Final Fantasy 16 broke the mold when it launched for the Playstation 5 in 2023. Developers chose to sway away from the traditional turn based combat formula that defined the genre, to a more action-oriented style of game play. Another fan favorite mechanic saw a change through development as well. Summons, known as eikons, became a chief focal point throughout the game, but instead of characters calling forth the great creatures, they transformed into them. The recently released Magic set Final Fantasy does an incredible job representing how the various characters shift into their eikon form.

Clive, Ifrit's Dominant, Dion, Bahamut's Dominant and Jill, Shiva's Dominant start as Human Noble Warriors with reasonably impactful enter the battlefield triggers, but with the cost of their activated ability they transform into their powerful Saga Creature forms. They wield exceptional abilities that can destroy permanants, tap lands and even generate valuable mana. Today we'll evaluate the fourth Dominant printed in Final Fantasy. Protagonist Clive's little brother, Joshua.

Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant enters the battlefield trigger and final chapter ability on his Phoenix form screams to be smashed into a graveyard recursion deck. As Joshua enters we get to discard up to two cards and draw that many cards. Then for 3 and Boros we can transform Joshua into Phoenix, Warden of Fire. Chapters 1 and 2 of Phoenix blast our opponents for 2 damage each, and due to lifelink w gain back some life. Just these two triggers can account for a 24 life point swing across a 4 player game. Joshua's final chapter brings back 6 mana value worth of creatures from the ashes and flips Joshua back over. With built in discard and resurrection we get card selection and a second life on all of our creatures.

From the Ashes | Commander | Mike Cummings

• Commander (1)
• 1 Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant

• Creatures (32)
• 1 Agate Instigator
• 1 Angel of Indemnity
• 1 Celestine, the Living Saint
• 1 Charming Prince
• 1 Charming Scoundrel
• 1 Claim Jumper
• 1 Daxos, Blessed by the Sun
• 1 Dazzling Angel
• 1 Esper Sentinel
• 1 General Kreat, the Boltbringer
• 1 Guide of Souls
• 1 Helpful Hunter
• 1 Impassioned Orator
• 1 Imperial Recruiter
• 1 Inspiring Overseer
• 1 Knight of the White Orchid
• 1 Lifecreed Duo
• 1 Loran of the Third Path
• 1 Molten Gatekeeper
• 1 Ornithopter of Paradise
• 1 Priest of Ancient Lore
• 1 Recruiter of the Guard
• 1 Selfless Spirit
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Soul's Attendant
• 1 Soul Warden
• 1 Spirited Companion
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Suture Priest
• 1 Wall of Omens
• 1 Witch Enchanter
• 1 Witty Roastmaster

• Instants (9)
• 1 Big Score
• 1 Boros Charm
• 1 Brought Back
• 1 Demand Answers
• 1 Electric Revelation
• 1 Faith's Reward
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Thrill of Possibility
• 1 Unexpected Windfall

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Ascend from Avernus
• 1 Austere Command
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Cathartic Reunion
• 1 Faithless Looting
• 1 Fumigate
• 1 Seize the Spoils
• 1 Sevinne's Reclamation
• 1 Thrilling Discovery

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Ajani's Welcome

• Artifacts (12)
• 1 Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Boros Signet
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Cursed Mirror
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Monument to Endurance
• 1 Panharmonicon
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Conviction
• 1 Wayfarer's Bauble

• Lands (36)
• 12 Mountain
• 12 Plains
• 1 Alpine Meadow
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Clifftop Retreat
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Elegant Parlor
• 1 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Sacred Peaks
• 1 Spectator Seating
• 1 Sunbillow Verge
• 1 Windswept Heath

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The preceding list is a basic enter the battlefield shell for Joshua. By playing mostly creatures and draw spells that fill our graveyard we will always have fuel in the tank for a transformed Phoenix.

Cards like Witty Roastmaster and General Kreat, the Boltbringer will be our primary win condition. Their relatively low mana cost will allow us to bring them back from the graveyard consistently. The "death by a thousand cuts" strategy plays well with our small creatures and recursion package.

Adding cards like Sun Titan and Faith's Reward will allow us to double down on Joshua's recursion effects and keep our board presence consistent. Faith's Reward can even be used as a pseudo ramp spell by allowing us to recur our fetch lands. Bringing our creatures back and pinging our opponents to death is great, but how will we survive?

There are countless creatures that gain us life when other creatures enter the battlefield. Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant are the most innocuous by far. Dubbed the "Soul Sisters," they will act as the antithesis of our damaging creatures. Slowly padding our life total so we can hold out until cards like Agate Instigator pings our opponents for the win. We've even snuck in a sneaky Aetherflux Reservoir to blast our opponents for big damage.

Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant has unique build potential. It fuels our graveyard and recurs some of the fiercest creatures. How would you build Joshua? Thanks for reading!