin' sand..." This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Lilo & Stitch: Elvis references, Stitch merch and a visit to Graceland
